Pop Music: Individual as Capital

To be clear, this is somewhat off the Reagan topic. It is, however, a quick look into modern international pop with a focus on defining the individual through material rather than personal terms. The major example here will be Annie's "Chewing Gum" from her 2004 album Anniemal.





The history of the album is incredibly divergent: it is critically acclaimed, while also being sugar coated pop [1]. A similar divide appears in the album's creation, with Annie's initial work being a collaboration with her then-boyfriend Tore Kroknes. Kroknes would fall ill and pass within the next two years, leaving Annie's career as a set of demo tapes, half-finished Kroknes productions, and a burgeoning career as a DJ [2].

With this in mind, it's hard to see Annie as an industry-created figure. While supported by her fans and record companies, Annie manufactured a bubble-gum pop princess image while surrounded by the death of her boyfriend and producer and an underground single gaining popularity throughout Europe. She would go out of her way to connect Kroknes' death to the album without losing it's pop power:

As for the light-hearted lyrics, the singer simply resisted making Anniemal the tale of tragedy many perhaps expected.
"Of course, I was struggling a lot with things back then and in some ways it's sometimes easier to write when things aren't that easy, but I always try to make lyrics that aren't too dark.
"Tore is still there in a lot of songs, but more as a producer, as I learned a lot from him about production. Lyrically, I can't really say any one song is really about him, but maybe Heartbeat is. It's about a club I used to go to where he was DJing."

In essence, Annie avoids both cold-hearted reaction to sending out a pop song about using men as sexual objects directly after the death of Kroknes, while reinforcing her image as a creative force without the need of Kroknes. Annie appropriates the cultural capital of Kroknes life, while still honoring him in a way she feels personally applicable.


Despite the more humane use of the individual as capital in the song and album's production, the song itself is more disturbing. The "Chewing Gum" of the title refers to men, specifically, and the thrill of a new relationship. However, the thrill itself is entirely replicable: men are not individuals, but rather consumer products which can be obtained and disposed of as well. Even the more positive men (the "chocolate" of the chorus) are still labeled as commercial entities. More so, there is no brand association, effectively announcing the song as a pick-up for advertising agencies willing to sample the non-sexual elements while boosting the product.

The creation of this layered branding is what activates the commercial value of Annie. She is at once creator and industry product, sexualized object as well as sexual capitalist in the song video, and finally able to posit herself in a prime location for future use of the song as a capital entity.

So what, if anything, is the issue here? The history of Anniemal from 1999-2004 can easily be read as a woman defining herself artistically and personally despite the death of a loved one. The reading above can also define the negative, where Annie uses the production techniques of the dead to sexualize herself and create a market niche as a powerful and inspirational figure.

This is the dichotomy this project wants to explore. How can we categorize culture into positive and negative; how can the individual, regardless of political, sexual, or any orientation, affect change without the context of the work overpowering a singular message?

Here's to Reagan and Annie, capitalists of the higher caliber, whatever that may mean.