Installment #43 in Monolisticle's Ongoing Campaign Against the "Internet of Endless Listicles."
Being a creative director and the publisher of an arts + culture blog, I have a fairly decent knowledge of pop-culture trends, events, music, art, books, film—and all the other cultural happenings that contribute to the general zeitgeist.
But every now and then I miss something culturally.
Something that I can’t believe I missed.
Something significant.
(And I'm not just talking about the latest funny cat photo on Instagram or the latest dance video on TikTok. While they are entertaining as all-get-out, they seldom qualify as significant cultural artifacts—unless we're talking about the NFT versions, and then only maybe).
Pop-culture awareness takes effort. Staying on top of what's happening can be challenging—because what's happening is constantly changing.
And changing.
And changing.
Lately I’ve been doing research for an article about the one best debut album of all time. Of course, in order to do a proper and thorough job, I’ve been listening to every great debut album of the last 70 years (yes, 70 years). It's a hefty endeavor. Fortunately, through the years I've already listened to most of the great ones.
Given that I'm a naturally curious person, I've ended up going down more than a few rabbit holes. And given my need for thoroughness, I've been researching multiple music genres, which has introduced me to more than a few pop-culture blindspots: songs I'd never heard before, and even artists I’d never heard of before.
Like The Congos (so very good). And The Postal Service (wow!). And one particularly awesome song by MGMT that I had somehow miraculously missed (how is that possible?).
Which brings me, on the other hand, to the positive side of having pop culture blind spots. Suddenly you now get to listen to an excellent song or watch an excellent movie or read an excellent book or eat at an excellent restaurant for the very first time.
And there are few things in this world that bring me more joy.
If you enjoyed this article, please hit the Facebook or Twitter icons at the bottom of this page and share it with others. You'll be helping to support our work, and the work of the people, cultural institutions, and experiences we write about. Thank you!
Subscribe to monolisticle for free weekly articles on art, culture, music, food, travel, and entertainment. Not all the things. Only the best things.
To unsubscribe, email monolisticle@monolisticle.com
Comments