There WASN’T one, according to this diary over at Radio Lab.
Amazingly, this has been the only decade in this first century of recorded music that did NOT have it's own distinct sound. 2008 or 1998--they can't be told apart.
Is it true? Maybe older ears can't hear the "sounds" of the most recent decade.
But the author of the thesis (composer and musician Jaron Lanier), tested his idea on young listeners.
"Someone in his early 20’s will tell me I don’t know what I’m talking about and then I’ll challenge that person to play me some music that is characteristic of the late 2000’s as opposed to the late 1990’s. I’ll ask him to play the tracks for his friends. So far, my theory has held: even true fans don’t seem to be able to tell if an indie rock track or a dance mix is from 1998 or 2008."
Why? Lanier blames the internet for "flattening our culture."
Maybe, but my own take: I blame a corporate media that does not CARE what we like, and does not resonate our tastes. No doubt it starts with the music industry, but I lay more of the blame with U.S. monopoly radio, which has become like Soviet era Radio Moscow, except with commercials.
(The big bad Babylon of the music industry has been around for a while, but monopoly radio is relatively recent.)
If there is a "sound" to be found, maybe it's on the internet. But the internet cannot reach the critical mass to define it. At least not yet.
The influence of monopoly radio on music is hard to quantify, but monopoly right-wing talk radio may be an evident parallel. Look at how Clear Channel, Citadel, et al, have force fed us endless and boring blather--thereby killing the AM medium, and bankrupting themselves in the bargain.
For example, from the Huffington Post:
Citadel Broadcasting Corp., the nation's third-largest radio broadcasting company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Sunday in an effort to restructure its hefty debt load as it continues to face declining advertising revenue.
Citadel owns and operates 224 radio stations, including KABC-AM in Los Angeles, WLS-AM in Chicago, WABC-AM and WPLJ-FM in New York and KGO-AM in San Francisco. Citadel's WABC is home to several syndicated hosts, including Don Imus, Rush Limbaugh, Joe Scarborough and Mark Levin.
So what is it people WANT to listen to (both music and talk)? Check out the top podcasts on iTunes. It changes daily, but it is always NPR, PRI, BBC, and non-radio.
(And people even PAY to listen to Air America, Stephanie Miller, and Thom Hartmann.)
BTW, a way to get around the tin-foil curtain of right-wing radio: A techie friend informs me:
You can install Shoutcastvia the iTunes store, then listen on your iPhone via the 3G network or wifi, and on your iPod Touch via wifi. What's cool about the iPhone is that you can actually listen to it in your car via the 3G network. Try it and check out OhioMajorityRadio.
(Huh? It’s like high school Latin. I think I understood all the words he used, but I have no idea what he said. Can anyone explain?)