The state of pop is strong. Very strong. Last year was filled with exciting new music from established artists and massive hits from promising newcomers who ruled the charts around the world. With such a hot and buzzing pop scene, the GRAMMY voters can't possibly have an easy job making their final picks this year.
Looking back at 2009 as the artists of the folk revival continued to make news in the folk world, some by producing new work and others by passing away. In many ways, folk music continues to live in the shadow of the folk revival and is still awaiting the next great folk artist to make folk music relevant to pop culture again.
It's challenging to write about what happened to a genre of music in 2009 when it's as loosely defined as Alternative. What exactly is Alternative music, really? It's hard to put into words, but our ears can pick it up. And that's the beauty of music.
2009: the last year of the first decade of the new millennium. It proved to be a year rife with innovation, comebacks, breakthroughs, and goodbyes in rock music.
