Yet Another Year In America June 17, 2010

[koganbot]

In this week's episode, Enrique makes a foray into the New Dance Mess, while Nicki gets a lump in her throat, and Bieber gives us his widest smile.

Nicki Minaj "Your Love": Nicki's marble-filled nonsinging brings out the tune's beauty in a strange, rugged way, and her rapping lightens the sentimentality by winding and snaking around rather than lying like a lump; but the track is still dreadfully static, and the sentimentality is left over from the gift store. NO TICK.

Enrique Iglesias ft. Pitbull "I Like It": Confused attempt to come to grips with the new dance-pop 2010; beat feels rote compared to e.g. Ke$ha's ricochet balls; a very catchy tune that Enrique seems oddly disengaged in singing; Pitbull enters with his usual energetically haughty demeanor, briefly gives this a center, while Enrique improves by gliding back into pretty falsetto swirls; but all this decoration feels like an overload, Cool Whip everywhere but little cake. BORDERLINE NONTICK.

Justin Bieber ft. Jaden Smith "Never Say Never": Bieber locks into a tune as cute as his kisser, while kiddie actor-rapper son-of-Fresh-Prince Jaden hits his spots quickly and easily, a natural. And after watching the uplifting Kung Fu Kid video I did 15 pushups, I was so inspired. I do wish the lyrics had actual conflict and tension, rather than just reiterating that determination leads to triumph. Years ago on the never-say-never theme, Debora Iyall had given us a real struggle, observing derelicts still on the make and shriveled old people doing the lovey-dovey, Debora thinking that maybe, maybe, that meant she herself shouldn't pack it in. Maybe. TICK.

Glee Cast "Faithfully": I should probably just credit passable Glee music to "Lea Michele plus whomever they've saddled her with this week," though no doubt that shortchanges the show itself. Cory Monteith harmonizes unobtrusively, the background chorus makes too much noise, and fortunately for us Lea never lets up on the gripping neediness. They say the ego is no place to start a family, but it works on a song that needs a desperate high pitch to surmount its aging excess. BORDERLINE TICK.

Comments

[skyecaptain.livejournal.com]

What I said of the Nicki song is that her own voice gets in the way of the track -- the static-ness of the song (which overall I still quite like) seems to be a very slight mismatch of energies between Nicki and the backing track. To me it just underscored how subtle but incredible Jojo's "Anything" is -- same static sample source but a whole world of feeling and melody keeps it exciting the whole way through.

[koganbot]

Already changed my mind on the Iglesias. It's just got too much catchiness to be denied.