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 journey together to really figure out what all this inspiration means and where it might lead us into the rest of the decade!

⁠⁠⁠Link to the Essential List!⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Link to the Big List!⁠

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 of music.

A limited quantity of Essential Albums and Conspicuous absences in today's episode, we still dive deep on many of them.

Come enjoy as we explore a beginning of UK Garage, Japanese Popular Rap, KPop and J-R&B's official bridge moment, and early signs that Rock is on the verge of its next great shift.

⁠⁠Link to the Essential List!⁠⁠

⁠⁠Link to the Big List!⁠

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 Rock and Metal spaces, R&B, and Rap; and even get a lucky video game soundtrack in the mix this year. We hit just about every genre in some way, if you can believe it!

The 2000s alchemy is already cooking, so let's see what this year dishes out!

⁠Link to the Essential List!⁠

⁠Link to the Big List!

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 in the new millennium with a wide array of ambitious Essential Albums and possibly some surprising conspicuous absences. We are officially in the era when 80s sounds are beginning to find their way back to the fold in retro movements, creating a nice overlap for us with Season 1, and bands are still trying to figure out how to untether themselves from what the 90s bestowed upon us. It's a busy moment!

Join us as we explore this new world of the 2000s, giving us exploratory 80s sounds, 90s sounds that were just on the cusp of getting big, and some ancient sounds that are having a solid third run. This era has layers!

Link to the Essential List!

Link to the Big List!

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 overwhelming 90s era of music as we slide in to this next, glorious world of the new millennium.

And, if you're brand new to the podcast, feel free to check out SJ's existing playlists ⁠here!

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 2000s.

Join us as we walk through Neo Punk and Pop Punk!

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 the 2000s.

Join us as we walk through Neo Solo R&B and Trip Hop!

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 the way to what comes next in the 2000s.

Join us as we walk through Alternative Rock, Garage Rock, Indie Rock, and Slowcore/Sadcore/Shoegaze!

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 what comes next in the 2000s.

Join us as we walk through Japanese Role Playing Game themes (Battles, Characters, Dungeons, and Towns) and Platformers!

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 2000s.

Join us as we walk through Alternative Metal, Industrial Metal, and Nu Metal!