![]() The “Cooler than Me” singer lost his father to brain cancer, his friend Avicci to suicide and his friend Mac Miller to an accidental drug overdose. ![]() If I was feeling indulgent, I’d play the song again, savoring the last few minutes of Mike’s voice filling my empty dorm room before heading out to class.įor Mike Posner, 20 were years reft with tragedy. By the end of the song, the day ahead of me seemed a little brighter. I’d sing the lyrics as I pulled the corners of my fitted sheet back over my mattress in my sleep I always manage to pull them off. I’d wake up after snoozing my alarm a few too many times, roll out of bed and type “Mike Posner, Move On” into the search bar of my YouTube app. I promise, they’re worth it.Every day of my life last spring began the same way. It’s hard for music to move people-this moves and teaches and inspires. Oh, and, he may have made the best album of 2019, so far. He’s more unapologetically him than he’s ever been able to be, and it’s pretty great. ![]() Once a platinum-dipped hypebeast, Posner’s now grown a big, bushy beard and is going on a walk across the U.S. Still, he’s ditched all the polish that superstardom demands. He may not be Drake or Taylor Swift, but he’s well-known any album he released would probably do moderately well. Take the big breakout hit, “I Took a Pill in Ibiza.” The electric-infused remix was a contender for song of the summer, but it didn’t feel half as raw as anything off of “A Real Good Kid”-despite telling a story of the emptiness that comes with fame.īy achieving conventional success, Posner’s in a position now where taking a risk isn’t as, well, risky. He’s not just a pop-star singing manufactured hits written by other people.īut even with his 2016 album “At Night, Alone.,” Posner failed to achieve the rawness he always desired. He’s a Duke University-educated wordsmith, with a love for his hometown of Detroit and a passion for poetry. But throughout the sadness of his life, Posner celebrates what he had rather than meditate on what he’s lost.įor the unacquainted, Posner has been trying for a while to prove that he’s more than just “Cooler Than.” And he is. And he addresses the difficulty of dealing with love and loss in a raw way. (Watch the tear jerking “Move On” music video for the full life update.) He doesn’t deny that things have been really hard, despite the money and fame. While he was writing the album, Posner and his girlfriend broke up. I’ve heard this technique used before, but I’ve never felt so personally invested in an artist’s past than in listening to the Mike Posner Experience. He includes clips of his dad speaking in several of the songs, with the final track, “How It’s Supposed to Be,” ending with an ‘80s clip from his childhood. Posner wrote the album while grappling with the loss of his father to brain cancer and pal Avicii to an overdose. But I promise you’ll walk away thinking: “In the end, it will all be OK.” You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and you’ll scream, and then you’ll do it all over again. It’s a meditation on grief, on heartbreak, on life. “A Real Good Kid” is a therapy session in an alt-pop package. 1 with this one at all-and that’s what makes it so good. Though Posner can write hits, he’s not trying for a Billboard No. The songs feature desperate screams, awkward silence and uneasy non-rhymes. I mean, who listens to music uninterrupted, without even sending a text? And most of the tracks off “A Real Good Kid” are not designed with commercial success in mind at all. In a world where streaming is king, Posner seems crazy. He made a 37-minute record he wants you to listen to in one sitting, without interruption. Mike Posner did something novel with his latest album.
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