I did my usual Friday trip to Jack's today. I picked through the new vinyl and the used CD's and saw, mostly, the same stuff I see every week with a few, new additions here and there.
Jack's has a wall display where they display new releases and the top sellers in the store. As I walked out, I walked past the top sellers and this is what I saw:
1. Eric Clapton, Old Sock
2. David Bowie, The Next Day
3. Bon Jovi, What About Now
4. Jimi Hendrix, People, Hell & Angels
I think Van Morrison was number 9.
Really, people?
Nothing wrong with any of those artists, and I'm sure the albums contain some fine, fine music. But is this really where we're at now? Are we this conservative, nostalgic, resistant to change, whatever when it comes to our music? Is it a local phenomenon? Or is this saying something about the state of the music industry, who gets promoted, who buys albums?
This is just another one of those times when I'm jolted out of the little hermetically sealed bubble that is "indie" music, which, I'm beginning to agree, gets a great deal more press and attention than its cultural impact merits.
Maybe it's just temporary, and Mumford & Sons and The Lumineers will be back on top next week.
If it is more than just a temporary, local phenomenon, though, it sure would explain the lineup at that 121212 concert.
I hear good things about that Bowie album though.
ReplyDeleteI don't doubt it. I've been going to Jack's since I was a kid, and it just struck me that those could've been the same top 4 during my senior year in HS.
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