Pop Music in August: Three Faces of the Genre and the Antonoff of it All

op music is going through a big shift right now, and some of the biggest releases of the month of August have showed three of its biggest competing subgenres. Brockhampton’s Ginger, Lana Del Rey’s Norman F*cking Rockwell and the behemoth, Taylor Swift’s Lover.

In my last article, I wrote about how we’ve had a relatively disappointing summer in terms of big-name music releases. The weeks since then have done their best to blow that article into irrelevance.

These, of course, aren’t the biggest sales weeks of the these three weeks. I’d be ignoring Young Thug’s new album and the new Tool album (wtf…). But these different albums and artists all have a very clear idea, and goal, of making music that doesn’t appeal to fans of just one genre. Brockhampton have thrived on their blend of hip hop with all of the sounds of the 2000’s; pop rock, R&B, etc.… Lana Del Rey has been well known for her hand in popularizing the “dream pop” sound, and Taylor Swift is well, Taylor Swift.

Let’s start with Brockhampton, the clear third is this popularity race. Their backstory is now well known. Formed on an internet forum, gained popularity releasing three albums in the second half of 2017, kicked out cover star Ameer Vann after sexual assault accusations, and went #1 with their 2018 album, iridescence. The group has built a fan base that rivals the tenacity of boy bands of the 90’s and 2000’s, a defining sound in the history of pop music.

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