There is simply no worse answer than “everything” or “everything but country” when asking about someone’s musical preference. You can’t possibly like everything, simply because you have heard only a fraction of what exists, and there is a strong likelihood you just will not like a lot of it.
I have a lot of experience listening to music – been doing it since I was about 10, starting with my mom’s Beatles albums. Since then, I’ve become addicted to music, and nearly everyone can relate. Most people have at least one moment when they discovered music is the sexiest art on the planet; my second moment came when I discovered the Smashing Pumpkins in sixth grade. Fast-forward about 10 years, and you might not be surprised that I still love the Beatles and Smashing Pumpkins among many, many others. However, my musical interests gradually expanded beyond the mainstream, beginning with bands on Saddle Creek in high school, metal and hardcore early on in college, and now you could say I am in an extended phase with genres like post-rock, shoegaze, other texturally oriented rock, and of course, soul.
But somewhere along the way, I missed the boat for mainstream music. Having spent so much time digging and digging for the most superior underground music, I never raised my head to notice the sparingly good mainstream acts. Now, when I go to Taylor’s and people are all psyched for some song encouraging you to “Superman that ho,” I feel left out. The mainstream music industry found a way to conquer me through the existence of places like Taylor’s where you will only hear mainstream suburban hip-hop. And yet one time I was partying with Brad – you remember Brad: the hottie without a brain – when I heard Lil’ Troy’s “Still A Bitch.” I thought, ‘Golly! This is a fantastic song! Is this new?’ To my embarrassingly abundant surprise it was released a freakin’ decade ago. Wow. Apparently, I am not as much of a music snob as people accuse me of being if I haven’t heard this badass song until 10 years after its release.
The point of this anecdote is that while I watched the Grammys on Sunday, I was shocked and impressed to see the recording industry still was able to supply a multitude of respectable, talented and noteworthy performers who, for the most part, all performed very well. It being the 50th Grammy Awards, I figured the industry would turn to its long-favored tradition of masturbatory handshakes and awards. The Grammys have huffed for a long, long time now, and as the recording industry continues down the disastrous path it is currently on, we have to stop and wonder why this year’s Grammys were so superior to its recent predecessors.
It also occurred to me throughout the whole broadcast, the Grammys seemed “blacker” than years past. The amount of black performers, presenters and honorees with roots in soul, jazz, blues, hip-hop and gospel far surpassed white performers more involved with country, rock and pop. Not only was this noticeable in terms of sheer numbers, but also in terms of the performances. Black performers – like Kanye West – appeared to have much more engaging, responsive audiences when compared to the likes of the Foo Fighters.
But this is not a race battle on success. Instead, consider the direction that the music industry is heading, and how the Recording Industry Association of America is attempting to salvage its downward sales spiral. Are urban and hip-hop the only genres worth salvaging? Is that the message that the industry and the Grammys, which are basically one in the same, are sending to audiences? Rolling Stone reported in its most recent issue that traditional album sales are down 37 percent over the last three years. The Internet has made a huge rise in sales, obviously, but perhaps this downward spiral really goes to show that the youth – who hold the industry’s primary interest – are not as stupid as the major labels thought. Unlike the majors, independent labels have mostly benefited from the rise of Internet downloading and sales.
Perhaps we are all simply evolving as music consumers and listeners, since we have had access to so much more music than ever before. Perhaps there truly is no way to stop the downfall that the industry is facing, and all that the majors can salvage is a last gasping breath from the major hip-hop players. But then again, perhaps there will always be a place for the majors, even though the majority of their releases are unrequited trash. Then again, maybe there will always be a place and purpose for tracks like “Still A Bitch,” even if they reach their intended listener a decade later.
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