North Park Festival of the Arts
Photo illustration by Adam Vieyra It used to be that music snobs would turn up their noses at genres like pop-punk or soft-rock. These days, though, even the most uncool sounds are cool again, as we’ve seen with the rise of sentimental soft-rockers like Bon Iver and M83. With so much music available at our fingertips, it seems that any old sound is fair game for plundering. Here’s a look at some genres we predict will have new life in 2013.
Psych-rock: Garage-rock may be all the rage these days, but let’s be honest: Most of that stuff is dreadfully boring when you look past the lo-fi / punk / vintage flavorings. What the kids really need to get into is psych-rock. Wah-wah guitar solos and droning synths can spice up even the most boring band, and the PR potential is undeniable: Announce that you wrote an album entirely on LSD, and the bloggers will eat it up.
Jug bands: Amid our continuing love affair with Americana, it’s only a matter of time before the public demands something older and dirtier than The Lumineers. That’s where jug bands come in. If you thought Jeremiah Fraites looked good in suspenders, just wait till you see some scraggly old rocker in grease-stained overalls. And “Ho Hey”? Psh. That doesn’t stand a chance against the toot toot-toot of an old clay jug.
Tropicália: Plenty of bands have dealt in sunny vibes and African polyrhythms lately, and plenty more have put the word “tropical” in their name. Problem is, some of these artists aren’t tropical at all. How can you prove you’re the real deal? By reviving the late-’60s Brazilian “tropicália” movement pioneered by artists like Gilberto Gil and Os Mutantes, of course. What, you’ve never heard of it? Well, get off your hammock and start googling!
Happy hardcore: With all those people waving glow-sticks and snorting molly, modern-day EDM shows don’t look a whole lot different from the raves people went to back in the 1990s. We might as well just call a spade a spade and bring Vengaboys back into the fold. Take a walk, Skrillex. Your dubstep bass is no match for their ultra-cranked BPMs and super-cheesy lyrics.
Reggae: Hipsters have been hating on Sublime for years, but if lo-fi balladeer How to Dress Well can do wonders with the most sentimental R&B, a resourceful bedroom artist can do the same with the whitest of white-boy reggae. All you have to do is record everything on GarageBand and be really ironic. As much as they’ll hate to admit it, everyone will secretly love it.
Email peterh@sdcitybeat.com or follow him on Twitter at @peterholslin.
