An ode to Oliver Tree: the soundtrack for the genre-fluid junkie
With the soul of anthemic, big-budget rock without actually being rock at all, here’s a toast to the bizarre world of Oliver Tree and the reminders that it comes with.
Feature image via Oliver Tree’s Facebook posted June 2, 2019
Posted July 17, 2020 at 9:47 pm
Written by
Becca Carroll
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It’s a risky, but not exactly uncommon approach: take the most absurd character you can think of, and then use that as your stage persona. On one hand, you run the risk of being known more so for your gimmick than your art. But on the other hand – let’s say it all goes well – you get the total satisfaction of your gimmick being accepted as art—and, think about it, at that point you’ve won. I mean, proving you have the balls to take the risk is almost on the same level as winning an arm-wrestling match—self-inflating, sure, but f_cking pointless. Oliver Tree had a very different kind of victory in mind when he first took on Turbo-attire: according to an interview with Rolling Stone, the game is far from just about the risk.
“You can’t win unless you polarize people,” Tree explains to Rolling Stone.
“Part-man part-meme” (theneedledrop), Oliver Tree performs as the reckless delinquent, Turbo, who lives in a constant state of trouble-making, method-acting as an adolescent boy in a world of 90s fashion, weed jokes and bowl cuts. All in all, it may not seem like it would lend itself to any prominent industry recognition, but the 26-year-old has made a pretty compelling notion out of a time-old trope—if the opinions you’re inspiring aren’t extreme, then you’ve essentially inspired no one. From his bizarre viral clips (below) to his JNCO jeans to his wraparound sunglasses, the world this artist’s made is so rich in horrifically off-point trends and internet fetishes that he’s made it practically impossible to be indifferent.
It does become alarmingly clear, though, if you pay even a little attention to the world of viral content and branding, that internet and meme culture is pretty much what keeps Tree’s content thriving and well-nourished. Born in Cali and raised on an LA-approach, this is definitely an artist knows what the people want, and knows exactly how to give it to them—as long as those people are age 16-25 and have any access to the diary of public musings known as Twitter. What he’s done is read the writing on the wall, and, apparently, it said nobody cares about the guy who takes himself too seriously.
“Rings” by Pinegrove official audio via YouTube
So, are we dealing with an absurdist, or someone who’s trying to please their way to the top? When you shave away the unruly layers, the character doesn’t just stop at the surface. His soundtrack finds a tangled happy medium between rap, rock, pop, and electro-pop, forming a “Frankenstein” (theneedledrop) out of elements of mainstream and alternative music. He’s proven himself time and time again as a singer, songwriter, producer and visual artist—his debut EP, Alien Boy, struck a chord with its explosive lead vocals, catchy choruses, and killer chord progressions, along with its accompanying videos that range from him tearing it up on a Razor scooter to getting trampled by a Solo Jazz cup-colored monster truck. This EP set the tone for Tree’s industry takeover, debuting number 10 on iTunes’ charts, contributing largely to his over 150 streams earned in 2019. His electric follow-up single, “Hurt,” landed 26 weeks on Billboard’s charts, having accrued over 203 million streams to date.
“We have 4 songs streaming a million times a week in the US alone,” Tree mentions in his interview with RS.
With the soul of anthemic, big-budget rock without actually being rock at all, the music world of Oliver Tree is the soundtrack for the genre-fluid junky. Having recently announced a possible departure from the character of Turbo, I’d like to make a toast to the imaginative musical world of Oliver Tree, full of vivid 90s colors and ridiculous behavior, that serves also has a handbook to the golden rule: be unapologetically whatever the f_ck you want to be. I will hold onto hope that Turbo may be dead, but Oliver Tree just started.
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An ode to Oliver Tree: the soundtrack for the genre-fluid junky
With the soul of anthemic, big-budget rock without actually being rock at all, here’s a toast to the bizarre world of Oliver Tree and the reminders that it comes with.
culture
Feature image via Oliver Tree’s Facebook posted June 2, 2019
Posted July 17, 2020 at 9:47 pm
It’s a risky, but not exactly uncommon approach: take the most absurd character you can think of, and then use that as your stage persona. On one hand, you run the risk of being known more so for your gimmick than your art. But on the other hand – let’s say it all goes well – you get the total satisfaction of your gimmick being accepted as art—and, think about it, at that point you’ve won. I mean, proving you have the balls to take the risk is almost on the same level as winning an arm-wrestling match—self-inflating, sure, but f_cking pointless. Oliver Tree had a very different kind of victory in mind when he first took on Turbo-attire: according to an interview with Rolling Stone, the game is far from just about the risk:
A straight white millionaire male thinks it’s funny to not use his platform that will be seen by millions of people to speak up on blm. he hasn’t said one word about anything black people being MURDERED by cops and still jokes around. this is sick. #TylerJosephIsOverParty. - @aotdts
#TylerJosephIsOverParty your behaviour encourages making light/a mockery of the unjust killing of the black community by white supremacists and refusing to use your power to speak out on this issue is vile. - @touchtheleather
bro CANCEL THIS MAN #TylerJosephIsOverParty - @rejectmichaelc
By the time that I tuned in, the damage had been done and Tyler had already come out with an apology, in reference to the Tweet that set it off. What happened was, the Twenty One Pilots frontman made a tasteless joke about his fans’ requests to ‘use his platform’ (which, on Twitter alone, has an audience of about 2.2 million ) to contribute to the sweeping social justice movements that have been recurring since the police attack on George Floyd back in May. The Tweet appeared to make a pretty cringy play on the word “platform,” shown below:
So, are we dealing with an absurdist, or someone who’s trying to please their way to the top? When you shave away the unruly layers, the character doesn’t just stop at the surface. His soundtrack finds a tangled happy medium between rap, rock, pop, and electro-pop, forming a “Frankenstein” (theneedledrop) out of elements of mainstream and alternative music. He’s proven himself time and time again as a singer, songwriter, producer and visual artist—his debut EP, Alien Boy, struck a chord with its explosive lead vocals, catchy choruses, and killer chord progressions, along with its accompanying videos that range from him tearing it up on a Razor scooter to getting trampled by a Solo Jazz cup-colored monster truck. This EP set the tone for Tree’s industry takeover, debuting number 10 on iTunes’ charts, contributing largely to his over 150 streams earned in 2019. His electric follow-up single, “Hurt,” landed 26 weeks on Billboard’s charts, having accrued over 203 million streams to date.
“We have 4 songs streaming a million times a week in the US alone,” Tree mentions in his interview with RS.
With the soul of anthemic, big-budget rock without actually being rock at all, the music world of Oliver Tree is the soundtrack for the genre-fluid junky. Having recently announced a possible departure from the character of Turbo, I’d like to make a toast to the imaginative musical world of Oliver Tree, full of vivid 90s colors and ridiculous behavior, that serves also has a handbook to the golden rule: be unapologetically whatever the f_ck you want to be. I will hold onto hope that Turbo may be dead, but Oliver Tree just started.
Posted October 20, 2018 at 11:46 PM
Written by Becca Carroll
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