On the comments from the last post, obviously I have heard the song “I Can See Clearly Now.” I think everyone has heard the song. The thing is if you asked me who sang it I would have drawn a complete blank and I think that would be true for most people. Now if you asked me who Jimmy Cliff is I would say things like “the father of reggae” and “the harder they come” and would support him in the hall. I just found it odd that I couldn’t make a connection between the man and his music.
On ABBA the point that Klosterman makes and that I did a poor job in summarizing is that ABBA is a genre unto themselves. In that you don’t say “Mamma Mia is filled with ABBA songs” you say “Mamma Mia is filled with ABBA Music.” There is a difference between the two. Yes, there are bands like Ace of Base that try to make the same point musically but they just aren’t the same. The best example Klosterman could give is the Grateful Dead where no matter how many jam bands you see they a) aren’t the Dead and b) really can’t match up to them no matter what they try.
Oh and if you want to get a sense of who will be inducted into the Hall twenty years from now just look at who Billboard has named the group of the decade: Nickelback. Yes, the band that gives douchebags a bad name. Brittney Spears was also named one of the top artists of the decade as were the Black Eyed Peas and Creed. It was a sad decade to be a music fan at least of albums that sold.
(That is not entirely true though. Next week I will do my albums of the decade and several match up with what Billboard and Paste have listed. They might not all be bestsellers but they are great listens.)
I’ll end with some more Best of the Decade notes as Tiger Woods was named athlete of the decade. His interactions with porn stars aside I’m pretty sure that this is a safe bet as the proper choice. He was the top golfer year in and year out for the entire decade and no one ever really challenged his position as the best. The other arguments that I have heard are for Roger Federer (amazing performance made slightly less so because no one watches tennis), Lance Armstrong (inspirational cyclist who may or may not be chemically enhanced) and Michael Phelps (though being the best swimmer may also be defined as being the best at avoiding drowning.) That would really be your top of the class. There is no Jordan equivalent this decade in terms of top athlete in a main sport who rewrote the entire nature of the sport. You can hate his personal life but Tiger was the best athlete of the decade.
Best videos of the decade: I know this is a video made up of movie clips but we really need to give a big shout out to O Brother Where Art Thou? It really did bring back an interest in old timey country music. True, the charts are still filled with Carrie Underwood songs but for a moment at least country music actually topped the country charts.
2 comments:
"amazing performance made slightly less so because no one watches tennis"
no one in America anyway. the rest of the world watches and appreciates the fact that we have been watching a living legend in Roger Federer.
What did one Deadhead say to the other Deadhead when they ran out of drugs? "Man, this music really sucks."
Umphrey's McGee is way better than the Dead musically and because Jerry Garcia never wore a Tommy Zbikowksi jersey on stage at Bonnaroo.
Woods vs. Federer is a tough call for athlete of the decade. Woods hasn't won a major since 2007, Federer didn't win a major until 2003 but still dominates. Edge goes to Federer because he won 15 out of the 40 majors in the decade while Woods only won 12.
America does cre about tennis and golf as long as you bring meth, wigs, reality show contestants, and p0rn stars into the story,
Post a Comment