The age when a lonely nation turns its collective eyes to a hip-swiveling wordsmith or cheeky group of misfits for fun, inspiration, diversion from and/or perversion of accepted norms is long past, a result of the narrowcasting revolution unleashed generations ago. We now live in an algorithmic world that, under the guise of personalization, is designed to sell stuff—from movies to deodorant—to the specific groups of people most likely to buy it.
It’s why, on Facebook and Instagram, the bulk of reels and recs I see revolve around singer-songwriters, cats, giraffes and, these days, donkeys, while YouTube showcases music artists and decades-old clips predicting future tech. The longer I’m on their platforms, the more things I watch, the more tailor-made ads they serve.
It’s always been that way to an extent, of course. Aside from public-supported stations, radio and TV entertained and served commercials, with some channels and programs aimed at specific audiences. Daytime TV, for instance, was assumed to be the province of housewives, while AOR (album-oriented rock) radio targeted male listeners and the “Hot Hits” format of the 1980s wooed younger adults. Newspapers, too, gerrymandered stories into such sections as Business, Family, Food, Books, and Obituaries, with each housing advertisements meant for their presumed audience—though, sometimes, odd pairings showed up: a quarter-page ad for Kiddie City next to the death notices, for example.
Less tailor-made options meant wider target audiences—and, as a result, a common culture. Back in the day, weird as it sounds, we at least knew that which we disdained. Disco was both loved and loathed; Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, too. The same goes for the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley, Topo Gigio and more. Aside from the elderly and willfully ignorant, most everyone was exposed to more than just their interests. Ed Sullivan saw to that.
Such things have ricocheted through my mind this past month while listening to Calista Garcia’s sophomore album, Animal Magnifique, which is out this Friday. It’s rock, it’s pop, and it’s even baroque in spots. At a time when sound-a-like confections litter prefabricated playlists, it’s a home to songs that only she could have written. She’s a poet with a distinct point of view.
The 10-track set opens with “Tilt-a-Whirl,” a swirling tune that turns an amusement park ride into a smart metaphor about the first flush of love. The title track, which finds her “trapped between worlds that don’t fit together/On a carousel of perpetual in between,” plays out like a roller coaster, rising slow before descending in rapid fashion—and doing it again and again, all while fitting in a killer harmonica solo. The mood turns more serious for the evocative “Entertaining Children During Wartime.”
“Big Mouth,” released a single on Friday, is a sly if sleazy delight about the messages—both subliminal and overt—fed us by the powers-that-be. On Instagram, Garcia explained, “We are conditioned to believe we are not enough, and therefore won’t get what we need. This belief skews our view of the world around us, turning fellow humans and community members into manifestations of our low self-esteem and obstacles to what we crave.” “Ghost,” as I noted a few weeks back, is a driving tune in all senses of the word. “Spookshow” slows things down while contemplating life’s illusions, and “Carnival”—which I spotlighted here—is another roller coaster of a track.
“Clara de Lune,” for its part, is a fondant heart of a song: “A basket of stars spilling out over the sky/It’s just like my heart when I look in your eyes.” “Love Vigilante,” on the other hand, is another driving delight that finds her so in love that she wants to save the world; it reminds me somewhat of Maria McKee circa High Dive. The album closes with a sweet celebration of love and escape, “Coney Island.”
Garcia won’t change the world, but no music artist or group can or will, anymore. Pop culture has become too diffuse. That said, Animal Magnifique is a remarkable album that holds up to repeated listens. It’s one of my favorites of the year.
(The track list image is lifted from her Instagram page.)
The Old Grey Cat 
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