Making and Visualizing Music in the Bedroom and Living House, Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic, with Billie Eilish and Fiona Apple
: Richardson, John
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
: 2026
Popular Music and Society
: 48
: 5
: 548-566
: 566
: 0300-7766
: 1740-1712
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03007766.2026.2623721
: https://doi.org/10.1080/03007766.2026.2623721
: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/515883217
This article reflects on changes in music production which impacted multimodal aesthetics before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, including a shift toward bedroom production, DIY aesthetics and reflection on mental health. It addresses how home produced music by Billie Eilish and Fiona Apple foregrounded individual and collective agency while leveraging the possibilities of new digital technologies to invoke expansive imaginary worlds. This mode of address is intimate to the extent of being discomforting, offering a window onto our present historical moment, exposing both the vulnerabilities of life in the digital age as well as some potential for disruptive transformations.