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.