“My teeth are yellow, hello world, would you like me a little better if they were white like yours? I need to purge my urges, Shame! Shame! Shame!” 8 seconds. 8 seconds is most likely the only 8 seconds most people know of the song Alien Blues by Vundabar. -Orion songster, 9th grade
"You go down just like Holy mary, Mary on a, Mary on a cross. Your beauty never ever scared me, Mary on a, Mary on a cross."
15 seconds. 15 seconds is most likely the only 15 seconds most people know of the song Mary on a Cross by Ghost.
“I just stay in my room too long, but I finally got a girlfriend and she’s the bomb.”
10 seconds. 10 seconds is most likely the only 10 seconds most people know of the song Numbers by TEMPOREX.
“My teeth are yellow, hello world, would you like me a little better if they were white like yours? I need to purge my urges, Shame! Shame! Shame!”
8 seconds. 8 seconds is most likely the only 8 seconds most people know of the song Alien Blues by Vundabar.
These songs are good, but no one really seems to know the ways in which Ghost stands out from many of today’s best bands, or how truly imaginative Temporex’s mind can be, or how Vundabar has proven themselves to be an amazing band throughout every single album they have released. Why is it now, in this day and age, that we only recognize a single crumb of a song, and potentially pass by an amazing artist? That, my friends, is because of TikTok, the social media we have all grown to love and hate.
While not all bad, this trend completely diminishes the artist and anything other than that ten seconds. When a song is trending, people seem to dehumanize the artist, when in truth, these artists often have amazing stories and music that is just not being shown. One of these bands is indie rock band, Vundabar, who have released six albums in ten years, with over 60 songs in their discography, yet people only know one.
When Alien Blues blew up on Tiktok in late 2021, teens screamed their hearts out to the lyrics of the second verse, and skyrocketed the band to 5 million monthly listeners on Spotify. But they didn’t begin that way.
The band formed in 2012, when guitarist Branden Hagen and drummer Drew McDonald were highschoolers. They quickly joined the Boston basement scene, where they added Zack Abramo on bass, and released their first album Antics, with their most popular song, Holy Toledo (at least until Alien Blues blew up). By 2015, they had released their second album, Gawk, which contains Alien Blues, toured in France, and gained lifelong fans. Vundabar randomly switched bass players in 2016, to Greyson Kirtland, whose reign lasted until 2018, when the band welcomed back Abramo. The band continued, playing more live gigs then most current artists do. Their stage presence is unique and thrilling, with each member adding their own silly part to the mix. Over the next few years, Vundabar released two albums, toured whenever they could, and talked about eggs a lot in interviews.
Throughout the band’s history, they gained a cult following. Each fan knew their music, not just a few songs. And then, Alien Blues found its way to TikTok.
It blew up.
The sun is fun, the land is dandy
Everyone knew it.
I only talk to dogs because they don’t understand me
Everyone loved it.
My teeth are yellow, hello, world
People screamed the lyrics
Would you like me a little better if they were white like yours?
People made animations of the song
I need to purge my urges
People vented and related to the lyrics
Shame, shame, shame
Of that one song.
I need an alibi to justify,
That one section.
Somebody to blame
Nothing else.
The fan population soon became diluted, now with only a few people who really knew all of Vundabar’s music. And it was an amazing thing for the band, finally getting the recognition they so deserved – but only on one song.
Vundabar is only a single example. This has happened to countless other bands and artists since TikTok has become popularized, and this phenomenon is taking over the internet. Music only seems to be made anymore with the hope and possibility of becoming another ten second segment for teens to dance to. The industry is changing before our very eyes.
TikTok has changed the way we see music, to the point where one-hit-wonders are all the ear knows, where you love a crumb of an amazing song, but can’t even recognize any other part of it being played. We just don’t see value in music unless it’s “from” TikTok.
Of course, this isn’t always a bad thing. I, like many others, learned about Vundabar through TikTok. In fact, at least two of my favorite bands I found because they had a song which was popular on it. But the difference is that when most people hear a song they like on TikTok, they say “cool song” and then they scroll. They never look it up, or if they do, they never look up the artist. They never say “Hey, this is a great song. Maybe the artist has other good songs?” No. They just listen to the one song and keep scrolling. And scrolling. And rinse and repeat.
Much of music hasn’t been truly looked into. Most interviews are dry, as if the person conducting it only learned about the band 10 minutes ago and did no research. We seem to dehumanize bands and artists, only thinking of a song and not the faces behind the song.
TikTok can be used as a tool for good, if only when we heard a song, we actually listened to it outside of the app. We would be giving the artist the love they deserve, instead of giving in to week long trends.
This could truly be an amazing way to find music and appreciate artists, if only we put in the effort to use it for the potential it has.
But we don’t. We hear a song, and we scroll. And Scroll. And Scroll.
Since Alien Blues blew up, Vundabar has released two albums. Devil For the Fire and Good Old. But no one is really talking about them. They only talk about Alien Blues.
15 seconds. 15 seconds is most likely the only 15 seconds most people know of the song Mary on a Cross by Ghost.
“I just stay in my room too long, but I finally got a girlfriend and she’s the bomb.”
10 seconds. 10 seconds is most likely the only 10 seconds most people know of the song Numbers by TEMPOREX.
“My teeth are yellow, hello world, would you like me a little better if they were white like yours? I need to purge my urges, Shame! Shame! Shame!”
8 seconds. 8 seconds is most likely the only 8 seconds most people know of the song Alien Blues by Vundabar.
These songs are good, but no one really seems to know the ways in which Ghost stands out from many of today’s best bands, or how truly imaginative Temporex’s mind can be, or how Vundabar has proven themselves to be an amazing band throughout every single album they have released. Why is it now, in this day and age, that we only recognize a single crumb of a song, and potentially pass by an amazing artist? That, my friends, is because of TikTok, the social media we have all grown to love and hate.
While not all bad, this trend completely diminishes the artist and anything other than that ten seconds. When a song is trending, people seem to dehumanize the artist, when in truth, these artists often have amazing stories and music that is just not being shown. One of these bands is indie rock band, Vundabar, who have released six albums in ten years, with over 60 songs in their discography, yet people only know one.
When Alien Blues blew up on Tiktok in late 2021, teens screamed their hearts out to the lyrics of the second verse, and skyrocketed the band to 5 million monthly listeners on Spotify. But they didn’t begin that way.
The band formed in 2012, when guitarist Branden Hagen and drummer Drew McDonald were highschoolers. They quickly joined the Boston basement scene, where they added Zack Abramo on bass, and released their first album Antics, with their most popular song, Holy Toledo (at least until Alien Blues blew up). By 2015, they had released their second album, Gawk, which contains Alien Blues, toured in France, and gained lifelong fans. Vundabar randomly switched bass players in 2016, to Greyson Kirtland, whose reign lasted until 2018, when the band welcomed back Abramo. The band continued, playing more live gigs then most current artists do. Their stage presence is unique and thrilling, with each member adding their own silly part to the mix. Over the next few years, Vundabar released two albums, toured whenever they could, and talked about eggs a lot in interviews.
Throughout the band’s history, they gained a cult following. Each fan knew their music, not just a few songs. And then, Alien Blues found its way to TikTok.
It blew up.
The sun is fun, the land is dandy
Everyone knew it.
I only talk to dogs because they don’t understand me
Everyone loved it.
My teeth are yellow, hello, world
People screamed the lyrics
Would you like me a little better if they were white like yours?
People made animations of the song
I need to purge my urges
People vented and related to the lyrics
Shame, shame, shame
Of that one song.
I need an alibi to justify,
That one section.
Somebody to blame
Nothing else.
The fan population soon became diluted, now with only a few people who really knew all of Vundabar’s music. And it was an amazing thing for the band, finally getting the recognition they so deserved – but only on one song.
Vundabar is only a single example. This has happened to countless other bands and artists since TikTok has become popularized, and this phenomenon is taking over the internet. Music only seems to be made anymore with the hope and possibility of becoming another ten second segment for teens to dance to. The industry is changing before our very eyes.
TikTok has changed the way we see music, to the point where one-hit-wonders are all the ear knows, where you love a crumb of an amazing song, but can’t even recognize any other part of it being played. We just don’t see value in music unless it’s “from” TikTok.
Of course, this isn’t always a bad thing. I, like many others, learned about Vundabar through TikTok. In fact, at least two of my favorite bands I found because they had a song which was popular on it. But the difference is that when most people hear a song they like on TikTok, they say “cool song” and then they scroll. They never look it up, or if they do, they never look up the artist. They never say “Hey, this is a great song. Maybe the artist has other good songs?” No. They just listen to the one song and keep scrolling. And scrolling. And rinse and repeat.
Much of music hasn’t been truly looked into. Most interviews are dry, as if the person conducting it only learned about the band 10 minutes ago and did no research. We seem to dehumanize bands and artists, only thinking of a song and not the faces behind the song.
TikTok can be used as a tool for good, if only when we heard a song, we actually listened to it outside of the app. We would be giving the artist the love they deserve, instead of giving in to week long trends.
This could truly be an amazing way to find music and appreciate artists, if only we put in the effort to use it for the potential it has.
But we don’t. We hear a song, and we scroll. And Scroll. And Scroll.
Since Alien Blues blew up, Vundabar has released two albums. Devil For the Fire and Good Old. But no one is really talking about them. They only talk about Alien Blues.
