Brother, can you spare a DRM?

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

I remember around the time of Bush getting in and the dotcom bust a few articles (that great pop seer Jim DeRogatis may have written one!) saying, ah well at least this will be good for music as recessions mean a return to grassroots creativity and proper music not this manufactured etc etc.

But on the other hand you could just as easily argue that in bad economic times music can provide a bit of escapism and fantasy - Busby Berkeley dreams and all that.

Do you have a view on the effects of economic gloom on the 'mood' of pop - the type of things that are likely to get big?

Comments

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

End of year reviews repeatedly using Flying Lizards/Pink Floyd/theme tune from 'Are You Being Served'...

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

Well you'd think all this light and airy RUBBISH would go away but maybe not.

Increased sales of 'Back To Black,' tbh, probably.

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

hahahahaha, um, didn't marilyn manson write one of those articles?

"historically" economic gloom = DRESSING UP, viz teddy boys, glam, also new romantics, but i don't know if there are rly enough datapoints to "prove" this...

i think there's always so much music being made that you can use it to prove any half-arsed theory either way innit...

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Young Jeezy's The Recession is the first credit crunch themed album to my knowledge!

I approach most of these macro theories with suspicion though. Critics will pay more attention to albums which seem topical, and this might make it seem like the pop culture winds are blowing one way, but really for every gloomy recession album to your right there'll be a new Pussycat Dolls opus to your left so it's a false picture.

[atommickbrane.livejournal.com]

I was wondering about 'reality shows', as 'reality' gets more and more DO NOT WANT, where does this leave the X-Factor lot? Seeing as I've found X-Factor et al a total snoozefest since the first two I wouldn't really mind as long as it does not affect glamourous escapism via Strictly - or perhaps it's the chance for make-or-break tv to get better!

I read an article along these lines just recently but can't remember where. I think I sniggered and thought "Donny Tourette".

People getting angry at Social Causes and making records about them of course doesn't necessasrily result in good records (punk 101 nyah) and in fact given the blandout across pop I'd be depressed thinking it might just result in yet more moaning - either way you look at it some energy is the key, it's whether economic gloom stomps on the energetic elements and they can't be bothered to come out.

More

[petronia.livejournal.com]

I was thinking something along these lines - how quite a bit of the stuff coming out of the UK nowadays reminds me of the late 90s in Montreal (bubble era technically, but the economy took a while to pick up in Quebec post-referendum). Sort of... socialist slacker dub-pop / boho girl rap. Selective thinking or not instinct says it has something to do with macroeconomics, the 90s will be making a storming return. Checkered shirts are back in!

(Also demographics - 90s teenpop for instance was driven by the boomer-echo bump, i.e. people my little sister's age, and the Miley/Jonas wave is driven by kids-of-Gen Xers, whom logic sez will turn out to be bigger slackers than Gen X themselves.)

[jel-bugle.livejournal.com]

GRUNGE REVIVAL!