MUSIC IN 2012 - The Year So Far

I’ve gone through Moving Pictures once now, and I’m still working on that review. In the meantime, enjoy this video-laden post that shows my current consciousness of the music industry, which is probably a bit limited.

Is it just me, or did things get weird while I was out?

I exited in early March, just as fun., Gotye, and Carly Rae Jepsen were rising to superstardom, the former and latter of which have released follow-ups that haven’t captured the public imagination with quite the same verve (though “Some Nights,” easily my favorite song from a shockingly good album, is apparently gaining traction at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100.) As far as all their songs go, I’m a pretty big fan and want to hear more, though Jepsen’s “Good Life” is pretty dull.

But since then, the artists that usually excite me have been failing, and others have been seriously gaining. I missed R. Kelly’s new album (though the lead single, “Share My Love,” is pretty much a permanent summerjam) so he still has a chance to wow me, but I’ve been underwhelmed by new outings by Usher, Kanye West (whose “Mercy” I maintain is one of the worst songs he’s ever put together), Train, Katy Perry, and B.o.B.

And am I crazy, or do Pitbull and Nicki Minaj have two of the best-produced pop songs of the entire summer?

I can’t get over the beat on “Back In Time,” and I’m practically jumping for joy at the prospect of its sequel featuring Kanye and Enrique Iglesias. And, well, as for “Starships,” Pentatonix is to blame for sending me down a bad, bad path with their brilliant cover of a song I already have to admit I liked.

They both carry this bizarre dichotomy of combining modern dance production with throwback guitar and hooks. In a weird way, they’re both very decidedly 90’s.

Speaking of the 90’s, how did Green Day and No Doubt suddenly pull ahead of everyone else to come and crush anything alternative can throw at them? Green Day’s releasing three albums (!) in the next six months, and No Doubt is releasing their new album Push & Shove the same day as Green Day’s ¡Uno! Between the two lead singles, I find myself leaning heavily towards No Doubt, who I have never been a huge fan of before now. That said, of the Green Day albums (three?!?) the second is the more “garage”-focused album, so that’s probably the one for which I’m really excited.

That’s not to say nothing’s happening in the alternative scene. The Dirty Projector’s new album blew my socks off the first couple times I listened to it, so expect a review of that relatively soon. Fun.’s album, Some Nights, is actually pretty darn excellent. And that’s ignoring, of course, that Metric, The Smashing Pumpkins, Slash, The Hives, Tenacious D, and Jack White all came out with albums I haven’t listened to yet.

To make an awkward transition, Fiona Apple and Norah Jones have both released new albums that are being adored, while Regina Spektor came out with something new as well. Now seems as good a time as any to jump into a genre with which I am highly, highly unfamiliar.

Hip-hop has been mostly dead so far this year. Cruel Summer, the G.O.O.D. Music collaboration album, has also been delayed into September, and nothing came of the supposed Outkast reunion that was potentially going to happen this year. I do need to listen to Nas’s Life is Good, though, as it’s supposedly very solid.

Frank Ocean’s R&B smash Channel Orange is perfectly pleasant, but on my first listen I wasn’t blown away by it. I’ll be sure to try it again pretty soon, though. Again, there’s R. Kelly and Usher to check out as well, and Justin Bieber’s voice drop has me tempted to give him another shot with his new album. Chris Brown is still being allowed a career for some reason, and I’ll continue to ignore him. As far as quality vocals go, I’ve mostly been distracted by the really excellent Pentatonix EP, which you really ought to check out.

Things are getting weird on the pop/rock scene, though there’s still plenty of the same drivel that’s been being played for years (looking at you, Guetta and Flo Rida.) As far as electronica goes this year, I haven’t gotten to hear very much since Bangarang. And while there’s not a ton of albums to be excited for, it’s been a period of surprises and, well, change. That’s pretty darn exciting in and of itself.