September 25, 2008

Rescue Me

Once upon a time and a very good time it was I was able to taunt the young souls in my charge with boasts like "I know more about your culture than you do!" By this I meant that I knew more about popular music, television, pointless internet idiocies like the dancing baby, All Your Base, Tourist Guy, AND etc.

BOOM!

I never said I hoped I'd die before I got old or anything, but it never occurred to me that I'd quit liking ANY new music ... or to put it more solipsistically (solipsism? in a BLOG?), it never occurred to me that new music would suddenly and totally start to suck quite to the extent that it does.

Is that really what happened? If my radio is any indication, yes. The thing is, I hate thinking that I'll never hear anything new that I'll like. And I don't really believe that there's nothing good under the sun. So I put it to you: what should I be listening to?

I really don't consider myself to be closed-minded when it comes to music, though you'll probably think so if I don't like what you like. What post-2000 albums have I heard and liked, from artists I didn't already know I liked? Hmm. Tool's Lateralus. Adrienne Young's Plow to the End of the Row. Old Crow Medicine Show's O.C.M.S. Can't think of much else. Oh, the Once soundtrack.

So ... rescue me. I'll set up a Pandora station with your recommendations, and I'll listen to it for a week or so before I start nixing songs. Maybe I'll even live blog it a while, as you know I do if you've ever sent me a mix CD (even though I'll bet you don't really read my comments, do you? Kind of like my longer blog posts, eh?)

Oh, and I already know about these guys. Didn't like them that much the last time around.

7 comments:

Rosemary said...

Silly Jim! No one listens to "albums" anymore! No wonder you're feeling out of the loop...

http://michaels-mixedmedia.blogspot.com/2008/05/death-of-album.html

JB said...

Yeah, I know ... even as I wrote it I thought of that. I also order "large" coffees at Starbucks.

I've never been a fan of the "shuffle play," though. Even on my mp3 player, I tend to listen to albums (what else can you call them at this point? they're not CDs...) straight through.

Anonymous said...

iTunes --> Radio --> Alternative -->
Pirate Radio
Dainbramage
Radio Oasis
Radio Paradise
Whiskey From a Wire
YRock on XPN
Buzz Radio

And I always order "medium" -- not because I am old, but because I refuse to say "mocha grahnd-ay."

JB said...

Does this mean I have to install that heinous iTunes client?

Michael said...

I usually feel as curmudgeonly as you do about music of the New Century, but once in a while, I get a glimmer of hope. Try these:

The Decembrists, esp. The Crane Wife (an actual album; this is the only one on this list I actually think you'll like, but keep reading...)

The Wondermints (self-conscious bubblegum, but they helped Brian Wilson finish Smile)

Sloan (they would rule the top 40 airwaves in a perfect world)

Mates of State and The Bird and the Bee (low-fi indie pop; the female singer in Bird and Bee is the daughter of Lowell George of Little Feat fame)

White Stripes, but you probably already know about them

Bright Eyes (though the album I liked, Digital Ash in a Digital Urn, the real fans didn't care for so much)

Apples in Stereo

I just discovered a new album by the Dandy Warhols--don't let the precious campy name fool you, they're all about weird but melodic psychedelic sludge

And REM keeps on going an going...

Unknown said...

I've been really enjoying the "Zappa Plays Zappa" dvds I've been watching recently. Does that count as post-2000?

I'm reasonably sure that all that ails contemporary music could be cured by more vibraphone.

Anonymous said...

You don't have to install iTunes (I forget I am in the minority of Mac users). Those stations are real radio stations, just corralled into one place by Apple, and have streaming Internet feeds. Just Google