Each Measure Feature: Blackstate

FEATURE

The invention of the smart phone and social media have been a great addition to modern society, but not without a cost. We now have the most expansive collection of human knowledge to date at our fingertips. Yet, instead of learning a new skill or language, a majority of us follow influencers. We spend our time observing these fabricated realities, yearning to have their lifestyle, failing to acknowledge that their lives are well constructed facades curated to perfection. We easily fall victim to idealizing them and their lives, failing to focus on what truly matters–all while spending hours doom scrolling. This idea is wonderfully explored in BLACKSTATE’s latest song “#FollowMe.” In this song and accompanying music video, BLACKSTATE turns a mirror to society revealing the dangerous nature of “follow culture.” 

To this point, I love all of the ways BLAKSTATE got these ideas across. The song itself is almost completely digital, invoking the sounds of a retro videogame soundtrack. This immediately sets the tone, bringing in the ideas of the digital age (plus it doesn’t hurt that the melody is very catchy). Now, with the lyrics, Tasevski-Fitz, the man behind the music project, went for an interesting approach. He kept the lyrics bare bones which leaves a haunting message behind. For a majority of the lyrics, he repeats the phrase “follow me”, highlighting the desire of influencer culture and how desperate they are to do anything for a following (hence the title of the song as well). 

As I’ve talked about before, I love songs that invoke an image or make the listener reflect on life. This song does a great job of both. It brings about the image of someone desperate for internet fandom (brought to life via the music video) and makes us reflect on social media’s role in modern society. Tasevski-Fitz nailed it with his BLAKSTATE project here, creating a catchy song reflecting the true nature of the digital age.

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