I’m going to grab mostly randomly seven songs of the 70’s that I think are high quality, and i’d like for people to post seven songs of the last ten years they think are better or as good. And I mean this in seriousness, I’m actually interested in what you all think and will give the songs a shot.
I will say I suspect Adele’s “Someone Like You” is going to appear a lot.
My list:
“Can We Still Be Friends”-Todd Rundgren
“Deacon Blues”-Steely Dan
“September”-Earth Wind and Fire
“Beware of Darkness”-George Harrison
“A Song for You”-Leon Russell
“The Show Must Go On”-Leo Sayer
“Strawberry Letter 23”-The Brothers Johnson
Sure; I’ll play. In the thread on Cheap Trick, I mentioned their cover of “When the Lights Go Out” – it’s a song that I can listen to over and over and over, and I can do the same with these songs, which have an average release year of 2011 (and given a bit more time I could probably come up with four more songs released in 2015 in addition to the 2015 releases listed below that I will happily listen to over and over 40 years from now).
One could argue that these are all independent bands that one can’t easily hear on broadcast radio, but there is some really great (“really great” being an objective term; I don’t expect you to like all of these songs, just as I don’t like all of your examples from the 70s) music being produced today. Because of the many ways bands can start, develop, and release their music that just weren’t available even 10 years ago, we are experiencing an incredibly robust time for music – one just needs to find the sources for it (Pandora, streaming college radio, satellite services, etc., none of which were around 20 years ago).
To be fair, I’m not very familiar with seventies music. What I’ve heard of it varies, but not much of it does much for me. Were you by chance a teenager in the seventies?
I fear that you’ll hate anything I’ll submit due to the content of the posted list. But, even I have a soft spot for “September” and “A Song for You”. I didn’t know Leo Sayer at all before this, I liked it. I’m not certain how I feel about the Brothers Johnson tune. If nothing else, it’s mighty smooth. Even the 5 minute version seems to go by quickly.
But, knowing that, I will still submit the first 7 songs that I love dearly that were released in the last 10 years, excluding the harshest/heaviest things that come to mind. I’ll divide it up into groups that you “maybe” “probably” and “almost certainly” won’t like. If ya hate it, go ahead and say it. There’s no accounting for taste, and no way to prove one of us wrong.
“Maybe”
Alabama Shakes Pocket Change
Jake Bugg Lighning Bolt
The Cush Summer’s Gone
Dos “New Year’s Waltz” (link broken because if you don’t fast forward to 36:19, you’re gonna hear a conversation that’s at least partially about un-gelded goat sexuality)
The Watt From Pedro Show is the only online link for this song I can find. As stated above, you have to fast forward to 36:19 to hear it. Watt’s a great musician, and his ex-wife Kira is the other half of the all-bass duo, but he can wander into blue areas in his podcast. His podcast is varied and wild, even if it always seems to start with Coltrane.
You know what, forget the no hip hop or weird experimental stuff. You are at least getting a Kendrick Lamar track.
King Kunta - Kendrick Lamar - reasonably accessible, nsfw lyrics. If you aren’t familiar with hiphop culture you probably won’t get the parody aspects, but it’s still got a hell of a hook.
OK, I’ll post more later when I am not just posting what’s been playing on my spotify for the past week.
I am loving some of the songs linked to here. I have no problem with the “music of today” - lots of great stuff going on.
NAF1138 - what can you share about King Kunta? I have put To Pimp… on and listened to it a couple of times so at least I was exposed to it. That song just jumps out - such a good groove and little phrases…I’ve gotta bone to pick!..but I haven’t dug into the lyrics.
There is a lot of stuff going on in that song. Kendrick used to ghost write for other artists when he was starting out and that informs the song. He isn’t a big fan of the direction hip hop has taken in the last few years it would seem. A lot of the song is him playing with hip hop tropes both directly and indirectly. Being gangster, casual misogyny, self promotion. A lot of this is more obvious in the context of the album as a whole. (much the way Backseat Freestyle on his last album is obviously being told from the perspective of a young inner city teenager bragging to his friends, but out of context sounds like typically self promoting misogynistic hip hop)
His first album was hailed as maybe the best hip hop album since illmatic, so expectations for his new album were super high, which informs the song (and a lot of the album).
Obviously there are a ton of references to Roots.
The whole album really rewards digging in to both lyrics and musical choices.
Also a great song with an amazing hook. But it’s better if you know a 14 or 15 year old high school student cruising with his friends is the character who is talking, and that it is a character who is a stand in for Kendrick when he was young, not actually Kendrick today.
In the interest of fighting ignorance, I should note that “Watercolor Ghost Town” is by the Blueflowers, not Get Help (I had a song in mind by Get Help, but it didn’t make the seven-song cut).
Also, lots of other great music form other posters in this thread – great idea, Dale!
Trying to match the vibe I get from the OP’s choices:
Hospital Beds, by Cold War Kids
Kids, by MGMT
Young Blood, by The Naked And Famous
Changing, by The Airborne Toxic Event
Shake Me Down, by Cage The Elephant
Some Nights, by fun.
Avant Gardener, by Courtney Barnett
Thanks all for the suggestions! A lot to absorb here. And I don’t nessecerily dislike hip-hop…I think Outkast’s double album from 2003 is one of the best albums ever made…I just am cold to what I hear in recent years. Kanye is supposed to be the best and as others have said in other threads, “I don’t get it.”
2015: Natalie Prass - My Baby Don’t Understand Me.
2014: Ages and Ages - Divisionary
2013: Foxygen - San Francisco
2012: Amadou & Mariam - C’est Pas Facile Pour Les Aigles
2011: Black Keys - Lonely Boy
2010: The National - Bloodbuzz Ohio
2009: La Roux - In for the Kill
