Another decade and the music still plays

God, not only does time march on, it seems to be doing so in double quick time.  I think of Rihanna as being a relatively “new” artist but in fact her breakthrough song “Umbrella” was released 13 years ago.  It wouldn’t be eligible for Triple J’s latest long-form Hottest 100 (for the decade 2010-2020).

You like to think you’ll always be “hip”, regardless of age but I’ve come to the conclusion that keeping up with popular (or even unpopular) music is a hobby that kind of goes hand in hand with a care free youth.  The days of knowing exactly who’s who in the charts are well behind me. I just checked the Spotify charts to find the most popular song in Australia this week is “Blinding Lights” by The Weeknd. It didn’t ring any bells until I checked it out on YouTube – I’ve heard it heaps and it is reminiscent of many an ‘80s tune, all synthy and drum machines (so I’m old enough to correctly identify a homage to a past music era). I’m not even sure the charts mean much anymore, now everyone is doing their own thing with their very own playlists “curated” by algorithm courtesy of your favoured streaming services. The biggest song doesn't really translate to household name status, not the way it used to.

That said, I like to maintain some awareness of what is going on and I never wanted to be someone who says “they don’t make music like they used to in my day”.  Don’t get me wrong, I have fond memories of the soundtrack of my teenage years and in my opinion, the 1980’s is unfairly maligned, music-wise and often deliberately mis-remembered for kitsch value. This is a hill I will die on. But good music is still being made and the talent keeps on coming, as the list below will attest.

So when it came to my picks for the Hottest 100, I based my selection on songs that made their way onto my own playlist (I still have an iPod Touch, which again seems very modern but is now an antique apparently). In no particular order, they are:

I’ve like a few of Lana Del Rey's songs (it was between this and “Young and Beautiful” from the Great Gatsby soundtrack), even if I’ve long suspected a whole album of her ennui would wear thin quickly. People wanted to write her off as a dilettante who was bought a music career by her wealthy parents.  They were incorrect on both counts: Her parents are well-off but not that well-off, and nearly a decade later, a new album from Lana Del Rey is an event. Video Games should have been the clue that she had the talent for the long haul.

The opening lyrics of Ruby Fields' "Dinosaurs" are “I’m scared of Huntsmans, even though they’re harmless.  I don’t like their numerous legs and find their eyes quite charmless”.  I don’t think there is another song in existence that has spoken to me more.  And it is a cracker tune about the fearlessness of youth giving way to caution once you know a bit about life. And Australian singers are now singing with Australian accents.

Sia has been through some stuff and she took that and wrote Elastic Heart to help other people who have been through stuff (as Carrie Fisher said “take your broken heart and make art). I’m a long-time fan. Sia Furler is a national treasure and we should be naming buildings, parks, bridges after her.

Somebody that I Used to Know was such a monster hit that it must have set Gotye up for life (he hasn’t released anything new since Making Mirrors).  It is a song that took on a life of its own and was subject to all sorts of (mis?) treatment so what made it so compelling kind of gets forgotten.  But when you go back and listen to it, the reason it became a big hit is obvious – it was like nothing else around, packed an emotional punch and it is very, very good. When it won a Grammy, Prince said “I love this song”, which must have been better than winning a Grammy.  

True story - once upon a time I played bass guitar. And the reasons I chose to play bass was because a) I had a big crush on Duran Duran’s bass player John Taylor and b) one of the defining features of 80s music was the sound of the slap bass (which I never mastered). Anyway, super-producer Mark Ronson's Uptown Funk (ft. Bruno Mars) has one hell of a slap bassline. Listen to it and try not to dance. You can't. And it also inspired this little masterpiece of the internet age.

As well as once being a bass player, I also sang a bit so London Grammar's Strong stood out among the crowd as a song for singers. Hannah Reid’s voice and the song make you stand still and listen.  

I missed Gang of Youth's Magnolia when it was released but discovered it a few years later via a cover version.  Don't let the jaunty tune fool you - the lyrics are brooding and the production and arrangement builds this cry of the heart in a perfectly calibrated five-minute crescendo. If it ever comes on the radio, I always stop whatever I'm doing. Astonishingly good.

Florence and the Machine is another artist who you think of as “new” but in fact have been around for more than a decade and four albums. Shake it Out got me through a bad workplace. If you need a soundtrack to starting again, this is the song you need. Thanks Florence.

Look I know Kendrick Lamar probably has more “important” songs than All the Stars in his catalogue but this number from the Black Panther soundtrack caught a moment in time. From SZA’s vocals, another notable bass line, its sweary lyrics against the strings swirling through at the end, it is sublime.

Do I really need to explain why I like Pharrell Williams' Happy?