As Such? (Top Singles, First Quarter 2013 [and a few albs])

[koganbot]

Not sure if any themes are developing in this year's list. I've got some Korean hip-hop "as such" at 1 and 13 ("as such" as opposed to K-pop that employs hip-hop, though the latter is usually way better and is also on my list, D-Unit's "Stay Alive" being especially rappy). In general, "real" Korean hip-hop is either too dogged and serious or too jokey. (Is it not peculiar that if I were to describe a human being (e.g., myself) as dogged and serious it would be a compliment, and "tells jokes" would often be a positive attribute as well; but sounding dogged and serious in song is generally negative, as is coming off as a joke act?) I've been listening to the back catalog of Gaeko's group Dynamic Duo, who are inventive and all that but, you know, dogged and serious. Unfortunately, at the moment my analytic and adjectival wellsprings are producing nothing to help describe any of this. I'm not saying I dislike Dynamic Duo; last year's 6th Digilog 2/2 gets a definite head nod from me. But nothing on it immediately arrests my attention like the first five seconds of "난리good!!!" with its combination of severity and flamboyance. Wise of Gaeko to grab onto the electronic dance. Of course, hip-hop's often willing to grab.

1. Gaeko & Choiza & Simon D & Primary "난리good!!! (AIR)"
2. GLAM "I Like That"
3. Baauer "Harlem Shake"
4. Margaret Berger "I Feed You My Love"
5. will.i.am ft. Britney Spears "Scream & Shout"
6. G-Dragon ft. Jenova "Crayon (Lam Suet Remix)"
7. Sistar19 "Gone Not Around Any Longer"
8. Kate Nash "Death Proof (CSS Remix)"
9. 2YOON "24/7"
10. Tiny-G "Minimanimo"
11. D-Unit ft. Vasco "Stay Alive"
12. Yelle "L'Amour Parfait"
13. Gaeko "Rhythm Is Life"
14. Baek Ji Young "I Hate It"
15. D-Unit ft. Zico "Talk To My Face"
16. GLAM "In Front Of The Mirror"
17. SHINee "Dream Girl"
18. A$AP Rocky ft. 2 Chainz, Drake, Kendrick Lamar "Fuckin' Problems"
19. MYNAME "Just That Little Thing"
20. Miranda Lambert "Mama's Broken Heart"
21. Baek Ji Young "Acacia"

The following albums are fairly listenable:

1. D-Unit Affirmative Chapter.1 (D-Business Entertainment/Windmill Media)
2. The Cataracs Loud Xmas EP (Universal Republic)
3. Ashley Monroe Like A Rose (Warner Brothers Nashville)

"Sistar19 - Gone Not Around Any Longer [Audio]" (Watch on YouTube)

Comments

[azacab.livejournal.com]

By "listenable" albums do you mean your favorite albums so far, or has this year been unimpressive? And to further bug you... no Orange Caramel? Only 5/13 tracks are Korean originals, and I think it's far, far stronger than Lipstick even without "Bubble Bath" and "Milkshake." It seems more akin to SNSD's debut than it is to Jewelry Box which I understand why you didn't include last year. Otherwise, the charts truly are suckage. And Bunny Style is really blegh, but I'm not really shocked by that. I think GLAM are going to be my Great Hope for 2013.

[koganbot]

By listenable I meant that I liked but didn't love the three albs I listed. They are my three favorite so far, but they're not impressive for a top three. But my album listening in general has been erratic — haven't had a chance to hear all of the Kacey Musgraves, for instance. And I've listened to the Orange Caramel but once so far. So I haven't turned thumbs down on it; just haven't given it a chance. "My Sweet Devil," from last year, is superb, and better than all previous versions I've heard of it. (It began life as a Japanese boogie track in the '70s.) Been meaning to post on it for months, haven't done so yet.

"Bunny Style" not bad, but definitely the first non-great T-ara single, not counting one or two OST or promo side projects. And even most of the latter are great. Have only heard the Type A, Type B, and Type C B-sides, which are even more meh than the title track.

I actually have no good explanation for why T-ara had been so consistently great for so long — as opposed to, say, being like 4minute, one out of three of whose singles are blegh or worse, and whose EPs and albums are spotty at best: which is about what one would expect from creators whose sensibilities and tastes are probably miles from mine. And if anything, 4minute's sensibilities and concepts and demeanor make more general sense to me than T-ara's do. Yet T-ara barely have a bad song, and they churn them out. Meanwhile, you can count on most of their labelmates to stink up the joint.

First Quarter

[skyecaptain.livejournal.com]

Can't keep track of singles. Here are the albums:

Keepers:
Tegan and Sara - Heartthrob
Kitty - D.A.I.S.Y. Rage
Ashley Monroe - Like a Rose
Cast of Nashville - The Music of Nashville Season One
Kacey Musgraves - Same Trailer, Different Park
Kate Nash - Girl Power
Le1f - Fly Zone
Yo La Tengo - Fade
Waxahatchee - Cerulean Salt
Justin Timberlake - The 20/20 Experience
Adrian Younge & the Delfonics - Adrian Young Presents the Delfonics
Flume - s/t

Subjects for future research:
--Spring Breakers OST
--Pretty much any K-pop :(
--Somebody named Neal Torres that someone recommended
--

Right now my #1 could just as easily be a #10.

Singles or whatever that I can actually keep track of:

A*M*E - Play the Game Boy
Baauer - Harlem Shake
Tweenchronic - Skip Rope
Little Mix f. Missy Elliott - How Ya Doin'
Ciara - Body Party
Kacey Musgraves - Follow Your Arrow
Ashley Monroe - Two Weeks Late
Cast of Nashville - Undermine (2012)
Margaret Berger - If I Feed You My Love
RuPaul f. Big Freedia - Peanut Butter
Kat Dahlia - Gangsta

Re: First Quarter

[koganbot]

A small package of value will arrive when I get around to sending it.

Have you had a chance to think about Orange Caramel's Japanese album? Prompted by azacab, I'm listening more and believing that it does hold together as an album more than Lipstick does, though of course "hold together" is only one criterion.

[sub-divided.livejournal.com]

I'm obsessed with AA - Come Back (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4JmhB65O2I) at the moment.

I've been liking lots of The Singles Jukebox singles, including pretty much all of the country ones (Miranda Lambert, Lindi Ortega, Kacey Musgraves) plus all the ones everyone likes (Kendrick Lamar - Backseat Freestyle, Tegan and Sara - Now I'm All Messed Up, Guess Who - Omare), etc etc.

Also poppy K-hiphop such as:
Phantom - I'll Speak Plainly (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUUiYF1kzWw)
Spacecowboy - It's Over (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sT80FwW9XiE)
M.I.B. - Money in the Building (http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DsIP0HeO15hQ) (!!!)
Zion.T - Babay (http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=84m-0uO39SY)
MFBTY - Sweet Dream (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D20bTiJNQpQ)

And most of Jay Park's stuff. Speaking of Jay Park, the guest on this hilarious stoner thing (http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3Dyj7olpCtmVg) might be the same girl that was in his SNL parody skit (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKnYiXB209g)? Maybe? She sounds the same.

Plus a lot of the stuff you mention, although Jade Alston's version (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwWdNgn3490) of Problems has replaced the original for me. G.NA - Oops (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jp1vK-KU4RE) has been growing on me, surprisingly. Also while I still don't like CNBlue - Sorry that much, there's a live performance (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHTAKEZbWSY) of it I like a lot, that fixes the pronunciation of "Crazy" and puts the song in its proper place (something that plays as the credits run on a romantic comedy).

Finally, if we can go back a bit, Jade Alston - Missing You Lately (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=736AfCmahyg) is great; and Girls Generation - Beep (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNqFrJMsPe0), which was just released in a Japanese version.

[sub-divided.livejournal.com]

Oh, and some areia remixes, I Got a Boy (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFx7AHvubNk) in particular.

[sub-divided.livejournal.com]

In the grand tradition of these comment threads, I made a playlist (http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsh4Z5FNfPMBe2-U6mgPLHxsaA374EhQ5) of first-quarter picks for 2013.

I've bookmarked yr list

[joshlanghoff.livejournal.com]

Here's 20 singles (Little Mix is coming up on TSJ this week, hurry hurry!) (also, you might like the Intocable one that was up last week, "Te Amo (Para Siempre)" -- we rated it pretty high, but there were only six people doing the rating):

“22” - Taylor Swift
“Only God Could Love You More” - Jerrod Niemann
“R.I.P.” - Young Jeezy ft. 2 Chainz
“Same God” - Tye Tribbett
“It’s Not Over” - Chaka Khan ft. Lecrae
“The People’s Champ” - R.A. The Rugged Man
“Upstarts” - Johnny Marr
“How Ya Doin’?” - Little Mix ft. Missy Elliott
“You Are My Destiny” - The Juan Maclean
“La Estructura” - Noel Torres
“¿Por Qué Les Mientes?” - Tito El Bambino ft. Marc Anthony
“Cheap Beer” - FIDLAR
“Fuckin’ Problems” - ASAP Rocky ft. Drake, 2 Chainz, & Kendrick Lamar
“Teenage” - Veronica Falls
“Like Jesus Does” - Eric Church
“Just Give Me a Reason” - P!nk ft. Nate Ruess
“Tadow” - N.O.R.E. ft. French Montana, Pusha T & 2 Chainz
“Harlem” - New Politics
“Another February” - Local H
“Full of Fire” - the Knife

And I was the one who recommended Dave check out Noel Torres! [Rips off mask, cackles.] Torres alternates corridos with romantic banda ballads; the bandas are so-so, but the corridos are something else. Here's 20 albums, some of which I've only heard once so they may fall in my estimation, but usually those are the albums I discovered through Chuck -- which is to say, they have a valuable cosign.

Noel Torres - La Estructura (Sony Latin) (major, Latin)
The boy tries to look so hard, but I’m guessing he also combs his hair in his rearview mirror; you never see him wearing a hat. This hatlessness may or may not be significant. Torres associates with El Movimiento Alterado, a group of Sinaloan corrido bands collected and named by twin brother label honchos. The Movimiento likens itself to a cartel for the same reason rappers call themselves “gangster” and “Gotti” and “Three Six Mafia,” though they differ in spirit from Big & Rich’s MuzikMafia in that they are not typically goofy. Torres is perhaps the least goofy of all -- no grito shouts, lots of unsmiling publicity poses with impressive-looking guns, and his corridos shun the airy bounce you find in much of Sinaloa’s loping mountain polkas. His band falls all over one another in a perfectly controlled way, everyone filling the gaps left by the other instruments and converging for utterly brutal rhythmic passages before launching back into their oompahs. He leavens the corridos with some well-placed bandas románticas, which he executes in the unsmiling manner of a dude who can press a button and make a bed slide out of his wall.

Various Artists - Change the Beat: The Celluloid Records Story 1980-1987 (Strut compilation) (indie, dance, rap)
Various Artists - Las Bandas Románticas de América 2013 (Disa compilation) (major, Latin)
José Feliciano - My Love for México (Siente/Universal) (major, Latin)
Dropkick Murphys - Signed and Sealed in Blood (Born and Bred) (indie)
Corsair - Corsair (Shadow Kingdom) (indie, metal)
Voivod - Target Earth (Century) (indie, metal)
William Murphy - God Chaser (Verity) (major, CCM)
Purling Hiss - Water on Mars (Drag City) (indie)
Banda Carnaval - Las Vueltas de la Vida (Disa) (major, Latin)
Ashley Monroe - Like a Rose (Warner Bros.) (major, country)
Steven Curtis Chapman - #1’s Volume 2 (Sparrow compilation) (major, CCM)
Los Player’s de Tuzantla - Un Cachito de Cielo (Musart/Balboa) (indie, Latin)
Bomba Estéreo - Elegancia Tropical (Soundway ‘12) (indie, dance, Latin)
Los Caporales de Chihuahua - Y De Nuevo Bailando Con... (Goma) (indie, Latin)
Tegan and Sara - Heartthrob (Vapor/Warner Bros.) (major)
Veronica Falls - Waiting for Something to Happen (indie)
Kacey Musgraves - Same Trailer Different Park (Mercury Nashville) (major, country)
Blue Sky Riders - Finally Home (3 Dream) (indie, country)
David Bowie - The Next Day (Columbia) (major)

Re: I've bookmarked yr list

[koganbot]

Many thanks for this. Several upcoming Jukebox tracks I recommend are Deerhunter's "Monomania," Bomba Estéreo's "Caribbean Power," and When Saints Go Machine's "Love And Respect." Not that I'm likely to have time to say why. Will also probably miss the opportunity to call the new Pistol Annies track a bore, as the deadline approaches.

Re: I've bookmarked yr list

[koganbot]

Ah, I see you're already onto Bomba Estéreo.

Re: I've bookmarked yr list

[joshlanghoff.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I signed up for the selection committee this year (it's like camp!) so that was one of my picks, as was When Saints Go Machine, though I should be careful not to overstate the extent of my contributions since other people do a lot more work. The job's kept me on top of singles more than in previous years.

Re: I've bookmarked yr list

[koganbot]

Taxonomic question: Why do you list William Murphy as "CCM" rather than "gospel"? From the sound of God Chaser I'd say he's taken in some pieces of modern r&b, but still, the style seems heavily call-and-response in the old churchy tradition. But I'm not up on what's being called gospel and what CCM these days, so you surely would have a better ear for this.

[koganbot]

I'm now definitely counting Orange Caramel, though I suppose if at year's end there're more albums I really want to include than there's room for I might leave it off just because most of it isn't new to me (I was following the Japanese singles as they were released). But given that at the moment it's penciled in as my number 1, I'm likely to want it regaling everybody else on my list come December.

Re: I've bookmarked yr list

[koganbot]

Okay, I'm listening again, and it's not strict call-and-response, there's more unison singing, but it's definitely got that feeling.

Re: I've bookmarked yr list

[joshlanghoff.livejournal.com]

That's more just my own private taxonomy -- viewing gospel, like Christian R&B or metal or whatever, as a subsection of CCM. I started assigning these labels a couple years ago with the hope of statistically analyzing my listening patterns and the batting averages of the different genres, and I never hear enough gospel for it to justify its own category, so it gets thrown in with CCM. Which is sort of unfortunate, given CCM's connotations of whiteness, but on the other hand gospel is contemporary, Christian, and music, so it fits. The Book of Mormon soundtrack got the same designation. (I definitely don't listen to enough showtunes for them to get their own tag.)

I dunno if I've ever mentioned this to you, but Mark Allan Powell, the theologian who wrote The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music, which contains entries not just for gospel singers but also for Dylan, Clapton, Alice Cooper, and other outliers, defines CCM this way:

"Contemporary Christian music is music that appeals to self-identified fans of contemporary Christian music on account of a perceived connection to what they regard as Christianity." (He goes on to say he errs on the side of inclusion, in the tradition of the Rolling Stone Encyclopedia.)

This definition has struck me as useful for other genres, if pretty close to tautological. At least, it's how I defended calling Taylor Swift "country" last year. On the other hand, it also seems to be the direction Billboard went with their blanded-out genre charts -- like, does Macklemore appeal to self-identified rap fans on account of his perceived connection to what they regard as hip-hop? I'm sure he does, just not to ALL rap fans. But of course, genre encyclopedias and Billboard charts have different uses. If I were reading a rap encyclopedia, I'd wanna see an entry on Macklemore. On the rap charts, I wanna know what's getting played on rap radio (or its non-Luddite equivalents), where I have yet to hear Macklemore.

In closing, I'd just like to register my confusion at hearing the Mumfords and the Lumineers in regular rotation on commercial country radio.

Re: I've bookmarked yr list

[joshlanghoff.livejournal.com]

(Well, nobody appeals to ALL rap fans. But I get the sense that Macklemore doesn't even appeal to most. But I'm gonna stop talking about Macklemore now because I've only heard one song and haven't immersed myself in the internet's great body of Macklemore literature.)

Re: I've bookmarked yr list

[koganbot]

And there's Chuck's definition of heavy metal for Stairway To Hell which was "all extant wax that would've been considered at any time in HM's elongated life span, whether said wax was considered metal at the time of release or not" — plus anything else he wanted to rationalize into the genre. But then he wasn't worrying about competing categories. Just as I'm not when I'm filling out the Nashville Scene poll.

[koganbot]

M.I.B "Money In The Building"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLJg-yJfMcQ

Girls' Generation "Beep Beep"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCscyDno4yA