This was probably the first year I spent more time listening to music streamed off the internet than any other kind of music consumption. I didn't even want to download an mp3 and open it in itunes, let alone go to a store and purchase a cd. I'd stream a few songs from a group off myspace or youtube and decide which one's I liked. So I can't say I listened to very many albums, and a best of list would be a joke.*
I could attribute this to a kind of anhedonia I briefly experienced this year, but I'd rather generalize and postulate this was the year in which following music crossed over from pleasurable to arduous. I think everyone who listens to music, reads pitchfork, or has mp3 blogs as bookmarks has felt burned out by the hype cycle in the last couple of years. I feel like I now consume music more than I discover it or is pat of a consumption experience. The sheer inescapable ubiquity of "new music" in bars, restaurants, retail stores, and online has in some way enervated the pleasure of discovery. Pandora and itunes genius don't enhance my enjoyment of music. Whereas a song or album used to be the soundtrack to important moments or various lengths of time, music is no longer a part of the fabric of my life. Maybe it's age, or maybe it's the fact that for the first time in about a decade my tastes no longer aligned with prevailing taste.
Matt touched upon this in his post, and this is something we've discussed together, but I don't think I understand the music of bands like Panda Bear, Grizzly Bear, Animal Collective, (to a lesser extent) Dirty Projectors and Deerhunter. And I like some songs by each of these bands here and there. But in what situations would I leave any of their albums on as an LP? Having a beer at home, hanging in a bar, sitting in a coffee shop, browsing the internet, cooking? Maybe at Itty's magical campground? Perhaps I can't connect with these bands because their purpose is for me to stop what I'm doing and listen to their sweet avant-sound collage eventually find conventional song structure. But that shit is not compelling to me at all. And even the singles often don't go down well, till I watch the music video, or David Byrne okays them. But I'm already calling Yeahsayer as the next group I hear everywhere, and what can you say about a group that does this as a music video?[(Youth + back to nature + facial massage + faceless horseman+flying faces)-irony]; all to indicate how empowering being young and awesome is. [?]
One last note: I think there are more formats competing for our attention. Whereas popular music was once revitalized and energized by the advent of the mp3 and the ipod, it seemed increasingly marginalized and displaced by the advent of newer, more exciting forms of technologies (e.g., 3D, iphone applications, gaming, kindles). So the acceleration of music hype - time = diminishing returns. Caveat: While the mp3 song seems somewhat marginalized, the music video appears to be entering a golden age. Incredibly potent, technologically state of the art, and amazingly creative. I can't believe MTV now endlessly runs Men in Black, Into the Blue, and South Park instead.
*Songs/Acts/Videos that I did like:
-YYY's It's Blitz and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
-Empire State of Mind, Brooklyn (we go hard), the video for DOA
-There were Los Angeles people like No Age/Abe Vigoda/Waaves/Vivian Girls/Drums who I couldn't say I listened to their albums, so much as ambled across their videos, myspaces, concert photos. Effortlessly cool, youthful, tunes and fuzz, and always making just the proper gesture.
-Singles from Jay Reatard and Barr
-Videos for Dead Weather, Grizzley Bear, Bodies of Water
-Pavement B-sides like Frontwards, Harness Your Hopes
-Finally I want to a shorty to tell her, you my everything, and who told you to put them jeans on. 2010, be kind.
Breakthrough Acts of the 00's:
Superstars: Beyonce, Justin, Eminem (though he fell off)
Rap: TI,Wayne, Kanye, Jeezy,
Indie Rap: Doom, Clipse, Ghostface
Indie Rock Mainstream: The Strokes, The White Stripes, Arcade Fire, Kings of Leon, Cat Power, YYY's, Modest Mouse, The Shins, Ben Gibbard
Indie Dance/Hipster: LCD Soundsystem, MIA, Animal Collective, Girl Talk, Daft Punk
Borderline Successes: The Streets, Arctic Monkeys (only borderline cause I didn't like the new album), The Hold Steady, Spoon, TV on the Radio, Phoenix
Casualties: Interpol, Franz Ferdinand, The Flaming Lips, DJ Shadow, Clap Your Hands, Bloc Party, The Futureheads, Libertines, Rawkus, Dan the Automator, The Rapture, The Hives
Houdini: R Kelly
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1 comment:
Great post, Mark. On technology/hype/sound, my feeling is that this decade was the death of careerism. As labels fell apart, and you got less and less money/marketing support to sell your album, bands had to make a splash early and loudly among all the clutter of the blogosphere. Songwriting/sustainability felt less important than individuality, and we music fans suffered for it. The great albums of this decade were uniquely amazing, but few of those bands (CYHSY, Strokes, Unicorns, Hot Hot Heat) were given much support/guidance for evolving their sound and making multiple great records. A frustrating consequence of this era.
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