Whether it is art or pop, high or low, terms such as creativity, authenticity, innovation and uniqueness can help us judge a work of music. And Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. brims with these qualities.
Number crunching the Hottest 100 votes produces fascinating insights into shifting musical tastes and poses the question: why was 1997 such a great year for music?
David Bowie was the tasteful thief and practised faker, and his 1974 album Diamond Dogs borrowed from everything to create a sublime post-apocalyptic soundscape.
Ahead of International Peace Day celebrity musicians like Yoko Ono have released music for peace. But the same qualities that bring us together around music can also inflame conflict, from the Yugoslav civil wars to Northern Ireland.
Kurt Cobain killed himself a week before this album was due to come out. It became a perfect soundtrack to Gen X’s grief and with its raw, angry, feminist-inspired, grunge sound, remains a classic.
Audiences of a certain age still gush about Countdown, the ABC’s music show that ran between 1974 and 1987. The ritual of sitting down to watch the ABC at 6pm on a Sunday (and maybe again for the Saturday…
The songs of Tribal Voice offered hope and strength to generations of Yolŋu people and gave audiences elsewhere a rare insight into the resolve and aspirations of Indigenous Australia.
The Beastie Boys’ Ill Communication closed out hip-hop’s Golden Age with a kaleidoscope of jazz-infused beats, bratty punk interludes and a deeper appreciation for storytelling.