A couple few years went by and the Outhere Brothers, Scatman John, the Rednex and Shaggy all released songs that swept the nation for about a year. Petro Motion Jeans (the ones with the barcodes and the leather leg straps) and Air Max trainers were the thing to be seen in, although my mother wouldn’t let me have the jeans. Music then was perhaps not as creative as it was a few years before, but you couldn’t help turning on Atlantic 252(LW) to hear the latest Prodigy or Seal song being played. In the mid to late 1990s everyone was concerned with more romantic stuff. This was mid-puberty for me and my friends, so the songs that would be best to get the girl were priority. Celine Dion was after releasing her now infamous (at least in my book) “My Heart Will Go On”, R. Kelly was singing songs about turning back the hands of time, Will Smith was perhaps the only person writing fun songs like “Men in Black” and “Wild Wild West”. Needless to say, music taste as not a primary concern, it was more about what simply made you feel good or what could get you some, if anything. As well as this, boybands were ruling the roost. There was the ‘war’ between NSync and the Backstreet Boys, you either liked one or none but, you couldn’t like both. When I was finishing secondary school, I started to take stock of the music I liked and realised that most of the stuff I had accumulated, with the exceptions of Pulp’s “Different Class” and The Fugees’ “The Score”, was garbage that I probably never really enjoyed but listened to, to ‘fit in’. A friend of mine had encouraged me to start going to gigs and we saw some pretty amazing indie groups none of whose names I can't remember but the atmosphere in these bars and clubs was outstanding.
When I started college, I started attempting to play music, with no success whatsoever, but developed a knack for singing and got pretty good at it too (still am, ha-ha). This has definitely influenced the kinds of music I have listened to since then. Lenny Kravitz, Stevie Wonder, Brian McKnight and Donny Hathaway took me a long time to find but have had a place in my music collection ever since and I will be going nowhere without them for years to come. Music to me since then has never been about someone’s ability to shred a guitar or do an amazing solo on any given instrument (while I can still appreciate it and often do); it has always been about the vocals. From listening to Donny Hathaway, I learned that you don’t have to sing to the melody of the instrument, but you just have to make it fit. Brian McKnight’s music was a personal tutor on how to move from a lower to higher register using middle voice and head voice. Lenny Kravitz gave me notions of passion and thought me to read into lyrics rather than taking them at face value. And Stevie Wonder (most notably his song “I Believe” from ‘Talking Book’[1972]) taught me about manipulating an audience by carrying a single note and turning it into an all-encompassing pair of vocal arms that can both embrace people or push them away. These four gentlemen undoubtedly sculpted my taste in music and, I think, without them, I would never have become to appreciate music the way that I do. They also opened doors for me, to other music. I doubt I would ever have liked Hendrix, Gallagher (Noel, Liam and Rory), Clapton, Dylan or Pink Floyd had I not have become enthralled in learning how Kravitz and Co. did it before hand. It also opened my mind to musicians that are, in some eyes, frowned upon but who have definitely influence my music tastes.
Justin Timberlake, often written off by self-proclaimed music buffs, is perhaps one of the most talented musicians to emerge in the last 10 years. And, yes, I said musician…the man can play several instruments proficiently and has written the majority of his own songs…something that neither Sinatra nor Elvis did. His first album was a success, although admittedly not the most creative music ever, but it was his first solo project so I cut him some slack. His second album is arguably the single greatest album to top the music charts this century to date. It is a side-step from the boyband-esque material that prepared him for the music world as a solo artist, and a leap forward from his last project. It blends genuine instruments with synthesizers and does so quite beautifully, as can be heard on his “LoveStoned/I Think That She Knows (Interlude)”. John Mayer has stated that he believes the song is a step in the right direction for pop "Not so much for the 'LoveStoned' part, but for the 45 seconds of ultimate sonic bliss that is 'I Think She Knows,’”. And in fairness, when you are John Mayer and can play a guitar like that and write some of those lyrics, it might be worth paying attention or at least making a note. I certainly agree with Mayer, the song is great and is enhanced by the interlude. Timberlake is, in some regard, the trend-setter of the decade. However, while his sophomore release is a huge step higher than his previous endeavour, I can’t help but possess a curiosity for his next album. It will be, at least for me, the most important piece of work he may ever release on his own.
Since Timberlake’s triumph in 2006/07, music has gone down a path of repetition. It’s often difficult to differentiate between writers as everything sounds much the same since “Futuresex/Lovesounds” was given to the world. This in some respects emulates what occurred when Michael Jackson set the standard in the music world. From his synchronised dance routines which were quickly copied by the Madonnas and the New Kids on the Blocks of the time, musicians, certainly those in the mainstream, seem to take an idea and replicate it with no more than a few minor alterations. This perhaps is where indie groups and performers find their place in music culture. They become noticed for walking against the crowd and brushing contrary to the grain. Groups like The Frames, The Klaxons and performers like Nerina Pallot, Paolo Nutini, Katy Perry and Lily Allen are treasured by music lovers because their style is not as amorphic as their commercial rivals.
But where does this leave music, when we examine its current state, the cycles that occur time and time again and the small rays of hope that often go overlooked? Perhaps in the same place it was twenty years ago when the Red Hot Chili Peppers and R.E.Ms of the world were trying to find their audience. They seem to all have to take the scenic route to universal recognition. Is this fair? Of course not! Should we stand for it? Do we have a choice?
When I was a kid, trends were being set as well, they always have. People always did something different that was either jeered at or pissed on for a while. If anything, some of these groups should consider themselves fortunate. They aren’t under the same pressures as the likes of Michael Jacksons were after he released his masterpiece, one that could never be topped despite several admirable attempts. It’s not fair to say things like “Yeah, but these guys should be on top, now!” we shouldn’t be saying that. Why take something good, force it to be brilliant and then spend the next decade telling them how bad they have become since they sculpted some of the greatest art conceived by the human mind? It is one of the curses that one seems to succumb to after a lifetime of music loving. There are injustices in the way music is appreciated. We all think that what we like should be No. 1. We know what rocks because we “have been a connoisseur for decades”. We also all have our guilty pleasures that we keep hidden from the real world. I, for example, love throwing on “Sign your Name” by Terence Trent D’Arby after a long day (much to the dismay of housemates and neighbours). But I could never play it on the Jukebox in my local bar. Think of the heads that would turn! Or would they? This brings me to my final remark...
As someone who has been an admittedly distant admirer of Rap & Hip Hop one thing seems fiarly apparent; most of the music being released in the Rap & Hip Hop genres sounds the same. It's almost like that tacky 80s music that we look back on and cringe at now. All the rappers look the same, gauded up in the latest bling bling, which in most cases seems to physically weigh more than the performers themselves (cf. Lil Wayne). As well as this, the lyrics are more or less the same in each song. If it's not about some 'gangsta' guy and his "bitches n' hos" it's about the repeated struggles of some psuedo convict and their path to what is good. The videos are all the same; throw in some scantily clad vixens with round posteriors and make sure they are easy on the eyes and it seems you have the makings of a platinum selling album. Yet, music critics seem not to notice this. While I realise that there are definately trends and fashions in music, is it too much to ask for some originality? The genre is fortunate that it has some pioneers that seek other means from which to draw acclaim. And, as much as I hate to admit it, if it takes Eminem dressing up as some pornstar looking to start 'nailin Palin', at least it's original...and funny!
So play your Terence Trent Darbys and your Showaddywaddys. Blast your Vanilla Ices and MC Hammers...people may laugh...but you'll have the last laugh when it's their music that's being jeered at by the next generation of music oficianados!! They might say you are jumping on a bangwagon or something like that, because you haven't got the latest indie album by 'this' particular band or the lastest worldwind pop groups latest iTunes release. The liklihood is that few, if any of these 'artists' will be written into the record books for their music greatness. Those who are, you can bet that they were shunned by someone for being too this or too that, but managed to have some small impact on the music world. At least you might be able to say that you were into some of them at the time...and that's about as good as it can get.
