Yet Another Year In America September 2, 2010

Nothing shocking jumps into the Top 40 this week, except in the sense that the whole year and the whole Top 40 make it seem as if music can't figure out what to do with itself. At 41 with a bullet, so set to score next week, is Far East Movement's "Like A G6," which is more in-your-face about its electrofunk than anything that's crossed over recently. Down at 52 is "La La La" by Auburn ft. Iyaz, which didn't get enough interest at the Jukebox to make the board, but since it's a good (fourth-best that I know of) use of my favorite Eurodance hook of the last decade - the one from ATC's "Around The World," which was a cover itself - I hope it prospers. And way down in the 90s is Jazmine Sullivan's "Holding You Down (Going In Circles)," the first single of hers that I like unreservedly - that successfully balances the power in her voice and the delicate melodies she likes to sing. "Bed Intruder Song" is also in the 90s, an Auto-Tune The News oddity that's surprisingly effective as music, though even I'm a little uneasy at the way it might be getting its audience to laugh at stereotypes of poor blacks (not that I know particularly who's in the audience or whether or with what attitudes they're laughing).

( Kid Cudi )

( Usher )

( Neon Trees )