Never before have I questioned the actual artistic merit of the music that listen to more than 2009. During that year (I say that because we are living in a new decade now), I easily discovered more new music than the previous few years combined. I did this by heavily increasing the number of music websites I check out and browse through. Some frequent visits were to the heavy hitters in indie music criticism (Pitchfork, Stereogum), various music blogs (Gorilla vs. Bear, I Guess I’m Floating, La Blogotheque), and a few more sketchy websites that post the newest full albums as soon as they are out or leak, whether they are just recently signed or big-name artists (Nodata.tv, Bolachas, Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers). Also, it is also worth mentioning that I got about 20 gigabytes of new music from my friends here at Wheaton College in Massachusetts. But, through this process, I started to stumble across a number of artists that made me unsure of the actual quality of their music or why I was listening to it in the first place. Was it just to fit in and have something to talk about at the dinner table? Or is this actually as great as everyone says, and I’m the fool? Do I just not get it?
One artist that made me think the most about this was Neon Indian, who released this first LP this year, Psychic Chasms, to a high level of critical praise. I had recently discovered Washed Out (a.k.a Ernest Greene) and his work and was enjoying it immensely, and since people all over the internet were lumping these two artists into same ludicrously named category (“chillwave” or “glo-fi”), I decided to check him out and see what all the fuss is about. I looked on Google through the blog search engine and found it within minutes (what a strange age we live in where vernacular like this is now the norm and music is so easily discovered and then stolen…but, I digress), and began to listen. A few of the songs easily caught my attention with their catchiness and hazy synths (which I have learned this year that I am an absolute sucker for), but a few others I thought just sounded like shit.
The one of these tracks that comes to mind is “Should Have Taken Acid With You”, about halfway through the album. It opens with a short blast of noise like a dischordant car horn while a drum machine plods away in the background. Then, synths enter, flowing like ripples on water while heavily-wavering vocals state the title of the track. It’s not easily listening, and upon my first experience, I skipped to the next track within 30 seconds in disgust. A few months later, Pitchfork Media (which I frequently check for music news, they’re incredibly up-to-the-minute on that stuff) posted it in their top tracks of the year at #74. Needless to say, I was very surprised, and since I hadn’t given that track the time of day for some time now, I decided to give it another shot. I listened through a few more times, and found myself getting into the beat and the feel of the song, tapping my feet and bobbing my head. Then, it hit me: why do I suddenly like this? What changed between now and then? Did I seriously broaden my musical horizon? Or is my mind being fooled into enjoying this now that it’s considered “cool” to do so? Perhaps it’s just because of the mood that I was currently in. All of these thoughts crossed my mind at the time, and they continue to whenever I listen to this song.
Since I can no longer fully trust myself with matters concerning music criticism (at least with new and barely established bands like Neon Indian), I have begun to lose trust in music critics on the internet as well. For all I know, they may be falling for the same tricks as I am. I have started to wonder if all that it takes for one of these bands to get big is for one website that is considered “in-the-know”, musically, to give the thumbs up on their work, and suddenly, they are considered by all to make “good” music, or possess some sort of artistic merit. Perhaps this is me being paranoid. Or, maybe I’m on the right track of tracking down this problem…if there even is one.
If there was one band this year that made me question my taste while also making me feel like a total asshat, it was the Dirty Projectors. I had never heard their name be dropped until this year, and I sincerely doubt very many others had, besides the hippest of hipsters. I knew nothing about their music, so I was going into listening to it with a clean slate in that sense. But, on the other hand, I was half-expecting an “art-rock masterpiece” (whatever that means) based on the reviews I had heard so far. So, I found it, downloaded it, threw it on my Ipod, climbed into my hammock and a perfect summer’s day, and listened. And I hated it.
The main reason for my hate was the visceral, physical feeling that I got from the album. The closest thing I can equate it to is seasickness. The rapidly-shifting tempos and time-signature changes not only made me feel ill, but it also felt like they we showing off to me. Mocking me, as if saying to my face, “Look at this kid. He doesn’t get us. We’re too good for him.” Perhaps this contributed to that nauseating feeling. So, in my anger and confusion, I put the album away for a number of months, out of mind and out of sight. But, we began to reach the end of the year, and many lists and discussions were made concerning the best music of 2009. The Dirty Projectors were appearing on a number of these lists (rather high up, I might add), but I still was keeping my distance from Bitte Orca. It was not until a number of my friends and my brother (who I share a strikingly similar musical taste with) kept on singing its praises that I decided, reluctantly, to give the album another shot.
I shuffled through some of the songs, and found myself starting to get into a few of them. Those abrupt swings in tempo still threw me off somewhat and felt kind of awkward, but I could deal with it. I didn’t like all of the songs, but I was noticing the lyrics more and the subtleties in the instrumentation. It all showed artistic prowess and experience. I was impressed. The problem was, this still just wasn’t stuff that I could see myself listening to for enjoyment on a regular basis. So, what does that leave me with? A “good” album that I will never enjoy? Sure, plenty of works of art, especially in music, reveal more bits and pieces upon increased listens/viewings, but with this album I just wasn’t feeling it. I wasn’t curious enough. And I knew, deep down, that even if a lightbulb appeared above my head and I suddenly “got” this music, it wasn’t going to greatly affect me the way other such notably complex albums have (ex: Kid A, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot).
The other day, my brother made a list of his favorite music of the year. Bitte Orca was on that list, and he put “Temecula Sunrise” as one of his favorite tracks off the album. So, yesterday, as I was in the car, I threw it on. And, much to my surprise, I found myself enjoying it much more that I ever had before. I was headbanging to art-rock, something I am loathe to say due to it sounding so ridiculous on paper, but is worth stating because it is a known fact that whenever someone headbangs to a song, you can tell that they are enjoying the hell out of it. Then, I left the car for a while and was hanging out with some friends, and all the while, the chorus to “Temecula Sunrise” was stuck in my head and issuing involuntarily from my lips. I couldn’t help it. As soon as I got back into the car again, I threw it back on and played it 3 times in a row. It was at that point that my mind went to the same place it did after listening to the Neon Indian album: why am I enjoying this so much? The only difference was that this time around, it wasn’t so much the internet telling me what was cool so much as my musically-inclined friends, whose opinions I hold in high regard.
It was that point of headbanging in the car yesterday that brought me to this point, this need to write about my feelings, and this crossroads. I am uncertain of how my musical interests will change in the months and years to come, but I am excited to see what happens there. As for the music industry itself and the ability for artists everywhere to easily distribute their work to the masses, I am certain that this will only increase exponentially. More places to distribute means more opportunities, and more opportunities means more musicians. Whether a sort of filter will be put in place for sorting out the good music from the bad (although that’s highly subjective) or a method for automatically finding what music we would like most, I do not know. But, I do know that these are exciting times that we live in, both for the musician and the audience, and it would be wise to stay on this roller-coaster and enjoy the ride.
