Five Musical Acts Who Actually Do Interesting Things

The other day, I took the opportunity to rail against some problems in the music industry. Today, I’m going to talk about some acts who I think are actually doing interesting things right now. I’ll limit myself to pop music for this one, because it’s an industry that people think is largely bereft of fresh talent. Sure, Ke$ha is terrible, but that doesn’t mean that there’s not some good stuff circling around.

Lady Gaga

Oh man, the pictures I could have chosen for her. Look, I’ll get it out of the way early: I do think she’s slightly unhinged, and her stunts often tear the envelope into shreds, never mind pushing it. However, is there anyone out there who’s making more interesting and innovative music right now? I don’t think so. Consider the following: the best-known lyrics to her biggest song are basically made-up gibberish, and this shit sells like hotcakes! As she continues to gain even more publicity, she’ll be able to continue to innovate, but I fear that this might be a double-edged sword, because one day she will definitely do something from which there’s no recovery. Until then, I will enjoy the ride. The next singer on the list is almost an anti-Gaga, or at least, a significantly more under-stated version.

Jessie J

Jessie J is a bit of a controversial pick. I know a lot of people who think that she’s already sold out, and preferred her when she was just posting YouTube videos. I could not disagree more. Her album features a number of great tracks. More importantly, she can actually sing. The YouTube videos prove this, and if you’ve ever heard recordings of her live, you can’t deny that she’s got pipes. Her songs are also just straight-up fun, and I love the ridiculousness of “Do It Like A Dude”. Jessie J came to prominence as a song-writer, and wrote “Party In The USA”, which is a terrible song with decent lyrics. The next person I want to talk about also got their start writing songs.

Bruno Mars

This fellow has easily had two of the biggest hits in the past year with “Grenade” and “Just The Way You Are”. Both are very good songs, but I listened to his whole album the other day, and I have to say it’s quite good. He’s got a very soulful voice, but what impressed me was the ability Mars has to bounce around genres. He goes from a song quite reminiscent of “Beat It” to a sound which is almost Jack Johnson-esque between “Runaway Baby” and “The Lazy Song”. He’s also a multi-instrumentalist, and co-wrote all the songs on his debut album Doo-Wops and Hooligans. I think he’s got a lot of staying power, and I’m not embarrassed to say that I’d see him in concert. Sadly, he brought Flo Rida to public consciousness. Still, everything he touches seems to turn to gold. Who else could co-write a song called “Fuck You” and get away with it?

Cee Lo Green

Mentioning “Fuck You” is a nice segue into the next artist I want to discuss: Cee Lo Green. He’s always been an innovator, and is part of the Gorillaz-esque band Gnarls Barkley. Though he’s been around since the 1990s, Green’s solo career was launched to prominence with the brazen “Fuck You”. The song rises above the publicity associated with its title to be (in my mind) one of the top songs of the last few years. Great hook, Green’s vocals are exceptional, and I like the fact that it uses actual music and percussion, as opposed to synth. The rest of his album features solid tracks, too. Now that he’s gotten firmly ensconced in the public eye, I’m anxious to see what comes next.

Florence And The Machine

My last selection is the reason that I designated the title as “Musical Acts”, although this is basically Florence Welch and a backing band. This act was kind of a slow burn for me; it took me a few listens before I got really intrigued by their sound. What I like is that they’re quite daring. There’s not many bands who can pull off a harp, but they manage to. I find them quite different from most music out there today, and I hope that they continue to have success. “Dog Days Are Over” is a great song, and “Lungs” features several other very high-quality tracks.

Well, that’s it. Who do you think is making good music right now?

(As an aside, whoa nelly, getting pictures into a post is a rough exercise)