theDIHEDRAL Playlist

In case you haven’t been following along…

Each month this year, I’m creating a new climbing playlist for each decade going all the way back to the 1920’s.  A hundred years of music!  Not necessarily the best songs from each decade, but songs that I can envision on road trips, at the crag, at the gym, on training days, and on the send train.

We kicked things off in January with the 1920’s.  February and March brought in hits from the 30’s and 40’s, April gave us the classics of the 1950’s, and we reached a crescendo in trying to pick from an onslaught of magnificent songs from the 60’s.  The 70’s gave way to a new wave, which continued into the 1980’s.  It could be argued that the 1990’s was the greatest musical decade of all time, but the 2000’s brought in an indie vibe that continued into the 2010’s.

The 2010’s saw some major changes within the music scene.  While there wasn’t an onslaught of original style, the way listeners would find and acquire music was like nothing we’ve ever experienced before.  Streaming music made it easier for unknown artists to be “discovered”.  Digital editing made it easier for new artists to achieve high production value.  Autotune made it possible for pretty faces with limited talent to achieve new heights.  In the 2010’s, the music industry was changed forever, and both consumers and producers would have to adapt on the fly.  Once the dust began to settle, we were left with new options, new artists, new sounds, and a lot of really good music!

I’m only picking ten songs from each decade.  So, here is where I depend on you to fill in the gaps.  If you have a song or songs from the 2010’s that need to be added to the list, let me know and they are going on, no questions asked.

1. Unbelievers – Vampire Weekend
2. Brazil – Declan Mckenna
3. Team – Lorde
4. Wait So Long – Trampled by Turtles
5. Doo Doo – Troy Ave
6. Beggin for Thread – Banks
7. Hey Mami – Sylvan Esso
8. Call Ticketron – Run the Jewels 
9. San Francisco – The Mowgli’s
10. Cops Shot the Kid – Nas and Kanye West

As always, in a list with only 10 songs there will be some tough cuts.  Searching for new music has become harder and harder since 2010.  Not because there isn’t great music being made, but rather because the music scene has become totally democratized.  From a listener’s perspective, there is just so much music out there that is tricky to find out where to begin.  Spotify recommendation algorithms have replaced disc jockeys.  I was never a fan of disc jockeys, and their insidious need to fill airtime with their pointless rambling and attention-grabbing antics, but they helped define generations.  Their ability to replay a set of songs over and over until the audience couldn’t take it anymore locked those songs into the memories of everyone listening.  But those days evaporated in the 2010’s and we were “free” to define our personal eras with our personal preferences. There are both positives and negatives with that level of independence, but no matter how you slice it, musical navigation was changed forever.  A few songs that defined my personal era between 2010 and 2019 but were cut from the final list include Love Game by Eminem and Kendrick Lamar, Shuffle by Bombay Bicycle Club, Lightning Bolt by Jake Bugg, Sloppy Seconds by Watsky, S.O.B. by Daneil Rateliff, Dirty Paws by Of Mountains and Men, and Rose Tattoo by the Dropkick Murphys.  Some of those songs received regular radio play and some were the product of “you might like” recommendations.  I’m not sure that there is a person who would be 100% familiar with all of these songs without really thinking about it, but that is what makes the 2010’s so interesting!  Like I mentioned, if I missed something from the 2010’s that you think deserves to be on this craglist just say the word, and I will add it immediately!

To take a listen, you can find the list HERE!