I’m gonna be honest, this was a joke post. All of these songs are, in some way, fairly difficult. However, you asked, so I will answer.
Music is so expansive that whoever one considers to be a “leader” will vary person to person. My “leaders” are people who are still making music in 2020, and who make music I enjoy. Plain and simple. Most of the bands I listen to have been around for a long time, so maybe that factors into it? In this list, for instance, there are songs from Dome, Deerhoof, and Circus Devils. Dome and Circus Devils are no longer active, but each band’s members are (Dome’s Graham Lewis is still a member of Wire, Circus Devils’s Robert Pollard is still a member of Guided By Voices). Deerhoof have put out a LOT of music this year, so it’s safe to say they’re active. I’d consider those musicians leaders.
Honestly, music is so expansive that it’s kind of impossible for there to be concrete leaders. You’d probably have to look into pop and rap to find the closest to those, but I don’t really listen to either so even if someone was blazing trails, it would mean nothing to me. That’s not to discredit them (although pop has some nasty people I would never dare idolize) but you asked me who I think a leader would be.
Ben thanks for sharing these examples. Who do you think best qualifies as a leader in this space? Why?
I’m gonna be honest, this was a joke post. All of these songs are, in some way, fairly difficult. However, you asked, so I will answer.
Music is so expansive that whoever one considers to be a “leader” will vary person to person. My “leaders” are people who are still making music in 2020, and who make music I enjoy. Plain and simple. Most of the bands I listen to have been around for a long time, so maybe that factors into it? In this list, for instance, there are songs from Dome, Deerhoof, and Circus Devils. Dome and Circus Devils are no longer active, but each band’s members are (Dome’s Graham Lewis is still a member of Wire, Circus Devils’s Robert Pollard is still a member of Guided By Voices). Deerhoof have put out a LOT of music this year, so it’s safe to say they’re active. I’d consider those musicians leaders.
Honestly, music is so expansive that it’s kind of impossible for there to be concrete leaders. You’d probably have to look into pop and rap to find the closest to those, but I don’t really listen to either so even if someone was blazing trails, it would mean nothing to me. That’s not to discredit them (although pop has some nasty people I would never dare idolize) but you asked me who I think a leader would be.
I’ve thought about reaching out to Greg Saunier from Deerhoof. For context, this is him playing drums https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cQ9kUPoaqI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkpjZXgetDU