But “world music” doesn’t sell here.   Granted, I don’t listen to the type of music that sells by the bushel in India or France or Japan.  Most of that is pop music of the ilk I can’t stand – even in my native tongue.  However, there are some amazing discs out there in foreign languages.   Sa Dingding’s “Alive” is a beautiful record sung in five different languages and French singer Anaïs recent album “Love Story” is a really fine piece of pop. Dervish is an Irish band who sings strictly in Gaelic.  I’ve even heard guys rap in Turkish, Arabic and French and it sounds great.   And we hear “world music” everyday!  If you’ve been to Cirque de Soleil you’ve heard it.  If you’ve listened to a soundtrack – say “Black Hawk Down” – you’ve heard it.   How many duets have you heard between some rock star and the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan? 

 However it still never catches fire here.  Do you think we – as Americans – get turned off by a foreign language?  I know myself that I’m more likely to pick up something from another country that’s instrumental than vocal.  Do we need to know the words?  Would I like Bon Jovi better if I DIDN’T understand the words (Lil’ Wayne too for that matter)?  Or is it just like soccer – since it’s not our sport, we’re really not that into it.

 Just a thought. 

How many foreign artists do you own?

So – where’s the music?

We just did CDs based on five decades of music.  Each of those decades had a sound that branded it – sometimes more than one.  Almost all of these forms sprang from the Youth of the day.  Some were in protest of the way things were.  Others were protesting the protests.  But all the forms were propelled by the “under 30” crowd.  Created by and for, bought and sold to the young.

The 1960s, of course, basically created music as we know it.  The Beatles, Beach Boys, Dylan and the Stones were basically genres themselves.  Rock (as opposed to rock ‘n roll) and Pop became the terms and offered numerous branches that still thrive today.

The 1970s gave us Glam Rock and Hard Rock (per Led Zepplin and others) and Prog Rock (or Art Rock).  There was the Singer/Songwriter genre and Bubblegum.  Then Disco and Punk toward the end of the decade – each the antithesis of the other.

The 1980s showed Punk move to New Wave.  Corporate Rock (Toto, Foreigner) and Hair Bands were products of MTV and a rebellion against punk and new wave.  The end of the decade showed a confusion of styles that would erupt later, but also the beginnings of Rap and Hip Hop.

The 1990s burst out with more rebellion from the 80s with Grunge, Alternative and even Alt-Country.  But the kids need to dance so Techno , Electronic and Industrial music developed and Goth blended the three together.  The main genre that really kicked in was Rap and Hip Hop, which swamped the charts and all other music forms.

Then you have the Oughts – the current decade…. Was there a movement?  Is Tween the operative term for music this decade?  Where was the rebellion?  What are we calling the sound of being under 30?  Sure – punk sort of came back via things like the Warped Tour.  But it was more a side act than a movement.  All the past genres have come back – even as Classic Rock from the 60s finds followers in a new generation.  But what is the sound?  When they do a retrospective of the decade – was has been born?  Are Britney, Beyonce and Miley the leading forces in music for this decade?  I mean – I know we are all old farts and pop music is not for us.  But as music historians, we should still be able to identify a trend.  A movement.  Youth’s creation of a new sound.

Was there one?