Beyond Taylor and Idol brainrot, there is a whole planet of sound to enjoy
Words & feature image © Paul Ransom
NB: The following is in two parts. The first, more general. The second, highly personal. Feel free to skip part two.
Dedication:
For my fellow creatives, especially those much younger than I.
Everything modern is rubbish. Music, art, books, buildings, life, kids, you name it. Or so goes the common complaint. However, the massed drone of decline – so beloved of nostalgists and others prone to romanticising and exotifying the past – is not merely dull but necrotic. Retro-correctness is a suffocating wet blanket. It rarely, if ever, brings anything constructive to the table. Worse, insisting on the supremacy and sole legitimacy of old forms works to crowd out new ideas and to sideline new voices and perspectives.
Whether its filmmakers banging their heads against studio walls as yet more remakes get funded, or the prima ballerina being told that so-and-so danced the role sooo much better back when, the story is always old. As a creative, you will almost certainly confront such dismissal. You will never be as good as yesterday.
Granted, it’s not the end of the world. Not genocide, not tyranny, not an extinction event. Indeed, this piece might be little more than a whinge. Another old man finding something trivial to moan about. So, before you click off or launch into a rant about Taylor Swift and AI slop, some clarification.
- The new, like the old, is not automatically superior
- The trashing of all things traditional & historic is in no one’s best interest
- Genuinely new forms – ideas & approaches that herald seismic shifts – are rare
- The shoulders of giants rule generally holds across fields of human endeavour
+
- There is such a thing as taste; and yours is perfectly fine
However, as someone who has tried (and failed) to break through in both literature and film – as well as working for and with artists who have thus far met a similar fate – I am prompted to offer a counter narrative. While I accept my own dismal career arc with easy equanimity, decades of watching the talent, hard work and perseverance of others being routinely rebuffed in favour of hits & memories rankles. It seems like such a waste. So many flavours sacrificed on an altar of vanilla.
Though cognisant of the role that hindsight bias plays in these things, and aware that individual preferences are frequently shaped by social ones, I want to suggest an entertainment heresy.
The 2020s are a wonderful time to discover new music.
If you are yet to notice this, may I respectfully suggest it could be because you are not truly listening. Maybe you have been scared off by a deluge of cut/copy Idol fluff and high fructose pop, or by the crass posturing of man-child rap and the slavish hyperbole surrounding so-called superstar DJs.
Yes, I know. The modern music industry seems vulgar and exploitative, and the Top 40 is mostly formulaic and shallow, if not grating. It always has been. Taylor’s popularity is hard to fathom, but Madonna was no less average. Shiny floor singers and corporate clone boy bands are reliably forgettable, yet puppet performers have been mouthing the money-spinning cliches of record labels and sundry impresarios for centuries. Neither the 1790s nor the 1970s represent a high water mark for musical excellence, in spite of what your taste dictates. The same can be said of today, if only because such assertions are…sorry, not just subjective, but silly.
No way, I hear you cry. Musicians could actually play in the good ol’ days; now they just push buttons. This falling standards mantra is, you guessed it, old. From multi-tracking and overdubs to microphones and amplification, (and even electric guitars), technology has forever been decried as the end of ‘real’ music. Again, with respect, nonsense. Was the new-fangled wheel the end of real travel? Guns the end of real war?
Human creativity has always latched onto new means of expression, always adapted to emergent possibility. Sharp tools made carving and sculpture possible. Printing changed the way stories got told. Moving pictures revolutionised the acting craft. Technology is to art making as it is to manufacturing. It can not only make more doable what was once less so, it can have unforeseen effects that stimulate further invention. Solutions, novel re-purposings, etcetera.
Since the turn of the century we have seen the previously centralised, gatekept landscape altered in ways that would scarcely have been imaginable in the run up to Y2K. Innovations in hardware, software, and distribution have shattered the big label, FM radio stranglehold. For artists, the barriers have been lowered and the path to audience democratised. Algorithmatised. As a music lover there is now almost no barrier to discovery.
Does this necessarily imply quality? Of course not. But it does open the range of possibilities way beyond anything available to me and my once youthful contemporaries in the late 70s/early 80s. When I first realised that commercial radio playlists and retail franchises were limiting and mostly uninspiring, finding alternatives was tricky, time consuming and relatively expensive. (At least in the backwater city I grew up in.) Moreover, these gems were nearly all either UK or US based. There were no bands from Iceland in those days, no Japanese folktronica or Pakistani jazz. So what, you might say…but for me the global smorgasbord of music in the 2020s is a constant source of delight and surprise.
But here’s the point: I feel confident that for those prepared to look past Swifty mania, and other such distractions, a similar feast awaits. And not just in rock & pop. Fine music is flourishing, with a diverse ecosystem of sounds and approaches actively reimagining what is possible. Allowable. Similarly, experimental compositions, drones, and sound art abound. Elsewhere, jazz continues to bubble with new fusions, crossing physical and cultural borders to unearth a wealth of formerly unthought of ideas.
If none of this excites, there is also a plethora of revived/revised styles available on demand. Post-war crooners, 70s funk, 90s shoegaze, you name it. Someone is making it; and unlike the bad old days, when avenues of exploration were logistically curtailed, the contemporary music jambalaya is readily accessible.
Yet, beyond mere internet convenience, there is a deeper trend. The music world sounds more permissive. Not only have sub-genres proliferated, artists are freer to explore fusions, to explode the perceived limits of pigeon-holes, tags, and other descriptors. Censorious ‘appropriation’ whinges – as if any group, anywhere has exclusive access to ideas and artforms – are creatively ignored, as music makers take advantage of the inspiration offered by the same heterogeneity that rewards me as a fan.
This is not to say that big tech tentacles and industry bottom-lines do not intrude. Distort. Much has been said about the echo-chamber effects of algorithms and the parasitic, penny pinching of streaming behemoths. But again, asymmetries of power between artists and patrons, content creators and the owners of distribution platforms, are nothing new. Point being, the influence of money, however you wish to frame it, is not a reason to insist that modern music is categorically inferior, nor indeed to pretend that power relationships were so much kinder in your day.
Though free to stick with what we know and like – and to dislike whatever does not take our fancy – when nostalgia becomes industrial, like it is here in the Anglosphere, and the stars of yore are sacralised to the point where people feel that they must cure you of your obvious lack of taste if you dare not to enjoy the 100,000th repeat of Bohemian Rhapsody*, we have a problem.
* Yep, I’ve had grown men literally lecture me on the superior virtues of Beatles, Floyd, Mercury, et al; as if somehow I were either tragically misguided or the simpleton patsy of a devious scheme to turn me against decent music taste.
An arts/creative culture that fixates on past glories is one that calcifies. Hardens around old norms. Just as we would not want this happening in science, neither do we in music, theatre, etcetera. Art may seem like a luxury, a plaything, yet like science and philosophy it is a boundary pusher for us. We are, after all, the storytelling animal; and while we do not want to fall into the trap of faddishly throwing out the old every twenty years, neither do we benefit from crowding out and reflexively dismissing the new.
Perhaps you think I should save my energy for more important matters – maybe I should – but as someone who has worked in and around the creative sector since my mid-twenties, I have a vested interest in a vibrant, forward moving cultural landscape. One that incentivises risk, accepts the inevitable wrong turns, and continues to investigate avenues of connection, expression and critique. One that respects its elders, yet holds open the space for its young.
However, this is not the reason I have loved so much music released this century. The truth is less considered. More reactive. I just kept stumbling across things I liked. Even in the shadow of 60, I am discovering artists I have never previously heard. (As I post, the latest is Natural Information Society.)
So, well done, 21st century composers and performers. Thank you. Your efforts are keeping my love of music fresh and alive, and full of the sweet joys of fan crushes, tearing up, and dancing along. More than that, you inspire me to keep creating. You are a source of energy. A means of flight. Growing old with you feels like being young. What a blessing. I will do what I can with the limited powers I have to share it.
May we be together in beauty.
Afterword
Here below, three lists – none of which may be of interest. That said, I append them to provide a snapshot of the range of music this century has already produced, and which the disparate roster of contemporary artists are continuing to release. Some of these examples are niche, others more stadium.
(Some of you will be wondering why I have neglected to include handy links. Laziness is part of the explanation but, beyond sloth, is a desire for you to search in your own way and, therefore, to open yourself to the often enriching serendipity the internet throws up. Indeed, many of the artists listed here were stumbled upon while I was looking for something else.)
25 favourite albums of the century
Records I have personally enjoyed most in the first quarter of the 21st century, listed chronologically by year.
1: Madlib: Shades Of Blue (2003)
Remixing and re-recording a selection of old faves from Blue Note Records, this album weaves jazz and hip hop into a blend full of joy, light and cool. Although nostalgic, it is also a respectful translation of past language into contemporary vernacular. For me, this record is like the smell of coffee and the sight of sunshine on floorboards.
2: Jehro: Shantytown Carnival (2004)
Jaunty, sunlit and delivered with a surf/hippie optimism and sweetness that is infectious. Hints of reggae and funk are sprinkled throughout, with nods to both Caribbean and West African sounds. With my critic head on, I would point out the cliché, the pastiche, but I have never loved music because it satisfied intellectual criteria. Corn and froth aside, so delicious.
3: The Magic Numbers: The Magic Numbers (2005)
Straightforward country-fied pop. Catchy, melodic, and delivered with unabashed verve. Not rocket science, not weird, just a great evocation of much-loved formulas. Also, kinda feel good.
4: The National: Alligator (2005)
A deep-toned, rumbling indie rock record, with smart lyrical asides and a heartfelt intensity. With nods to their 80s/90s alternative heroes, the band crafts a pitch perfect and literate dark-pop album that burns slowly but still warms. (Their 2010 album High Violet very nearly made this list.)
5: Sigur Ros: Takk (2005)
Confession: this lush, string filled swoon of an album always takes me back to her side. Beyond that, this is the Icelandic band’s most immediately appealing and romantic record. Combining prog rock, classical flourishes and pure invention, it is a widescreen dream, a towering, narcotic miasma.
6: Darren Hanlon: Fingertips & Mountaintops (2006)
This record has a self-deprecating charm. Observational, slice-of-life lyrics, uncluttered production, and simple melodic forms combine to create a mid-tempo album of wit, intelligence and eccentricity. A delightful pop confection.
7: Bon Iver: For Emma, Forever Ago (2007)
A much storied release. Heartbroken man retreats to isolated log cabin in depths of winter to write break-up record. The result is gorgeous, off-kilter, plaintive and simple. Uncluttered production, raw feeling, textural sounds. This is truly up close and personal. The song Skinny Love has since been used in many a TV show.
8: Radical Face: Ghost (2007)
As above, folky, quirky, figurative, and gentle. This melodic, often bittersweet record is rich in texture and metaphor. An overlooked and intimate gem.
9: Radiohead: In Rainbows (2007)
A stunning exercise in restraint. Everything here bubbles beneath the line. Muted vocals, trundling electronica, flecks of colour deftly applied. Unapologetic, obtuse, and eerily compulsive. It may be ‘the thing’ to like Radiohead, but truly, the hype is largely deserved. These guys elevate rock music; twisting it, breaking it, craftily reconstructing it.
10: The xx: xx (2009)
Daringly minimalist love songs. Male/female vocals, sparse guitar, softly rocking bass, and sure-handed beats by the ever-restrained Jamie xx. The use of silence on this record is masterful, with the austere production serving to showcase the plaintive emotion of the songs. Their approach has since been much copied. (Both their subsequent albums, 2012’s Coexist and 2017’s I See You, could have made this list.)
11: Arcade Fire: The Suburbs (2010)
When the Montreal maximalists won the Grammy for this, they were still an unknown quantity to many. This literate, somewhat acerbic record, mashes lyricism, wig-out intensity, and emotional frankness to entrancing effect. (Very nearly chose their first album Funeral for this slot.)
12: Destroyer: Kaputt (2011)
A literate, almost scholarly album of 80s inspired electro/art-pop. Containing regular songs, spoken word pieces, and sprawling atmospheric experiment, this record is an amalgam of high and low culture. Like dancing to cultural critique. Post-post-post-modern, self-reflective, Brechtian, humorous, dark, and yet still able to have fun. Brilliant.
13: The Drums: Portamento (2011)
Lo-fi, rinky-dink, bedroom pop that channels new wave, slacker rock, 60s girl groups, and a few hints of disco revelry. This record exudes youthful bravado; except in this case the kids have read a few books in order to make their punky attitude less strident. Sweet and cute, but with barbs. Sometimes, handclap pop is all you want.
14: Emma Ruth Rundle: Some Heavy Ocean (2014)
Confessional, cathartic, violent, vulnerable. A record of monstrous intensity. Yet, poetic. Crafted. With elements of alt-country, noir Americana, gothic drama, and a pain that morphs into exquisite beauty, this album lives in the territory that many of us know but few have the guts to acknowledge.
15: Ex:Re: Ex:Re (2018)
A blend of spoken word lyricism and stripped back indie, this record is frank, detailed and angular. It is bookish, world-weary, but not cynical. It dares not to be pretty or easy and, as such, is all the more beautiful.
16: Holy Fawn: Death Spells (2018)
It goes like this. Friend assures me the Death Metal scream is not all bad. She’s smart, has great taste; so when the algorithm leads me from her recommendation to the term Doom Gaze, I am curious enough to click. Shortly after, I am in love with these ‘creatures making loud, heavy, pretty noises’. Intense, atmospheric, and more than a little pagan. A deeply beautiful, slow wig out for those willing to cross the threshold of Doom.
17: Lana Del Ray: Norman Fucking Rockwell (2019)
Very nearly a concept album from the poet laureate of pop-Americana. Luscious, sensual, hedonic, brazen, but never dumb. Here, Lana’s deliberately tarnished glamour is intoxicating, as though she were inhabiting the downward spirals of Plath and other mid-century ghosts. Chart topping without being vacuous.
18: Hania Rani: Esja (2019)
Tinkling, liquid ivories. Classically based but informed by pop, dance music, and cinema score sensibilities. A beautiful, hypnotic excursion from the modern day queen of moody piano. Her sinuous, flow-state playing, and the decision to let us hear the organic creaks of the instrument, give this record a translucent beauty. Ethereal and intimate. (PS: Am now avowed Hania fan boy.)
19: Lanterns On The Lake: Spook The Herd (2020)
Dense. Complex. Always melodic. Clever, sharply observant lyrics, a sometimes world weary atmos, and a sense of something looming, approaching. Bronte-esque maybe an overstatement, yet it is steeped in mist and autumnal texture. A record to soak in. And, despite the unsettling tension, loaded with hummable hooks.
20: Eydis Evensen: Bylur (2021)
You Tube rabbit hole discovery. Simple, intimate, brooding piano centred pieces, mostly instrumental. This record is both wintery and cosy. At times, closer to pop, at others more leftfield. It would work as a Lynch soundtrack or heartbreak companion. Nocturnal, tactile. Woody, with notes of forest floor and aged port.
21: Portico Quartet: Monument (2021)
When a thoughtful friend sent me a link to this record, I was instantly delighted. Jazz, but updated. Quantised, but not sterilised. Both sparse and groove-based, it exudes practised technique and detached cool. Smart, sophisticated, etc. And even if it is wallpaper, the design is excellent.
22: Yasmin Williams: Urban Driftwood (2021)
Organic. Ambiguous. Treading lightly. This finger-picked collection of acoustic guitar instrumentals is riverine and supple without being aimless. Williams allies craft with a sense of allowance. As such, the pieces have a fragmentary sense, a porous skin that lets in light and dust. The result is detailed, granular and yet open. This is a record that lets you wander into the room and poke around as you please.
23: Heo Hoy Kyung: Memoirs (2022)
Another internet accident. The breathy, barely there vocals of the Korean singer/songwriter, aligned with the restrained, yet luminous arrangements, make this a wispy and bittersweet delight. Think elegant, late night venue. Intimate setting. Seated, understated vocalist. Not so much K-pop as K-cocktail.
24: Evoletah: Calliope Dreaming (2023)
Bias alert: I know the band personally. That said, this record is a splendid example of modern music that is not dumb, formulaic, or cobbled together by entitled incompetents who can’t play and don’t know what ‘real’ music is. It is, rather, a painterly record of jazz-coloured, avant-pop rich in detail and emotion. Textured, cultured, moody, and thoughtful. Definitely an adult in the room; but one who understands that they still have room to grow.
25: Cassandra Jenkins: My Light, My Destroyer (2024)
Sophisticated indie-pop. Thoughtfully crafted words, cleverly sculpted tunes, and a few heartrending moments of emotional power. This album is very specific – places, times, etc – while speaking to something common; a kind of unease, but also a form of acceptance. Intelligent, quirky, and with a storyteller’s sense of character.
25 artists who nearly made the above list
Agnes Obel, Angel Olsen, Aftab/Iyer/Ismaily, Anohni & The Johnsons, Band of Horses,
Belver Yin, Chelsea Wolfe, Cindy Lee, The Cinematic Orchestra, David Shea
Elbow, Kelly Moran, Leonard Cohen, Low, Max Richter
M83, Nilufer Yanya, Pink Martini, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Sufjan Stevens
Svaneborg Kardyb, The Swell Season, The White Stripes, Wolf Parade, Zimoun
5 cool records released in 2025
Amongst my similarly vintaged contemporaries and others of a retro-fixated persuasion, this will seem tantamount to credibility suicide on my behalf, but…shock, horror…good music has been released this year.
1: Alabaster DePlume: A Blade Because A Blade Is Whole
An impressionistic sax-driven jazz outing that folds in spoken word with hints of 90s trip-hop and a pinch of the spiritual vibe associated with Alice Coltrane.
2: Barker: Stochastic Drift
Trance without the beats. Meditative and abstract. In parlance, IDM. Intelligent dance music. However, the dancing would likely be more interpretive than 4/4 raving.
3: Caroline: Caroline 2
Sprawling, multi-instrumental rock. The songs break standard forms and offer a varied palette of tempo, structure and emotion. Clever, more than heartfelt, and with a sense of improvised, democratic invention that imbues the sound with a broad spectrum of colour.
4: Pavel Milyakov & Lucas Dupuy: Heal
A vaporous, ambient drift; yet with enough detail and variation to create a sense of journey. Listen closely and the deeper weaves reveal themselves. Either that, or close your eyes and disappear.
5: Satomimagae: Taba
Airy, whispered folk. This record is subtle, both in production and intent. For non-Japanese speakers, the enigma is further enhanced; and the listener is given the latitude to invent and insert their own realities into this gauzy, nigh hypnagogic space.
Clearly, these examples are a mere scratch on a tip of an iceberg. As I type I can think of dozens of other artists I would love to bring to your notice. However, I am not here to burden you with my taste. Rather, to encourage. After all, there is an entire planet of sound to relish.
Good luck.
As If You Were Listening 