Rules Of The Game #20: Fleshy Women, Slimy Men, Smart Teens

[koganbot]

Robyn, Paula, Enrique, Beyoncé, Heidi Montag, Mira Craig, Beth Ditto, Yung Berg, Ashley Tisdale, and lots about Aly & A.J.

The Rules Of The Game #20: Fleshy Women, Slimy Men, Smart Teens

Two questions: (1) Of all the songs I've been championing, why is "Potential Breakup Song" the one that's struck the biggest chord with you folks, that's become our miniature cause célèbre? (2) Why do some of us care so much that it gets airplay and breaks through to the general pop audience? What does it represent? What's at stake?

I read this column to the people in my writers group last night, some of whom got excited when I quoted the line from "Potential Breakup Song," and thought the song was terrific when I played it for them (at least the women did). My friend Ken said that it's got elements that remind him of Del Shannon. (When I think about it I can hear a family resemblance between its opening riff and the opening to Runaway. And PBUS's bass line does have something of a rockabilly boogie in it.)

EDIT: Here are links to all but three of my other Rules Of The Game columns (LVW's search results for "Rules of the Game"). Links for the other three (which for some reason didn't get "Rules Of The Game" in their titles), are here: #4, #5, and #8.

UPDATE: I've got all the links here now:

http://koganbot.livejournal.com/179531.html

Comments

[justfanoe.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure there's anything to this other than that most of the songs you have championed over time have been rock songs and "Potential Break Up Song" is an electropop song. No surprise poptimists goes for the electropop.

Paris Hilton was also dance, but people found her so distasteful that they couldn't get past it. Aly & AJ are apparently completely agreeable people in real life, and great interviews, and seem fun to hang out with. They are likeable, and that help.

[justfanoe.livejournal.com]

I'm still trying to think through why I care so much that good stuff becomes hits and bad stuff doesn't. Just seeking validation of my own tastes? I dunno.

[koganbot]

I like Yung Berg's "Sexy Lady" and Lloyd's "You" even more than I like PBUS but barely cared that they became hits - I suppose this is because stuff like that becomes hits anyway; but also, I've really not got much emotional caring about them or any kind of identification with what they're doing. I don't know if I've got a huge identification with what Aly & A.J. are doing on PBUS, but I do love them, whereas again I barely give a thouht to Lloyd or Yung Berg.

When is Miley Cyrus's "See You Again" going to become a single?

Also interesting that "Potential Breakup Song" signifies dance - which it does - since it's not really so different from their other songs, most of which I'd call "rock."

I don't think the general public notices that Ashlee and Aly & A.J. et al. are primarily "rock." I also don't know if I notice, if I think there's a hell of difference between "Potential Breakup Song" and "Bullseye," or between "L.O.V.E." and "La La."

[justfanoe.livejournal.com]

"See You Again" is probably my favorite song of the year to this point, and if I were submitting a year-end singles list to anywhere, I would seriously consider including it in there, even though it isn't really a single. No idea why something like "Girls Night Out" got released before it.

OK, so in your conception, we are rooting for Miley and A&A to be hits not for us but because we like Aly & AJ and want them to be successful because they deserve it? Maybe it's that I want others to see what I do in Aly & AJ because I've gotten so much enjoyment from their music.

The difference between "Potential Break Up Song" and "La La" is that PBUS is synth based and the others aren't. Of course, "Bullseye" is electric guitar based, but has there really been a poptimists outpouring of support over Aly & AJ in general or just PBUS.

Ashlee Simpson's best singles were released prior to what I perceive to be the peak (in popularity) of poptimists, and definitely prior to me joining the group. I think I like Aly & AJ better anyways.

[koganbot]

I'm not sure what I'm saying, actually: maybe the fact that I love Aly & A.J. makes them representative of me in that they represent something I love???? But probably the fact that they seem to question themselves makes them - actually - a fine pair for me to identify with, though this questioning is less exemplified "Potential Breakup Song" than by "Not This Year" and "Chemicals React" and "Blush" or the accidental tension between "One Of Them"/"Sticks and Stones" on the one hand and "Rush" on the other are the ones that bring that out in me. But I suppose I identify well with the musical restlessness of "Potential Breakup Song" - like, let's see what we can do with synths, with Andrews Sisters type melodies, with wordplay.

(By the way, the evangelical Christians I happen to know irl tend to be smart and questioning etc. As are the nonevangelical Christians and the nonevangelical non-Christians.)

[koganbot]

Oh, and for the lurkers, Miley Cyrus's "See You Again" is produced and co-written (w/ Miley) by Antonina Armato and Tim James, who produced and co-wrote (w/ Aly & A.J.) "Potential Breakup Song." "Blush" is written by Aly & A.J. alone.

[justfanoe.livejournal.com]

They also co-wrote "Not This Year", which I like even more than "Potential Break Up Song" and maybe even more than "See You Again". Do they have any non-Miley, non-Aly&AJ work?

[koganbot]

Yes! Hoku! "Another Dumb Blonde" and "How Do I Feel (The Burrito Song)." Here's the BMI list of Tim James' songs (which is incomplete), but it's a pain in the ass trying to find out which artists did them, since you have to then search each song by title, ticking "artists," and then (if there are a lot of songs by that title) scroll through each one.

[justfanoe.livejournal.com]

Research reveals:

"Once Again" by Frankie Jordan, "Bigger Than Us" by Hannah/Miley, "Bet On It" from HSM2, "Come Back to Me" by Vanessa H, The Dressed Up As Life album by Sick Puppies (who??), "Driving To California" by Still Pending, and some Cheetah Girls stuff, and probably some other stuff too, I dunno.

[koganbot]

Oh yeah, I'd forgotten about the Hudgens, which of course was all over Radio Disney. Sick Puppies' MySpace. They play what I call "executive-trainee emo." (Well, I just made up that term.) You can hear similarities in the melody of "My World" and the melody of "Chemicals React," except the singing and playing of "Chemicals React" is way lighter and vastly more appealing. I just don't like the Sick Puppies' kind of male vocals (constipated emoting), but I do think there are good tunes inside.

[skyecaptain.livejournal.com]

"executive-trainee emo."

You missed the ILM coinage of "cubicle indie."