design of a decade

Last night I spent out on a beach with my boyfriend and some of our friends, including a girl named Dawn, who will use any opportunity she has to sing a song with her name in it.

We realized that it was the end of the decade, the end of an era, and so of course Dawn started singing familiar words..."this is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius!  Age of Aquarius!"  I listen to that song every so often, and yesterday it even popped up on my iPod when I was almost done running for the afternoon.

Aside from Dawn singing on the beach at night, I don't know what else to say about the end of the decade.  I'm generally obsessed with reading year-end lists - now we're supplied with end of the decade lists.  I have to say that NPR music, Paste Magazine, and yes, even Pitchfork, to name a few, have more than done their share to well, share their views on the best of the best for the decade.  And I cut off cable this year, so I haven't even seen what VH1 has to contribute to this whole mess.

And frankly?  Despite my undying love for countdowns, and my desire to make my own sort of list, I feel dwarfed and a bit overwhelmed.  As John Darnielle would say, "There's too much information in the pipes."  We have mp3s, we have blogs, we have all of the bonkers stuff this decade that just blows everyone's minds - maybe we do have TMI, generally speaking, as a culture?  Everyone gets a voice now, so how can any one person, news service, collective, or anything recall everyone's voice? 

There's just so much.  I'm pretty good at picking through and finding just what it is that I like, and pretty much sticking with that (my top, um, five? albums of the year would be pretty damn predictable), but I worry in the same way that I got self-conscious at age 13 that I didn't own enough CDs to be considered cool that I'm missing something.  These lists always give me a hefty pile of stuff to catch up on, things that I've heard a little bit of and know I would like (St. Vincent, Saint Etienne, ironically two artists with Saint in their names?), and a list of stuff I've listened to but hasn't put a serious impact on my life.  I always nod my head in agreement when I hear Sufjan Stevens, and that's about it.  

These lists always give me reason for pause.  As with the 90s, Radiohead dominates the top of these lists, and reminds me of what people used to say on Smashing Pumpkins message boards in the late 90s - I know Radiohead is the best band ever, but...what if you just don't get into them?  Really?  I'm never going to be on a long drive with a bunch of friends, cranking Radiohead and singing along at top volume.  I do, however, remember those particular trips we made singing along to Tilly & the Wall, a band I don't even know that I can safely say I like anymore, but one I will always remember fondly.

It's not so easy to put forth a list of music that really moves you.  A list of music you're supposed to like, or that had an impact on society and culture (and maybe I'm just way out of touch, but I don't know anyone except for over-arching hipsters who are into Animal Collective.  Sorry.) but to make a list of music that really moves you is not quite so easy.

I certainly have songs that define the decade for me, and many of those songs didn't happen in this decade.  Starting with simply lots and lots of Smashing Pumpkins, some more Tori Amos, David Bowie, Pat Benetar, and even some Radiohead, I can easily give you my soundtrack to the decade, both music that defined my personal as well as professional life (classical training, what what!).  Maybe I will share them at some point.  I will say that "Age of Aquarius" is on that list.

Naturally, many theoretically less commercial music providers and critiques have to press on and put great things forth, in order to ward off the coming madness of the Age of Britney and Nickelback.  Seriously, that which we refer to as mainstream radio, which is amazing in the fact that it still exists, has had the worst decade maybe ever.  And that's probably due to the fact that it's only the people who really really don't care about music still listening to any of that crap.  Those who love what they love have gone elsewhere, and to a lot of different elsewheres.

That said, tonight, since New Year's is my favorite holiday of all, I will go out and dance tonight.  But I will probably dance to some Outkast, some Killers, some Yeah Yeah Yeahs maybe, and a lot of music that didn't happen in this decade.  It's hard to instantly nostalgize yourself, and it's much more useful to know that history will be our judge.  As general world events went, it was an absolutely terrible decade, a depressing one, and one that I'm not proud of.  History is already sorting out those events.  (What's that you said in 2004?  George W. Bush would never go down as one of history's worst presidents?) 

When I worked for a teen paper in the 90s (when I was in high school), we young whipper-snappers were at a loss as how to culturally define the decade.  I don't know that I can sum up the entire 90s in one adjective, but 10 years out almost everyone has a feel for what they encompassed.  And it seemed pretty impossible for me at that time to define the decade that spanned my ages 7 to 17.  It's even harder now to span the decade of 17 to 27, and all that has grown and changed in my own life. 

But it's okay that we don't have it all mapped out.  History will tell.  And I will guarantee you that more people will be singing M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" in 10 years than will be singing The Rapture.