Random Acts of Mind by Dones

This second set of 10 actually has 11 (a tie I was not able to break). I think this second 10 provides a greater sense of the thematic and sonic features of what 21st-century music should be.

Cherry Blossom Girl – Air
This ethereal electronica selection draws its retro-futuristic sound from the steady beat and the high octave of the singer’s voice. It’s a song someone from last century would expect to come straight out of 2004.

All the Things She Said – T.A.T.U.
Repetitive lyrics in a heavy Russian accent wreak certain violence upon the notion of a utopian future, but this tune would not be out of place in a TekWar TV movie.

I Could Be Persuaded – Bering Strait
Practically the exact opposite of the song listed above, this group (also from Russia) leaves very little trace of its origin, aside from its name. So why is such a straightforward country ballad on this list? What person who lived through the Cold War expected to hear a song like this coming out of Moscow in 2003?

Book of Days – Enya
The first 20th-century release on the list demonstrated in 1991 what some felt would be the music of the future. At least Enya has always had an otherworldly sound to my ears; but perhaps she was simply before her time?

The Power – Snap
This song didn’t belong in 1990. It’s ultra-produced hiphop flavor made a place for itself as ‘house music’, but no one had heard this kind of sound before. It could be released tomorrow and be a natural hit.

Eye in the Sky – The Alan Parsons Project
Okay, there is a definite early-80s soft rock taint to this song, but there’s also a not-so-tacit futuristic thought behind this track. More to the point, this song is a placeholder for all the other Alan Parsons Project songs that I won’t bother to listen to. The album I, Robot would be a good place for you to start.

Spacesuit – They Might Be Giants
Just listen to it. It’s about as retro-futuristic a song as you can get. Just don’t try listening to it on Yahoo; they’ve got it mislabeled. Go buy the album (Apollo 18) and find your way to the next-to-the-last track. The album as a whole is well worth buying, in my opinion.

Call Me When You’re Sober – Evanescence
The new song of this batch just has the right kind of chords and overall sound that plants it firmly in this millennium.

I’d Die Without You – P.M. Dawn
A freakin’ great song in its own right; P.M. Dawn was well before its time in many respects. This didn’t have any noticeable samples, which is always a plus.

Tie:
Karma Police and Exit Music (For a Film) – Radiohead
Call me crazy, but neither of these songs would have been at home in the 1900s. They both have futuristic features about them, and I couldn’t decide on a representative track from Radiohead. Bigger Radiohead fans than I will probably dig up a couple more retro-futuristic selections (Fitter Happier comes to mind), but these are two songs I actually like. So there.

Please keep adding to the list; I think I’m done for a while.

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