Music is our collective. Our universal interpolation of themes, viewpoints, social stands and free spirits. It's the collective of hope and transgressions, a mirror of truth and a beguiling contraption designed by human hands, a truly pioneering and life altering union representing millions in the quest for a voice.
As has been my tradition since 2017, it's my utmost duty to intersperse all of the musical influences of a given year and give them a form in my essays gracing this collection on popular culture. I do the same this time around , though belatedly but the forecast of the year past was a surprising return to form for those with a keen eye for actual melodies amidst the crowd of blockbusting enterprises. Most of the profound numbers used the two best friends of true artists - piano and guitar - and sonorous accomplishments took the lead with reflective lyrics. There were artists who received their breakthroughs(BRANDI CARLILE, GRETA VAN FLEET) , a full length album that redefined the idea of contemporary soundtracks with its innate and unwavering beauty trickling through each verse(A STAR IS BORN) and old guardians of the bastion( MARK KNOPFLER, TONY BENNETT, ROSANNE CASH and reissues of classics by THE BEATLES, JIMI HENDRIX and RUSH) who stood firm on hallowed grounds, matching their zeal with the stomp of age.
It was a good year in which this writer succeeded in blocking out the din for just the selective but diverse array of works that brought the world together in a spirit of celebration and commiseration. Good things were in store, plentiful young artists(LANA DEL REY, HOZIER, CARRIE UNDERWOOD, KACEY MUSGRAVES et al) stuck to their roots and the principle of enfranchisement shone through this collective of a steadfast 2018 and continuing because the trail continues to be led.
Also as a departure, I will not describe each song individually. In good stead, it will be about artists and their cumulative output.
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A LETTERED SOUL: REFLECTIONS ON LITERATURE, CINEMA AND CULTURE .
Non-FictionI have often wondered about the very curdled natures of our opinions so much so that the perch of imagination simply becomes a bystanding abstraction and real thoughts of genuine merit slip between the fingers. That is a human tendency, to beat arou...
