MILCK - IF I RULED THE WORLD

LA's Milck gets optimistic with her new pop anthem "If I Ruled The World."

We're living in a strange moment in history. On one hand, we are small, inconsequential, in the face of monolithic, nearly incomprehensible forces. On the other hand, even ordinary people have more power and influence than minor royalty or independent media publishers 100 years ago. Even an ordinary citizen could potentially sway the thoughts of minds and hearts of their friends, family, network, and community, via the power of social media, independent art, and creation. That's not evev taking into account what kind of influence an artist or musician can wield. They truly have the power to change the course of the world history.

LA's Milck has talked about her motivation for making music, citing an urge to craft "healing anthems for the human spirit." She definitely achieves that goal with "If I Ruled The World," a poppy banger about what Milck would do if she were in charge. It's not as overly-earnest as it sounds, however.

MILCK - IF I RULED THE WORLD

Yes, there is a bit of a "We Are The World'' utopianism at work in Milck's tackling of the social ills plaguing this planet. Milck's tongue is firmly in cheek, though, with Milck sounding somewhere between Suzanne Vega, circa "Tom's Diner", and Billy Joel on "We Didn't Start The Fire." If Milck were in charge, she would change everything from people signalling before changing lanes to speeding up the wi-fi to getting her music pressed to vinyl. As well as ending racism, sexism, and income inequality, of course.

"If I Ruled The World'' is striking in its personalness. She sings of global, utopian ideals yet she's clearly talking about herself, what she views as important. It's also a more intimate affair than her previous work, being less epic and more stripped-down, being largely focused around a simple piano melody and Milck's voice. Ironically, this singularity also makes it more possible for Milck to connect with as large of an audience as possible. Maybe she'll end up taking over, after all. We Are: The Guard think she'd do a great job.

J. Simpson occupies the intersection between criticism, creativity, and academia. Based out of Portland, Or., he is the author of Forestpunk, an online journal/brand studying the traces of horror, supernatural, and the occult through music, fashion and culture. He plays in the dreamfolk band Meta-Pinnacle with his partner Lily H. Valentine, with whom he also co-founded Bitstar Productions, a visual arts collective focused on elevating Pop Culture to High Art.