Since we last checked in with local Toronto boys Meanlife, vocalist Jackson has shifted it into a 1-man studio band. His latest project is re-imagined cuts from heroes like Kanye, Gram Parsons, the Beach Boys, and more.
On Meanpop, Jackson ventures into new territory. Here, he plays all the instruments, harmonizes with himself, self-produces and mixes, and grinds stems from old projects through the filter of “Meanpop”.
Jackson goes deep on his youth and more that inspired this collection, explaining:
“As a kid I listened to Shakira and the Backstreet Boys – a kid doesn’t care what’s cool. The brightest melody wins. Angry teen Jackson liked the Velvet Underground and Pavement. Meaner stuff, which seemed a lot cooler at the time. Now I see at the end of the day coolness is a construct and a good song is a good song. Really good songs transcend their genre. Genre is like paint; the colors you choose are important but it’s what you do with them that matters. Meanpop (both the album & the new genre it kicks off) is a combination of many colors: using sounds new and old, right and wrong, original and borrowed, sweet and sour. Sacred and perverted. Rap and country. Art and trash. Britney Spears and feedback solos. In university I failed a Pop Music class because I wrote my final essay on experimental composer Alexander Scriabin, who my professor deemed ‘not a pop musician’. I see her point, but on a larger level she was very wrong, and this cover album aims to prove that point. Meanpop is a way of Meanlife. Meanpop is an argument which you enjoy. ‘Meanpop’ is a nice cool can of soda with a hornet inside. Drink up!”