Spaceboy Pop Is Blasting Off
The trending music genre, a new sci-fi-esque branch of pop music, is being ushered in from artists like Troye Sivan, Labrinth, and Travis Scott.
By Patrick Kho
Published
not like other guys 👉👈 is a monthly musing on masculinity in the media and on the internet. Reading films, music, and online culture with a critical lens, this column is written for guys and non-guys alike, as well as for totally-unique, one-of-a-kind, ‘not like other guys’ guys!
Before the fall, I left America. My plane took off West on an August midnight, jetting away from the sunrise and from JFK Terminal 8, journeying back to a different continent. In the process, I waved friends, memories, and a home goodbye. Arriving back, I was welcomed by empty silence and the endless summer of Halfway Across the Globe. The many afternoons that followed were passed over on the living room couch, with long naps and longer aimless daydreaming. And when I wasn’t doing that, I was calling friends in the United States, delivering tell-alls over how much I missed my life in the U.S. Sedated, struggling to acknowledge where I now was, I didn’t feel anywhere. My body was here, but my mind felt far far away.
In the evenings, I’d play Troye Sivan’s “Angel Baby” (2021) on repeat from my laptop speakers. I’d lie again on the couch and close my eyes, and the song would open breathy and delicate: “I need a lover to keep me sane / Pull me from hell, bring me back again,” Troye would sing, his verse a hypnotic echo calling out to me from a distance. The synthesizer would hum warm and gentle. My ears would tingle, my body would vibrate, and I’d feel like I could float.