Grimes' power as a tastemaker revealed itself early on in her career.
In Amoeba’s “What’s In My Bag?”
a segment where artists go through their record store purchases Grimes' picks were discombobulating.
Credit: Grimes/Youtube
They also brought her immediate admiration.
“It takes guts to admit you like [Justin Bieber] in front of people.
(Keep in mind this was long before Bieber’s critical reclamation in 2015.)
But there was no platform more suited to showcasing Grimes' interests than Tumblr.
and people just hated on it.
I just don’t understand,” she wrote in a follow-up post.
Her views were propelled by a coherent aesthetic and strong iconography, which Tumblr also accommodated.
That worked in her favor.
Grimes has always been a expert of self-presentation.
Her knack for predicting trends was proven with her “Grimes Pussy Rings” jewelry line in 2012.
The fact that people can’t deal with vaginas, it’s like, ‘Still?
In this day and age, they’re scary imagery?’
It’s ridiculous."
Lorde, whose debut albumPure Heroinewas released a year afterVisions, cited Grimes as one of her biggest inspirations.
Lapsley, the British singer-songwriter, eased herself into music using Grimes' bottom-up methodology.
Lapsley “didn’t find her grooveuntil she downloaded GarageBand,” according to a 2015 interview with NME.
She’salso listedGrimes as an influence: “I feel like she’s coming from a similar place.”
