Several weeks ago, when I decided to begin this series of editorials, I was immediately hit with a crippling sense of what I thought was writers’ block. I mean, the first column has to be an important one, and I wanted to capture that grandeur by covering the largest thing ‘happening’ in music right now. And that’s where this problem came in. There is, at this moment, no absolute must in music. There is no center point. No mast to guide us. We are all lost in an increasingly vast sea of equality amongst sources, artists, and fans. There is no ‘biggest band in the world’, no ‘show of the year.’ There is no ‘movement’ to follow in music. The buzz is gone, and probably isn’t coming back.
Think about any period of time between Elvis and now, and you’ll think of a single musician thatâ€â€if not completely dominated that particular timeâ€â€represents your memories (or your media memories) of the time. Now, part of the problem I’m having right now stems from the increasing popularity in music. As the beat generation became hippies and then stoners and then yuppies and gen-x’ers and all that labeled stuff, pop music became both less condemned by the general population and more accessible, thereby rapidly increasing it’s audience. When there is more of something, it becomes more difficult to define, and that’s why, if you think of the late seventies to now, the amount of artists and bands one thinks of (in a certain year or so) becomes larger and larger. That’s not to say there was less singlehanded domination by a certain artist. There was simply so much more ground to cover.
Still, I can vaguely sketch out the same sort of ‘trends’ or ‘movements’ as pretty much anyone else would about the last fifteen years. New wave and hair metal dominated the late eighties, followed by grunge and hip-hop from ’89 to about ’95. Following that, the largely undeserving genre of corporate-contaminated candy pop (or CCCP) dominated the public consciousness for almost seven years. It was accompanied to the dance by the equally corporate-designed nu-metal, which never bloomed beyond adolescence but caused enough blip on the radar to be noticed (and subsequently mocked).
Hip-hop was the last major ‘movement’, developing finally from grassroots independence to ‘bling’ status between ’98 to 2005, when one can at once call the genre dead (the release of Monkey Business) and better than ever (the releases of Be & Late Registration). History shows us that this cross-road is the time when those in control of these ‘movements’ cuts the fat, keeps the good stuff, and begin testing the waters elsewhere. Guns N Roses survived the end of hair metal (more or less). Morrissey survived new wave. Pearl Jam survived grunge. Beck survived that weird period between 94 and 96 when really eclectic stuff was allowed on the radio (remember Butthole Surfers?) I have a feeling Common and MF Doom will survive the end of over-exposed mainstream hip hop, but I really don’t know about Kanye. But nobody ever knows until years later, so anything at this point is blind speculation. Hell, in 2015 we might all be thinking how great that ‘Jenny From The Block’ was.
The problem right now is that to ask people ‘what’s hot right now?’ would be pointless, because you’d get a thousand different answers. Here’s the top ten from muchmusic this week: Madonna, Pussycat Dolls, Mariah Carey, Hedley, Eminem, Coldplay, Our Lady Peace, Fall Out Boy, Beyonce, and Kanye West. Here’s the top 10 from woxy.com: (in)Camera, Morrissey, The Raconteurs, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Flaming Lips, Cat Power, Arab Strap, Dead Heart Bloom, Mellodrone, and Wolfmother. And here’s the top 10 from NME: Arctic Monkeys, The Strokes, Babyshambles, Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Chiefs, Bloc Party, Oasis, the Killers, Maximo Park, and the Libertines. This list runs a huge gamut of genres, tastes, ages, and attitudes. But not a one of them stand above any other. None can be said to be ‘leading the pack’ or any of that hyperbole. Is this as simple as saying that pop music’s popularity means that there can be so many front-runners? Or have the big-wigs that used to control our perception of music lost all control?
The obvious solution to this question is that of course they have, and the giant elephant of a reason for this is the advent of the net. Here’s a quick comparison between business models. Before downloading began, the only real way to hear a new track was through FM radio. The record company would release a single to the station, who would play it depending on it’s initial popularity. Based on this, the company would release more singles, and eventually everyone would either own the album and love it or calling the station, begging them not to play anymore of that shitty band. Singles were always placed 2-3 months apart, so that the market would never be flooded with too much from each artist or band. Now, as soon as the net started to gain steam, this model became completely defunct. Entire albums are available within minutes (depending on your ISP), free previews, free mp3s, free album streams, and free press have made music radio, music magazines, and music television obsolete. The only reason these three institutions exist is because not everyone has access to a computer, and because some people have been brainwashed to the point where they think MTV is all there is. The question is no longer which way is winning, the question is, how long does MTV have left?
It’s a classic cliche, but the big, giant corporations have become too slow for the market. The reason that there is no big ‘buzz’ for anything right now is because the artists being showcased on the big screens are too old already. The suits won’t gamble on any sort of risk, so they ride their money makers until they’re dry. There’s nobody that anyone ‘needs’ to see right now because we’ve all seen these guys too many times. I mean, compare the Muchmusic list above to the Woxy one. Which set of artists seem boring to you? Which set would you rather see in concert? As a friend of mine, a local musician and comedian (next act Feb 25th at Yuk Yuk’s in Toronto) said to me a little while ago; “I think the mainstream has no control over trends anymore. They are still feeding us pop-punk, and we’ve all moved on. The mainstream is like the middleman. But I’ve found the direct supply, the internet.”
The Grammy’s are a perfect example of this problem. It’s a very poorly kept secret that the Arcade Fire have been the torchbearers for the ‘new sound’ happening in the indie scene. They’re not the center of it (pitchforkmedia.com is, really) but they’re pretty much the first band that comes to mind. Their debut album, Funeral, released September 2004, won Pitchfork’s Album of the Year for that year. It wasn’t listed as a nominee for the Grammy’s in 2004, or 2005, but in 2006 they’re nominated, twice (best Alternative Rock Album and best Song Used in a Soundtrack(Cold Wind, Six Feet Under)). What happened here was not that the Grammy’s missed it the previous year. The fact is the folks over at the Grammy’s probably didn’t know the Arcade Fire existed until late this summer, when their videos finally started playing on tv. This is long after everyone who knows indie music had digested the album and moved on to the next thing. It’s to the point where if MTV picked The Arcade Fire to be the next big thing, it would be too late.
Even Win Butler, lead singer of The Arcade Fire, had this to say about it during a rolling stone interview done recently: Rolling Stone: Was there disbelief? Win Butler: No, it was more like, ‘didn’t this record come out last year?’…At least we’re not like one of those bands that’s been around for, like, fifteen years and gets nominated for Best New Artist.” (Credit: Stereogum & Rolling Stone)
I want to say that this isn’t a bad thing, but it really is. This gap between new music and ‘big’ music is widening, and with it, the people on both ends. Think about it. How difficult is it to have a conversation about music with someone who knows significantly less or more than you? It’s getting to be pretty damn impossible. Will this continued breach between the two worlds end up affecting the real lives of people everywhere? I really don’t think this problem is as minuscule as it sounds.
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Chris Lamb gives us a peek at a lovey dovey mix tape.
So does Mathan.
Aaron says goodbye.
Toby B beat me to Jenny Lewis, but did a good job on it.
Tom D’Errico, like me, starts anew.
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