Rihanna and Beyonce (R&B) are the only two people I can think of that can drop an album like a bomb — Out of nowhere, no apparent reason, heavy impact.

There Is No Game Of Thrones

Now I’m no diva-diva* but since I’ve been young, I have always had a special relationship with music.

*Self-made flop tuna term describing fans of renowned pop-artists who know their shit through and through and know it down pat unlike me:

I played piano for ten years, trombone for five during high school.

During one of those tender H.S. years, we had the opportunity to perform in the Sydney Opera House for the Australian International Music Festival.

Probably the most important musical endeavour of mine was the home-made music video of Gwen Stefani’s solo debut “What You Waiting For?” I forced my brother to film when I was a kid — A low-budget handheld extravaganza, my costume a pair of knickers and a tinsel-glitter wig.

I won’t continue with statistics, so long as you’re aware that music accompanies a large part of my life and has always sprinkled an indescribable magic over my soul.

Also should be clear with all the R&B super fans out there, I’m being an upfront pop-dweeb here — I wouldn’t be able to list Rihanna’s studio albums in order for you, nor could I perfectly recite the lyrics to a Beyoncé song of your picking at a cheap BYO Karaoke bar one fateful night in our early 20s.

These are my thoughts. Not facts.

In 2013, on a pleasant and warm December afternoon, one unknowing pudgy little boy arrived at the train station after a day at work, waiting for the bus home.

The routine journey elasticated the day, making it feel as if time was crawl-paced, like when you get to watch a terrible C-grade film for English class that you think will be an easy lesson to get through because you don’t have to do anything besides watch a movie yet time drags real slow like it would a normal class and the movie is just revolting and you’re sitting there staring at the television in agony only to realise your teacher hasn’t even put the movie on yet and the class has just begun.

The first bus takes forever to come and then the boy remembered he still had another train and bus ride before home so he just scroll and re-scrolled through his Facebook feed on his chipped iPhone 4 and he was just so up to date but then the posts start appearing and it breaks. Beyoncé dropped a surprise new album.

The people surrounding the boy at the bus stop start crying over her existence but there are usually a few people crying over Bey’s beautiful hair or general existence at the bus stop at this time of day anyway so he didn’t take much notice but he did feel an urge to get the fuck home because Spotify and Apple Music weren’t lit yet and the boy is low-key working outlet retail and spent his last few dollars on Gozleme for lunch so there’s no way he was going near the iTunes Store store so there was just straight up no easy way to cop a listen until he got home to his MacBook (not Pro).

The album came out of nowhere, like the death of a widely known celebrity.

Suddenly the bus station felt as if it had been struck with urgency as commuters and fans alike broke into a furious sweat. Everyone just wanted to get home and torrent the f*ck out of their arvo.

Now we have ANTi, which, from my skim and slim perception, is kinda similar to that of Beyonce’s 2013 drop .

What really surprised me about both releases were the reactions and first impressions from my group of friends, who are all very much fans of R&B.

Amongst separate opinions was a common observation about both albums.

Although hands-down hailing both Beyonce and ANTi, my mates reckon there’s a lack of commercial appeal in the design and production of the music.

My friends were still down with the sound but made it clear it wasn’t the type of music they know and love R&B for, without any guilt.

I took this as an indication that perhaps both releases were made to be appreciated artistically rather than hyped up for hype’s sake, a bit like the quiet appreciation we offer fine art in a museum.

Usually I find the scheduled dispersion of pop music into the veins of planet E. to be a little fast-foody —

A flavour-enhanced meal is churned out vigorously and gifted to you probably by a greasy teenager who just got their first taste of the real world and they gift you with this delicious and mouth-watering package and it’s designed to be scoffed down in seconds, leaving you wanting more.

More.

MORE.

But as my friend pointed out to me, neither R or B cheated us when they dropped their albums from the sky.

They were both worth paying for, like the music we hear on the radio should be.

More presently, when I listen to the new R&B albums, I continue listening because I like what I’m hearing, not because of who I’m hearing.

These albums have got me thinking, what if other major players took a similar kind of stance alongside R&B?

For instance, Lady GaGa recently ‘said yes’ to saying “No,” empowering disciplined passion and the acceptance of creative individualism. David Bowie’s entire career was about defying form and stretching out of melodic complacency. Did you know Beyonce listens to Chairlift? Fun alt fact.

What if, slowly but surely, the rules of ‘appeal’ began to shrink, becoming no longer bound by radio stations or record labels who tell their audience what to listen to or who urge them to affiliate with certain genres?

What if, simultaneously, mass audiences grew more accepting and enthusiastic towards new genres and forms of music and sound?

What if our expectations of music and art and culture weren’t so fastened by the conveyer belt that is commercial radio/etc?

‘What if…’ is the thought that helps transpose my ideas to writing. Thought becomes action like batter becomes cake. And as a writer, not an R&B diva-diva or any kind of pop-culture expert… …That kind of fuel is more precious than any other I can think of.

To me, Beyonce and Rihanna have broken through the cling flimsy barrier that I once tended to place them in — mainstream, factory-made pop.

Both of these albums are a smack in the face to guys like me who think big pop superstars aren’t ‘about the music' or aren’t capable of making music that I naturally find appealing.

Both of these albums stand alongside people like Kevin Parker and Claire Boucher, who also don’t seem to give a shit about the shit people think of their art.

To me, they demonstrate commitment to the path of artistic progression, without losing sight of their creative integrity, or passion for self-expression.

Their actual music — whether an individual track or an entire album — is just a particular representation of their vision, a small fraction of their creative strength and potential.

The Explosion caused by R&B’s double drop helped show me that true substance lies within — Substance is not peripheral.

These albums (even all other music I’ve mentioned today) speak of a sonic revolution, a dawn almost as close as the digital age.

From the production, even the way in which they sing, it sounds to me far from only being concerned with making money, expanding fan base, whatever (even if they are).

Baby Boy Me

To me, all I hear is great music.

Great music by artists who happen to be crazy mainstream famous, yes.

But TBH, IDGAF. Gr8 music is great music.