Songs for New Worlds: A Comparative Analysis of the Debut Full-Length Works of Jason Robert Brown and Porter Robinson
Across all genres of music, a musician’s debut full-length work is one of the most commanding artistic statements that they can make. It is their foundation, a base from which they are meant to flourish, reference, and use to influence future generations. Songs for a New World, the debut major work of composer-lyricist Jason Robert Brown, premiered in New York City in 1995. The abstract staged song cycle is a favorite in contemporary theater circles. Worlds is the 2014 debut album from Porter Robinson, an American producer from Chapel Hill, NC. The work resulted from Robinson wanting to do something more unique to establish himself from the rest of the electronic music scene. In this entry, one will see how these two works, which seem completely dissimilar from each other, are in fact more alike than not.
BACKGROUND.
Jason Robert Brown is one of the most highly-acclaimed contemporary theater composers, with hit shows such as Parade and The Bridges of Madison County. He moved to New York City at the age of twenty years old. It was there that he met Daisy Prince, a performer and theater director. Together they turned many of Brown’s individual songs into a collection that was initially meant for cabaret performance. Eventually, they both fleshed out the song collection into a staged show, which became Songs for a New World. Brown has described the show as something “about one moment…hitting the wall and having to make a choice, or take a stand, or turn around and go back.” Each of the four performers in the show play various characters who face pivotal real-life decisions in each of their pieces.
In the electronic music community, Porter Robinson is a producer and DJ hailing from Chapel Hill, NC. He started producing electronic music at the age of 12 after gaining an appreciation for the genre from Dance Dance Revolution games. His 2010 single “Say My Name” reached number one on Beatport, an online music store catered to electronic music. Soon after, fellow producer Skrillex (whose real name is Sonny Moore) signed Robinson to Moore’s label OWSLA for a one-EP deal. Following the release of Robinson’s Spitfire EP in 2011, the Chapel Hill producer toured the world with his music between 2012–2013. In 2014, Robinson released his debut album Worlds, which sprung from his frustration with the commercial, mainstream scene of electronic dance music. With Worlds, Robinson channeled his interest in Japanese media, including various anime series and video games, striving to create something unique from the rest of his peers.
ANALYSIS.
Aside from a few guest vocalists, Robinson’s primary voice throughout Worlds is Avanna, the robotic vocaloid lead. Avanna is a tribute to Robinson’s interest in video games and anime, and is not too dissimilar from the signature robotic vocals used by Daft Punk, one of Robinson’s biggest influences. On the other hand, Brown’s show has four performers who portray different characters at various stages of their lives. Neither work has properly named characters or linear plot. However, one thing that does connect both works is the importance of a moment. Brown’s show captures moments of important, life-changing choices, while Robinson’s moments more so portray separate aesthetics of escapism and far-off, imaginary settings. In fact, certain Robinson songs such as “Divinity” and “Fresh Static Snow” rely on one or two repetitive lines/verses. Nonetheless, there are still parallels among the songs in both bodies of work. This next section will go further into detail on the resemblance and overlapping themes between the two works.
Three constant themes that appear throughout Songs for a New World are self-discovery, instant change, and personal fulfillment. Nowhere are these themes more present than in what is perhaps the show’s most famous number, “Stars and the Moon.” In it, a woman rejects the wholesome, altruistic offers of two suitors, and on a whim accepts the materialistic, bombastic luxuries of the third suitor. Ultimately, she looks back on her life and realizes that even with a life of luxury, she may never feel fulfilled. Although the song is a composition of Brown, this sentiment of the character in “Stars” is similar to Robinson’s time as a DJ before releasing Worlds. Robinson explained in a 2014 interview with Fader Magazine his theory of so many Top 100 DJs playing EDM (electronic dance music) only for the paychecks, not because they like it. Robinson’s critiques on DJ culture caused him to have panic attacks during his 2013 shows in Australia, even going so far as yelling “dance music sucks” at the crowd. Luckily, once the Worlds era took off in 2014, Robinson found more fulfillment and pride in his work. The influence that video games such as “The Legend of Zelda” series and role-playing games such as “Star Wars Galaxies” have on the album has “big personal meaning to [Robinson].” The fictional speaker in Brown’s “Stars and the Moon” and the real-life parallels to Robinson’s creative struggle both examine the theme of fulfillment. Whereas Brown’s character in “Stars” never quite achieves it, Robinson found fulfillment in creating music to his own niche interests.
Despite the stylistic differences between Brown and Robinson, it is a curious coincidence that their debut full-length works have a brief setting of war. Brown’s song “The Flagmaker, 1775” is about a woman during the Revolutionary War whose house is in disarray, and sews flags to keep her spirits up. She pushes forward with “one more star, one more stripe…until this foolishness is over.” Though her efforts are small, they still fulfill her and she wants the soldiers around her to be victorious. In Robinson’s circle, “Years of War” gives the setting of a fictional, centuries-long conflict. The character in the latter song takes “one last look at what (they’re) leaving behind” before vowing to “take back what the kingdom stole.” Like “Flagmaker,” “Years” examines the importance of pivotal decisions around general hostility. The speaker is empowered to achieve their goal of perseverance with determination.
Finally, both works end with beautiful but conceptually different finales. With “Goodbye to a World,” Robinson closes his album with one last robotic vocal from Avanna. The vocaloid tells the listener that though “it’s the end of the world” to “not blame (themselves).” Robinson has said in an interview with Radio.com that the idea of world destruction stems from his interest in massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). Many of these online games, such as “Star Wars Galaxies,” are gone forever once their servers shut down. Evoking nostalgia for something long-gone fits the aesthetic of Robinson’s opus. By contrast, whereas Robinson’s effort ends with a bittersweet, abruptly cut farewell, Brown ends his with a stroke of optimism. With “Hear My Song,” all four performers once again join for a comforting, uplifting swan song. The quartet reminds the listener of their personal journey through “rivers crossed,” and though it’s “dark right now” to soon believe “there will be light.” The closure of both works leaves the listener with a kaleidoscope of emotions, ranging from sorrowful mourning to hopeful, inspired dreaming.
CONCLUSION.
Though seemingly polar opposites at first glance, Songs for a New World and Worlds still have conspicuous similarities. For Brown, Songs was a small beginning, a spark for someone who later ignited his own signature style to contemporary musical theater. The characters and settings in his staged song cycle helped Brown develop the figures in his later shows such as Parade, The Last Five Years, and The Bridges of Madison County. Meanwhile, Robinson’s debut album brought in a new group of fans who were passionate about anime and video games. Touring several countries with his “Worlds” live show helped Robinson carve a path that his fellow DJ peers were not already pursuing. The Worlds aesthetic for nostalgia and 2000s video games also influenced Virtual Self, Robinson’s 2017 side project for which he received a Grammy nomination. Overall, whether in theater or in electronic music, Brown’s and Robinson’s debut works were the foundations for both creators’ illustrious careers.
