It's Not Scary, It's Just Music!

Welcome to 2003! This year gave us a limited number of Essentials, but they were some of the most profound of the entire decade. Why was 2003 the year of so many iconic hit albums? I have no idea! We saw breakthroughs in the Rock, Metal, Pop, Rap, R&B, and J-Pop spaces this year, giving other artists all kinds of potential inspiration on where to take these genres next. Let's go on the jou...

Welcome to 2002! We are officially beginning to fully leave behind the vibe of the 90s and step in to what so many in the listening world consider to be quintessential music of the new millennium! On tap for today's episode both the east and west are pushing boundaries with their own varieties of genre alchemy, giving audiences more to love, more to explore, and more to question as the future...

Welcome to 2001! The decade feels like it's fully in swing now, giving us about a thousand million ways to define what Pop music is this year. We have Neo Power Pop, Electro-Pop, Avant-Pop, Indie Pop, Garage Pop, Neo Synth Pop, Neo Dream Pop, Neo Jangle Pop...the list goes on and on and on! While we try not to drown in all these delightful, artful hooks, we stumble in to fertile ground across the...

Welcome to 2000! We are officially in the new millennium of music! Suddenly the 90s have fallen away and the musical world is opening itself to new and different ideas!...only in some cases. In many respects, the turn had been coming for some time, but we can still happily pretend that it's a brand new era just when the clocks clicked over and the Y2K bug didn't end us all. Today we ring i...

Welcome to first episode of Season 3 for the "It's Not Scary, It's Just Music" Podcast! We begin the 2000s era with a brand new introduction episode to the podcast, SJ, his music listening journey, and how he decides what music to keep, toss, spotlight as essential, or give the honorable mention title of "conspicuous absence." Come hear about all we have learned coming away from the dense, often o...

Welcome to the 90s Recap for Underground Rock of the West! As part of our 90s Recap series, today we will be going from one end of the decade to the other, discussing the distinctive subgenres within Underground Rock that impacted the 90s. We will start with how we recapped the 1980s in this genre, then move right into the next decade and how these genres grew up, evolved, and concluded the 90s on...

Welcome to the 90s Recap for R&B! As part of our 90s Recap series, today we will be going from one end of the decade to the other, discussing the distinctive subgenres within R&B that impacted the 90s. We will start with how we recapped the 1980s in this genre, then move right into the next decade and how these genres grew up, evolved, and concluded the 90s on the way to what comes next in...

Welcome to the 90s Recap for Punk! As part of our 90s Recap series, today we will be going from one end of the decade to the other, discussing the distinctive subgenres within Punk that impacted the 90s. We will start with how we recapped the 1980s in this genre, then move right into the next decade and how these genres grew up, evolved, and concluded the 90s on the way to what comes next in the 2...

Welcome to the 90s Recap for Video Game Music! As part of our 90s Recap series, today we will be going from one end of the decade to the other, discussing the distinctive subgenres within Video Game Music that impacted the 90s. We will start with how we recapped the 1980s in this genre, then move right into the next decade and how these genres grew up, evolved, and concluded the 90s on the way to...

Welcome to the 90s Recap for Popular Rock of the West! As part of our 90s Recap series, today we will be going from one end of the decade to the other, discussing the distinctive subgenres within Popular Rock that impacted the 90s. We will start with how we recapped the 1980s in this genre, then move right into the next decade and how these genres grew up, evolved, and concluded the 90s on the way...

Welcome to the 90s Recap for Metal! As part of our 90s Recap series, today we will be going from one end of the decade to the other, discussing the distinctive subgenres within Metal that impacted the 90s. We will start with how we recapped the 1980s in this genre, then move right into the next decade and how these genres grew up, evolved, and concluded the 90s on the way to what comes next in the...

Welcome to the 90s Recap for JPop and little KPop! As part of our 90s Recap series, today we will be going from one end of the decade to the other, discussing the distinctive subgenres within JPop that impacted the 90s, and the tiniest bit about KPop we have to share as well. We will start with how we recapped the 1980s in this genre, then move right into the next decade and how these genres grew...

Welcome to the 90s Recap for Rap! As part of our 90s Recap series, today we will be going from one end of the decade to the other, discussing the distinctive subgenres within Rap that impacted the 90s. We will start with how we recapped the 1980s in this genre, then move right into the next decade and how these genres grew up, evolved, and concluded the 90s on the way to what comes next in the 200...

Welcome to the 90s Recap for Electronica! As part of our 90s Recap series, today we will be going from one end of the decade to the other, discussing the distinctive subgenres within Electronica that impacted the 90s. We will start with how we recapped the 1980s in this genre, then move right into the next decade and how these genres grew up, evolved, and concluded the 90s on the way to what comes...

Welcome to the 90s Recap for Pop music of the US and Europe! As part of our 90s Recap series, today we will be going from one end of the decade to the other, discussing the distinctive subgenres within Western Pop that impacted the 90s. We will start with how we recapped the 1980s in this genre, then move right into the next decade and how these genres grew up, evolved, and concluded the 90s on th...

Welcome to the 90s Recap for Girl Groups and Boy Bands in the US! As part of our 90s Recap series, today we will be going from one end of the decade to the other, discussing the distinction between Girl Groups and Boy Bands in the 90s. We will start with how we recapped the 1980s in this genre, then move right into the next decade and how these genres grew up, evolved, and concluded the 90s on the...

Welcome to the 90s Recap for Country! As part of our 90s Recap series, today we will be going from one end of the decade to the other, discussing the distinctive subgenres within Country that impacted the 90s. We will start with how we recapped the 1980s in this genre, then move right into the next decade and how these genres grew up, evolved, and concluded the 90s on the way to what comes next in...

Welcome to the prologue to the novel that is to come where we recap the entirety of the 90s, genre by genre! In today's episode, we review at a high level all that we experienced across the 1990s in music, bridging from what we learned coming out of the 1980s, and a bit about what we can expect going into the 2000s. There is so much music to talk about, though, that rather than drop a marathon epi...

Welcome to 1999! The end of this whirlwind of a decade is officially coming to a close! After countless years of dense, deeply creative moments, I am thankful to breathe a sigh of relief as we slide into its inevitable conclusion. Yet again, we find ourselves not hitting the maximum number of Essentials for the year, continuing to signal that the overall trend of music is beginning to level out. T...

Welcome to 1998! We're just two years away from the end of the decade! Things are starting to slow down a bit, thankfully, as we slide gently into the last couple episodes of the season. For the first time in ages, we have fewer than the maximum number of Essential Albums and Conspicuous Absences, so please enjoy this respite. Indie Rock, now being the ruler around the genre, has swiftly left...

Welcome to 1997! The end of the 1990s is beginning to be in sight! And, much as the rest of this decade, 1997 comes with entirely iconic albums from across the musical landscape. How many more jam-packed years will this decade offer us before the end? Commercial Rap continues to evolve and proliferate across the entire genre, while Electronica spread its Pop wings even further this year. Rock hit...

Welcome to 1996! We're already getting toward the end of the decade! With the last several years of pushing and testing genres across the musical landscape, some fresh ideas are firming into place. Indie Rock and Pop are continuing to grow their influence while what came before begins to leave the stage. The early 90s are a distant memory now as we look toward what comes next. Rap, Electronica, an...

Welcome to 1995! The second half of the 90s begins here! So many genres are being tested and pushed this year, as Indie Rock and Pop crash upon our shores. Rappers are challenging the status quo too, asking listeners if anything in the genre is truly sacred.  It seems like every bit of the music world found a voice this year as artists continue to take hold of new ideas and better leverage old one...

Welcome to 1994! We're halfway through the decade already! These years are really ramping up with hit record after hit record, making it especially tough to pick out only 20 to name Essential for the year. 1994 is no different, giving us some real groundbreaking first records, amazing follow-ups, and all new directions to take several genres. Not only did Retro Roots Rock find its next evoluti...

Welcome to 1993! While the storms of Rock have settled for the moment, this year we welcome new waves of Gangsta Rap from both sides of the country. Taking ideas from all over, Rap has begun to follow the bigger trend across music in the 90s, pulling every conceivable concept and structure together to make brand new things. We had some truly amazing single-genre albums come out this year across Av...