Frank Kogan

Distracted, scattershot listening, with some good discoveries nonetheless. Pretty much totally ignored hip-hop, but it kept pushing its way onto this list anyway, either as guest spots or per se. A couple of non-gender-reversible videos by Tahiti and A.Kor. A lot of hard-rocking aggression in my top ten (top twelve if you go down to Future), the non-"rock" (Chainsmokers, HyunA, Nicki) rocking as hard or harder than the "rock" (Kate, Courtney, w/ BiS kinda both rock and nonrock). I guess you could call Orange Caramel aggressively silly, too. HyunA is the highest newbie, a vortex of fake mayhem and real power — also with a problematic couple of seconds that you might miss but it's worth saying a little about: war whoops that are made explicitly American Indian in live performance, the problem being not Oh noes! appropriation! or the inaccuracy, but that even when the portrayal of Native Americans as fighters is positive, as warriors! as braves! as admirable and courageous! they're rarely portrayed as anything else [EDIT: as anything other than fighters, that is]. But fwiw, the suggestion of being overrun by whoops makes this particular song stronger emotionally, the song being an overload as it is. The lyrics, by the way, are a takeoff on a Korean kids' song, or so Google informs me. Kids go "Monkey's butt is red, red apple, apple is delicious, delicious banana, banana is long," etc. So HyunA's song goes "Monkey's butt is red, red is HyunA, HyunA is yeah..." so, implied, HyunA is delicious (some haters went, "So HyunA is a monkey's butt," but that's the Internet).

1. Wa$$up "Jingle Bell"
2. The Chainsmokers "#Selfie"
3. HyunA "Red"



4. BiS "STUPiG"
5. Kate Nash "Sister"
6. Courtney Love "Wedding Day"
7. Orange Caramel "So Sorry"
8. Tinashe ft. Schoolboy Q "2 On"
9. Nicki Minaj "Lookin' Ass Nigga"
10. Crayon Pop "Uh-ee"
11. After School "Shh"
12. Future ft. Pharrell, Pusha T & Casino "Move That Dope"
13. Shakira ft. Rihanna "Can't Remember To Forget You"
14. T-ara "First Love"
15. Puer Kim "Manyo Maash"
16. Danity Kane "Bye Baby"
17. Badkiz "Ear Attack"
18. PungDeng-E "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5io392fL2Qo">잘탕 (잘 시간이 어딨어)"
19. GP Basic "Black Bounce"



20. Serebro "Ya Tebya Ne Otdam"
21. Dal★shabet "B.B.B (Big Baby Baby)"
22. Ca$h Out "She Twerkin"
23. T-ara "Sugar Free"
24. Arcade Fire "We Exist"
25. The Hold Steady "I Hope This Whole Thing Didn't Frighten You"
26. JunglePussy "Fuck Texting"
27. Shakira "Empire"
28. Jiyeon "Never Ever"
29. Mia Martina ft. Dev "Danse"
30. Infinite "Back"
31. Neon Jungle "Braveheart"
32. Lady Gaga "G.U.Y."
33. Zizo ft. Nan Ah Jin "Spy"



34. Tahiti "Oppa, You Are Mine"
35. Bass Drum Of Death "Black Don't Glow"
36. SNSD "Mr.Mr."
37. Kim Wan Sun ft. Tiger JK and Bizzy "Goodbye My Love"
38. Shakira "Dare"
39. Scarlet "Hip Song"
40. Tyga ft. Young Thug "Hookah"
41. Louie ft. Boy Wonder "Twilight"
42. Low Pros ft. Young Thug & PeeWee Longway "Jack Tripper"
43. Ray.B "살만한가봐"
44. Plan B "Candy"
45. After School "Rock It"
46. Infinite "Last Romeo"
47. Cam & China "Do Dat"
48. A.Kor "But Go"



49. Choi Sam "Answer"
50. Yemi Alade "Tangerine"
51. T-ara "LA'booN"
52. Brantley Gilbert "Bottoms Up"
53. Rascal Flatts "Rewind"
54. Switch "39˚C"
55. Yelle "Bouquet Final"
56. Polly Scattergood "Subsequently Lost"

Some notes on newbies:

A.Kor "But Go": Lil Jon–like shout-outs, CL-like joyously cute toughness, 2NE1ish mideasternisms.

Choi Sam "Answer": Almost subliminally deep electronic wobbles undergird rapping that seems to work from Korean talk as much as from hip-hop. Most distinct track on this list. (H/t Mat.)

Scarlet "Hip Song": Wears its electronics on its sleeve while going in its structure for the feel of a quick little rock 'n' roll knockoff, using the first eight bars of the 12-bar pattern, the voices as blippy and instrumental-like as the instruments.

Okay, briefly on the warrior thing. Historically you had descendants of Europeans going in and invading and displacing American Indians, with the invaders thinking of themselves as pioneers and settlers (albeit with an advanced guard of gunmen and celluloid desperadoes), whereas the people who resisted the invasion are rarely portrayed as anything but warriors, so are shown as fundamentally war-like. That's a ridiculous imbalance, no?

Anyway, that's all I've time for, may be off-line for a day or two. I don't feel censorious towards HyunA. Some persistent truth and education would be more useful, though not enough money's appropriated for education these days.



[Reminder, I've had to disallow anonymous posting, but if you hit the down arrow you can post using your Facebook or Twitter accounts, and Google+ and a couple more things; the dropdown menu will tell you.]

Just in time for my first quarter wrap, Crayon Pop show up in shtetl garb traditionalist clothing, playing old people's music as the young-un's in back discreetly tap their toes. Above them in the ten, Wa$$up ring my bell, BiS prove that Anti-Idol is Idol, Tinashe brushes my Cassie spot, Future gets together with a bunch of other dopes to move some dope, Kate Nash punks better than she'd ever quirked, Orange Caramel assay a disco-Cuban b-side to which they barely even attempt to dance, Dal★shabet crochet in freestyle, Puer Kim does an elegant monster maash, and Nicki Minaj scores by any means necessary.

1. Wa$$up "Jingle Bell"
2. BiS "STUPiG"
3. Tinashe ft. Schoolboy Q "2 On"
4. Future ft. Pharrell, Pusha T & Casino "Move That Dope"
5. Kate Nash "Sister"



6. Orange Caramel "So Sorry"
7. Dal★shabet "B.B.B (Big Baby Baby)"
8. Puer Kim "Manyo Maash"
9. Nicki Minaj "Lookin' Ass Nigga"
10. Crayon Pop "Uh-ee"



( 11 through 20 )

Jingle the bell.