Year In America October 9, 2008
Oct. 11th, 2008 04:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
koganbotI'm a couple days late here, getting engrossed by the financial brouhaha. Meanwhile, chartwatchers wonder whether it should be T.I. at number one or Rihanna at number one, but that just shows the poverty of their either/or thinking.
T.I. f. Rihanna "Live Your Life": Rihanna sort of half yodels, then skips down the chord going ay-yay-ay-yay-ay-yay as if it were ella-ella-ay-ay-ay, and T.I... well, he's overshadowed by the dark gold of Rihanna's throat. TICKALAYEEAY.
Christina Aguilera "Keeps Gettin' Better": Like T. Rex and Canned Heat, Christina loves to boogie. As usual I get strength but not much else from her. Would be better done by Pink, and Pink would have been better to have done this rather than "So What." Good song anyway, vocal competent enough to take this into tickland. BORDERLINE TICK.
Nickelback "I Gotta Be Somebody": I imagine if a classic hand-clapping Motown combo from the mid '60s like Martha & The Vandellas had done this it would have been OK, Martha contributing fire and the Motown house band bass and excitement. As it is though, Martha-free and Motown-free, it's appallingly over-emoted and leaden. NO TICK.
David Cook "Light On": More over-emoting, though David's voice being weaker than Chad's, this is nicer, even has a lilt. Still dull, though. (Was I naive to expect better?) NO TICK.
The Killers "Human": Roy Orbison could have been beautiful and terrifying with this, the Byrds could've been touching, Gary Allan could have smoothly taken you over the top without your being aware he was lifting you until you were in the sky. What I'm saying is that there are a few nice moves into the upper register that might have carried this through, if only it'd had someone able to carry it. NO TICK.
Pitbull f. Lil Jon "Krazy": Melody going up and down, Pitbull and Jon doing the usual yammering. That's about all this is. It's not like I was expecting subtlety from this pair, but I would have been happy if there had been - I don't know - pacing, timing, hooks. NO TICK.
T.I. f. Rihanna "Live Your Life": Rihanna sort of half yodels, then skips down the chord going ay-yay-ay-yay-ay-yay as if it were ella-ella-ay-ay-ay, and T.I... well, he's overshadowed by the dark gold of Rihanna's throat. TICKALAYEEAY.
Christina Aguilera "Keeps Gettin' Better": Like T. Rex and Canned Heat, Christina loves to boogie. As usual I get strength but not much else from her. Would be better done by Pink, and Pink would have been better to have done this rather than "So What." Good song anyway, vocal competent enough to take this into tickland. BORDERLINE TICK.
Nickelback "I Gotta Be Somebody": I imagine if a classic hand-clapping Motown combo from the mid '60s like Martha & The Vandellas had done this it would have been OK, Martha contributing fire and the Motown house band bass and excitement. As it is though, Martha-free and Motown-free, it's appallingly over-emoted and leaden. NO TICK.
David Cook "Light On": More over-emoting, though David's voice being weaker than Chad's, this is nicer, even has a lilt. Still dull, though. (Was I naive to expect better?) NO TICK.
The Killers "Human": Roy Orbison could have been beautiful and terrifying with this, the Byrds could've been touching, Gary Allan could have smoothly taken you over the top without your being aware he was lifting you until you were in the sky. What I'm saying is that there are a few nice moves into the upper register that might have carried this through, if only it'd had someone able to carry it. NO TICK.
Pitbull f. Lil Jon "Krazy": Melody going up and down, Pitbull and Jon doing the usual yammering. That's about all this is. It's not like I was expecting subtlety from this pair, but I would have been happy if there had been - I don't know - pacing, timing, hooks. NO TICK.
