Because there’s nothing in there that should warrant that statement a compliment. Music, no matter the innovations along with it, at its base has to be music. Sure, there is always a context where music can be made to sound smart or have a message, but never should that be at a sacrifice to melody, or harmony, and never should it come to a point where the music world is so fractured that this becomes one of the most sought after LP’s in 2012. Yes, Frank Zappa was weird, most of his music irredeemable by everyone but the smallest circles of music junkies who appreciated him for his technical skill at his instrument, or at least that he had an idea of song structure.
Here’s my problem; the music is no longer relatable without context, for such a rich medium, sounds like this require a visual accompaniment, or fulfill a background purpose for getting high, to forget the world.
40 years ago, a musician like Grimes would never even get the chance make a record, let alone play a large festival because her take on melody is worse than those 4 and ½ hours that Jerry Garcia played a solo after taking some bad acid. That’s the problem today, the fact that she’s a woman, dresses odd, and warbles like Skillrex put through a washing machine makes her in vogue.
While she may be talented in the sense of modern music; how did it get to a point where this is what music is?!
I’m not saying Top 40 is any less deserving of a tongue lashing, but this weird electronic derived stuff seems manufactured as well, metallic, isolated, pill popping depressive sounds that not so much conjure an emotion but make you feel emotionless.
The Art of the Mixtape 