The Decade In Pop

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

My enormous Pitchfork piece on "The Decade In Pop" is up: http://pitchfork.com/features/articles/7703-the-decade-in-pop/

Spotify playlist to go with it here: http://open.spotify.com/user/freakytrigger/playlist/6cudPLlniOyOrpX5M5Dnnz

Comments

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

pop (and R&B and hip-hop) judgment was reduced to "cool sounds: y/n?" for too many

Guilty as charged, but (i) I think we all were at some point, not just those going through this alleged 'gateway', and (ii) it's not a bad critical tool to employ though I agree a critic shouldn't stop there.

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

I don't see it as a bad thing. The alternatives are not taking an interest in at all or everybody reacting to and thinking about the music in the same way and I'm glad there's more than one way or a best way to appreciate this stuff.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

It's not "appreciate the cool sounds" vs "appreciate the feelings" ffs - ideally they should work together anyway! It's that only judging on a "cool sounds y/n" basis is a really shallow way of listening. It's kind of like taking only half an interest.

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

it sounds shallow when described that way but it can be deeper esp. if the 'cool sounds' resonate more than whatever feelings are being expressed in other ways.

there's nothing necessarily wrong with only taking half an interest (or just being able to identify what you do and don't like about it...not to the extent where you rule out any prospect of changing stance, you can only go by experience) but then as a dilettant i would say that.