While only Grimes could manage to make an Apple commercial feel “artsy,” it is still, nonetheless, an Apple commercial. And its release comes at a time that’s just a little too tailored to her coming out with Elon Musk party at the Met Gala over a month ago. What’s more, considering she decided to legally changed her name to the scientific symbol denoting the speed of light, c, at Musk’s encouragement, it’s only natural to assume she might have taken Musk’s “advice” about going a little more corporate as well. After all, Tesla and SpaceX have that same “cool company” vibe as Apple is supposed to–could Grimes’ promotion of her own boyfriend’s “labels” be far behind after this?
Despite bowing to the very entity that ruined San Francisco, Grimes does her best to keep the concept “edgy” as she narrates, “I hate permission, if I wanna drop something, I just drop it.” Of late, this hasn’t seemed to be the case with her “shit label” issues. On a side note, it’s difficult to take anything pertaining to the phrase “dropping a single” seriously outside of the early 00s–and even then, it was a challenge. That she used this term is telling of her cooperation with the corporation, for corporations are always transparent about using dated “cool person’s” lingo to appeal to the lowest common denominator.
All of her music begins on a Mac, we’re told with a subtitle as she continues to describe her process matter-of-factly, “I write all the music, edit all the music videos and then I do the single art digitally.” And, as though to make a special and arcane reference to her technology-loving boo, she adds, “Even since I’ve started making music, technology has advanced in such a way that it’s become substantially easier and more affordable.” And here we get where she and Apple are trying to go: that art is for everyone. You don’t have to be rich (or, even, apparently, talented) to make it, or buy the “tools” to do so.
Grimes concludes of her musical experimentation, “It’s super important for me to work on the floor a lot. Not having a studio, not having a professional setup and just basically be able to kind of, like, move my thing around. You can do way weirder things if you’re alone in a room and you’re not worried about people judging you.” Yes, that’s true. Also, why do we get the sense this is a hidden allusion to her freaky deaky sex game in Elon Musk’s wannabe Christian Grey boudoir?
Finally, she insists, albeit with palpably awkward certainty, “Anyone can do this. You have the tools. Everyone has the tools to do it.” Well, one doesn’t know about all that. Most Third World-residing musical aspirants probably don’t, nor do they even have the time to think about whether or not they even have any musical aspirations. What’s more, that old argument about whether talent is something one is born with or something that is nurtured comes into play. Sure, any asshole can put together some synth and electro beats, but not every motherfucker is born with the grace and brilliance of a Marc Almond type. So for Grimes to give music this overly egalitarian sanction as Apple already has been since the dawn of GarageBand is only fueling the present fire of mediocrity in music.
But then, maybe Grimes has just gone full-tilt capitalist in her mirroring of Musk and is doing this for the cold hard cash. Taking into account her bifteka with her soon to be ex-label 4AD, Lord knows she could use all the money she can get from other sources to finance subsequent musical endeavors. Or she could always just ask her boyfriend to help put up any of the necessary dough.
By creating her art from start to finish, Grimes shows the power of controlling your own vision, declares one of the final Apple subtitles. Yes, this is a beautiful thing to a certain extent, but also a dangerous one for people who don’t actually have talent and really ought to be reined in by “the proper channels,” a facet of the art industries increasingly as dinosauric as sending a postcard.
https://youtu.be/eRl5wi8JCnA
