In my life, there have been some very good years. 1957, I was born in the time of Elvis. 1979, I was married in the time of Disco. 1982, my daughter was born and I saw The Who on the first farewell tour. 2008, my granddaughter was born and Hip-Hop ruled the airwaves. Now, it's 2010 and, I'm very happy to say, that music is getting interesting again. There seems to be a rebirth of alternative rock and a return to singer/songwriters. If we're lucky, 2011 will be the year that American Idol die. Can you name the last few winners? I can't. If we're lucky, 2011 will be the year that we wake up and realize that Glee is not even as entertaining as bad karaoke. Superficiality has no place in music. We need artists with depth and true talent, like Lady Gaga and Arcade Fire, to drag popular music out of banality. We need artists like Jamey Johnson and Hayes Carll to steer Country Music away from its Southern Rock quagmire. In short, 2011 needs to be a year like 1977 when Punk Rock made it all interesting again.
2011 could be a great year. Maybe so good that someone will write a song called "2011". They better do it fast because, as we know from the Mayan Calendar and the movie, the world ends in 2012. Too bad, I was looking forward to retirement. Oh well. Let's listen to some tunes while there is still time.
Here are some great tunes about specific years:
"1969" - Iggy & The Stooges http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0mRfECsHrc
"1970" - Iggy & The Stooges
Here are videos of "1970" from 1970 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRuN2ayttsY&feature=related
and from 2009 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjUL5z-PQfk&feature=related
"1979" - The Smashing Pumpkins http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrivjzw0RlI
This is one of all-time favorite videos. A true portrayal of teenage freedom and stupidity.
"1984" - David Bowie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJGQLFenjKs&feature=related "Beware the savage jaw of 1984" from Diamond Dogs. Dig that funky disco post-apocalyptic beat.
"1985" - Bowling for Soup http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K38xNqZvBJI&feature=fvwk
When there was still music on MTV. An Epic Video.
"1999" - Prince
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hv-2BBKicVU
Because we all thought that all computers were going to stop at midnight in the year 2000. "2000-zero-zero, party, outta-time". What a great excuse to party.
"In the Year 2525" - Zager and Evans http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tLTb4P1HD8
"...tear it down and start again." It's time.
