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koganbotAs "Imma Be" sneaks up to no. 2 and "Need You Now" rises to 3, I count only three hopeless mediocrities in the top ten, "BedRock," "Hey, Soul Sister," and "Replay," and I recognize the tunefulness of that last one, even if I hate the song. So maybe this crack in the clouds portends a creative thaw in the charts. (Just kidding. LOL.)
Pink "Glitter In The Air": Pink has on her soul-searching voice. Well, she always has on her soul-searching voice, but this time it struggles against the tune's basic balladic pleasantness. This is what keeps my interest, this struggle, in what easily could reduce itself to clichéd sounds of regret and pensiveness. Of course, a better way out would be not to go near clichéd sounds of regret and pensiveness in the first place, and not to write maudlin hackery like "Have you ever hated yourself for staring at the phone/Your whole life waiting on the ring to prove you're not alone." (There is one striking line, "There you are sitting in the garden/Clutching my coffee, calling me 'Sugar,'" Pink deliberately mistaking the inquiry for an endearment.) NO TICK.
Timbaland ft. Drake "Say Something": Smug rappers ponder how their success has alienated their loved ones from them. This is yet another mediocre sing-talk thing, and I have no insight into why it's popular - doesn't even have the OK melodicism of Iyaz-Sean-DeRulo-Rotem. Maybe the smugness appeals to someone. AutoTune can sound like everything from jewelry to adventure, the latter being young black men sailing the suddenly accessible skies of melody on the back of a little gizmo. But tracks like this are just torpor. NO TICK.
Pink "Glitter In The Air": Pink has on her soul-searching voice. Well, she always has on her soul-searching voice, but this time it struggles against the tune's basic balladic pleasantness. This is what keeps my interest, this struggle, in what easily could reduce itself to clichéd sounds of regret and pensiveness. Of course, a better way out would be not to go near clichéd sounds of regret and pensiveness in the first place, and not to write maudlin hackery like "Have you ever hated yourself for staring at the phone/Your whole life waiting on the ring to prove you're not alone." (There is one striking line, "There you are sitting in the garden/Clutching my coffee, calling me 'Sugar,'" Pink deliberately mistaking the inquiry for an endearment.) NO TICK.
Timbaland ft. Drake "Say Something": Smug rappers ponder how their success has alienated their loved ones from them. This is yet another mediocre sing-talk thing, and I have no insight into why it's popular - doesn't even have the OK melodicism of Iyaz-Sean-DeRulo-Rotem. Maybe the smugness appeals to someone. AutoTune can sound like everything from jewelry to adventure, the latter being young black men sailing the suddenly accessible skies of melody on the back of a little gizmo. But tracks like this are just torpor. NO TICK.
