I'm feeling good about 2018 and nope, I'm not even gonna duck after saying that. This blog has been quiet lately, partly because I needed a break after all the year-end and movie stuff, but mostly because I've been catching up on music.
There was some good stuff I missed in 2017. Oh Lordy. In fact, one album is now my #3 favorite of the year. But we'll get to that in the next post. I have several albums I wanna discuss and well, it's taking awhile, so I wanted to at least post something in the meantime.
Unless there are major changes, my interest in mainstream pop and country is pretty much nil at this point, so expect mostly non-radio artists. Obviously, I will rave about anything great that might escape into the mainstream, and rant about anything especially egregious. But I wanna tune out the boring drone of the rest of it and focus on stuff that interests me. Turns out, there's a lot of it, and I'm gonna try to consume as much as possible while I'm in a good place without getting burned out.
Right now I'm mostly getting caught up on some country and alt-rock, since that's my main area of interest. But if this lovely feeling of open-mindedness continues, I want to try some other genres. I feel like I'm missing out on whole worlds by not getting into more hip hop, r&b, even some electronic stuff. I don't expect to like a ton of it, but even if I just get a handful of interesting, different sounding songs to pepper my playlists, I'm all in. This is inspired by my enjoyment of "Redbone," "I Feel it Coming," "It Ain't Me," and yes, even a few songs from Calvin Harris' album, of all things. But I like that. I want to be open-minded. We're living in a post-Kesha-is-awesome world, I'm all about being open.
Okay, quick "state of music." Not interested in most stuff in the top 100, but a few notes -
~ I feel like I say this every year, but I like the new Bruno Mars song. Thank you for giving me stuff to put on my best lists, cause that shit's a struggle. I love how every Bruno Mars song is about how awesome Bruno Mars is, yet somehow I still enjoy it. That takes talent.
~ Justin Timberlake - "my new album's gonna be more rootsy and organic!" First single - sounds like a robot in the shower.
~ Macklemore's last album was a bomb, but I'm happy to see the one good song, "Good Old Days" with Kesha, charting. Kesha saves the world again. It probably won't last long but seriously check it out, it's a good song.
~ "Marry Me" is a decent little country tune. Too bad it's sung by someone with the emotional range of a wicker basket.
"She don't wanna marry me. Cuz I'm a basket. Derp."
~ Nope, not even looking at the country chart with "Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line" at the top. What a joke. Shark, consider yourself jumped.
State of music (of 1982) ~ here's a weird fact for you. The person who wrote "Stray Cat Strut" knew nothing about cat genetics. The "black and orange stray cat" would be a tortie and therefore female, not a "feline Casanova." CHILDHOOD RUINED. I wonder if I'm the first person to notice this?
Okay, that's it for that. Hope that was as illuminating as mainstream music deserves.
Before I get back to work on that albums post, I think it's time for another "keeping me honest" check. It could get really hipstery up in here and I don't wanna get lost up my own ass, so here are some unpopular opinions. Enjoy my shame!
It's 2018, and I still like "Hey There Delilah."
It's 2018, and I still like Macklemore. I'm rooting for you buddy.
It's 2018, and I still like M. Night Shyamalan. This was a more embarrassing admission a few years ago before he made The Visit and Split, but he still made The Happening and I enjoy the hell out of it, so there you go.
It's 2018, and I've had "MMMBop" by Hanson on heavy rotation since 1997. No shame whatsoever, that song is a jam.
My notion of myself as a Serious Music Person takes a hit when I realize I like pretty much any song I heard while on vacation. (Except Body Like a Backroad, I'm not a BARBARIAN.)
I never minded Pitbull or Flo Rida. Fun party music is fun. It has its place. Dreary party music is the real enemy.
Sam Hunt is everything that's wrong with everything and I can't stand most of his "music" but dammit, I still think "Leave the Night On" is a decent little pop song. To justify having this song in my iTunes, I changed "Sam Hunt" to "Mr. Turdburger," because I'm the maturest person ever.
I fucking love porgs!
Okay. I feel good and humbled now.
Finally, we lost another music great at the ridiculous age of 46. There was so much wonderful music in the 90s, so many amazing female-led bands, and the Cranberries always stood out because of Dolores O'Riordan's beautiful, distinctive, soaring voice. Thank you for the musical legacy. You will be missed.
