When the world stopped, music continued. Its power was more vital than ever, providing comfort in times of great anxiety and loneliness, and adding fuel to the righteous anger that exploded across the planet.
Music itself rarely fixes anything: it’s not medicine, listening to a beautiful piece of art doesn’t absolve you of the need to confront the issues this year has brought on.
It does help, though. A lot. When things are grim, it can get you through. Sometimes that’s all we can hope for. At least for the moment.
Great music, and the communities that have formed around it, will be one of the best legacies our generation will leave. This year did not test that, it brought the importance of this art and those who make it work to the fore.
Tag: 2020 in Review
From Bandcamp Fridays to Verzuz battles, these were our silver linings from a strange, stuck year in music.
Drew Litowitz explores the ways in which the music world responded to the pandemic. This included Bandcamp Friday, a dearth of cover songs, quarantine pop albums, music videos created within constraint, exploration of virtual gatherings, and a growing coalition of artists and music industry professionals pushing back on steaming inequities.
Going forward, we have to build something better, not for the sake of the digital prophets — I cannot stress enough when I say “fuck those guys.” We must build something better for the sake of an equitable and sustainable future, for the sake of democracy. And that future cannot be oriented around “cop shit.” And folks, that means that future cannot be oriented around most ed-tech.
War on 2020 is a series of satirical sketches about the year produced by The Chaser and The Shovel.
Dubbed The War on 2020, it features an all-stars line up of the best satirical comedians in the country, directed by Jenna Owen and Victoria Zerbst (SBS The Feed), and written and performed by Mark Humphries (ABC 7.30), Nina Oyama (Utopia), Sami Shah (ABC Radio), Steph Tisdell (Deadly Funny), Nat Damena (SBS The Feed) and James Schloeffel (The Shovel). The series will also utilise the writing talents of Evan Williams and Rebecca Shaw.
They cover a range of topics, including the absurdity of QAnon, Dan Andrews being labelled a dictator, the frenzied stockpiling of toilet paper and the solidarity around the Black Lives Matter movement. However, the highlight of them all was Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton’s review of 2020: