Author: Alexander De Koning

Last week marked the twentieth anniversary of Discovery’s release, and a month prior, the iconic French electronic duo Daft Punk announced their break up after 28 years via a video titled “Epilogue” uploaded to their YouTube page. After nearly eight years of silence from the band (their last effort being 2013’s Random Access Memories), the announcement didn’t come as a surprise to many. To some, it was a satisfying sigh of relief after holding their breath for so long. And to others, it was like losing a loved one. Daft Punk was a one of a kind band, or studio project, or collaboration, whatever you wanted to call it, but they operated in the same manner as a band – taking their influences and assigning them their own definitions. That’s what kept Daft Punk relevant all these years: their relationship with cool.

Radiohead’s Kid A turned 20 last month, which, at the time of its release, was considered polarizing: was it groundbreaking, or a letdown? It’s been regarded as the former, but upon its anniversary, a common response was: “I remember how game changing it was, but I can’t seem to recall a single song on there.” Kid A was, in fact, deemed a gamechanger – the first album of its kind to not only effectively use the internet, but also sound like it. They were a rock band that was not afraid to take a left turn.

Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs turns 10 years old this summer, and for many people, it wasn’t worth batting an eye. But to others, if it feels like it’s been longer than ten years, than the album has done its job. Having released not one, but two (!!) era defining records within a decade of each other, The Suburbs solidified the band as one of the biggest and best in the world.

The last time I listened to an entire Taylor Swift album was 2008. My family was spending the summer in Chicago and Fearless was the only CD in my sister’s car. So, naturally, it wore many repeats on its sleeve. I don’t listen to Taylor Swift, and I never have. I have heard her music, but never gone out of my way to do so. But this, more importantly, meant that she’s simply always been “there” in my life, always lurking, much like any sitting U.S. President or Kanye West. (Although we see who’s having the last laugh now.)