Striking a chord: gender inclusiveness grants freedom to artists and listeners

When I ask people what kind of music they listen to, I’m often disappointed if they respond by saying “I listen to everything”. The lack of specificity usually signals me that people don’t know the true definitions of the music they listen to and don’t have a consistent idea of ​​what music they like the most.

However, more than ever before, genre inclusivity is more and more present in the music of many artists, which sometimes makes it impossible to specify which genre a song is a part of. This means that I may have to get used to this vague answer and understand that it does not mean a lack of knowledge.

Playlists, which are usually grouped by genre, help the listener to easily choose a playlist. However, the Spotify playlist “Pollen”Breaks all of these rules and more. The playlist description is concise and simple: “Genre-less. Quality first always. “Pollen” had unprecedented success. Since its debut on the app in September 2018, the playlist has garnered 1.3 million followers.

Additionally, listeners are often much more interested in this playlist compared to others. Jamal Hadaway, the producer of one of Hope Tala’s EPs, said she collected thrice as many feeds to be featured on “Pollen” compared to other playlists that had double the followers.

“Pollen” is also unique in that it seamlessly includes popular and established artists, like Tyler the Creator, with an artist like 1010 Benja SL, who has 28,344 monthly listeners on the app. Even having a song on a playlist like “Pollen” can be life changing for artists.

The success of “Pollen” inspired the creation of another Spotify playlist, “Lorem”, Which employs the same idea but focuses on“ mainstream chamber pop ”as Explain by Lizzy Szabo, curator of “Lorem” and editor of Spotify. Likewise popular, “Lorem” currently has 887,705 subscribers after being made available to listeners about a year ago.

These playlists are driven by culture and community rather than a specific genre. Interestingly, a playlist that can’t be so easily categorized is capable of producing such a distinct sound: the sound of “Pollen” is groovy and soulful, and “Lorem” is playful and synth heavy. guitar. These playlists welcome all artists and listeners with their lack of labels to create an ever-changing community.

This phenomenon continued with emerging popstar Lil Nas X. He entered the music scene, turning heads and breaking records, with his song “Old Town Road” which unconventionally mixed rap and country. – two genres that previously seemed to work in completely different spheres. It was so unfamiliar that Billboard decided to to delete the song from their Billboard Hot Country Song chart because it “didn’t encompass enough elements of today’s country music.”

Lil Nas X continues to push the boundaries of the genre with the release of their highly anticipated debut album “MONTERO”. Although it includes songs that one would expect from Lil Nas X’s involvement in the rap genre, such as “INDUSTRY BABY (feat. Jack Harlow)”, “DOLLAR SIGN SLIME (feat. Megan Thee Stallion)” and “SCOOP (feat. Doja Cat)”, it also includes several songs ranging from pop-punk to a stripped-down song with only guitar and strings apart from the vocals.

This trend is reflected in WILLOW’s debut album “ARDIPITHECUS”, which features muted synths that mirror those of hyperpop songs, groovy melodies and percussive beats. Likewise, Billie Eilish’s second album “Happier Than Ever” features the stripped-down acoustic guitars and airy vocals that prompted Eilish to become famous in “Male Fantasy” as well as shameless guitars and drums, coupled with the bellowing choruses of ‘Eilish to be left alone. in the song “Happier than Ever”.

The decreasing presence of categories encourages artists not to label their own sound. Instead, they aim to create a unique piece of art that doesn’t need to be reduced to a single genre, allowing them to continue their sound exploration. It also gives listeners the opportunity to be easily exposed to all types of music and to establish a better understanding of the state of music today. This keeps the music industry on its toes and pushes artists to combine elements of genres that can operate on completely different axes.

Ava Hinz SC ’25 is TSL’s music columnist and is from Los Altos, California. Follow her on Spotify, @avahinz, for ultra specific playlists.

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