Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Song Of The Day: Flo Rida- "Good Feeling"
Songs like these make me wonder about what goes on behind closed doors in the music industry. For instance, the song sampled in this track (no, I don't think Flo Rida can make a hit song without using a sample), is "Something's Got A Hold On Me," by Etta James, an obscure R&B song from 1962 that doesn't even have it's own Wikipedia page. Yet in the last year, it was already sampled by indie-electronic favorite Pretty Lights and house sensation Avicii. Now Flo Rida becomes the third artist in a year to use James' vocals, which is almost incomprehensible. Why did his producers decide to use a sample that's already been done twice very recently, instead of finding a new track to use? And if they really wanted to use this song, why couldn't they make it better? The only good part of this song is the sample, and it's not used as well as Avicii or Pretty Lights used it. Overall a very disappointing effort from Flo Rida, and an extremely confusing one as well.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Song Of The Day: Chris Brown feat. Benny Benassi- "Beautiful People"
This song came out ages ago, back when Chris Brown released F.AM.E. (which stands for either "Fans Are My Everything" or "F**k All Male Entertainers,"* I can never remember which), but it's back in the spotlight again after he performed it during the VMA's, and did an elaborate wire-flying act where he soared over the crowd while pretending to sing. It looked awesome, and since the vocals were pre-recorded, it sounded great too! I was eagerly waiting for this to get released as a single, since it was one of my favorite songs of the year so far, and it looks like it may now be getting its moment in the sun. It may even be as good as "Forever"...but let's not rush to any conclusions too fast.
*I'm aware that this is an absolutely terrible joke.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Song Of The Day: Young The Giant- "My Body"
With the VMA's last night, Lil Wayne and the Red Hot Chili Peppers dropping new albums today, and the four-day layoff since I last posted a SOTD, I had a lot of material to choose from. But these guys forced my hand after their captivating performance at the VMA's last night. Props to MTV for realizing how good they would look and sound on national TV, even though they were a relative unknown coming into the night. I certainly had never heard of Young The Giant (questionable name BTW) before, but they won me over, and their gimmick of bringing 250 of their original fans from back home in California was a great idea. Now this song is rocketing up the charts, and it looks like they're getting their proverbial big break. I guess I might as well jump on the bandwagon.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Top 10 Songs Of The Summer
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| The sun may be setting on this summer, but pop music never stops......yikes, that is bad |
HOLY CRAP WE’RE DOING SUMMER REVIEWS ALREADY??? Yes, school is starting again (for yours truly, essentially tomorrow) so somehow the time has come to look back into the deep recesses of the mind and select ten songs that appear to have stood out from the rest over the last few months. This list is roughly chronological- don’t expect me to actually rank them because none of them are really good enough to be called "number 1."
This may just be the most ludicrous concept for a song I’ve ever heard. It’s actually hard for me not to laugh when this song comes on. It actually borders on creepy at times- “I’ma disrobe you, then I’ma probe you, see, I abducted you so I tell you what to do” is pretty much just Kanye West admitting to rape. Nevertheless, this song was inescapable this summer and, to be honest, it was pretty catchy, so my gripes ring fairly hollow.
The first time I heard J-Lo’s voice wafting over the airwaves this summer, I couldn’t believe my ears. Then I heard Pitbull’s unmistakable grunts and I knew it was for real, she had returned to chart-topping with all the ingredients for success in 2011. As J-Lo said, “It’s a new generation, of party people,” and they certainly got a reminder of why she’s one of the queens of getting you on the floor.
I just wrote about “ADELE” yesterday, and you have ears, so you may not need me to tell you what a runaway success this song, and her album 21, have been this summer. But it’s worth pointing out that this song spent seven weeks at #1 on the Hot 100 this summer, the most of any song this year, and according to Billboard, it’s the biggest crossover hit of the last 25 years. No big deal or anything though. Just some girl from England with a big voice.
Has there been a more classic summer song released this year? Name me one if you think it’s possible. I sure as hell don’t think so. The acoustic guitar, the whistles, and the subject matter all combine to make this an irresistible piece of pop, which is unfortunate because sometimes you really need to get something done, and then “The Lazy Song” comes on and, well, there goes all productivity for a little while. Hopefully next year’s summer anthem will be called “Work Your Ass Off,” so our economy doesn’t grind to a halt again.
Ah yes, Pitbull. The king of making tracks that are mildly enjoyable but not good enough to download, and that get increasingly aggravating the more often you hear them until you realize you would be perfectly okay not hearing another Pitbull song for a few years. Not that I feel that way about this song though.
Everyday I’m shufflin’! What’s funny is that in a few years, nobody will remember why that line makes sense. Which is too bad, because the first time I heard it, I thought it was genius. In general, the rise of this song has been curious because the beat is so weak and uninspiring. But good for LMFAO- they deserved a #1 hit and they sure did get one this time.
The all-out assault of Nicki Minaj on the music world was taken to a new intensity this summer when she dropped “Super Bass,” her biggest hit to date. This lady never stops working, and it’s paying huge dividends for her now. She’s already the biggest female hip-hop artist in years, and pretty soon she’s gonna be the biggest star in the world and we’ll be wondering how on Earth she managed to do it.
I just did an in-depth piece about this song when it hit #1 last week (making it the fifth single off Teenage Dream to do so, which is, in short, historic), so I won’t rehash it all. Let’s be real, though: you love this song. Even though you probably want to hate it. And that is exactly what I look for in a Song of the Summer, so you better believe it makes the list.
I should probably make a list of “Best Songs of the Summer,” because that’s where this song really belongs. Might even top the list, actually (it’s been a pretty weak summer). But that’s not the point of this list, so instead I’ll just remark on its immediate rise to #1 and its subsequent charge back up the charts after a quick drop, a very rare feat. I’ll also point out how its popularity seemed to correllate directly with its debut on “The Voice,” which proves the popularity of the NBC hit (could it challenge “American Idol?” We’ll have to wait and see).
Look, I know this is an absolute teenybopper fave jam. I know I’m not supposed to enjoy songs like these- rather, I’m supposed to roll my eyes at the little girls who love it and profess my love for more “mature” music. But guess what: if that was my mindset, why on Earth would I be writing this blog? I refuse to grow up. I like this song, and if that makes me essentially a “Musically Oblivious 8th Grader,” so be it.
Like what you like, people. Don’t have any reservations. Have a good rest of the summer. “Fall jams” are a little trickier to suss out, but I’ll do my best to get a list going for them too.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Song Of The Day: Adele- "Someone Like You"
How do you follow up the biggest song of the year? I was hoping it would be with this, but I guess Adele (and her people) decided to go with this instead (or, as she would say, "in-stayeeed"). There's no way "Someone Like You" will be as big a hit as "Rolling In The Deep," but it doesn't really matter, since her sophomore album 21 has sold way, way, way more than any other album this year. Obviously huge props have to go out to Adele for succeeding so remarkably only using her natural vocal talent. That's also a testament to the buying public that we still (apparently) recognize good music and not just a scantily-clad chick or a thumping beat. So let's all pat Adele, and ourselves, on the back for being so awesome, and I'll leave you with a burning question:
Why does iTunes continue to refer to the artist of this song as ADELE??? All caps? Really, iTunes? Why do you insist on yelling her name? Is this some kind of marketing ploy to get us to notice her, or is this a longstanding technical glitch that you somehow either can't fix or repeatedly ignore? I actually don't want them to fix it at this point because I think it's hilarious, but it truly baffles me.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Song Of The Day (Brand New): David Guetta feat. Jennifer Hudson- "Night Of Your Life"
This song was released TODAY. Rarely do I turn around give you a song released that recently, but this time I decided to for two reasons. First, I had to give Guetta some props for releasing basically one new track a week all summer. Although it's relatively easy to fiddle with a computer program and come up with some new beats every couple days, his ability to make most of these songs listenable deserves some recognition.
Secondly, and more importantly, this new track sounds eerily similar to my favorite song of 2010, Rihanna's "Only Girl (In The World)." Many people would consider such a blatant ripoff to be a bad thing. But I fail to see how ripping off something awesome and making your own version that's 80% as good is a bad thing. It just means more jams. If every song ripped off "Only Girl," there'd be a ton of great music out there! Seriously, this is a fantastic song- Jennifer Hudson's soaring vocals are perfect with the beat, and it repeatedly crescendos into a melodic and hard-hitting chorus. This is probably the best of all the singles Guetta has released this summer, and I see it being a big-time dance jam in the coming weeks and months.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Song Of The Day: Lil Wayne feat. Drake- "She Will"
As good as this song is, and as big as it may get, it's too bad Lil Wayne might not get to see it top the charts or get to perform it. Wait, what's that you say? Wayne's back in jail already? Nope, he just got in a skateboarding accident in a St. Louis skate park and gashed his head. Good looks Weezy. Stick with dressing like a skater and acting like a gangsta (slash a member of a probably-nonexistent secret society) in the future, and don't try actually skating unless you know how to do it. Besides, skateboarding is so 2005. Now it's all about beer pong slam dunks (or whatever other dangerous, vaguely anti-authoritarian activity is popular with the kids these days).
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