Originally written July 2, 2020; re-published 4/30/2024
Melophile (n): a lover of music.
I find myself thinking about music, music genres, playlists, and all other arbitrary nuances to melody that would sound pretentious and trite to anyone that would care to listen. But I just can’t stop. I blame my parents, and media. Namely, I blame One Direction. If you find yourself interested in music critique, music, and of course the beautiful band that is One Direction, follow along with me on this mad and obviously trivial journey.
The name alone sets off alarm signals in my head— any abbreviation will do. One Direction, 1D, “the boys,” and inevitably One Complexion* after the distressing and painful leave of former band member Zayn Malik. My adolescent years were spent searching the internet, watching videos, and discussing the band at every lull in the conversation.
The band gave me an unrealized opening into a world I never knew existed— my music choices broadened, my stance on the music industry changed, and my love for the art itself took on a life of its own. I learned more about myself by being a Directioner, and oh, how I wish I was joking! But there is nothing more tethered to reality than my ideas on One Direction, and how they helped mold our music industry through the age of social media.
Don’t act like this is news, the bad became a sensation the same time Twitter and Instagram took over the internet. I would say that these sites were my generation’s Facebook, but that’s not accurate. These sites were my generation’s cell phone, or our Google. We have been irrevocably changed through the creation of these social media sites, and our fondness of celebrities has changed along with them.
Celebrities now stake claim in our private lives. These people, gained or at the least maintained by our following, are no different than you or me other than their immense bank account and flight miles. Why is this important?
Because we have sensationalized celebrities for far too long, in a way that is now considerably unsuitable for daily life. Not because we want to know more about them, this is normal. What is an issue is when celebrity can upend a lifestyle, how it can archive every piece of a person’s life at such a young age that it affects everything. This is where One Direction come in.
I’ve fallen in love with watching interviews because of One Direction. At first, I watched because I loved the boys, but later it was because I wanted to learn more, and not just want could be circulated through a newsfeed.
Interviews with artists, both recorded and through written media, are more in-depth ways to learn more about their crafts.
I was starting high school the year Up All Night was released.
The only other sound that gives me the same deep “fight or flight” response is when my dad refers to me by my full name in a level tone.
*Disclaimer* : If any member or former member / close associates of said members or former members of the band One Direction read this, I sincerely apologize. Also, please let me write the memoire.
*Cracker Quartet is the unabridged, more graphic name they were called after March of 2015
