The Shape of Things to Come

© saumilshah

2009 was fun and all but we're most excited about what's coming our way in 2010. And, while you might need a bit pair of crystal balls to predict what’s coming down the musical pike for 2010, that doesn't stop us from trying. So, here are some of the trends that we think will hit your playlist next year.

First and foremost, the 80’s will finally annoy everyone who didn’t live through them back then. So say goodbye to 1987 and hello to 1977. We think The Strokes were just scratching at the surface of the house that punk built and that, this year, someone will tap their inner poet/junkie and a new Johnny Thunders/Richard Hell hybrid will be born.

The '60s will come back pretty hard too. (Because why move forward when you can look back?) What Cotton Jones, Amazing Baby and Here We Go Magic started in 2009 will continue in 2010 as über talented musicians feel the need to get psychedelic. Meanwhile, kids with music school pedigrees will keep churning out chamber pop, with The Beach Boys and Crosby, Stills and Nash continuing to inform their vocal arrangements.

Country music will continue to rock harder than most rock. Why? Because rock has no balls anymore. Have you watched those country music awards shows? They’ve got better guitars than we do. Where did we go wrong?

If you caught the recent Blakroc collaboration between The Black Keys and Raekwon, RZA, Ludacris and others (remember Anthrax and Public Enemy and Aerosmith/Run DMC?) there's more to come in 2010. Alliances will be made and genres crossed, bringing the heat and the goods.

Meanwhile, the ladies of hip-hop will have "their year" yet again. Rhianna's album Clean dropped in November, but you'll still be hearing it all year. Looking for some "indie" lady hip-hop? Look up Speech Debelle, winner of England’s 2009 Mercury Prize. Her clean, upbeat sounds will not disappoint.

On the DJ/electronica front, Daftpunk and Justice et. al. will continue to tinkle the synth keys and crank out the beats for club kids everywhere. But the big news in that world is and always has been the remix artist. So, while Electronica may be status quo, it's still the most fun you can have with a glow stick.

And, while a decade ago we prayed for the boy-band slayer, in 2010, we're thinking it's time for the Idol-killer. Enough with all these Wal-Mart-shopping clones, hacks and poseurs bringing their bedroom mirror antics to television. And – you know who you are – stop watching the Idol car crashes, please???They're as authentic as the WWF. We need art, not artifice, in 2010.

Mostly, we need something new. Something so brand spankin’ new it's going to come along and slap us so hard that the first time we hear it, we’re going to hit Shuffle or Forward until we come back to it again and our jaws will drop that we didn’t get how good it was the first time around. Remember when Roni Size dropped New Forms? Remember Nirvana? Remember Radiohead? Who will step up to blow our minds in 2010? Only time will tell.

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