What do the following guys have in common
My Morning Jacket
Bright Eyes
TV On The Radio
Lady Gaga
Kate Bush
Avril LavigneBritney Spears
Art Brut
Paul Simon
Beady Eye
I could go on… all our fairly popular, all released pretty good albums this year. We're not discussing 1962 or 1983 but we are not discussing 2009 either. This list of average albums is surreal. With the exception of the remastered Kate and Anna compiliation of two 1970s albums, Tell My Sister, and Tyler the Creator's excellent Goblin it has a been a year long series of shrugs. A song here, a song there (in Death Cabs case not in even that). The new Steve Earle is bitterly disappointing, Lady Gaga forgot to write songs, Paul Simon overwrites everything he touches. Beastie Boys dead and buried. Brtney doesn't compare to Circus.
It's as if everything is where it was only worse… From David Gueta and Dr. Luke to Noah and the Whale and PJ Harvey nothing is quite good enough.
Sure there have been some excellent albums, Poly Styrene for one, but the Wombats? OK, but whatever. Tune-Yards. Tinie Tempah. REM -it all needs to be better, doesn't it?