"too old to rock and roll, too young to die."
yup.
that's me mr. tull - or rather mr. anderson..
david posted a link to one of the best music polls, the village voice's pazz and jop poll...
in reading it, i finally have come to the conclusion that pop music, for the most part, is not relevant to me anymore - and that's ok - i am, after all, not the target demographic...
take critical darling kanye west - well, i've heard a few of his songs - and, well, um - they're ok - but record of the year - really? is it on the level of stevie wonder? marvin gaye? will it sound as good in 30 years as those two artists...
the same can be said of many of the selections - some, though admittedly, not all, i have actually listened to...
when i say these things, several possibilities pop into my head - 1. pop music today really sucks 2. i am an old crank that sounds like the people in the fifties that blasted rock and roll - albeit, at least i am not calling it the devil's music, or buring records...yet.... 3. i simply don't get it....
i am going with #3, for a number of reasons - experience has taught me that when you come down to it, every era produces good music and bad music - probably in a constant proportion... i reject explanation 2 because really, i am not all that old (probably younger than most of the critics on the list) and really, i am open minded and a very eclectic listener of music...
so, it's gotta be 3.... which is ok - i've had a good run being a dedicated follower of fashion - it's not made for me, so why would i hope to get it - and why should i pretend to like it to seem that i am cooler, younger and hipper than i really am (i do wonder, however, if some critics votes are influenced by that desire...) christgau hints at this: "Never before has rock criticism been so into three of its ancient sins: cooler than thou, instant gratification, and what have you done for me lately." frankly i get a similar sense from many of the records on the list - good for a spin than never want to hear it again...
does this mean, i'll never listen to new bands and love them - no, ocassionally i have found and expect to find gems, but i think i'll be finding them a bit more off the beaten path - not among the most commercial, or self consciously 'alternative" or "indie"... in other words, i'll remain as hip or unhip as ever...
what do yo folks think - either of my self diagnosis or the state of pop/rock/hiphop/whatever 2005-6?
posted by Mike @ 10:23 AM
6 comments
6 Comments:
Hmmm...I think that most pop music through the ages sucks but that there will always be artists that stand the test of time. There is no way to know now whether Kanye West will sound good in 30 years...we just have to wait. Of course I'm saying that never having heard any of his songs. I don't tend to listen to most current pop music. But the radio station I listen to most 103.7 the Mountain (which you can listen to online) does a feature called 9 at 9 where the play 9 songs from one year along with relevant historical news items and pop culture references. I've noticed that there are songs that are great and songs that I think, "Why on earth did anyone put this crap on vinyl/cassette/cd?" I have noticed though that the bubblegum songs I loathe the most are from the era of my early to mid 20's. I'm only 31 so that's recent stuff...Anyway, sorry this comment is so long, I think it almost qualifies as a blog post on its own! And by the way thanks for being the first person to comment on my blog, I was very excited...but that might be a post of its own.
well, of course, part of pop's charm is its ephemeral nature - that being said, it doesn't bother me that records like this are on the top of the chart - the top of the chart has historically contained a range - garbage (uh, as an adjective, not the band); fun fluff; solid craftsmanship; and the occassional rare gem... from what i've heard of west, i'd put him on sthe solid craftsmanship tip - perhaps with a taste of fun fluff - not exactly my recipe for record of the year...
btw - mind if i ink to you?
Of course, the current movement in music criticism is to elevate pop music above its brethren. I'm ambivalent about that, popular music can be exquisitely crafted and performed, but its purpose is rarely to last lonfer than the chewing gum in your mouth (which also, is a good thing).
Saying that, I like Kanye's music, but am more likely to spin Blackalicious, Clouddead, MF Doom or MF Grimm when I listen to hip hop.
I'm sort of new to this blogging thing so what does "ink to you" mean?
um - "ink" to you means nothing...
i meant to type "link" to you - meaning i'd make a post about your blog - then include you on my links page
yeah that's fine!
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