Who Knew? The Year in Musical Surprises Posted by Kelefa Sanneh

December 14, 2009
Who Knew? The Year in Musical Surprises Posted by Kelefa Sanneh

Five Bad Ones:

* Michael Jackson departs. It still doesn't make sense.

* Indie-rock side projects abound. We wanted the White Stripes. We got the Dead Weather. We wanted Belle and Sebastian. We got "God Help the Girl," a movie-musical project. We wanted Bright Eyes or My Morning Jacket. We got Monsters of Folk. Enough.

* More rappers—including T.I., Lil' Boosie, Gucci Mane, DG Yola, and Lil' Wayne—go to jail, or prepare to. Not a surprise, perhaps, but disappointing nonetheless.

* Eli Young Band tops the country chart—or rather, doesn't. A great album, killer singles, nonstop touring: this band from Denton, Texas seemed to do everything right. Maybe next year?

* Kanye West gets put in purgatory. He may well be the artist of the decade. And we're supposed to get all censorious about him stagecrashing an award show?

And Five Good Ones:

* Lady Gaga conquers the world. A little over a year ago, she was opening for New Kids on the Block. Now she's everywhere. Musical ubiquity: not as obsolete as we thought it was.

* Atlanta hip-hop rises again, with yet another batch of upstart rappers. A small sampling, in alphabetical order: Alley Boy, Band Geakz, Big Bank Black, Fast Life Yungstaz, Pill, Rich Kids, Roscoe Dash, Travis Porter, Waka Flocka Flame, Yung L.A..

* Darkestrah emerges. A German black-metal band, with members from Kyrgyzstan, releases a beautiful, melancholy album called, "The Great Silk Road" (Paragon). This need not remain a secret.

* Rick Ross gets technical. In which an accomplished and charming hip-hop grandstander reinvents himself as a slick syllablist. "I'm a back-breaker/Another tax bracket, Benz Maybach-er/Green Bay Packer." Say what?

* Michael Jackson endures. Had we ever before listened to so much of his music, and heard so much in it?
Who Knew? The Year in Musical Surprises: The New Yorker Blog : The New Yorker (26 December 2009)
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/tny/2009/12/who-knew-the-year-in-musical-surprises.html
http://snipurl.com/tv4tc