In case you’ve been offline this past week, we thought we’d be a darl and recap some of the latest in music news for you. Albeit, music that has made headlines for it’s apparent meme-worthiness – because, it’s 2018 and this unspoken method of social interaction and ranking isn’t showing any sign of slowing down.
First cab off the rank, the perennially popular Fleetwood Mac enjoyed a generous bump up the Billboard charts last week – all thanks to one cleverly-constructed tweet. User @bottledfleet tweeted a meme referencing the dance-ability of the classic rock band’s oeuvre:
“Fleetwood Mac’s music is so boring, you can’t even dance to it”
Me, an intellectual: pic.twitter.com/2QmrFycHy2
— i m m i g r ❀ n t (@bottledfleet) March 22, 2018
As someone who, at the ripe age of five, choreographed and performed a wonderfully tear-jerking (read: laughable) gambol to Fleetwood’s ‘Don’t Stop’ at a very public ballet concert, I steadfastly stand by this tweet!
The meme in question earned over 140,000 likes and close to 340,000 retweets for its efforts. And as a result of the tweet-tastic boost, cult-classic ‘Dreams’ is now nestled comfortably at #14 on the Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart. Funnily enough, it’s not the only track to enjoy a whirlwind climb up the charts thanks to pop culture referencing.
Blonde Redhead‘s ‘For the Damaged Coda’ previously appeared in two episodes of the irreverent sci-fi animation Rick and Morty, both in Seasons 1 and 3 as the theme song for ‘Evil Morty’. A coupla’ weeks back, in true millennial fashion, the track was masterfully wielded as a pretty neat alternative to the Grand Theft Auto ‘Wasted’, and ‘Thug Life’ smack-downs. Naturally, users were quick to produce their own memes using the track – resulting in its re-entrance into the Hot Rock Songs Chart at #16.
Feel free to stuff yourself silly on this platter of ‘For the Damaged Coda’ treats, or simply enjoy my favourite flavour of ice-meme below.
A post shared by Some italian dude (@one_salty_spaghette) on
Now, for the meme of the crop! Sheffield band Arctic Monkeys dropped the release date of their sixth album, Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino, over the weekend. Scheduled to drop on May 11th, this record follows their 2013 release AM. It’s been a bloody long time between albums, so fans were naturally pretty stoked by the news! That is, until they spied the track list for the forthcoming record…
It took a LOT of refreshing on a broken site but I ordered the new Arctic Monkeys record on vinyl & lemme just say… this tracklist is VERY concerning. pic.twitter.com/lp1Hn40tIv
— Paige Williams (@paigebackstage) April 5, 2018
Look, to be honest, the track names don’t really sound any ‘oddity’ alarm bells for this long-time Modest Mouse fan. Nevertheless, I am a ‘Sad Sappy Sucker’ for clever memes – and the Monkeys’ track list has certainly set the internet alight. I guffawed my way through the hilarious re-appropriations of the band’s initial post. But my personal fave?
Arctic monkeys coming up with their new tracklist pic.twitter.com/8ROfRqi4Cg
— marx & recreation (@soyvietunion) April 5, 2018
Do you think memes are enriching global conversation, or pose a serious threat to language and the way in which we communicate? Let us know your thoughts!