Another Year In America January 8, 2009

[koganbot]

"Just Dance" is at number one. TAKE THAT, SUCKERS!

Beyond that, the happening news is...

Nothing. For the second week in a row, no new tracks crack the U.S. Top 40. Only a re-entry from Taylor Swift and a re-entry from O.A.R. In fact, only two new tracks in the Top 50, Ne-Yo's "Mad" and Miranda Cosgrove's "About You Now," the latter being a nasally dull sing-songy cover of the Sugababes tune. Cosgrove's previous single was an inferior version of Amy Diamond's "Stay My Baby." She's the star of Nickelodeon's tweeny sitcom iCarly, and I guess she's found her niche in draining the pleasure out of good European pop music.

Comments

[skyecaptain.livejournal.com]

TAKE THAT, SUCKERS!

Is this directed at music-listeners in America for bringing it upon themselves?

[koganbot]

No, it's directed at livejournal readers who dislike this great song.

[petronia.livejournal.com]

It's not the song is it, surely it's her who's hated?

[koganbot]

Oh, I agree, but the poptimists crowd are taking their anger out on this excellent song.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

FOR GOOD REASON

(I rly don't like the tune for much the same reason as I didn't like 'Disturbia' - plodding primary school rent-a-synths and boring vocal.)

[koganbot]

It reminds me of "Disturbia" too, except with a worse singer and without the wonderful resemblance to Eiffel 65!

[skyecaptain.livejournal.com]

I like the song, too. I even ticked it! I just want her to go away.

[koganbot]

Wouldn't you rather that she made other songs as good as this one?

[skyecaptain.livejournal.com]

I dunno, having listened to the album I don't really see it in the cards. But anything's possible I suppose.

[edgeofwhatever.livejournal.com]

But it's not that good a song! It's merely serviceable!

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Yeah, this is exactly it. Serviceable at best, because the beat is kind of ploddy and it lacks any extra chord change/notable lyric/performative edge to actually capture your attention. A couple of lines are vaguely catchy, I guess? It's the kind of song that, if it had come up on a Year in Pop by the faceless dance producer it sounds like it's by, I'd have either ticked (if in a good mood) and then never thought about again, or gone "mehh" and not ticked (if in bad mood).

Of course, when you get the whole Lady Gaga package, the imagery and the quotes and the insistence that she's an ARTIST and the radio presenters calling her the new Madonna (a friend of mine actually heard this very sentence the other day and nearly smashed the radio in anger) (seriously "Lady Gaga is the new Madonna," WHAT ARE YOU ON), this is enough to tip it firmly away from Any Good At All.

[koganbot]

What's interesting to me is that the recording itself - which is just a disco sleaze dance track - seems to me unaffected by the supposed ARTISTRY in the least. So the sound is neither harmed nor helped by the singer's pretensions.

[koganbot]

Apropos not of this, here's my prediction for the Poptimists poll top ten. All five I predicted yesterday are still possibilities. This is how I'd predict their order:

1. Wiley "Wearing My Rolex"
2. Estelle f. Kanye West "American Boy"
3. Jordin Sparks f. Chris Brown "No Air"
4. Goldfrapp "A&E"
5. Santogold "L.E.S. Artistes"

And these the next five:

6. Lil Wayne "A Milli"
7. Chris Brown "Forever"
8. Cassie "Official Girl"
9. Something by MGMT, probably "Time To Pretend"
10. Sway f. Stush "F Ur X"

I'm not confident of those final three, but I can't think of what else'd be in there now that we've gotten our Bouncy and Girls Aloud and Solange and "Love Lockdown," unless "I Decided" squeezes in (which isn't impossible, actually). Maybe Cassie's "Is It You." Is there yet another Alphabeat that could draw favor, with "10,000 Nights," "Boyfriend," and "Fascination" already taken care of? Another Kanye? Something by Vampire Weekend?

I'd be happy if Addictive f. T2's "Gonna Be Mine" were up there in place of MGMT, but I don't think bassline will get enough support. Also would be pleased if "What Would We Do," Mz Bratt's answer to "Wearing My Rolex," gets a spot, but that's not going to happen.

[justfanoe.livejournal.com]

I'm still assuming that "Closer" is going to make it and suspect "Blind" as well, but who knows.

[koganbot]

Yes, I forgot "Closer"! And I was "Blind" to "Blind" (which is tolerable, I suppose, though I think poptimists fave* Mika would do the vocals far better).

[koganbot]

Still not sure these would beat the ones I predicted, though I think "F Ur X" is more a hope than a prediction. Among forty-one people, it's possible that any of my last three and these two didn't get more than one vote. (Well, duh Frank, obviously at least two of them didn't get more than one vote.)

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

'F Ur X' was my no.18 - all of my 6-20 list were pretty close together, it was only really my top five that whacked me round the head with utter utter amazingness song-of-the-decade bizniz, the others were merely 'awesome'. But remember I only voted for tracks released as singles that I heard first in 2008, so there might be startling omissions in my list (eg Paper Planes).

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

'F Ur X' was my No 30 but on any given day it could easily have been top 10. I don't ever remember having such difficulty ordering my list before - usually a vague order sorts itself out fairly easily but literally my entire top 50, apart from the top 4 or so, could be rearranged and make just as much sense to me.

[edgeofwhatever.livejournal.com]

I think you're right about the top ten itself, if not the order, and blergh they are all so unexciting. (Well, Santogold is good.) I really do not understand the Cassie love.

[koganbot]

I'm not sure I understand the Cassie love, and I'm a big part of it. When I put her on a mixtape and then I'm just daydreaming away to the tape and she comes on, suddenly I'm all attention.

The Wiley and the Stush are more top sixty than top ten for me, but they grab me and make me laugh as rather jittery comedies of manners.

[edgeofwhatever.livejournal.com]

I mean, if it's about Ryan Leslie's production, I can get behind that. But nothing about her appeals to me.

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

there is one you've not got but it's not surprising as I'd be rather surprised if you'd heard it. It wasn't voted for as a joke but I never thought that 3 decent votes would get in the top ten...

You'll see tomorrow anyway

[koganbot]

Let me guess. It's that little ditty by Lindstrøm called "Where You Go I Go Too," right?

Unless it's that funky house one where his maids brush his tongue for him.*

*In the video, that is.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

8/10 correct, 2 exact positions. ;)

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Before I read Tom's tantalising hint I was going to put that I agreed with 5 of your 10 for sure (your top 5 but with 'A Milli' instead of 'A&E'). Thought 'Gonna Be Mine' and 'Closer' would also be certs, and 'A&E' a high probability.

Two spaces left - think it's between 'Official Girl' (which I know has at least one very high score), 'Blind' (though this might suffer a 'F Ur X'-style result) and 'Put On' (a pipe dream but Tom did hint tantalisingly about "more than one" Kanye guest spot in the top 10, and if enough hip-hop heads voted it would've been high on all their lists...). And of course the nasty MGMT-shaped surprise ughhh.

[koganbot]

But Carsmile, who seems to have inside info, says that one of the remaining tracks is one I'm not likely to have heard. And now that we've had Tom's hint and assuming my top seven are right (which I guess you're not, since you don't think "Forever" will make it), that'll mean that "Official Girl" and MGMT can't have both made it or else I'd have nine correct, not eight (unless it's a MGMT other than "Time To Pretend" and Tom's not giving me credit for it). Anyway, fearing the worst, I'll say that MGMT is my number eight, that "Forever" gets in, "Official Girl" and "F Ur X" don't, "Blind" does (though I really hope it's "Closer"), and then there's The Mystery Song I'm Not Likely To Have Heard.

[skyecaptain.livejournal.com]

MGMT other than "Time To Pretend"

I think Slipknot's chances are better than this, frankly!

[koganbot]

Also, I strenuously took issue over at Poptimists with the assertion that the Kanye album isn't hip-hop, but no one bothered to take issue with my taking issue. (So, are we going to say that "Whatever You Like" and "Sensual Seduction" and all those T-Pain and Lil Wayne Autotuned guest spots also aren't hip-hop? Are we going to say if there's no rap then something's not hip-hop [so much for a whole hunk of what Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash etc did]?)

[koganbot]

I mean, it's hip-hop guys who are the ones who are doing this - I don't mean they're the only ones glitzing up their voices with Autotune (thanks Cher!), but that they're driving the phenomenon this year, making it a symbol and a signature.

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

yes this is what I would have said if I had a Nth of yr interest rather than just being a dilletante ;)

[koganbot]

Viva le (or is it la) dilettante!

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I think it's not hip-hop because Kanye's deliberately rid himself of pretty much every signifier of the genre - the language, the themes, the mode of expression, the imagery, the rhythm - apart from the Autotune, which he's using in a very different way to most rappers' slightly ham-fisted "slap it on wherever" approach anyway - this is obviously a conscious choice of his. If it had been his debut album (or, more plausibly, if he'd released it incognito), no one would ever have thought to call it hip-hop. It's not even R&B, it's more like some weird indie-blues hybrid.

[skyecaptain.livejournal.com]

Although at the same time, I'm tempted to let it slide on a "if Kanye does it, it's hip-hop" sorta deal.

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

it's electro soul obviously!

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Hey, I was in meetings all day :)

Is this going back to the 'where's the borderline between hip-hop and RnB' thing? I don't think it's anything to do with Autotune - my theory is that it's to do with where the melody presents itself, i.e. is it in a sample, a vocal, a synth or is there NO MELODY AT ALL? I don't know which answer maps on to which genre though, because I am drinking some gin right now and am concentrating most of my brain power on that.

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

I questioned why kanye wasn't hiphop any more, but I think lex has spent all his arguing juice for the week after Monday/Tuesday...

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

Kanye himself has declared it a whole new genre called...Pop Art. I was gonna say if there's no rapping it ain't hip-hop...unless it's instrumental hip-hop arf. Plus some hip-hop artists don't always make hip-hop yadda yadda.

the five elements

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

i: Breakdancing = no tick
ii: Emcee = tick
iii: DJ = tick
iv: Graffitti = no tick
v: Beatboxing = no tick

hence by old-skool science kanye is not hiphop

Re: the five elements

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

I wonder if autotune could kinda sorta come under beatboxing! Then it would be!

Re: the five elements

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

NOES :(

On an Autotune note I have discovered the NEW T-PAIN - he is a producer/rapper called Ron Browz and, as an outraged Youtuber put it, "he makes T-Pain sound like Sinatra". He is brilliant fun especially 'Pop Champagne'. OMG Ludacris kills it on that beat. THAT is hip-hop not Kanye's soft-serve emo bibbles.

Re: the five elements

[koganbot]

"Beatboxing" is not old school enough, I don't think. Originally it was just breakbeats, played from records, two turntables and one or more microphones. At least that's what I've read.

How do you know there's no breakdancing and no graffiti?

Re: the five elements

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

don't forget vi: LOVE

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

We'll see tomorrow eh?

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

that was said in hope rather than expectation ;)

[petronia.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I thought that was kind of weird, but I don't usually say anything about hip-hop due to insufficient education to have an opinion. (Though I'm a big Bambaataa fan. But I'm also one of those people who don't really pay attention to the lyrics most of the time, meaning that about 75% of what's good about rap is lost on me.)

[petronia.livejournal.com]

(btw that Redesign The Music Industry course is awesome - I'll probably keep the discussions going in parallel on my LJ)

[koganbot]

(Good!)

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

I didn't take issue with your taking issue because I was persuaded by it!

I think it's something else as well as hip-hop, and that something else is more interesting (to me) than it's also being hip-hop.

[koganbot]

I wonder if something's been happening with hip-hop over the long long term (since the late '80s when new jack swing came along): more and more of its elements get absorbed into pop as a whole, so that, while what's thought of (by some people) as real hip-hop gets defined more narrowly, its sound and style become ever more ubiquitous, though in ever more mutant varieties. (I'm thinking of this as similar to rock, which isn't doing that well if you look strictly at the rock charts - even though it's still able to produce blockbuster sales for the likes of Nickelback and Daughtry - but if you listen to country and teenpop etc. you hear a lot that's actually rock sounding.)(And then - to my mind - in Britain techno is playing more of the role that rock once did than rock now is, but that's a different story.)(Whatever I mean by "techno.")