PABLO Y. MENDES
Sheridan High School student
This column is read by Sheridan High School dual credit program students and social services teacher Abby Williams.
During 2023, many great artists released new music for people to listen to and enjoy.
However, many of these artists lack that important factor that bigger, more popular mainstream artists have. They lack the ability to “move the needle,” as they call it. They lack the ability to make an impact and raise the profile of the music industry. They don’t have the innate ability to push the boundaries of what music is and what it can be. While many of these artists released enjoyable and quality music, none of them were able to create a significant moment in time.
There were many great attempts throughout the year, such as the Logic album. College Park is a hip-hop album filled with passion and great storytelling, or Lil Uzi Vert’s album pink ribbon, it’s a fun and quirky take on rap and rock music, or the romantic ballads of Daniel Caesar with beautiful melodies on an R&B album, e.g. Never enough.
While many of these albums are great and enjoyable, none of them manage to stick in the conversation for very long. Neither made a strong enough impact to make other artists aware of the growing competition musically.
However, in what many consider to be a slow year for high-profile releases, the artist known as Travis Scott has made his long-awaited comeback. After five years out of the spotlight following its massive release in 2018 Astroworldan album considered by many to be a modern trap classic, Travis Scott is back with his highly anticipated album Utopia.
Utopia was released on July 28, 2023. It was a huge night in the music industry. The album became the first of the year to sell 500,000 copies in its first week. It broke streaming records, becoming one of the most streamed albums across all music platforms; it was the only album this year so far that pushed the narrative further and “moved the needle.”
Utopia is a dark, psychedelic experience filled with advanced yet dirty industrial sounds that will make for an unforgettable listening experience for any music lover.
Songs like “Hyaena” with hardcore drums and exceptional rap performances, songs like “Fe!n” with cinematic and grandiose synths, or a song like “Telekinesis” with psychedelic vocal intonations are all examples of what is he doing Utopia the album is currently the best of the year and one of the best of the decade.
Travis Scott Utopia Considered the best album of the year by many fans and critics alike, it has been the album that has definitely moved the needle so far.