So what's happened in music the last 28 years or so?
Don't ask Deaky, he's not talking.
As such, the following is a mish mash of information that has since moved the industry forward. For the best? Remains to be seen.
American Idol and Its Incarnations
A British competition show called Pop Idol gave birth to American Idol here in the states. From that first season emerged Kelly Clarkson, who went on to have a very long career as a pop music artist. Her song, My Life Would Suck Without You, was the number one song the week Will was born.
Other sensations came from the show, including Carrie Underwood (country), Katherine McPhee (stage and television), David Archuletta (pop), Adam Lambert (currently touring with Queen and is a solo artist), Chris Daughtry (rock band), and Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson. Nearly 20 years later, the show is limping along, having not created a star in a while, but still pulling down the ratings.
Who Needs a Radio? Or a record album?
Someone figured out how to extract music files from compact discs, which led to file sharing through programs such as Napster and Limewire. Lawsuits ensued. This lead to the development of iTunes. Then sharing music became mainstream, and you could conjure up a song as easy as creating a streaming channel on Spotify or finding specific channels on I Heart Radio and Sirius/XM.
YouTube, Facebook, MySpace Sensations
Just two artists need to be listed here to justify these platforms as viable outlets for breaking new artists and new music: Taylor Swift and Justin Beiber. For Taylor, the song Tim McGraw broke her at the age of 15 from MySpace, a social media platform. Now, at the age of 30 and millions of fans and billions of dollars later, she is a complex, introspective artist who challenges the old boys club in the music industry to fight for her rights to her music, her career, and her brand. MySpace, once more popular than Facebook, has now become the place to find new music.
As for Beiber, he was a YouTuber who became a sensation at the age of 16, to become an international star. While I don't like any of his music, this cannot be denied. I'd put his song Baby here.
MTV Still Works
One sneering complaint from my generation is MTV no longer plays music videos. And yet, artists like Eminem, P!nk, and Beyonce have made their mark on the channel with interesting and ground breaking performances and videos that debuted there.
Who Needs a Radio? Or a record album?
Someone figured out how to extract music files from compact discs, which led to file sharing through programs such as Napster and Limewire. Lawsuits ensued. This lead to the development of iTunes. Then sharing music became mainstream, and you could conjure up a song as easy as creating a streaming channel on Spotify or finding specific channels on I Heart Radio and Sirius/XM.
YouTube, Facebook, MySpace Sensations
Just two artists need to be listed here to justify these platforms as viable outlets for breaking new artists and new music: Taylor Swift and Justin Beiber. For Taylor, the song Tim McGraw broke her at the age of 15 from MySpace, a social media platform. Now, at the age of 30 and millions of fans and billions of dollars later, she is a complex, introspective artist who challenges the old boys club in the music industry to fight for her rights to her music, her career, and her brand. MySpace, once more popular than Facebook, has now become the place to find new music.
As for Beiber, he was a YouTuber who became a sensation at the age of 16, to become an international star. While I don't like any of his music, this cannot be denied. I'd put his song Baby here.
MTV Still Works
One sneering complaint from my generation is MTV no longer plays music videos. And yet, artists like Eminem, P!nk, and Beyonce have made their mark on the channel with interesting and ground breaking performances and videos that debuted there.
Power Pop
What the Spice Girls started in 1997 with their girl power pop hasn't really gone away, it's actually gone to Vegas and numerous reunion shows: Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, N'Sync.
I'm Talking About Girls
The female solo artist has always reigned supreme: Adele, Alicia Keys, Billie Ellish, Lizzo, St. Vincent, Amy Winehouse.
Rise of Emo, Nu Metal
It's a blend of power chords, power lyrics, searing guitars, and mouthy vocalists. One of the first instances of me turning the volume down. System of a Down, Good Charlotte, Five for Fighting, My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy.
And the Award Goes To...
Back in the 80s, the Academy Award for Best Song in a Motion Picture was a frustrating category, with dried up, boring songs awarded golden statues.
And the Award Goes To...
Back in the 80s, the Academy Award for Best Song in a Motion Picture was a frustrating category, with dried up, boring songs awarded golden statues.
Either I've grown older and become the establishment, or the Academy has gotten hipper. Edgy rockers and rappers have been given their artistic due on mainstream awards shows, proving that your don't have to go with the safe choice anymore. Props to artists such as Common, Nine Inch Nails, and Tyler the Creator.
What's Old is New Again
The rise of social media has created a phenomena among the kids who not only are looking forward, but embracing the past. This has led to artists whose careers have gone the way of the county fair circuit to get a surprising late career resurgence. These artists fall safely within the Songs That Shaped timeline, but given the current popularity, I need to revisit their status and place on this list.
Why? According to my niece, who is a freshman in college, her generation "embraces the suck," which I think my generation would call a guilty pleasure. The song Africa by Toto is one of these.
There are also popular YouTube videos of teens filming reaction videos of themselves experiencing their parents music for the first time. Two twin teens recently went viral for their excitable reaction to Phil Collins' In The Air Tonight.
Dolly Parton has become a hero of social justice in these crazy times, speaking out for LGBTQ rights and Black Lives Matter. She had a limited series run called Dolly Parton's Heartstrings, which are made-for-TV movies using the themes and lyrics of some of her most beloved songs as plot lines. Peeps are going Dollywood.
What's Old is New Again
The rise of social media has created a phenomena among the kids who not only are looking forward, but embracing the past. This has led to artists whose careers have gone the way of the county fair circuit to get a surprising late career resurgence. These artists fall safely within the Songs That Shaped timeline, but given the current popularity, I need to revisit their status and place on this list.
Why? According to my niece, who is a freshman in college, her generation "embraces the suck," which I think my generation would call a guilty pleasure. The song Africa by Toto is one of these.
There are also popular YouTube videos of teens filming reaction videos of themselves experiencing their parents music for the first time. Two twin teens recently went viral for their excitable reaction to Phil Collins' In The Air Tonight.
Dolly Parton has become a hero of social justice in these crazy times, speaking out for LGBTQ rights and Black Lives Matter. She had a limited series run called Dolly Parton's Heartstrings, which are made-for-TV movies using the themes and lyrics of some of her most beloved songs as plot lines. Peeps are going Dollywood.
Eighties power hard rock/pop metal is seeing a surge in popularity, although some of us would argue it never went away. Contributing to this sensation is the miniseries Cobra Kai, which is a look back at the world created in the Karate Kid movies, only this time told from Johnny Lawrence's hot mess perspective. It's the redemption story you didn't know you wanted, but with artful storytelling, humor, pathos, and acted to perfection by William Zabka, the story you needed in these chaotic times. You may love to hate him, but Zabka's Johnny will never not be badass. I may do a post on this series alone.
No comments:
Post a Comment