so, fiona apple took the critic's list by storm this year. i remember her from the 90s...sarah was a big fan...

i can get my head around why this has happened, as she fits almost uniquely into this kind of neo-boomer space (she's a beatnik.) that's probably at it's high point right now, as millennials go through their last years of cultural relevance at the same time as the last boomers retire. she was an odd duck in the 90s; kind of there, but neither hitting her commercial nor her critical potential, trying to navigate this space between gen x oddity and girl-beck redux. so, has she found something here?

see, it just sounds to me like fiona apple.

and, it's still got the same old quirkiness, even if it's more predictable now, but still lacks that c'est la vie that i never felt she really had. but, i need to flip it over, because people are going to get into this because it sounds like yesteryears, whereas i'm going to just shrug off the retro sheen of it. and, in the sense that she's been doing this beatnik shtick for however long now, has it reached some plateau? i dunno.

it seems she's kept her fan base happy, though.

i just don't hear anything on this record that i haven't heard her do before, and so don't see the point of listing it. but, it's really the critic's choice this year, so i feel compelled to react in some way. and, that's all i got - it's a new fiona apple record. swell.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nvvTVXc476e1vHBGAN7Y-DH9_sZjOhgx8

in principle, rambling 45 minute tracks are right up my alley - i like music with sections that evolves, and i'm willing to look into quite a few different styles to seek out that sort of development. so, while this may be too opaque for most non-fans (and, i've never found his work compelling...), the length and difficulty of this recording was actually something that attracted me to it.

in the end, though, this isn't purposeful; it's just totally self-referential and absurdly self-indulgent. but, it's actually a little frustrating, because if this was about something, i might actually really like it.

https://pwelverumandsun.bandcamp.com/album/microphones-in-2020

another dominant influence on the kate nv record is early cocteau twins.

like, this was 1985, and it still sounds contemporary. while it's a great little tune, it's not a strong reflection on the level of creativity in the contemporary art scene. but, you have to understand it in relation to the greater world - it's easy to attack the kids, and i'll fall into it sometimes, too. but, it's structural. it's a reflection of the society, and the economy underlying it.

and, note that you have to go to russia to even find western 80s retro music masquerading as forward thinking experimental electronica.

it's a sad state of affairs. truly.