All Things Considered
I often lament that the surest sign I’m growing old and unhip is that most of the music I listen to is now at least NPR friendly, and, even worse, often featured on the network. It’s not the most pleasant feeling. Nevertheless, there are advantages; for example, NPR’s website is currently streaming the wonderful new St. Vincent album, Actor, in its entirety. You’ll want to listen, I promise.
I’m not sure I agree about St. VIncent. The actual song content is buried under an enormous wad of atmospheric frosting. You might reply, the frosting is the message, and you would probably be correct, but I am not sure I like what the frosting is saying to me. One might say that a significant strain of popular music that branched from rock and roll is entering the rococoest portion of it’s life cycle: twee, decorative, mannered. It’s sounds like their wearing powdered wigs to me.
— cw · Apr 23, 02:47 AM · #
Age and experience has its advantages. When I was in my early twenties I was so keen on staying “in” and hip that I was deaf to so much other wonderful music around the world. In my late twenties I travelled, stepped outside the Anglo-American pop culture bubble and found out just how great Colombian cumbia, West African griot music and traditional Irish music all were. Among others…
— JB · Apr 23, 08:01 AM · #