![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Dec. 19th, 2009
Most of the Best of Lists I've seen are heavy on obscure, indie label material (Pitchfork) or try to put in a little something for everyone. Rolling Stone had a baffling top 100, throwing in old war horses like Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan for the 50 year olds who still find the mag relevant, with heavy servings of Beyoncé, Kanye, and Jay Z.
Well, whatever. These lists are all subjective and again, I'm biased by what I listen to. I don't listen to a lot of rap, hip hop, country, or hard rock/metal. Most of what I like is what you'd call alternative/indie or whatever, which has been the case for the past 26 years, but not necessarily the most obscure in that genre either. I don't mind pop/mainstream.
A few notes on trends this decade. The '70s gave the world soul, heavy metal, disco, funk, power pop, rap, and punk. The '80s produced new wave, goth, dance pop, second generation ska, hair bands, hip hop, and new age. The '90s spawned grunge, third generation ska, electronica, triphop, and rock/rap. The '00s gave birth to well, the only thing I can think of is chill/ambient. It's music for folks too cool for smooth jazz and far too young for the 1000 Strings. And even that is a mishmash of electronica, world music, jazz, and new age. Back in the '80s, you had to listen to college radio to find the interesting stuff and emerging acts. Now all you have to do is watch t.v.. If it's not on "Grey's Anatomy," then it's in an iPod or car commercial.
I'm amazed at how much the music critics have overlooked because the artists aren't easily-pigeonholed, or because they've fallen out of favor with the critics, or because they haven't had a hit in a while and in the ADD world of music, they're forgotten. Some of that stuff is on here. What isn't on here? I have nothing from really tasteful acts like The Shins, Arcade Fire, Animal Collective, Wilco, or Cat Power. There's no My Chemical Romance, Death Cab For Cutie, Vampire Weekend, Fall Out Boy, or Panic!!!!1!! At The Disco. At my age, I'm lucky I've even heard of these guys, so don't complain.
And it goes without saying that I'm not counting any SW soundtrack music, otherwise "Across The Stars" would be my #1 ;).
( So, without further ado #75-61 )
Well, whatever. These lists are all subjective and again, I'm biased by what I listen to. I don't listen to a lot of rap, hip hop, country, or hard rock/metal. Most of what I like is what you'd call alternative/indie or whatever, which has been the case for the past 26 years, but not necessarily the most obscure in that genre either. I don't mind pop/mainstream.
A few notes on trends this decade. The '70s gave the world soul, heavy metal, disco, funk, power pop, rap, and punk. The '80s produced new wave, goth, dance pop, second generation ska, hair bands, hip hop, and new age. The '90s spawned grunge, third generation ska, electronica, triphop, and rock/rap. The '00s gave birth to well, the only thing I can think of is chill/ambient. It's music for folks too cool for smooth jazz and far too young for the 1000 Strings. And even that is a mishmash of electronica, world music, jazz, and new age. Back in the '80s, you had to listen to college radio to find the interesting stuff and emerging acts. Now all you have to do is watch t.v.. If it's not on "Grey's Anatomy," then it's in an iPod or car commercial.
I'm amazed at how much the music critics have overlooked because the artists aren't easily-pigeonholed, or because they've fallen out of favor with the critics, or because they haven't had a hit in a while and in the ADD world of music, they're forgotten. Some of that stuff is on here. What isn't on here? I have nothing from really tasteful acts like The Shins, Arcade Fire, Animal Collective, Wilco, or Cat Power. There's no My Chemical Romance, Death Cab For Cutie, Vampire Weekend, Fall Out Boy, or Panic!!!!1!! At The Disco. At my age, I'm lucky I've even heard of these guys, so don't complain.
And it goes without saying that I'm not counting any SW soundtrack music, otherwise "Across The Stars" would be my #1 ;).
( So, without further ado #75-61 )