MUSIC
How My Musical Taste Fluctuated.
2020 was a ride, music rode it for me.
As Todd in the Shadows put it, “Most of you could not think of music at all, for me it was the only thing I could think of.” Music was easily the best part of 2020, and it was also a very varied year of listening experience for me.
For the purposes of this article, I will count 2020 as April 2020 to April 2021. I do not think an explanation is required. Let’s get started.
April-August 2020- The music I have always listened to.
As far as I can remember, I have always loved moody, slow and sad songs. Not for the lyrics, they could be fun lyrics as far as I care. But, the songs needed to be slow and moody. My most listened to artists during this part were, by far, Lewis Capaldi and Billie Eilish. I would not consider any of their songs as the best song ever, but their songs almost always deliver on my limited prerequisites. ‘Headspace’ and ‘Don’t Get Me Wrong’ by Lewis Capaldi and ‘I Love You’ and ‘Hostage’ by Billie Eilish were my go to’s and I can’t help but pity my old self.
Everyone, during the pandemic, resolved to sad songs and I have always loved them, and for the first few months, I continued to love them. But then, a change had to occur. Well, that’s dramatic, but the thing is, my listening dropped and I was nowhere near happy.
September 2020-January 2021- A new style that didn’t stick.
From September onward, I swiftly transitioned to classical and rap music. I know, too diverse. I did give Taylor Swift’s albums a listen, it didn’t sit well with me, to be honest. I then randomly started listening to classical music, pieces by Beethoven, Debussy, Chopin and some others. I loved them, but I realised I loved them more as just background music. I also tried rap, a few songs were nice, I don’t even remember them, this was a short phase. In the middle of all of this, Jacob Collier and Adele were also giving me some tunes. Desperate, desperate times.
I do not remember anything from this period. I assume many people went through a phase like this and I feel I was lucky to get out of it quickly. That was partly because of personal reasons, but I am grateful for it. Musically, I did not enjoy this at all. I don’t even use classical music as background music anymore, you’ll know why in the segment, and the rap that I listened to was unpleasant, not fun and completely monotone.
February-April 2021- I am lovin’ it.
I listened to Bruno Mars’ ‘retro’ stuff in February, little did I know what was to come. Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak dropped ‘Leave The Door Open’ under the duo name ‘Silk Sonic’ on March the fifth. Let’s just say Anderson .Paak impressed me. A lot. I listened to almost every song and performance he had, the beloved NPR Tiny Desk Concert, and then repeat. I have listened to a huge amount of rap last two months, 21 Savage, Eminem, G-Eazy, Kendrick Lamar, and many more. And I liked them, but Anderson just has something they don’t. Firstly, he is not a pure rapper. He has heavy, and by heavy I mean HEAVY, R&B, Neo-Soul and jazz influences. He is a drummer like very few are. He is truly a different class of musician.
As Anthony Fantano put it, “There is no world where he would not get successful eventually, he is so versatile.” Leave The Door Open is still great, but his catalogue is so impressive that it isn’t even one of his top five best songs. Suede, Come Down, 6 Summers, Bubblin, Jet Black are just a few of many songs that are so fun that I cannot resist smiling. Yes, I do pay attention to the lyrics, because they are so good. I am, mentally, in a very good space right now, and at least some of that can be credited to Anderson .Paak. Along with him and Bruno, I have recently liked 21 Pilots and 21 Savage, Two Feet and Cardi B.
For background music, I have taken to jazz. This is the link to the artist I listen to. No, it is not me, neither is it my friend, nor am I paid to write this. I feel relaxed and concentrated more on jazz than classical music, that is why I shifted.
Final Thoughts
I have a few inferences that I thought of, after re-reading this. I wasted a huge amount of time when I could have listened to .Paak and Bruno Mars. Don’t kill me, I can not know every musician straight out of the gate. Also, I love dancing (on my own) quite a bit. I have a musical knowledge of a peanut, but I seem to like music that is (wrongly) stated as musician’s music.
Anyway, please let me know what you listened to in these tough times and if you like the songs I like!
