Not to sound like that person, but I have really good taste in music. In college, I made CD mixes for my friends that would define a weekend road trip, or a hilariously trashy pregame. People actually followed my Spotify playlists and would thank me for introducing them to new artists and little known tracks. Sometimes I even write about music — music I miss, music I love, and music I just don't get. I know what songs to play for certain crowds, and what artists are surefire crowd pleasers (Justin Bieber, throwback '90s Jennifer Lopez, and anything by Beyoncé). In contrast, I know what artists require a more refined crowd, one with a taste for polarizing genres (EDM, chillstep) and an open mind to appreciate new experimental sounds. There's a science to finding and introducing new music to people, and even though I don't love all the music on the radio, it's safe to say that songs are the radio are pretty well liked.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
And then, there are The Chainsmokers.
Oh, what to say about The Chainsmokers. Even if you've never heard of the group or spoken the words in reference to anything other than learning that smoking kills in health class, you definitely know their songs. Drew Taggart and Alex Pall, the two guys behind the DJ-duo, released their debut album, Memories...Do Not Open, last Friday and the Internet has been ruthless in criticizing it since.
Now, Twitter is always mean. Twitter loves to hate things. Especially when the targets are two seemingly well-off white millennial men who rap about sex, drugs, and Range Rovers. But critics have been merciless in critiquing the group, and it's really not clear why The Chainsmokers are consistently being dragged in story after story after story. It's time for everyone to take a step back, and give these guys a break. Compared to the other dumpster fires happening out there, what is so bad about The Chainsmokers and their catchy (admit it's catchy, dammit) songs? Just relax. It's getting old.
To catch you up, here are a few examples of the headlines being written about the album.
"Review: Chainsmokers' 'Memories' Is a Drab, Monotonous Whinge."— Rolling Stone
"The Chainsmokers' Memories': Is this the worst album of 2017?" — USA Today
"Review: The Chainsmokers Find That Pop Is an Awkward Fit" — The New York Times
"The Chainsmokers’ Memories Is Metacritic’s Worst Album Of The Year So Far" — Stereogum
And then, there are the tweets...
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
The Chainsmokers are like if Forever 21 made a band
— Layla Tahmassebi (@velvet__vulva) April 12, 2017
If her favorite song is "closer" by the chainsmokers... that's a red flag
— Nolan Bell (@GreasyAardvark) April 13, 2017
Why do people like the chainsmokers?
— alex (@mxltdown) April 13, 2017
After listening to the new Chainsmokers album, I finally understand how Van Gogh found it within himself to cut his own ear off
— Austin Gebbia (@DearMorni) April 10, 2017
How we look after hearing The Chainsmokers perform#SNL pic.twitter.com/gwLwgfMvWa
— Melissa (@melissasfeed) April 9, 2017
What's even stranger is that the group is breaking records and making major strides in the music industry on the daily. They were nominated for 22 Billboard Music Awards (tying with Drake and breaking the previous record for most noms), and they just won a Grammy for "Best Dance Recording."
So from that, I have a theory as to why the Internet is so psyched to hate The Chainsmokers: because it's fun. They're easy targets and they're really overexposing themselves (they were just on SNL and are on an international tour now). They're even jovially embracing all the bad press they've been getting — which only pisses off people more. It's all a big annoying cycle that I am tired of reading about every damn day.
So instead of blaming these two bro-y DJs for being so popular, just get over it and listen to Anti again (which was totally robbed at the Grammys, but that's for another day).
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT