Music.

[gottawonder]

I know this is such a cliche, but they really don't have much for good mainstream music these days.

I have a hard time thinking of Taylor Swift or Kanye West as "real" musicians. Every now and then I like a song on the radio that is new music, but I don't know when I last thought any of it was as good as anything by David Bowie or Queen or Prince. Sure, they were the absolute best of their eras, but who would we say is the best musician of this era? Beyonce is great, and very popular, she'll be remembered as defining this decade. Likely Rhihanna too. I'm not sure they're as important and innovative as Bob Dylan or Joan Jett. Are they?

I like some current bands, like The Black Keys (I feel like they are more like a '70's band that just makes music now), and anything with Jack White in it (would you consider him to be representative of popular music for the 2010's? His biggest popular time was more like 2000's.) I like Adele, but is she GREAT? I'm sure she'll also be remembered for defining the decade, just like Celine Dion for her era. I like The Glorious Sons, but again, are they "popular"?

Who would be considered to be big names right now? Nicki Minaj and Cardi B? I don't know that this is stuff that will be classics in 20 years.

As for electronic music, I DO like Deadmau5, and I think people will still enjoy it for a long time.

Who will be our next true music legend? Someone like Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd?

Every now and then I just sit and listen to my favorites. I like music from all eras; James Brown, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Nina Simone, George Micheal, Depeche Mode, Eurythmics, Etta James, Aretha Franklin, Gershwin, Primus, Copeland, Great Big Sea, Spirit of the West, Blues Traveller, and on and on. They're GREAT musicians.

I like The Verve, and yet they're not "current" anymore. Cold Play is okay, but GREAT?

I think people would say that Backstreet Boys, Brittany Spears, and Justin Timberlake are going to be the pop singers that people will say represent the 2000's. I didn't care for any of their music, but they are the people that will mark that era.

Who would you say is a GREAT band/artist that represents the 2010's? Lady Gaga? Katy Perry?

I can think of quite a few individual songs that are good and might feel like classics after awhile, like Uptown Funk, Take me to Church, Royals by Lorde, Happy, Get Lucky. These are more like great individual songs though, and I don't know if they're powerful artists the way Bowie was.

I guess I felt this way about the '90's, and some of the music I think of as amazing now, like NIN and Pearl Jam and Nirvana and Alannis Morissette didn't seem like clear classic material at the time. It takes time to see the pattern.

Who would you say is a NEW artist(s) from this decade that will be outstanding?