We have come to the end of what I call the Coachella Cycle. This observable cadence is where music artists are in creation mode surrounding the winter solstice and start releasing work leading into the spring, usually just in time for the festival circuit. Which begins with the granddaddy of them all - Coachella. December is slow for new releases. Many start their next year trickle, but for the most part, it's a deluge of holiday-themed releases and re-purposed versions of existing music. There are always notable exceptions. Peter Gabriel dropped his new LP on the very cusp of the season, most surely to maximize unit sales in an era where they are waning.
Starting January first of every year, I begin saving tracks to a playlist I call the L.I.P Bucket. I now call it LIP (Year) 2023 etc. L.I.P stands for Lean in Project.
Spotify has two descriptions for its customers. The most prominent are "Lean Back Listeners." These music fans gravitate to existing playlists, let the algorithm decipher their preferences, and then feed them music. Such as choosing Hits of the 90s and hit play. If you're old enough, recall the radio station you grew up tuning into. The second behavior is less common and called "Lean In Listeners." These music fans dig, scratch and mine the vastness of the near-limitless music catalog now available from all the subscription services. A hundred thousand songs are added daily to the Spotify catalog. Over a Million tracks are available from that DSP, and the number is similar for the other Music Digital Service Providers (DSPs). It's becoming limitless.
Lean In Project Stats
LIP 2016/2017 - 150 tracks. Ground zero for me, and I saved music in various playlists.
LIP 2018 - 802 tracks - the first year of weekly hunting
LIP 2019 - 672 tracks - some genre-specific saving become a habit
LIP 2020 - 1,132 tracks - too huge as I was saving multiple tracks from the same LP and all genres
LIP 2021 - 589 tracks (I started moving all Electronic and Dance music to other playlist buckets)
LIP 2022 - 555 songs - 500 is a good target, but I am slowing down, plus getting better at saving to genre-specific buckets
LIP 2023 - 483 songs - I am not going through the list for this article
For many of the earlier years, I worked hard to create a top 100 playlist for each year. This is challenging. The LIP list was bookmarking and tagging anything interesting across a wide range of genres and styles. It took a lot of curation to sift through the list as I saved a lot of marginal music. It was easy to find the top 20, but the top 100 was work. Those playlists are active in our house to this day. 2019 was a good year, and I should return to making them. In the early years, I shared the top 100 playlists. Still, it was then that I was coming to grips with the reality of Music Paralysis and that very few of my contemporaries shared my passion for new music and emerging artists. My feelings about this have morphed into humour. I get a chuckle that, at one time, someone could so easily be immersed in the discovery and enjoyment of music art, and now it's passive nostalgia with no time for new art. There are many reasons for this, which I explored in my four-part series on Music Paralysis in this Blog.
In many ways, music has been too free since the dawn of radio, and society takes its availability for granted. On the bright side, there is a fraternity of art fans similar to me and every time I go to an emerging artist or 'off the mainstream' live show, that tribal family is always there.
Instead of a top 100, in the coming weeks, I will review the most interesting, most notable and most liked artists I have found in 2023. Apple now does this for me with a yearly review and playlist built by the algorithm. This is based on my plays, so it's a solid review for me, but the 'algo' list only captures some of the interesting things I found and listened to more. Over time, the New Music Collective (NMC) is the best resource for all this hunting. I know Facebook is the wrong venue, as it throttles engagement on an epic level.
The New Music Collective (NMC) is a Facebook Group where artists and fans share new music, usually focused on somewhat new.
NMC Primer
I don't like everything I share with this group. I'm still continually shocked at how apathetic most people are north of thirty-five, even when the play button is free. There is no fault in this as most humans are just hard-wired NOT to be inspired or open to new music past age twenty-five. Like I have mentioned, I have a four-part quick read series in my SubStack on the subject called Music Paralysis. So, if you find it hard to engage with new music, there is nothing wrong with you, especially if you still enjoy playing music. If you enjoy the art, the world is a better place for that effort.
I preach bravery in the "why the fuck not" adage. Do not fear the play button and embrace the streaming era. The value of a subscription is lopsided to the listener, and even though I encourage "tithing the ten," Spotify free should make it a no-brainer. I reject the "I don't have time" lament. When you were young, it did take time to "deeply listen" and dedicate effort to an immersive musical experience. Yet, no one would have described radio as immersive. This is how we used to "graze" music. It was on the radio. In the streaming era, learn how to "graze" while driving, working, cooking, lounging, walking or shopping. Then, learn how to make a playlist for bookmarking music for later. Then, choose your immersive dedicated listening as time allows. It's not hard, and none of these suggestions require a massive time commitment.
How to Leverage the New Music Collective
The one excuse I agree with is, "Where do I find good new music?" It's hard with a million tracks. It was served to you on the radio in the good old days. Today, that medium is no longer a good resource. The Mainstream owns it and no longer represents all the best the art has to offer. What's the solution? Learn to "Lean In" or find the curators. This is precisely what the New Music Collective is all about. It's a selection of music, primarily new and emerging artists, shared with link trees to your preferred Digital Music Provider (DSP). The group is slowly moving towards a thousand members. The best way to leverage the group is to periodically drop by and then scroll back through the posts. Most shares are labelled with genre, a brief description and an easy way to click play.
Some Catch Phrases and Slogans
Please Share if You Care - in the NMC, most music comes from emerging creatives trying to find ears for their art. Sharing things digitally is a habit of the young. Be youthful, and share music as often as you can. This is how you help emerging artists.
Don't Fear the Play Button - it's FREE - it costs nothing to play music, so why not? What are you going to lose? It's not a considered purchase! Go for it. Hit the play button.
Skip Often - more music is being released daily than at any other time in the history of recorded music. If it does not interest you, skip to the next.
NFE - Nor For Everyone - a clear badge tagging music that is pretty deep cut or experimental that would not have widespread interest.
MSLs and WWMLs - Spotify displays each artist's Monthly Spotify Listeners (MSLs). This is not streams but the number of people listening to the artists at least once a month. I multiplied this number by three since Spotify is 30% of the streaming market to arrive at their worldwide monthly listeners (WWMLs). This is a rough estimate of their worldwide following. A key point is that popularity does not equal good music for me. Having few fans does not denote lousy music. MSLs and WWMLs is an interesting point only, and I enjoy time-stamping this statistic. After years of curating new music, I am no longer surprised when marginal (usually very authentic) music has a large following and when some of the best music has no following.
In the end, please share if you care!
Some Thoughts on Subjective vs. Objective
Music shared in the NMC is rarely a review. In the CD yesteryear, music review services like Pitchfork were helpful because they helped a collector decide where to invest $20. It's a classic considered purchase. What we do in the NMC is simple curation. Which is a quick description of the genre, a brief introduction to the artist and a feel for the music shared. CD liner notes are sorely missed. The NMC shares try to do the liner note thing.
The music you like is highly subjective. There is no rule to like anything. For me, I have cultured habits to keep my ears youthfully open. First, I ponder the artistic intent. Then listen with that in mind. I'm not a big Country Music fan, but when I spin that genre, I try to ask this: was the intention to create country music? Did they achieve their goal? If so, I am good with that. From a respectful point of view, one spin was the least I could give to those artists for their effort to create the art.
If I don't like the music, I say that specifically - "The music didn't do anything for me. It was not my cup of tea. It did not resonate with me. I can appreciate the effort but it's not my favorite style." Each of these is 'subjective' and honest. What I never do is apply subjectivity to objectivity. "I hated that music, and it's terrible because I don't like it." This is a big pet peeve of mine and is the quickest way for me to get passionate and object vocally. I apologize if I have done this to you.
I love objective discussions about art and music. I respect passion but enjoy this the most when the banter is articulate. Relating to the above, the fact you don't like the music is not an articulate nor objective reason the music is bad. Terrible constructed songs? Bad vocal performance? Rushed and annoying mix? Too long? Un-original or not that authentic with colour added to why you think that. Add a dose of critical thought to that 'objective' opinion.I understand we can never be absolutely objective because Music is art, after all, and, as such, is always highly subjective. However, for me there is a long list of objective checkboxes. It's a good song, mix, great playing, a good voice, a memorable hook, authenticity, innovation, and so on.
Don't fear the Play Button!
SEE NEXT POST FOR 2023 LIST
Absolutely!!! ( LBL)-(LIL)