It’s plastic synthesizers, neon pinks and greens and all things huge and tasteless. The decade of decadence is governing our culture, music especially, selling nostalgia to the middle-aged and novelty to their children.
The death of Michael Jackson, no doubt the most affecting music story of the year, has created an outpour of covers, tributes and endless video montages, not to mention an ungodly number of CD sales. But while the King of Pop’s death may have supplemented the resurgence of the 1980s, the era’s influence reappeared long before June 25.
Observe two of pop’s biggest stars of the moment: Kanye West and Lady GaGa. With his shutter shades and self-professed Star status, West is the figurehead of the revival. Lady GaGa’s career thus far has been aping that of Madonna’s, though, like West, she’s found success in the rhythms and pastel synths of the 1980s.
But the era’s influence on the world of pop is not so recent, as 80s stars have laid claim to concert ticket sales for the latter half of the decade. Before last year was half over, Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen and Van Halen had grossed $133.9 million in concert tours alone, according to Pollstar.
Barbra Streisand struck concert gold in 2006 and Tina Turner, another 80s icon, grossed $83.5 million from January through July of 2009. Bands from The Police to U2 (well, obviously) recently enjoyed a lucrative reunion tour, according to the trade magazine.
Consumers continue to pour out money for concert tickets to win back a piece of their romanticized youth, to relive corners of their lives that have long been darkened. But it’s bigger than that.
At the moment, the U.S. is on the brink: of forfeiting our decadent way of life, of joining the ranks of the unemployed, of losing ourselves in political correctness. Everything is exaggerated and merged. As in the 1980s, huge change is coming quickly and, as in the 1980s, pop is filled with big, loud character.
Perhaps artists like West and GaGa aren’t as proactive as they think they are, since they’re essentially reacting to the world around them. They aren’t producing culture as much as transmitting it. The message here is underscored by its means of delivery: LOUD is back.
So I don’t know how I missed this project the first time around. This is exactly the kind of music that I love. I mean my Gnarls Barkley cover by Ray Lamontagne and that acoustic cover of Hey Ya have become two of the most played songs in my library. So in fact I am even upset that I didn’t discover this collection of covers til now. But not too upset. Because now I have lots of incredible new cover songs to love and cherish. I will let the music speak for itself. But first I want to complain a little about the title. Yeah it’s really clever and all, but I just really don’t like the idea of guilty pleasures. I mean why feel guilty about liking a song. So what if it’s not cool to like it. So what if there’s an Avril Lavigne song that you secretly love. Or that you listened to that One Republic collaboration with Timbaland over and over. Now I’m not saying that I’m about to start praising these artists and comparing them to The Beatles or any of the other greats. But I will freely admit to both of those confessions. Without guilt.
Anyway. Back to the matter at hand. Engine Room Recordings has announced the release of the second edition of the Guilt By Association cover series. The cd is set to hit stores on February 17th, but it has already been released for download on Itunes. But for those of you short on cash, you can go ahead and stream it over on the Engine Room Recordings web-site. Also here is My Brightest Diamond’s installment in the series. I know that I just wrote about here not too long ago and that I had thirteen others to choose from. But I was just so excited that she chose to record this song, because I actually saw her play this song when I saw her open for The Decemberists a couple years ago and it was seriously the highlight of the show. Shara Worden is an incredible performer, with one of the most amazing voices I have ever heard. I cannot recommend seeing her live enough. Or the Decemberists for that matter. Well to wrap things up, here is the tracklist for Guilt By Association Vol. 2. I hope your ears bleed (but not really).
So as you can tell I was kind of rushed putting together my post about this week’s notable releases and failed to mention two very big ones that came out this week. The first one was the foxtail sportin’ Kanye West with his new album 808s & Heartbreak. Never been a huge Kanye fan, in fact most of my feelings toward him stem from my annoyance at the stupid things he has done and said. But musically I’ve been pretty impartial. He’s definitely gotten me to move with the beat more than once, but I’ve never been impressed with any album as a whole. But I’ve been more impressed so far upon the first listen to Hearbreak than I have so far. Maybe that is because it isn’t your typical hip-hop record, nor is it typical Kanye. In no way can you refer to this as a rap album. West sings throughout the entire album using the Auto-Tune effect and a TR-808 drum machine on every track. It sounds much more like an 80′s post punk album than a hip-hop or R&B record, which may be why I am able to enjoy it more than his previous works. But I still hesitate to give the most egotistical artist of our time any sort of props. I seriously don’t understand how this guy has been able to consistently capture the attention of both the main-stream radio listeners and the indie music snobs.
Now with this other release that I foolishly overlooked, I am baffled at how more people have not fallen in love with this guy. For those of you who are not avid watchers of the Colbert Report, this past Tuesday night Stephen Colbert, the current host of the Colbert Report teamed up with an all-star cast of musicians to bring to us a A Colbert Christmas. With the help of Willie Nelson, John Legend, Feist, Toby Keith, and Elvis Costello, Colbert is in search of a Christmas miracle. And a miracle is what he brings to us, with the release of this absolutely hysterical that came out on Thanksgiving Day. I don’t want to say to much in fear of spoiling what was one of the best and funniest Christmas musicals I have ever seen. Beyond just creating something for us to sing along and laugh to this holiday season, Colbert is also bringing joy with to those who can’t even afford a tv with which to watch his Christmas special, by donating a large portion of the proceeds to Feeding America. I just can’t say enough about how awesome I think this guy is. Here is a little glimpse into the humor and talent that is filled throughout this Christmas special, with John Legend and Stephen Colbert performing Nutmeg…
Here is a tracklist of the soundtrack to let you more of what you can expect.
A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All
01 Stephen Colbert: “Another Christmas Song”
02 Toby Keith: “Have I Got a Present for You”
03 Feist: “Please Be Patient”
04 Stephen Colbert and Willie Nelson: “Little Dealer Boy”
05 Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart: “Can I Interest You in Hannukah?”
06 Stephen Colbert and John Legend: “Nutmeg”
07 Stephen Colbert, Elvis Costello, Feist, Toby Keith, John Legend, and Willie Nelson: “(What’s So Funny ’bout) Peace, Love and Understanding”
08 Stephen Colbert, Elvis Costello, Feist, Toby Keith, John Legend, and Willie Nelson: “There Are Much Worse Things to Believe In”
Just the other night, myself and a bunch of my co-workers got together for our annual live fantasy football draft, which I have come to look forward to with much anticipation each year. It has proven to be a great time filled with tons of fun, food, fellowship and football statistics. So with opening weekend for NCAA football happening last weekend and the first NFL game being tomorrow night I thought that I would share this great football themed remix with you. Brought to you by the guys over at The Hood Internet here is a mashup of Wilco’s fantastic song Jesus Etc., Kanye West’s Classic, and the infamous 1985 Chicago Bears’ Super Bowl Shuffle.
And for those of you that have never heard of the Super Bowl Shuffle you must check out this video. Yes, that is correct back during the year I was born, Walter Payton, Mike Singletary, William “Refridgerator” Perry, and the rest of the Chicago Bears football team wrote and performed a rap song on live television.
And it was awesome. Boy, those were the days. Back when they were actually a team and not a bunch of individuals who worked together on Sunday afternoon. I feel like Peyton Manning has done his part with all of his commercials and SNL appearances. But after watching this video again I think that the rest of the NFL really needs to step up their game.
It’s plastic synthesizers, neon pinks and greens and all things huge and tasteless. The decade of decadence is governing our culture, music especially, selling nostalgia to the middle-aged and novelty to their children.
A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All
