New York Times Tells Us the Future of Music
March 12, 2016 9:34 PM   Subscribe

 
Fascinating to read such an intensely insular article at a time when music itself has never been more able to transcend boundaries.
posted by fallingbadgers at 9:47 PM on March 12, 2016 [5 favorites]


Oy. The Times is now going to be doing Spotify playlists?
posted by monospace at 9:52 PM on March 12, 2016 [1 favorite]


only The Real Paper gets to do that. only once. only for The Boss.
posted by j_curiouser at 9:57 PM on March 12, 2016


I saw it the other day and was ready to write it off, but I did see Run The Jewels and Bowie’s new album on there, so hats off. I didn’t see much I didn’t already know that I cared about though.
posted by bongo_x at 10:17 PM on March 12, 2016 [3 favorites]


So, the future is going to be depressingly the same and share a small handful of production values? Run The Jewels is great, but this ALL, even including Lionel Richie,(and excluding Margo Price maybe) just sounds like Animal Collective rung through various filters. This is as accurate as their breaking story on Normcore. Where's Amen Dunes?
posted by Conrad-Casserole at 10:24 PM on March 12, 2016 [6 favorites]


A return to Death Acid Accordion?
posted by sammyo at 10:26 PM on March 12, 2016 [1 favorite]


I'm glad I read this because it reminded me that I've been meaning to check out Vince Staples since I heard "Lift Me Up" on the radio a couple months back. What a song.
posted by town of cats at 11:46 PM on March 12, 2016 [1 favorite]


Yeah because they've already nailed that "newspaper of the future" thing.

This was true lol whut? territory.
posted by spitbull at 12:21 AM on March 13, 2016


I've always been into Mectasm Funge.
posted by GallonOfAlan at 1:06 AM on March 13, 2016 [1 favorite]


I've only read a few but the article about Syd tha Kyd and The Internet was good. I really liked their ramshackle first album, but lost touch with them after that. Their new album Ego Death sounds very good, based on a perfunctory listen.
posted by Kattullus at 3:18 AM on March 13, 2016 [1 favorite]


Pop has eaten itself. Nowadays it's all about the bowel movements.
posted by peterkins at 3:22 AM on March 13, 2016 [2 favorites]


Judging from my Facebook feed nowadays it's all about Bowie movements.
posted by Kattullus at 4:54 AM on March 13, 2016 [3 favorites]


I was so put off by the presentation (on Mac/Firefox) I didn't bother to read the text. Perhaps that was the point.
posted by tommasz at 6:33 AM on March 13, 2016 [1 favorite]


I was so put off by the presentation (on Mac/Firefox) I didn't bother to read the text. Perhaps that was the point.

I could read the article but the music/multimedia didn't work on either browser I tried. My computer isn't the newest but things normally work.

So, the future is going to be depressingly the same and share a small handful of production values? Run The Jewels is great, but this ALL, even including Lionel Richie,(and excluding Margo Price maybe) just sounds like Animal Collective rung through various filters.

I get that for the mainstream stuff, but Vybz Kartel? Roomfull of Teeth? Mixed in with the more predictable choices were some gems.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:53 AM on March 13, 2016 [1 favorite]


I wish they'd swapped out Syd Tha Kid and put in Angel Haze instead. Angel Haze has been making revolutionary music and reinventing hip hop for a long time, and their perspective on nonbinary sexuality is important and underrated.
posted by pxe2000 at 7:36 AM on March 13, 2016


tl;dr. Is there a link to just the list of songs or the Spotify playlist?
posted by hwestiii at 8:34 AM on March 13, 2016


Other than the obvious ones like Rihanna and Wilco, I had never heard of a single artist on that list (I'm 46 but I've been a multi-genre, music obsessed fool for my whole life) so I listened to about 12 of 'em on Spotify and immediately began to weep for the future of popular music. Where is the soul in these songs? Even I can appreciate the underlying heart of Taylor Swift - there's a wordsmith and a talented pop ear there - but this stuff was just machismo, weak beats, and no depth. Maybe it's time I hang up my hat and admit I'm old and just listen to the Dead Boys for the next 30 years.
posted by spicynuts at 9:05 AM on March 13, 2016 [1 favorite]


This is your brain on Spotify.
posted by aeshnid at 9:11 AM on March 13, 2016


Is there a link to just the list of songs or the Spotify playlist?

If you can load the page in a desktop browser, hovering over the blue margin on the left will show you the list.

Where is the soul in these songs?

Kendrick Lamar? D'Angelo? Chance the Rapper? Even Justin Bieber's new stuff isn't too bad.
posted by Mothlight at 9:15 AM on March 13, 2016 [4 favorites]


Maybe it's time I hang up my hat and admit I'm old and just listen to the Dead Boys for the next 30 years.


As a fellow middle-aged musician and music geek, I'm way ahead of you. Except for me it's Merle Haggard and Marvin Gaye and Buddy Guy (two of whom still make music). (#borntoolate)

I like Wilco ok, I guess. But come on, everything old is new again. Basically it's all just the blues reimagined as white noise.

But there is something super ironic about the New York Times doing a glossy presentation on the future of pop music. Way to kill whatever cred these artists may have had with the youngsters.

But then I pay for my music. And read the New York Times for free until my monthly allotment of articles runs out.
posted by spitbull at 9:29 AM on March 13, 2016 [1 favorite]


I still haven't recovered from seeing D'Angelo play "Really Love" live a few months ago. Whew. I could faint just thinking about it.
posted by sallybrown at 10:00 AM on March 13, 2016 [1 favorite]


pxe2000: I wish they'd swapped out Syd Tha Kid and put in Angel Haze instead. Angel Haze has been making revolutionary music and reinventing hip hop for a long time, and their perspective on nonbinary sexuality is important and underrated.

Surely there's room on a list of 25 songs (and an album) for the two of them, even if you get rid of Lionel Richie's "Hello", which is on there for some reason (and I say that as a Richie-'ppreciator).
posted by Kattullus at 10:42 AM on March 13, 2016


I found the text pretentiously unreadable on the few I tried to read, but it was all worth it just to learn about Margo Price, who has now been added to my Spotify favourites.
posted by jacquilynne at 11:11 AM on March 13, 2016 [1 favorite]


View source:

justin bieber sorry
the hamilton cast say no to this
sun kil moon i watched the film the song remains the same
syd tha kyd the internet get away
wilco one sunday morning
vince staples 06
margo price hurtin on the bottle
matt chamberlain john cougar john deere john 316 keith urban
rihanna consideration
mac demarco blue boy

charlie puth marvin gaye
kendrick lamar the blacker the berry
run the jewels early
cfcf the colours of life
coldplay hymn for the weekend
fetty wap trap queen
lionel richie hello
pharrell j balvin untitled
caroline shaw partita for eight voices
pitbull el taxi

dangelo really love
vybz kartel weh dem feel like
twenty one pilots stressed out
chance the rapper sunday candy
azis habibi
david bowie blackstar
posted by Lanark at 11:37 AM on March 13, 2016


More like the recent (and some not-so-recent) past of pop music. I'm surprised they didn't include Rick Astley. And Bowie as 26th on a 25-item list?

And it should be noted this was New York Times Magazine, perpetrator of the Times' worst cultural crimes in recent years.
posted by oneswellfoop at 11:55 AM on March 13, 2016 [1 favorite]


The curmudg is strong in this thread.

This isn't a ranked list of what they like, it's a bunch of songs that, in their examination, can tell us something about Music Today.

It's a great form and I hope they do this regularly.

but this ALL just sounds like Animal Collective rung through various filters.

If you think all these songs sound the same it's likely you've lost your hearing sometime around 1988. Sorry, that's gotta suck.

(and, snark aside, if some of them ~do~ sound similar it's because that's a big sound of today. Not of the future, of today. That's the point of the piece. GAH.)
posted by wemayfreeze at 12:25 PM on March 13, 2016 [11 favorites]


Coldplay? Really?
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 12:26 PM on March 13, 2016 [3 favorites]


This isn't a ranked list of what they like, it's a bunch of songs that, in their examination, can tell us something about Music Today.

I don't need the Times to tell me that a list that tells us something about Music Today that features Lionel Richie's 32-year-old "Hello" as anything other than a joke is already a bad sign about Music Today, rank or no rank.
posted by blucevalo at 12:33 PM on March 13, 2016


Coldplay? Really?

Makes more sense than Lionel Richie.
posted by Sys Rq at 12:36 PM on March 13, 2016


a list that tells us something about Music Today that features Lionel Richie's 32-year-old "Hello" as anything other than a joke is already a bad sign about Music Today, rank or no rank.

But I’m not sure it’s inaccurate. That and the fact that Phil Collins has made some sort of public opinion comeback recently. It seems to fit.
posted by bongo_x at 12:56 PM on March 13, 2016


here is the soul in these songs?

Vince Staples (maybe not the best example song here), Kendrick? If you think it's too late for you to get in to rap or something then okay but man. (Actually in that case that Sun Kil Moon album might be the pick for you.)
posted by atoxyl at 2:01 PM on March 13, 2016 [1 favorite]


I couldn't get past the introduction's insistence that the least interesting aspect of music, ie: everything except the music, was actually its most interesting bit. That plus the interface.
posted by signal at 2:22 PM on March 13, 2016


Coldplay? Really?

You know, if you actually, like, clicked through and read the article, you might see why it's on there.

It's not because they approve of Coldplay.
posted by asterix at 3:12 PM on March 13, 2016 [4 favorites]


"On the New York Times '25 Songs That Tell Us Where Music Is Going' List 2016"
- no album cover ever
posted by gottabefunky at 5:02 PM on March 13, 2016


It's fitting that such a Whiggish paper would present such a Whiggy musicography.
posted by meehawl at 5:06 PM on March 13, 2016


Did someone just ask where the "soul" is? Did you not see D'Angelo and Kendrick and Chance on this list? It "ALL" sounds like Animal Collective, what the fuck? This is like some "old man yells at cloud" shit.
posted by windbox at 5:36 PM on March 13, 2016 [8 favorites]


Yeah, not too thrilled with the curmudgeonliness here. And OK, dismiss the NYT if you want, but Nitsuh Abebe knows his stuff.
posted by naju at 7:03 PM on March 13, 2016 [3 favorites]


(And other contributors - George Saunders?)
posted by naju at 7:08 PM on March 13, 2016


I enjoyed the read on Matt Chamberlain. I discovered him many years ago when I had to know who was responsible the choice of snare (ZERO decay) and that organic-yet mechanical "tick-tock" of "One Headlight" and have always kept my eye open for his name. Also Yuval Gabay.
posted by sourwookie at 8:25 PM on March 13, 2016


I don't need the Times to tell me that a list that tells us something about Music Today that features Lionel Richie's 32-year-old "Hello" as anything other than a joke is already a bad sign about Music Today, rank or no rank.

The bit about that song is about its kitsch, cheese, how we find ways to love songs that are "bad." It's really interesting.

Please read the FA. Unless, I guess, you prefer to remain a low-information commenter.
posted by wemayfreeze at 8:47 PM on March 13, 2016 [5 favorites]


...Charlie Puth - Marvin Gaye...

This was Todd in the Shadow's Worst Song of 2015, but he's wrong.

It's actually Charlie Puth's 'One Call Away', because that is some shitty music.
posted by PenDevil at 1:55 AM on March 14, 2016


Surely there's room on a list of 25 songs (and an album) for the two of them
I dunno, man. Angel Haze has used their music and their considerable platform to push back against the status quo, by amplifying the voices of genderqueer people and speaking to her experience of abuse. Meanwhile, Syd has spent her career upholding some aspect of the status quo. She also made bizarre excuses for it in the article. I'd rather see someone who has made incredible music and who has gone against the retrograde views our society holds about abuse survivors than someone who's put out a few decent albums and justifies the behavior of a bunch of obnoxious assholes.
posted by pxe2000 at 6:54 AM on March 14, 2016


The future of music? OK, let's see what they have to...

1. Justin Bieber

NOPE.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:21 AM on March 14, 2016


Pop has eaten itself. Nowadays it's all about the bowel movements.

If this is the "future" of pop, we're in a lot of trouble. Where's is the real songwriting? The creative imagination? Apparently these are in very short supply, so, yes, bowel movements indeed.
posted by Seekerofsplendor at 9:11 AM on March 14, 2016


Comments like these are why "poptimism" has to exist.
posted by naju at 9:12 AM on March 14, 2016 [2 favorites]


Really surprised to see Sun Kil Moon on here. While it's gotten mixed reviews, I think Benji is an incredible CD. Parts are really hard to listen to but well worth it. Also unlike pretty much everything else on this list. I can't imagine Carissa getting radio play anytime soon.

As a great companion CD be sure and check out Mark Kozelek and Desertshore which contains just as much biographic introspection. Tavoris Cloud being a standout as a song about losing your cat and being a nostalgic late-40 year old.

Of course I'm also late 40's and lost my cat so this resonates.
posted by misterpatrick at 11:27 AM on March 14, 2016 [1 favorite]


Where's Amen Dunes?

It's spelled 'Amon Duul', silly
posted by Hoopo at 1:22 PM on March 14, 2016 [1 favorite]


pxe2000: Angel Haze has used their music and their considerable platform to push back against the status quo, by amplifying the voices of genderqueer people and speaking to her experience of abuse.

Oh, Angel Haze should absolutely be on the list. But the point I was trying to make rather clumsily was that I don't see why Angel Haze should replace Syd tha Kid, when there are plenty of non-queer artists on the list who could be kicked off without anyone noticing.
posted by Kattullus at 2:00 PM on March 14, 2016


if mark kozelek is number three of the future direction of music i'm one hundred percent ok with that.
posted by soi-disant at 2:49 PM on March 14, 2016


Bah. I don't care where music is going as long as it stays off my lawn!
posted by Catblack at 3:31 PM on March 15, 2016


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