Embarrassments:
Late 1990s:
“You like P.M. Dawn?” said the young Hispanic maintenance worker at the office.
“Yes, I do!” said the middle-aged white guy behind the desk.
The young maintenance man’s expression was a mix of puzzlement and slight disappointment.
The middle-aged guy still likes PM Dawn, though.
Late 2000s:
“You like De la Soul?” asked the scoffing, Tupac-loving young man.
“Well,” muttered the aging white guy whose daughter was dating the young man, “it was a Father's Day present…”
“But Dad, you asked for it,” said the daughter.
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean I like it yet.” The old guy comes back with.
“Do you always ask for music that you don’t even know if you’ll like?” Tupac-lover again.
“Well...”
“Yes,” chimed in the wife.
De La Soul, by the way, is growing on the old guy.
Which is a long way to tell you that I’m no expert on hip-hop. I’m a dilettante in the very worst sense. I catch up to trends long after they’ve been designated uncool. Forever out of time, I’m trying to enjoy music made for a very specific time that is definitely not Now.
Looking a bit foolish is the price of admission.
The Decade in Genres:
But it comes in handy when your perusal of Best of the Decade lists tells you that your favorite genres are changing out from under you and that they’re well, not that popular anymore anyway.
Now I could play the There’s No Good Music Anymore card, or dig in my heels on the records that are in my comfort zone, but I practically invented FOMO so I’m going to use it to keep up with things.
But genres can be tough. At best I’m behind the times - a good year for pop and rock - with these genres I’m lucky if I’m in the same decade (or century).
The Decade in Decades:
The decade - as I experience it - comprises music released this decade (let’s call it Our Decade) as well as music from prior decades that I happened to get this decade. (Let's call it My Decade.) And why not? It’s what I’m experiencing, isn’t it?
It’s my way of making the best of the fact that we’re no longer listening to music together. We’re all in our own little worlds, so welcome to mine.
When I get around to reviewing the Pop/Rock-ish Decade, I'll make two lists. One for Our Decade and one for Mine.
The Genres Spanning Decades:
But I’m not going to bother with that now. The genres below rarely get to rise to the top of my lists because they’re swimming upstream against all that pop music I like.
So now’s not the time to make the My/Our Distinction. Below are records from all decades but I'll highlight the ones that were actually released this decade. Some may even show up on my Pop Decade lists next time.
The Unfriendliness Factor:
I’ll also use an indicator to show the “un-friendliness” of a record. Why? Well, just because Jaybee likes it doesn’t mean you will, too. As a matter of fact, it’s almost a given.
Therefore, like an Asian restaurant that puts a little pepper next to the spicy dishes on the menu, I’ll put some it next to the weirder, more daunting records. The more peppers, the weirder the record.
That way you can’t say you weren’t warned.
Punk:
Extreme genres, like hardcore punk, can only warm my heart so much. So I am no further into
Black Flag, Bikini Kill, Minor Threat or the Libertines.
Hip Hop:
The Beastie Boys and MIA can be irritating if played when other things are going on. But when I can give them undivided attention, it pays off. The Notorious BIG is just too damn depressing, and Wu-Tang is too scary. The idea of getting entertainment from other people’s pain was just too much for me.
- The Roots: How I Got Over
- Pusha T: Daytona 🌶🌶
- Noname: Room 25
- Kanye West: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy 🌶
- Kendrick Lamar: To Pimp a Butterfly 🌶
Classical:
Modern composers like Terry Riley are pretty cool but I’d be lying if I said I loved his stuff.
The World History Project has brought me more Vivaldi, Handel, Haydn and Mozart - very little of which I've gotten to the root of yet.
- Max Richter: Intra
- Beethoven: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D, Op.61
- Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue/An American in Paris
- Philip Glass: Glassworks
- Beethoven: 9 Symphonies
- Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier
- Monteverdi: Madrigals
- Gavin Bryars: Jesus’s Blood Never Failed Me Yet 🌶🌶
- Steve Reich: Music for 18 Musicians 🌶
World Music:
Franco and Sunny Ade provided pleasure but not epiphany.
- Amadou and Miriam: Welcome to Mali
- Bob Marley and the Wailer: Catch a Fire
- Mbongwana Star: From Kinsasha 🌶
- Ravi Shankar: Three Ragas 🌶
- Konono No 1: Congotronics 🌶
Christmas:
Country:
This decade is also the story of me slowly warming up to Country music again. It sure didn’t get off to a good start. I didn’t like Miranda Lambert or Brad Paisley enough at first. They did wear me down though, and some great country albums would follow:
- Robbie Fulks: Upland Stories
- Kacey Musgraves: Golden Hour
- John Prine: In Spite of Ourselves
- Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit: The Nashville Sound
- Kacey Musgraves: Same Trailer, Different Park
- Lori McKenna: The Bird and the Rifle
- Jimmie Dale Gilmore: Spinning Around the Sun
Best Jazz:
- Errol Garner: The Complete Concert by the Sea
- Dave Brubeck: Time Out
- John Coltrane: Afro Blue Impressions 🌶
- Thelonious Monk: In Action 🌶
- Thelonious Monk: At Town Hall 🌶
- Wes Montgomery: Smokin at the Half Note
- Charlie Parker: Complete 1949 Concert
- Miles Davis: Panthalassa 🌶
Electronica/Ambient:
- Jon Hopkins: Immunity 🌶
- Brian Eno: Music for Airports
- Brian Eno/Harold Budd: The Pearl
- Oneohtrix Point Never: Replica 🌶
- Arca: Arca 🌶
- Brian Eno: Apollo
- Flying Lotus: Cosmogramma 🌶
Soundtracks:
Blues:
- Howlin' Wolf: Howlin' Wolf
- Howlin' Wolf: Moanin’ At Midnight
- Muddy Waters: The Plantation Recordings 🌶
Dance Music:
So there you have it.
But I have a question for you: Do you like spicy food?
