Best of the Year/Decade

As all of the "best of the year/decade" lists come out I'm well aware that I must not pay much attention to popular music. Or any new music that isn't local, really. I have not heard pretty much any of the albums and songs listed on these lists. Many of the groups I've never heard of either. When I posted this observation on facebook I was met with two responses..."yeah, mainstream sucks" and "let me show you how to access music." Both responses are way, way off.

I don't avoid new or mainstream music on purpose. I don't have anything against it. I just don't cross paths with it much. That said, if I felt like I was missing out on something I am fully aware how to rectify the situation.

My firmly favorite period/genre of music is alternative pop/rock from about 1987 to 1994. That was a time when I was aware of all the latest stuff and rushed out to acquire as much of it as possible. Aside from a pre-pubescent fascination with Olivia Newton-John...this is the only time that I've "kept up" with music really.

Music comes to me in its own time, and over the last ten years that has essentially been almost exclusively through playing in local bands or listening to local bands. I get introduced to all kinds of things because I play in a band or because someone I know plays in a band. For a period of time this brought The Replacements, The Pretenders, Davie Bowie, Radiohead, Big Star, John Hiatt, and others to my attention. Then I was turned on to a bunch of new wave I'd missed in the early 80s. Lately it's been bands like The Buzzcocks, The Sex Pistols, The Minutemen, Sham 69, X, MOTO, Circle Jerks, The Undertones, and their ilk. And over the last week...the Pixies...who somehow escaped my net back in the day (not unlike how Poi Dog Pondering escaped my net back in the day...only to be caught later and held tight).

The pop music of today...just not on my radar. Not even the hip stuff like The White Stripes and The Decemberists and Bon Iver.

This year the songs that have changed my life haven't even necessarily been the ones my bands have played or the bands that I know locally have played. The songs that have changed my life have been the ones that have opened this or that door for me with the drums....things that I've mostly learned to play after a struggle...stuff like:
The Ocean by Led Zeppelin
The States by The Nod
Radar Love by Golden Earring
Everybody's Happy Nowadays by The Buzzcocks
Having a Blast and She by Green Day
Cool Jerk by The Go Gos

...and a ton that I haven't quite mastered yet, but I'm well on my way, like:
The Immigrant Song by LZ (or When I Come Around by Green Day or Barracuda by Heart...all basically the same song on the drums as far as I can tell)
Beatnik Beach by The Go Gos
Little Wing by Hendrix
Walk This Way by Aerosmith
Smokin in the Boys Room by Motley Crew
Swingtown by Steve Miller Band
We're Not Gonna Take It by Twisted Sister

...and the ones that I haven't even started to try to master yet, but know I will...like:
Won't Get Fooled Again by The Who
Good Times Bad Times by LZ

Here's to another year of being well behind the times...but just in time just the same.