At first it seemed a strange idea: a retrospective of pop music in the first decade of the new century? Did that much happen? Actually, it was jolting to think that it has been a full 10 years since the digital calendar rolled over from three nines to three zeros. But it has.
And, doggone it, Rich Albertoni was right, it's not only been a decade, it's been an evolutionary if not revolutionary decade. He has the evidence to back up that contention in his cover story this week, "Pop Explosion." If you've emerged from the thrall of Obamanescence that captured the town midweek, you can now turn your attention to Albertoni's testimony on how much the making, distributing and consuming of popular music has changed in the last 10 years.
A lot of this change was on the macro scale, affecting the music process internationally, but it had its local repercussions and expressions. Albertoni brings the universal to the local.
Madison, of course, has a long history of pop relevance - Steve Miller, Tracy Nelson, Ben Sidran, Fire Town, Garbage, Butch Vig - these are some of the names that reverberate within that history. More names have been added in the last decade as Madison rockers continue to make an impression on discerning ears. Albertoni identifies the trends he thinks have had an altering effect on the Madison music scene. He offers his list of the 10 most influential acts out of Madison in the last decade as well as the 10 folks he considers to have been the most influential in local music during that period.
You may agree or disagree with his choices and evaluations. But you won't disagree that Albertoni describes 10 years in Madison music history that sparkled with innovation and witnessed significant change in the creation and enjoyment of the music of the people.
- V.O.
vo@isthmus.com
