Here's another one to be filed under "the best of intentions."
Started in December, this piece was never finished due to the usual circumstances that leave one whinging for time one day and energy the next. In fact, it's likely I never would have finished it at all if not for the annual shitshow that is the Grammy's. Admittedly, it's a strange thing to take note of as my relationship to mainstream music has been on an increasingly elliptical orbit for some time now. I close in on commercial radio for a peek only to veer further away than before. If nothing else, the Grammy's serve to remind that there are no awards for my music.
It's odd, however, expressing any emotion regarding the Grammy's at all. Paying attention to them is, for me, a lot like paying attention to the sexual adventures and conquests of an ex-girlfriend I never really connected with to begin with. Unless there's comically abject humiliation taking place, do I really care?
That being said, here are my final thoughts on 2012. As a leap/election years go, it didn't disappoint for disappointing moments.
In fact, looking back, there were very few moments when 2012 didn't feel like a Mad Max Zombified redux of "We Didn't Start the Fire." There were face eating bath salt attacks, Chik-Fil-A outrage, faux Chik-Fil-A outrage, the monolithic Walking Dead, numerous tragic public shootings, the most Wrestlemania-like re-election I've seen in some time, numerous apocalyptic proclamations of what would follow said election, Mayan hysteria and Gangnam Style. It's enough have one passing bullets with biscuits every time someone coughs at the family dinner table.
On the other hand, I got married and that was awesome.
Speaking of Psy's "Gangnam Style," I'm not gonna lie: I too enjoyed the hell out of it. The video was a perfect storm of awkward and funny and repeated viewings did little to dim the fun. But it took off a little too much and, as a result, I heard it a little too often. So I'm not putting it on 2012's Bitchin' Mixtape. The same goes for Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know." There is no way that song was ever designed to be a pop crossover hit. Still, consider how many people heard it for the first time on the Voice. Kudos to Gotye keeping it weird and succeeding anyways. Besides, a little weirdness keeps it fecund, y'know?
That being said, mainstream radio was not a place of great excitement or enthusiasm this year. First, there was a distinct lack of ruckus brought on by dudes with guitars. Sure, your favorite classic rockers did their best to represent (I know a lot of you dig the Springsteen) but this is an aging class. Look no further than the anniversary of Rage Against the Machine's debut album as indictment. Still, it wasn't all sour as the Afghan Whigs finally reunited and made my inner 17 year old squee with angsty glee.
Ladies, on the other hand, you were marvelous. From hip-hop to the coffee shop and all spaces in between, the ladies brought the heat this last year. Whether it was M.I.A.'s SuperBowl finger or Lana Del Rey's national humiliation on SNL, at least it was interesting.
Hip-hop also seemed to thrive this year as El-P (with or without Killer Mike), Danny Brown, Kreayshawn, Asap Rocky, 2 Chainz and Die Antwoord all seemed to take root in the dark corners of public consciousness. The dissolution of Das Racist felt like a strange culmination to this new hip hop culture that has taken root outside of the current superstar establishment of the Dre's and the Ye's.
The dark cloud hovering over this was the loss of Adam Yauch to cancer. The Beastie Boys, moreso than almost any group from the 90's, embodied everything that was great about "alternative" music as hip-hop collided with punk rock collided with activism. I may not have been a Beasties die-hard but it was hard not to feel overwhelmed by the loss. It was a sad but inevitable milestone for alt music even if we can take solace in the legacy Yauch left behind. It's hard to imagine groups like Matt and Kim or Sleigh Bells without that hip-hop influence.
Ultimately, there's not a lot more I can say about 2012. It was a year fraught with apocalyptic tension on pre-millenial levels and the music reflected that. There was little comfort or safety to be found in this year's music and, quite frankly, I'm okay with that. I am, after all, from the 90's.
Or, as the late Bill Hicks once said, "Play from your fucking heart."
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