In my column last week, I may have revealed a bit too much about myself when I mentioned that I enjoy Jesse McCartney's smash single "Beautiful Soul." Hey, what can I say, it's a guilty pleasure. What's funny, though, is that I couldn't stand that song when it came out, and I was completely convinced that Jesse McCartney was the worst thing to ever happen to popular music. Why did I feel that way? Maybe because I was jealous of the stuck-up cheerleaders in my 9th grade math class talking about how he "looks like a good kisser" while refusing to give me the time of day, but I don't think that was the only reason.

When a new pop star enters the fray, it becomes cool to reject them, and whatever image they are trying to project. There's a desire to let everyone know that you're above whatever the major labels are trying to shove down your throat this week. This isn't without justification; a lot of pop music is disposable trash, and it's unfortunate that it's going to get all the airplay and hype while more serious artists don't get as much attention.

Still, a lot of disposable pop tends to sound better over time. My guess is that had I been around in the 80s, I would've rejected Tiffany as being a manufactured music industry creation, but in the present day, I love her cover of "I Think We're Alone Now," and while I realize this might not be a popular opinion, I actually might prefer it to the original by Tommy James and The Shondells. The thing is, once a pop star fades away, and is no longer part of the music establishment, there's nothing to fight against anymore, and we could just take their songs for what they are. And usually, those songs are pretty fun.

For instance, I'm not particularly fond of Justin Bieber. Dude just rubs me the wrong way, possibly because he says the word "swag" every 3.2 seconds. Also because he's four years younger than me and he's worth $55 million. You know, a lot of little stuff. The thing is, I'd be lying if I said he didn't have some songs that I genuinely enjoyed. "Baby" is ridiculously catchy, and "Boyfriend" was one of the better mainstream singles last year, in spite of the rather awkward line about fondue. The thing is, I tend to enjoy these songs a lot more once I divorce them from Bieber. I dislike the concept of him, but the songs he comes out with tend to be solid enough,

Hating pop music tends to be about hating the concept of pop, and the shallowness associated with it. Hating  the music itself is more unlikely. If all the people who claimed to despise top 40 radio actually felt that way, it probably wouldn't be the dominant form of music. We claim to hate it for the same reason we claim to hate all those reality shows that rank among the most popular shows in America: we want to sound smart. We want to reject what strikes us as being mindless and worthless, when really, a lot of us tend to enjoy it for that very reason. Only when this entertainment ages - and the people who gave it to us aren't famous anymore - can we admit that it actually wasn't that bad. So, in ten years, "Baby" will come on at a party, and I'll dance to it unironically. For now, though? I hate that guy.

Though buffaBLOG's focus might be (mostly) on Buffalo, the blog itself has already brought in readers from across the blue-green planet. As much of a brain-melting life-drainer as the Internet can be, it does connect us, and it can introduce us to some wonderful music that otherwise may never have made it here from over the seas and far away.

Emerging musicians from all ends of the earth (plus or minus Antarctica) have reached out to buffaBLOG, sharing their songs, their souls, and expanding the way we think about the arts. The following acts are well worth dipping your ears into:

Ilias is an Algerian/Australian musician based in Sydney, Australia. His ghostly, indefinable debut album, Somewhere in Time, is the result of ten years of songwriting. "I wrote maybe 100 musical pieces, some songs, some sketches, some instrumentals," says Ilias, "But I was always haunted by a certain group of songs... I decided I needed to produce these songs, to break the spell and move on, in a sense." 

Putting in place rigorous standards for the recording process, Ilias explains, "I felt that something so ambitious needed a set of rules, and producing, writing, and playing everything myself was one of them." Refusing to use pitch correction or fade outs and relying heavily on a modular, improvisation-tinged approach, Ilias further ensured Somewhere in Time displayed an organic, authentic style of songwriting.

Citing as diverse artists as D'Angelo, Brian Wilson, and Burt Bacharach for influences, Ilias has nonetheless developed an ethereal, hypnotic jazz-inflected dream-pop sound that is very much his own. He can be visited here. 





I Said Yes are an alternative folk-pop act composed of members from throughout the UK, proud to be hated by Noel Gallagher of Oasis. Despite Gallagher's qualms, I Said Yes have been lauded by BBC London and XLM, and have performed alongside such renowned musicians as Florence + the Machine and Johnny Flynn.

In an interview with the BBC, the band described their formation, stating, "For three of us, it all started with recording really lo-fi covers of punk-pop songs in our sitting room, and then after an afternoon's busking a couple of years later we became a five-piece."

Clearly impacted by the New Folk movement that spawned Noah and the Whale, Mumford and Sons, and others, I Said Yes bring freshness and instrumental variation to a popular subgenre. Their colorful first EP can be heard here. 





Closer to home, Bazile is a space folk solo artist from Houston, Texas. His latest effort, The Sojourn of Professor Narducci, is an odd and endearing exploration into the unknown. It also benefits from sound engineering and co-production courtesy of Alabama Shakes keyboardist Ben Tanner.

Creating his own genre fusions, Bazile pursues "gospel punk" on "Hi-Fi" and refers to his song "Save the Manatee" as a "lyrically eccentric love mystery." His satirical jabs, sonic switches, and bursts of emotion are as surprising as they are surreal.

Part Beck, part Ben Folds, part Sufjan Stevens, Bazile is always inventive. The Sojourn of Professor Narducci is now streaming on Soundcloud and its single "Employment" can be downloaded for free.