Dr. Jennifer Ashton, Chief Medical Correspondent for ABC News mentioned on GMA3 Monday that "one out of every 1,000 people will end up dying. It is how we prevent it" from spreading is key.
Also, to JojoTheTaker's point--my biggest worry are the 18 to 29 year old. The college kids roaming around in their dorms and off-campus apartments/sorority houses. True superspreader events for sure.
I get the fact that everyone wants to be around their friends and soak up the atmosphere attending signature events like SXSW, Coachella, Pitchfork, Lollapalooza, Bonnarroo, and many other events.
If the Flaming Lips taught us anything, hopefully there will be an ample supply of plastic bubbles for fans to bounce around while the band is wearing masks and performing at least 6 feet apart.
My first thought is, if the ceremony is pushed back to March--could in conflict with CBS and their annual coverage of the men's NCAA basketball tournament? Dates and times of the 67 games have yet to be decided, but all we know is the 2021 Big Dance will be played entirely in Indiana.
This is one of those virtual time capsule (do they still make them as heavy as those old safes banks use?) moments where, 'Yes, those were the days--we had to do this thing called quarantine, we couldn't go to any concerts, sporting events, even going to restaurants was considered bad. And the worst part of all--2020 began with so much promise. But once the morning of March 12 rolled around, things would never be the same again.'
At the very least, I can safely say (even with the Leap Day inserted before this pandemic began)...2020 is firmly in the rear view mirror for good.
I also think that CD's are way easier to handle, rather than the flimsy nature that vinyl has. Besides, samuraiswordfish is right with the point on vinyl being "an aesthetic/fashion nostalgia" concept. You can add the fact that with the 12 inch x 12 inch covers, I consider them mostly as museum pieces.
And I give CD's a huge edge as far as storage is concerned. There are plenty of online sites which specialize in shelving units, since they can neatly store any size collection one might have.
Vinyl on the other hand, they are perfect to store inside those U-Haul small storage boxes.
My top 20, in no particular order:
Best Coast, "Everything Has Changed"
Tame Impala, "Lost In Yesterday"
The Aces, "Daydream"
The Lemon Twings, "The One"
The Birthday Massacre, "The Last Goodbye"
Liza Anne, "Bad Vacation"
Lady Gaga, "Stupid Love"
Miley Cyrus, "Midnight Sky"
The Pretenders, "Hate For Sale"
Squirrel Flower, "Chicago"
Jade Bird, "Houdini"
The Weather Station, "Robber"
Lia Ices, "Hymn"
Slow Pulp, "Idaho"
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, "Rolling Thunder"
Jessie Ware, "Save A Kiss"
Harry Styles, "Watermelon Sugar"
Choir Boy, "Toxic Eye"
Annie, "American Cars"
Pale Waves, "Change"
The middle part of December gets me into full reflection mode. This way, between Christmas and New Year's Eve, I get the opportunity to relisten many songs when I first heard them back in January and February before the pandemic (the likes of Squirrel Flower, The Blossoms, The Big Moon, Best Coast, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, and Hazel English immediately came to my mind.)
Later on was Mandy Moore, Nicole Atkins, The Pretenders, Deradoorian, Widowspeak, This Is The Kit, and The Aces gave me some great tunes to get my mind off the pandemic--at least for a few hours.
For being the first artist to do an entire album while in quarantine spoke volumes. And yet, there were more that followed and if 2021 is any indication--this is only the beginning.
The only surprises for me were not seeing either Lady Gaga or Miley Cyrus, either for their respective albums or the songs "Rain on Me" (featuring Ariana Grande) and "Midnight Sky."
However, I am so happy for HAIM and especially Phoebe.
It is awful political maneuvering by the GOP. Where were they during the summer, especially when many artists were stuck inside their homes and producing such quality music like Charli XCX and soon Arcade Fire.
I hope that the very least the thousands of indie pop and rock artists (especially those who try to get any financial help with those awesome Bandcamp Fridays) will get at least a chance.
But I do agree with everyone that this bill may be too late as far as saving some of the most popular music venues. At least, this is a good (not a great) first step.
What happened to Taylor Swift "Christmas Tree Farm" or Sara Bareilles with "Winter Song"? It does not have to be all the classics all the time.
Look, if we hear all about people showing off different decorations, sampling different foods, and all of the varying presents underneath the trees--we at least should have some variety in the Christmas songs, not just the same 20 to 25 songs from the 20th century covers done by our favorite artists.
If the 2021 Grammy nominations featuring all women in one of the four major categories, it is a start.
I am sure Dua Lipa is already getting more help by the week, let alone by the day. How will her Zoom talk with Bernie Sanders resonate several years down the road?
Taylor announced two consecutive albums with very little notice. Presuming the vaccine is distributed before regular tours return, could a third straight short term announcement coincide with the re-release of her past six albums that she has been rerecording?
My visceral reaction is every time I hear "Soft Cell" from Tainted Love. Once I hear that, I have to switch the station or play something else on my playlist.
I had my list narrowed down to between four to 7 different albums, but ultimately decided on Miley Cyrus "Plastic Hearts" largely because of the buildup and constant appearances on many various TV outlets in the US and the UK.
Song of the year, during the pre-pandemic era (oh how long ago was that?) with Best Coast "Everything Has Changed."
I was totally surprised, or shall I say very shocked to see many popular headline grabbing albums did not make the top 20, let alone top 30.
Here is my list...some of them mainly by the publicity during this pandemic and how certain artists gravitated to Zoom, YouTube, even podcasting and made fans feel welcome:
1. Lady Gaga - Chromatica (her three segments doing commentary on Spotify are simply priceless)
2. Taylor Swift - folklore (the most pleasant surprise of 2020)
3. HAIM - Women in Music, Part III (yes, I realize that a few of their huge singles premiered in 2019--but after the album was delayed, then pushed again, and then finally released with their livestream held inside Canter's Deli in Los Angeles made things all the sweeter. Bonus points for Alana, Este, and Danielle for even teaching fans how to play guitar to help kill some time in self isolation.)
4. Miley Cyrus - Plastic Hearts
5. Best Coast - Always Tomorrow
6. Ariana Grande - Positions
7. Jessie Ware - What's Your Pleasure? (love those dance beats, especially on the title track.)
8. Grimes - Miss Anthropocene (if this is her last major work, what a way to go out.)
9. Alanis Morissette - Such Pretty Forks in the Road
10. Tame Impala - Slow Rush (consistency on each track throughout.)
11. Charli XCX - how i'm feeling now (see, albums can be done in quarantine. All you need is some sleek equipment, a computer with a sounding board, all the other bells, and whistles and pure imagine and you're good to go.)
12. Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher
13. Soccer Mommy - Circle The Drain
14. Hazel English - Wake UP!
15. Squirrel Flower - I Was Born Swimming
16. The Big Moon - Walking Like We Do
17. Tim Heidecker - Fear of Death (has anyone seen any of the cities from around the globe? Besides hearing the albums, you can actually hear the actual street noise or even fast forward the vehicle 1 1/2 to 2 times faster--best to use when the car is at any red light, just fyi.)
18. Annie - Dark Hearts (welcome back.)
19. Choir Boy - Gathering Swans
20. Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - Sideways to New Italy
21. The Aces - Under My Influence
22. Big Wild - Superdream
23. Anna Burch - If You're Dreaming
24. TOPS - I Feel Alive
25. Mandy Moore - Silver Landings
Some other top 50 songs from that week in 1986:
#7 Sly Fox, "Let's Go All The Way"
#27 Level 42, "Something About You":
https://youtu.be/E-zP66eSLto
#37, nice jazz tune from Sade, "Never As Good As The First Time"
#52, one-hit wonder from Wax, "Right Between The Eyes"
#59, Howard Jones, "No One Is To Blame":
https://youtu.be/a2V3SNrkpp0?t=10
Another headline for Amy Robach, T.J. Holmes, and Dr. Jennifer Ashton to laugh about on "GMA3".
Meanwhile, waiting (at some point) to see the actual footage from the "bubble"...the Baltimore Ravens finally made it to play at Pittsburgh, a game that should have been played--you guessed it, on Thanksgiving night. And it's an afternoon game, because of the annual NBC tradition with the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Center.
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