Jack Stauber: A New Way to Make Pop Music
Jack Stauber is an indie-pop artist from Pennsylvania who makes music videos with 80’s VHS style graphics, accompanied by a catchy vibe, usually upbeat. But while it may sound cheery, the lyrics hold a darker tone, similar to the song “Pumped up Kicks”, where the meaning for the lyrics is hidden behind the tropical tune, though not all of his songs contain such dark content.
Stauber is also known for the somewhat strange and eerie animations that he creates that sometimes go with his music. These animations usually hold, like his songs, an alternate meaning beyond just the surface level, yet some are just for a chuckle. His animation style mixes 3D assets, usually clay models, with real world objects, most notably teeth. Some other animations feature a more cartoony style, made with MS paint assets, which somewhat resembles a rougher style of the show Adventure Time.
His most popular song, "Buttercup," is praised for its instrumental work, and its nostalgic 80’s theme. With 71 million views on YouTube and 172 million on the fan-made music video, the song has become popular within internet culture, following the creation of the “Chiptune” cover of the song, which was popularized with the meme format of “Wholesome memes,” most notably the dancing ferret.
Through "Buttercup," Pop Food is Stauber’s most popular album, as it has both "Buttercup" and "Oh Klahoma," two of his most popular songs. Pop Food is an album that contains a mix of pop, lo-fi, and retro songs, with a 80’s/90’s theme. The album has 12 songs, which all have different musical vibes; when listening to the entire album, there will be some notable variations in the songs' genres, which is somewhat of a recurring theme in HiLo as well.
HiLo is Stauber’s latest album and the fourth album he has released. This is his second most popular album, with the song "Dead Weight" being the most popular, amassing around 9 million views on youtube. The album contains a song selection of pop, rock and funk. With 13 songs, it’s a lengthy album, but not his longest. HiLo takes its form as another album spin to his style of a cryptic message when it comes to the lyrics and ideas behind them.
Stauber's earliest albums, Finite Form and Viator are both quite different to Pop Food and HiLo, as instead of having a pop-based theme, Finite Form takes the idea of relaxation into mind, an idea shown off on the cover for the album. While the album is quite rough compared to his later works, he made this album when he was 16. Viator, named after an obscure synonym for “traveller,” is a folk album with mainly acoustic instruments. From an interview with Stauber, he said, “I made Viator while dealing with a lot of loss. Making it helped so much. Every night that summer I made a new song. While making it, I had no initial plans of releasing it.”
An addition to his lists of albums, he has another “band” where he uploads small musical videos that he calls “Micropops."
To summarize, Jack Stauber is an indie-pop artist from Pennsylvania who uploads small musical videos and quirky animations alongside having 4 solid albums. He hides his messages and themes behind lyrics that have left people confused to their real meaning. He's an up-and-coming pop sensation who is worth the time it will take you to check him out.