I love music so much. It’s accurate to say that music saved my life in North Florida when I was a beaten-on reject misfit. I’ll forever be grateful to Tori, to Hope, to the Smashing Pumpkins, to Tanya and all the other artists who put part of themselves out into the world to let me know there was something better out there waiting for me.

And there was. I am living it. Not sure I would’ve made it without their signs and omens. In fact, I’m quite certain I wouldn’t have.

I don’t even remember where I saw it anymore. I think somewhere on one of those balky fediverse sites that I’ve been mostly avoiding, but someone referenced me and this blog, asserting that I didn’t listen to indie rap for “demographic reasons.”

LOL.

Not only do I listen to indie rap, I listen to obscure Chilean and Argentinian indie rap that I’m certain they’ve not heard of in their lives. If you’re gonna step to me with that kinda shit, you gotta try harder. I listen to a broader range of music than anyone I’ve ever fucking met, except maybe this one DJ in Seattle who listened to, like, Norwegian hunting chants mixed with whale song sold on cassettes you could only buy in some pop-up stall in Oslo one day a week in mid-winter.

Come on, people. Your limitations are not my limitations.

How did “Thriller” which is basically a Halloween novelty song become one of Michael Jackson’s most popular songs and one of the biggest songs of all time?

The short answer is MTV and emerging from a terrible recession.

The “Thriller” video came out in December of 1983. Michael Jackson, of course, was already extremely famous and had been since the late 1960s. He’d also had a string of hits before the video for “Thriller” was released.

At the time, it was the most money ever spent on a music video and it was much higher quality than any made prior. Off the back of a really punishing US recession, “Thriller” was something engaging, dumb and really fun put out by the most popular singer in the developed world.

For context, MTV played the “Thriller” vid about 30 times a day back then. It was not the first music video to have something of a plot, but it was the first to have a story that was engaging, made some sort of sense, and was also funny while being a bit scary at the same time. In other words, it hit a lot of notes other music vids did not. Hence, its staying power and why people still watch it today. And that it was a loving homage to horror certainly did not hurt.

To return to the recession and recovery theme, people needed something that was pure fun. Back in those days, we were allowed such things more so than now, where all must have a political dimension. “Thriller” was a distraction everyone could just enjoy without thinking about it too much.

It was a very different time and Taylor Swift, as famous as she is, is only a small fraction as well-known and worshipped as Michael Jackson was back then; the world is wider now and there are many more niches.

None of those. It’s definitely Lisa Mitchell’s “California¹.”

Tons of AI slop music is making it onto YouTube now. It’s distinguishable by featureless repetition of musical lines and tired lyrical clichés. That song actually starts off fine but deteriorates badly after 30 seconds or so.

There are a few AI songs I have liked, though, to be fair.

Bella/Baby Queen is such a brilliant songwriter. Ugh, it’s not fair how good she is.

I’ve listened to all or part of 382 new songs today so far. Time to read for a bit. But not a “smart” book. Some Jack McDevitt, see what Hutch is up to. Probably flying a spaceship combined with some dangerous hijinks. Her usual deal.

To people who claim there is no good music made now and are stuck worshiping the crap you listened to when you were 19: WHAT IS YOU EVEN TALKING ABOUT?

It’s hard to believe that Nirvana is now considered “classic rock” since I recall when Nirvana and Kurt Cobain were seen as the great threats that imperiled all of civilization. But the same span of time separates us now from Nirvana as I was from the the Beatles when I was in high school.

The passage of time is relentless.

This is delightful. That language is Provençal! I believe that is the only song I have in that tongue. It sounds like a strange mix of French and Spanish (which, you know, it basically is).

What a fun language.