Disregarding the politics involved, all the stories about artists pulling their recordings from Spotify had me thinking again about the way people consume music these days.
I’m old enough now that I’ve paid for The Beatles’ Abbey Road album at least four times. In college on vinyl, later on cassette tape, still later on CD, and more recently as a digital file.1 While the record and tape are long gone, I still have the digital file. And the CD is around here somewhere.
In days long past, this list would take the form of a mixtape. Collected and copied on actual recording tape. Later the songs were distributed on a CD. New medium, same idea.
As with everything else this year, the annual mix of holiday songs I can actually stand to have in heavy rotation is odder than normal. How else do you get Spinal Tap, Tom Lehrer, Queen, Jeff Goldblum, and The Beach Boys on one list?
It seems like everyone has their list of appropriate songs to serve as their soundtrack while in isolation. Most of the ones I’ve seen have a few common choices, with REM’s “It’s The End of The World As We Know It (and I Feel Fine)” being one of the obvious top choices.
I won’t bore you by posting my very long variation on the theme,1 but here’s a short subset that I haven’t seen on other lists. All but number 10 are available from your favorite streaming service. Follow the links to head down some entertaining rabbit holes. Continue reading
The Mountain Goats is one of those bands that has been around seemingly forever, creating a steady stream of great music year after year. I discovered them about fifteen years ago when a friend recommended their album, “We Shall All Be Healed”.
That same year they released “The Sunset Tree” which includes one of my favorite songs of all time (from any performer), “This Year”. It’s a surprisingly upbeat tune in which the singer declares his intention to escape an abusive home environment.