A Year In America November 6, 2008

[koganbot]

In the words of Billboard, T.I. replaces himself again atop the Hot 100. And that's the basic chart news, not much movement, though Taylor leaps in with a track that finally is making me not so pessimistic about the album that comes out in five days. And suddenly, after hanging around for months and months, the Lady GaGa song rockets into the Top 40. Why's that? Not that I object, but was there some external event that finally gave it the push? Only one other newbie, and it's one that we heard and discussed ten days ago when it hit in Britland, but it's choice. So a week that's three for three.

Taylor Swift "You're Not Sorry": A weeper that Taylor goes tentative with, stays fragile herself while allocating the big passions to the drums and strings. The lyrics are neither as striking nor as complex as the ones she was writing two years ago, but in this instance that's fine, as she delivers plain feeling. TICK.

Lady GaGa f. Colby O'Donis "Just Dance": A first-rate floor stomper that I'm not as gaga for as I want to be, I think 'cause the vocals slop around where they really should take off. It's a dynamite song, however. TICK.

John Legend f. André 3000 "Green Light": This is unassuming at first, the vocals seemingly geared for smooth radio, but the beats add rough and tumble, and it won't stop pushing. TICK.

Comments

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

I'm really not a fan of the Lady GaGa track - also Universal's insistence on tacking it on to the end of every other new video going is VERY ANNOYING.

[chuckeddy.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm totally meh on that Lady Gaga track myself. And I find the drag-queeniness of her schtick really cloying and off-putting (in ways even Katy Perry's and Dolly Partion's equally drag-queeny schticks that almost nobody seemed to notice this year weren't, maybe because they've both got better tunes.) The Gaga album has moments that momentarily make me flesh on Blondie ("Union City Blue" melodic rip somewhere I think) and early space-alien Bowie, but nothing that made me want to hear it again. Anyway, here's what I wrote about her (though not much about her music) a couple months back:

http://idolator.com/400954/we-search-the-internet-for-pampered-divas-eyeball+frying-mcs-and-metal-that-blurs-the-race-and-gender-divide

[chuckeddy.livejournal.com]

(I mean the drag-queeniness of Katy's and Dolly's '08 *songs*' schticks, btw, not so much the way they present them otherwise. I think part of the reason I've never understood the silly homophobia accusations about Katy is that her music's sensibility struck me as so blatantly camp from the gitgo.)

[chuckeddy.livejournal.com]

"...momentarily make me FLASH on Blondie...", I meant, not "flash." Though Blondie certainly had their in-the-flesh moments.

[chuckeddy.livejournal.com]

Not FLESH. Geez. (See, this is why I shouldn't post to other people's blogs. Once I start, I just go down a rabbit hole.)