Henry’s Music Blog

Why The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins is So Great

Sat, 18 May 2013 20:01:00 -0700

Well, I’m back from watching the new Star Trek, and today, I feel like talking about one of the older and more bizarre pieces of Pop Culture connected to the series. Today, we’re looking at Leonard Nemoy’s “The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins”, and why it really is what a song should be.

Simply put, “Bilbo Baggins” is fun, and is nothing more. It’s goofy and joyful, and is that a problem at all? People snarking at this song on the internet really are missing the point of what a song should be. The song tries to be fun, and succeeds. It doesn’t try to be meaningful, and it isn’t. It doesn’t try to be tearful, or triumphant, or grandiose, and it’s not any of these things. So why complain about it not being these things? You don’t judge Michael Bay for not being Orson Welles. This is an enjoyable song, and nothing more. And that’s all it should be judged on.

Licensed to Ill: an Album Review

Wed, 08 May 2013 20:43:20 -0700

There seems to be a genre every decade that serves as the “up-and-comer”, the genre that starts to develop into the most important music of the time. The 50s had Rock ‘n’ Roll, the 60s had Garage Rock and Psychedelia, the 70s had Heavy Metal and Punk, and the 80s had Rap music coming into major prominence. After The Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” popularized Rap in 1979, it was only a matter of time for a Rap album to be the first to top Billboard’s album charts. And what was the first to achieve this feat? A Rap-Rock album by three Jewish boys from Brooklyn. So today, we’re looking at that album, The Beastie Boy’s Licensed to Ill.

1. Rhymin’ and Stealin’

It’s rare to have an opening song sum up an album so well. Over samples of “When the Levee Breaks” by Led Zeppelin and “Sweet Leaf” by Black Sabbath, MCA, Ad-Rock, and Mike D rap about how awesome it is to be pirates. Does anything else really need to be said. The song is a perfect representation of how a song can be simultaneously ridiculous and completely awesome. It’s not meant to be taken seriously, and that’s what makes it work.

2. The New Style

With the second song the album, The Beasties highlights exactly what they were about in their early days. They weren’t the genre-bending icons they would become; they were mocking the stupid fratboys that were common at the time. The song also highlights the simpler production style common in many songs on the album, primarily based on one drum beat and a guitar chord. It’s all incredibly basic, though it does change for the last minute to a slower beat. It’s not required listening, but it’s still just a fun jam.

3. She’s Crafty

Continuing with the style of “The New Style”, the album continues with the silly, intentionally obnoxious style, set over an awesome guitar sample from “The Ocean” by Led Zeppelin. The song really does function as a continuation of “The New Style”, and the album wouldn’t be any worse off without it. It’s not bad, it’s just kind of weak for the album so far.

4. Posse in Effect

And now we get a calmer version of the production work, based on more horn samples while still based on the drums. The second shortest song on the album, the song has length on its side, ending before it can get obnoxious. And I guess it would be good to mention The Beastie’s biggest strength, the work between each member for the verses. Each member constantly trades off lines between each other, showing the group dynamic that really was their best asset. And they show it off to marvelous effect throughout, particularly here.

5. Slow Ride

Showing a funkier side to the album, the song sample “Low Rider” by War, highlighting Hip-Hop’s place as a spin-off of Funk, serving as the underground form of Dance music at the time, as shown by early Hip-Hop’s fetish for sampling old James Brown singles. Anyway, the song isn’t really great, but it’s certainly fun, and it’s also a short song, so it still avoids annoyance.

6. Girls

“Girls” could be the best song ever written by anyone ever. The whole song is effectively high-speed Doo-Wop about troublesome girls (a reoccurring theme), over the goofiest piano ditty ever created. There’s no reason to hate this song. It’s perfect.

7. Fight For Your Right (To Party)

And here we have what would end up being the defining moment of the album. “Fight For Your Right” is the perfect summary of what the Beasties were, rapping about hating school and mom throwing away your porno mags. The song is a parody of the frat boys mocked throughout the album, over a stereotypical “I barely play guitar so I can pick up girls” riff. Sadly, it became popular with these people, coming to represent what it mocked. Technically, this song is probably the worst on the album, but it’s so infectious, it’s hard not to love it. Even if the solo is complete shit.

8. No Sleep Till Brooklyn

The other big hit off the album, “Brooklyn” serves as another “bro fist-pump” anthem, designed to get a crowd pumped and ready, over a great riff and some of their best raps off the album. The song is still dumb compared to what they would become, but it just serves as a big goofy song, almost designed to be played by a crappy High School band trying to be tough for the talent show. Together with two solos by Thrash legend Kerry King of Slayer, you got the ultimate in Frat-Rap.

9. Paul Revere

“Paul Revere” is a remarkably weird song, especially for such a landmark record. Telling the story of how Mike D, MCA, and Ad-Rock first met in a Western story of running from town on a horse and then stopping at a saloon that gets robbed, and I guess forming a band at some point, the three rap over a woozy beat consisting of a bass line and a hi-hat. The story is ridiculous, and the song does get kind of tiring, but it’s just charming.

10. Hold it Now, Hit It

Probably the weakest song on the album, “Hold it Now” comes off as a overbearing mashup of too many samples and rhymes. The song seems to stop and go randomly throughout, never forming a consistent melody and just turning into a mess. The major theme of the album is not giving a shit about life and having fun, but the album definitely could have benefitted from a form of cohesion, or at least stay on one element for a long enough time.

11. Brass Monkey

“Monkey” is another example of a song that shouldn’t work, but just does. Formed over a skonky horn riff and a drum beat, the song is the personification of fun, highlighted by the goofiest raps ever pressed to vinyl. Sometimes you just can’t explain why you love a song, it just fills you with a sort of aloof joy whenever you hear it playing, and you’re just left with a dumb smile until it stops. That’s how I feel when I hear this song.

12. Slow and Low

Returning to the sound of “She’s Crafty” and “The New Style”, the Beasties are back to that goofy style of slow drum beats, marked by the song title itself. The song serves as the same style as though two, bringing the album back to where it started, forming a nice symmetry. The song isn’t particularly interesting, but it’s still a heavily enjoyable song, marked by a classic chorus.

13. Time to Get Ill

And where we begin, we end again. Putting “Slow and Low” and “Time to Get Ill” together was a brilliant move, since the two songs work perfectly as a duo, similar to “Style” and “Crafty” or Fight For Your Right” and “No Sleep Till Brooklyn”. However, I definitely enjoy this more than “Slow and Low”, showing their fun nature to the extreme, even to sampling the Mr. Ed theme. It’s a perfect end to this landmark album.

So in conclusion. I wouldn’t call this a great album. The songs are kind of stupid, repetitive in that old rap way, and the lyrics aren’t as sharp as they would become. However, the sheer fun the group is having, combined with Rubin’s production work, makes this album a truly entertaining one. It’s an album you don’t think about and just enjoy for its duration. And really, is there anything better than that feeling of being a stupid teen again, listening to this album? I don’t think so.

Score: B+

Best Track: No Sleep Till Brooklyn

Worst Track: Hold it Now, Hit It

R.I.P. MCA

How Kriss Kross and Slayer Reflected the Movement of their Genres

Sun, 05 May 2013 20:02:20 -0700

This past week, two musicians, Chris Kelley of Kriss Kross and Jeff Hanneman of Slayer, died a day apart from each other. Now I would never disrespect the dead. These two seemed like kind people, and mocking the dead is something done only by the cowardly. So today, I’ll be talking about how these two both represented a midway point for their respective genres.

Chris Kelley and Chris Smith, better known as Kriss Kross, first came to prominence with their hit song “Jump” in 1992, which charted at no. 1 for eight weeks, the longest run for a Rap song up to that point. Jeff Hanneman and Slayer first came to mainstream infamy with their album Reign in Blood in 1986, which sparked controversy almost immediately, leading to the most controversial Metal band up to that time. See a similarity? Both artists represent a movement in two opposite directions, with Kriss Kross showing the move towards Pop-friendly Rap, and Slayer showing the constant attempts of Metal trying to 1-up themselves.

Rap wasn’t always a controversial form of music, but around the time of Kriss Kross, it certainly was. The early 90s were the years of Gangsta Rap, with Rap becoming more and more socially conscious, and occasionally just overtly violent. But also around this time was Rap becoming more and more “safe”, as some people would put it. There had already been MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice coming out with hit(s), but Kriss Kross moved it even further into Pop territory, possibly making the least offensive Pop song ever. And Rap continued this way commercially, moving closer and closer to Pop to now, where they’re 90% R ‘n’ B music with a rap verse thrown in.

Slayer, meanwhile, showed a different direction. Metal has always caused an uproar, from its earliest days with Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin accused of satanism. Even right before Reign in Blood came out, Number of the Beast by Iron Maiden was being called “the work of the devil” due to its title song. But when Slayer’s third album was released, it reached levels of controversy like never before. The music was louder, the images were bloodier, and the first song was about Auschwitz. People threw whatever they could, calling them Satanists, Nazis, and whatever else was offensive. And teenagers loved it. The album gold like mad, peaking at no. 93, and Metal continued down, with genres like Death Metal and Black Metal still scaring parents today.

So there you have it. Both these acts played an important part in their genres of music, and both will be dearly missed. Rest in Peace.

How Eazy-E Ruined Gangsta Rap

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 14:48:26 -0700

Every decade, people get up in arms over a new genre of music that is accused of being “evil” and “corruptible”. Even Jazz was considered the worst thing that ever happened to our youth back when it debuted after World War I. Since then, we’ve had Rock’n’Roll, Heavy Metal, Punk, Rap, and even people like Lady Gaga for some of the more conservative folks, though now it’s less about secret satanic messages than it it about connections to the supposed Illuminati. It’s all bullshit anyway. But today, we’ll be talking about the genre that scared suburban white people the most, Gangsta Rap, and its originators NWA.

Back in the 80s, NWA broke into the mainstream with their release Straight Outta Compton, which almost immediately became the face of controversy in music. Due to songs like “Fuck tha Police”, people assumed that the group were advocating violence. The truth of Compton, in reality, is that it’s a hallmark in Rap not for its violence, but for reflecting life in the inner-city at the time. Gangsta Rap wasn’t about “shoot people, fuck bitches, get money”, it was about the daily life of its musicians. When Ice Cube talked about murdering policemen, he wasn’t talking about small town policemen who serve to help everyone, he was talking about the LAPD, the same police force that would soon spark the LA riots. They were rapping about reality, with no glamor to be found. But they also had a little man named Eazy-E.

Eazy-E was not interested in tackling socio-political issues like Ice Cube was. He was interested in telling you how great his daily exploits in the realms of bitch-slapping and police-fucking were. Eazy-E was one of the first to glamorize the life of tha boyz in tha hood, trading in the threat of racial violence and gangs with shooting down cops and treating women as objects. He effectively turned Gangsta Rap into everything that it was feared to be. And his death at the age of 31 of AIDS added more fuel to the fire, showing the dangerous lifestyle its musicians lived. You could die at any minute, be it from being shot on the street or from an STD.

And now, Gangsta Rap has turned into everything that was hated about it. Eazy-E is viewed as a true pioneer in music, leading to piles of generic rap about sex and violence. But the truth is that people are still dying all the time in these areas, and music like this isn’t helping. It makes this kind of lifestyle seem like glamorous and fantastical, when in reality, people could be doing so much better if they took the lessons of Ice Cube, rather than Eazy-E, to heart.

Guest Review: Tyler the Creator's "Wolf" by Barrett Courtney

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 19:44:00 -0700

So my friend Henry asked me to write a review for Tyler The Creator’s new album “Wolf” which came out a few weeks ago. He asked me to do it I think the week it came out but I haven’t found time until today. Bear with me if this review sounds like shit, I’m still recovering from last Saturday’s 4/20 and my head sorta hurts.

If I had written this review when I was supposed to (two and a half weeks ago) I would have scored this album way differently. I just got home and listened to the rumored “prequel” to Tyler’s Album Trilogy twice and I feel a little better about it. My bar was raised high for Tyler since “Goblin” is basically the Fight Club of the music industry (which means it was awesome but only select people followed it). I was at first disappointed because it didn’t have the same vibe as “Goblin” did but now that I think about it…it’s better that Tyler is sort of reaching for a new ground and proving not only to himself but his audience as well that he can calm down and not rap about rape every minute and a half. The album starts off with it’s title track with a lot of epic horns and Tyler repeatedly saying “Fuck you,” which I think is a message to his fans, his critics, and basically anyone listening to the thing. We then get warped into this story about a new camper “Wolf” being introduced to characters like Sam and Salem. The whole story is sort of warped and isn’t as well weaved as the story told in “Goblin”. The whole thing is basically about Wolf having a hard time at the camp Flog Gnaw and falls for Salem (who is dating Sam). Sam finds out that Wolf is hanging out with Salem and they get into a fight. In the end, the camp counselor brings in Wolf to talk about why he has been acting out (which I think then leads into Bastard).

The album is very mixed with a lot of songs that pop up and then some that don’t please the ears as well. Tracks like Domo23, Answer, 48, and Rusty really bring the album to a new definition of what Tyler can do but the album falls short with not as well put together songs like Pigs, Cowboy, and PartyIsntOver. I feel like the hyped up song, Bimmer, fell short with length and creativeness since the song only gave us one verse. But guest vocals like Mike G (my favorite Wolf Gang member) and Earl Sweatshirt add to some of that falling short feeling. And you have to be careful with guest vocals and having too much of them which was too evident in the song Trashwang (and that song was basically a 5 minute advertisement for the band Trash Talk). The album is nicely wrapped up with the last three tracks Treehome95, Tamale, and Lone.

Tyler has grown in some weird ways but he is able to pull it together for another album narrative. It wasn’t able to immediately pull me in like Goblin did (which isn’t a fair argument since I listened to Goblin high as fuck the first time) but it’s still fun to listen to and has some amusing lyrics to rap along to like Colossus which deals with Tyler running into obsessed fans and Tamale which, to be honest, I have no idea what it’s about but has the best line “Tell Spike Lee he’s a god damn n***er” which references to Spike Lee’s ridiculous reaction to Django Unchained. Anyways….Tyler is starting to make his mark in the Hip Hop scene and this album is just the beginning.

Recommended Tracks:
48, Tamale, Answer, Domo23

Album Bummers:
Cowboy, Awkward, Pigs, PartyIsntOver

Overall Rating: B

Save Rock 'n' Roll: an Album Review

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 18:52:00 -0700

It’s kind of bizarre how it’s been over 4 years since the last Fall Out Boy album was released. For 5 years, they were the face of the “Emo” movement that represented Rock for most of the early 2000s, which made sense, they were also easily the best. Their three main albums, Under the Cork Tree, Infinity on High, and Folie à Deux, all range from pretty good to pretty damn great, due to a mix of talented musicianship, Patrick Stump’s singing, and a penchant for having fun with themselves. But after a hiatus, they’re back with their latest release Save Rock ‘n’ Roll, which I believe is unironically titled.

First off, the first two songs are absolutely fantastic. “The Phoenix” and “My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark” are massive songs that are exactly what you would expect from a band this good at melodrama to start off with as a return. The songs are perfectly placed, with “The Phoenix” screaming to serve as a set opener. “In the Dark” is slightly weaker, but it works great as a large Pop sing-along. The album also keeps the tradition of Fall Out Boy in having general fun with their music, unlike other “Emo” bands like All-American Rejects or Simple Plan. The album always flirts dangerously close to Pop, but manages to stay on the rockier side of the equation, and the album reflects that, showing the side of ridiculousness that manages to clearly enjoy itself. The songs are also all distinctly Fall Out Boy, though this might be a negative for some people, since they are a very polarizing band.

The first problem with this album, meanwhile, actually comes straight from the title. In their typical melodramatic fashion, they promise to save Rock ‘n’ Roll from the Shinedowns of the world, but ironically, with this album they go popper than ever. Songs like “Sugar We’re Going Down” aren’t exactly Metallica, but it was a lot closer to Nirvana than it was to Rihanna, which goes for some of the songs here. Of special note is “The Mighty Fall”, easily the worst song on this album, featuring annoying musicianship and a terrible verse by Big Sean. The whole song comes off as trying way too hard to be scary, with its singing children and riffage. Secondly, there’s an overly high amount of guest spots on this album, with guest appearances from Big Sean, Elton John, Foxes, and Courtney Love, who ruins the other overly weak song on this album, “Rat a Tat”, with her overly forced and obnoxious dig at Britney Spears in the opening. And lastly, the album is mixed terribly. Every song is mixed at max capacity, removing many of the dynamics, which is practically what makes songs like these. This is easily one of the worst cases of the loudness wars I’ve ever seen, up there with the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s Californication.

Overall, this album is slightly above average. There’s still the sharp songwriting from before, but it’s all layered under not only a layer of Pop shellac, but also a layer of muddy mastering, combining together to lower the quality of the music. If the album was mastered better, and Big Sean and Courtney Love were removed, I would’ve likely given this album around a B to a B+, but as it stands, I’d rank this under the cork tree.

Score: C+

Best Track: The Phoenix

Worst Track: The Mighty Fall

I’d also like to announce my intentions of bumping my article count to 3 a week, including a Modern Album review every week.

10 Problems With Accidental Racist

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 21:13:31 -0700

Every so often, a song comes out that gets the whole internet talking. The most recent song to do this is Brad Paisley and LL Cool J’s “Accidental Racist”, a song that attempts to be meaningful, but ends up falling flat on its face. So today, I’m writing:

The 10 Worst Things About Accidental Racist (in Chronological Order)

1.You have to be prepared for offending someone when you wear a Confederate Flag.

The song begins with Paisley explaining that he doesn’t mean to offend when he’s wearing a shirt with the Confederate Flag on it. Now I understand that he doesn’t mean to offend with the shirt, but then he gets offended when someone at a Starbucks calls him out on it. And I’ll have to stop you right there. If you’re wearing something with a history like that, you have to be prepared for people to be offended at it. You can’t just say that they’re misunderstanding you when you’re wearing a shirt with a flag for a land based on slavery on it. Speaking of his shirt…

2. You don’t have to wear a Lynyrd Skynyrd shirt with the Confederate Flag

At first, he uses the excuse that he’s just expressing his love for Skynyrd when he wears a shirt with the Confederate Flag on it. Well guess what? THEY HAVE OTHER KINDS OF SHIRTS. Not every Skynyrd shirt has the Confederate Flag blazing on the front. In fact, about 6 months ago, they explicitly denounced the Confederate Flag publicly. So guess what? His reasoning makes no sense, which is why he changes it right afterwards to Southern Pride. But to that…

3. Don’t get all defensive, just apologize!

After abandoning the Skynyrd argument, Paisley moves on to his next line of defense, saying that it’s just him taking pride from where he’s from. I have two problems with this. First off, why are you fighting? Just say you’re sorry and move on! All you’re doing at this moment is dragging the issue out. Just explain that you didn’t mean for it to be offensive, but you understand why they were offended, and move on. Simple as that. No need to drag it out by excusing yourself from what they have to say.

4. How the hell is this Southern Pride?

And secondly, what do you mean Southern Pride? There’s many ways to celebrate your southern heritage, and they’re all better than wearing a sign of oppression. What if the Germans celebrated their German Pride by wearing swastika armbands and jackboots? Oh right, they don’t because it was a dark point in German History that they never want to be reminded of. Maybe you could take a hint from that, hmm?

5. It’s SOMEHOW the Elephant in the Room for the Southern States.

Paisley then says that he feels that the Confederae Flag has SOMEHOW become the elephant in the room for the Southern States. You know. SOMEHOW. I mean for god’s sake. It’s a sign of oppression and slavery. And even outside of that, it’s a reminder to one of the worst wars we ever fault. So yeah, I guess there is a reason we don’t talk about it much anymore, alng with getting offended when we see it.

6. Really? Southern Blame?

During the chorus, at the end Paisley says that he’s caught between Southern Pride and Southern Blame. Seriously? Are you saying that the South is being blamed for what happened during the Civil War. Because, and this might surprise you, IT TOTALLY WAS THE SOUTH’S FAULT. And because of that, you can’t wear your Confederate Flag, so I guess you really do suffer the most, Mr. Christian Straight White Male.

7. Don’t Apologize, LL Cool J!

Suddenly, a wild LL Cool J appears. Seriously, what the hell are you doing here? Anyway, I have one major problem with this verse, and that’s the fact that he spends it apologizing for being so insensitive when he called him a racist for his Confederate Flag shirt. I’m sorry, but WHAT? This man just spent a good long while chastising you for being insensitive to him wearing a shirt with a flag that symbolizes hatred above all else, and you’re the one apologizing to his excuse-making ass? Bullshit. I think this verse would have best been handled by someone like Ice Cube, who would’vee told this man that he understands that he’s not trying to offend, but he still needs to understand the severity of what he’s unintentionally promoting. And speaking of this verse…

8. Dear Mr. White Man? Seriously?

LL Cool J opens his verse with the phrase “Dear Mr White Man”. Really? That’s how you open this conversation about race relations? Not only are you identifying him solely by his race, but taken out of its context, it sounds like you’re implying that only white men can be racist, which seems pretty racist itself.

9. A Doo-Rag Doesn’t Equal the Confederate Flag.

During the final repetitions of the chorus, LL Cool J shouts out two phrases, both of which I find really damn this song. First, he shouts “If you respect my doo-rag, I’ll respect your red flag”. This is not a fair comparison. A doo-rag is something used to cover hair after it was sprayed with chemicals that turned into a fashion. The Confederate Flag is a sign of oppression. But that pales in comparison to…

10. “If you don’t judge my Gold Chains, I’ll forgive the Iron Chains”

Are you god-damn serious. Are you implying that gold chains, a piece of jewelry, is in any way comparable to chains used for SLAVERY? This is beyond implications set by the Flag, this is outwardly invoking slavery, and saying that it’s not that big a deal, as long as you don’t judge the fashion he’s wearing. I don’t care what else you have to say, there’s nothing you can say after that.

My Problem With Anniversary Editions

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 18:40:00 -0700

For about as long as I can remember, Anniversary Editions have been an important part of the music business. If you have an album, it won’t take long for a company to release it again, with a bunch of new crap piled on, designed to celebrate whatever milestone it most recently hit. This year, two of the biggest Alternative albums ever, Siamese Dream by the Smashing Pumpkins and Elephant by the White Stripes are celebrating their 20th and 10th Anniversaries respectively, and I just made half my audience feel old. And you bet the record companies will release Anniversary Editions to make some more money.

On the face of it, I have no problem with Anniversary Editions. If the albums are out of print, then it’s the perfect opportunity to release a new edition, with maybe a few add-ons. I don’t see an immediate problem with this. Sometimes, the mastering of an album needs to be patched up with newer, better technology, if the original mix is overly tinny, or an instrument is nearly inaudible, or any number of reasons (though the mix might run into The Loudness War, but that’s a topic for another time). But there are two major problems I have with almost every Anniversary Edition:

A. Going Overboard with Extras
Sometimes, there are singles released from a band around the release of an album that aren’t on the album itself. And I fully understand including these on an Anniversary Edition. Hell, you could even include some of the b-sides of a single if you feel like they’re good enough. But the problem is that the people who make these Anniversary Editions go completely overboard with these. They include every demo, every single, every b-side, and even some covers recorded from that time. Probably the craziest version is King Crimson’s rerelease of Larks’ Tongues in Aspic in 2012, which came on 14 goddamn cps, containing everything the lineup recorded. At least it isn’t as bad as the deluxe editions that cost $600 and come with a punch of tat.

B. the term Anniversary Means Nothing
Part of a marketer’s job is to make something as presentable as possible. And there is no easier way to do this than by taking a neutral word with a positive connotation and applying it to your product. If you’ve ever tried to buy a house, or even just seen that realty episode of The Simpsons, you know exactly how this works. And in this context, “Anniversary” is the music industry’s “cozy”. Really, Anniversary means nothing but “this many years have passed since it came out”, but it sounds good to people, so they’ll likely buy it. My favorite example was the 20th anniversary release of Pocketful of Kryptonite by the Spin Doctors, an album that no one honestly likes at this point. But because it says “Anniversary” right on the front, people will assume it’s a classic.

And that’s what I dislike about Anniversary editions. So record executives, if you’re reading this, one, you have better stuff to do with your time, and two, try to cut down on these two mistakes.

The 20/20 Experience: an Album Review

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 20:35:17 -0700

NOTE: Instead of the song-by-song style reviews for older albums, I’m reviewing these albums as a collective whole.

Well, I guess it was about time that I finally review an album that came out in the last year. And what better album to start off with than Justin Timberlake’s return to Pop music after 6 years, The 20/20 Experience. It’s interesting to think that one of the few Pop singers to stay from the beginning of the decade is the guy from NSync, but I guess this is the world we live in. At least he’s been better on average than his former ex and fellow Pop elder statesman Britney Spears.

First off, when Timberlake called this album an experience, he wasn’t kidding. There are two songs under 6 minutes, and three under 7. Over half the album consists of 7 minute Pop epics. This would be weird for the standard Pop singer, but Timberlake has always been a little more than a Pop singer. Along with Lady Gaga, he’s a Pop singer who’s better described as an artist, crafting each song into his perfect vision, unlike someone like Rihanna, who cranks out release after release. A strictly commercial act doesn’t take 6 years to release a follow-up to a hugely successful album like Futuresex/Lovesounds. Timberlake serves as a modern musical Michelangelo, carving into a song until every note and sound is utterly perfect in his vision.

The album is absolutely overflowing with character. Timberlake shines on every song, clearly enjoying himself every step of the way through. And for once, the music lives up to that charisma. If the music was alive, it would be a Frankenstein Justin Timberlake. If he didn’t use a style or instrument on the album, it’s likely that he’s saving it for the 2nd half of the album in November. If Meatloaf made a Pop album, this is what he would make. “Suit & Tie”, the first single and easily the weakest song on the album, is actually the most cohesive. Every other song just sprawls into whatever thing it wants to do next. I can’t remember the last time I heard a guitar solo on a Pop album, but there’s quite a few here. The album reminds me of a stronger The 2nd Law by Muse, in that it’s an absolutely entrancing collage of music. But while The 2nd Law was eventually dragged down by its ambitions, Experience is exactly as silly as it needs to be. And every song reveals new fascinating elements of themselves with every subsequent listen. This is an album that might take a little while to get, but it’s worth it. Right now, my favorite tracks are the final two, the bombastic “Mirrors” and the gorgeous and ethereal “Blue Ocean Floor”, but every song needs at least one listen.

While you can already tell that I love this album, I do have one major problem with it. Every song goes on for too long. I understand that the album is an “experience”, but even a masterpiece needs at least a little trimming. You could probably cut about 10 minutes off this album and it would be improved quite a bit. And while not a flaw, since it’s a great, fun song, “Let the Groove Get In” is REALLY out of place on the album. While the rest of the album is more of a “swelling” bombast, “Groove” has a immediacy to it that makes it weird as part of this album, though I can see it working as a great radio single.

In short, this is one of the best Pop albums in recent memory. If you want to understand how a Pop star can also be a high-caliber artist, this is a required listen. It might go down as Timberlake’s masterpiece, especially if the 2nd half is nearly as good. I know that the end of the year is 8 months away, but if this isn’t in the top 10, I can likely declare this one of the best years in music. But no matter what, listen to this album.

Score: A-

Best Song: Mirrors/Blue Ocean Floor

Worst Song: Suit & Tie

Started From the Bottom: A Song Review

Sun, 31 Mar 2013 19:46:41 -0700

Drake’s life seems to be going pretty well at the moment. He had a successful TV career, he’s friends with Lil Wayne, arguably the biggest rapper in the world right now, and he’s one of the biggest names in Pop music at the age of 26. So why don’t we hear him talk about all the struggles he went through as a kid.

Started from the Bottom: A Song Review

The song begins with a snare and a piano loop. I actually think the track is not all that bad; it fits the mood, and it’s a nice departure from the standard club tracks that conquer the radio. Be ready to get VERY tired of this music though, because it never changes. Once. For three minutes.

“Started”
“Zombie on the track”

Oh great, we’re sill doing this? We don’t like producers shouting over the openings to songs. It adds nothing, and it reeks of grasping for attention.

“Started from the bottom now we’re here”

OK, so we have your topic sentence. Would you care to elaborate on your thought?

“Started from the bottom, now my whole team fuckin’ here”

If this was a school essay, you already would’ve failed. You can’t write a chorus for a story song like you do for a party song. You either need to give details or keep it vague enough to neatly fit over the song. Here, you just come off as lacking in thought. For example, two story songs that display this well is “My Fault” by Eminem and “Brick” by Ben Folds Five. In “My Fault”, Eminem pinpoints the main story; he accidentally gave a girl mushrooms, and he regrets it. “Brick”, on the other hand, gives no details, instead using an analogy that fits within the story itself. But Drake does none of that, making a blank statement that says nothing.

From here, he mainly just continues on this thought, continuing to tell us that not only is his whole team fucking here, but they are also here, nigga. Then we get the first verse.

“I done kept it real from the jump”

In case you don’t know what this means, Drake is indicating that he has always been “real” with his lyrics. And already, he’s lost me. Saying your real repeatedly makes you sound like that kid who’d brag about things so much they stopped sounding real. From personal experience, I once knew a kid in Elementary school who would tell people that Nelly was his dad. Already, this is obviously a lie to sound cool. But he said it so much that it went from being a notable lie to a painful lie. And that’s what this is. If you repeat something so much, it starts to sound like you’re lying.

“Living at my mama’s house we’d argue every month”

So this is your “struggle” on your way to fame? Arguing with your mother? That thing that every teenager does? What if Tupac, instead of talking about how his mother could barely take care of him and his sister and how he was under constant fear of being shot and murdered, talked about how he didn’t get what he wanted for Christmas one year? No one would care. And no one cares that you argued with your mother. I argue with my mother sometimes, but I don’t act like that was a real hardship.

“Nigga, I was trying to get it on my own”
“Working all night, traffic on the way home”

Two things. One, that doesn’t rhyme. Two, again, you need to talk about real problems in your life. Working as a teenager to make some extra money isn’t a hardship, it’s a common tendency. I have friends who love the fact that they have a job, since it means they don’t have to rely on their parents as much for luxuries. And traffic? Who doesn’t deal with traffic on a regular basis? I don’t even drive, and I encounter traffic all the time. Also, I find it interesting how while talking about his struggles a a teenager, he doesn’t bring up the fact that he was a major character on Degrassi for 8 years, starting at the age of 15. “Living the struggle” indeed.

“And my uncle calling me like ‘where ya at?
I gave you the keys told ya to bring it right back’”

OK, this is just kind of dickish. I get that he’s asking you this while you’re stuck in traffic. But if your uncle was nice enough to lend you a car and the keys, he has every right to wonder where you are. It’s HIS car, he bought it with HIS money, and YOU’RE the one who’s complaining. Stop whining, and be happy he lent you the car in the first place.

“Nigga, I just think it’s funny how it goes”
“Now I’m on the road, half a million for a show”

So you’ve given up on the whole “keeping it real” thing just to brag? OK, suit yourself. I get that you’re rich. That’s well established. But this isn’t supposed to be a boast song. This is a song explaining how you earned the right to boast. You’re answering a question by rephrasing it as an answer. That’s never been acceptable.

After this is another chorus, followed by the 2nd verse.

“Boys tell stories about the man”
“Say I never struggled, wasn’t hungry, yeah, I doubt it, nigga”

We get it Drake. What you’re saying is that while you didn’t have the same struggles as some other rappers such as Ice Cube or Biggie Smalls, you had struggles of your own. But you have to think about whether these struggles were really worth bringing up. And I’m not saying that constantly being either barely above or under the poverty line or being under the threat of an early death are the only problems you can talk about. And to show this, I’m going to briefly look at the past of Chris Brown. Yes, I know that most people hate him, and so do I. But as a child, he did have struggles that were different from the typical problems discussed by rap artists. Brown wasn’t under the threat of poverty or gun violence, but instead, went through the very common struggle of his parents getting divorced when he was young, and his mother being routinely abused by her boyfriend, to which he admits to being so scared he would wet himself. Those are real problems that aren’t the stereotypical “gangsta rap” problems. But Drake doesn’t have that. These problems are barely worth mentioning.

Working a crappy job and arguing with your mother are not that bad. True, being the son of a teacher and living in a duplex isn’t “balling” in any way, and being a teenage TV star apparently doesn’t pay as well as you’d think, but is this in any way the “bottom”? And there are other rappers who came from similar situations who are legends, like Rakim and all of De La Soul. But they had the skill to back their fame up. Drake is a pretty lousy rapper, as shown throughout this song as he mumbles his way through, he’s a barely average singer, and while I’ve never watched Degrassi, going by the “Best I Ever Had” video, he’s a pretty bad actor. So why is he here? Anyway, back to the song.

“I could turn your boy into the man”
There ain’t really much out here that’s poppin’ off without us, nigga”

Once again, don’t brag in a song meant to justify your bragging. And secondly, that whole “not much popping off without us” crap? Bullshit. There are plenty of artists that are becoming big without any of your help. I may hate Glee, but it’s undeniable that they do way more for pop music than you ever will. And bragging that you can make anyone famous? You’re basically saying that everyone around you is the Rob Schneider to your Adam Sandler, similar to how you’re the Rob Schneider to Lil Wayne’s Adam Sandler. Funny how it’s a spiraling non-compliment.

“We just want the credit where it’s due”
I’ma worry about me, give a fuck about you”

So basically, Drake, in these two lines, says that: a) he wants people to credit him for his fame, and b) doesn’t give a shit about haters. And I’m tired of people throwing critics off by calling them haters. THIS IS NOT GOOD WORK ETHIC. Throwing criticism off does not get you anywhere. If you don’t strive for improvement, you become stagnant, which is never good. “Hater” is a term that translates to “anyone who doesn’t think I’m the greatest”, which means they’re far more important than your army of sycophants. Sure, some people do just hate for the sake of hating, just look at Youtube comments. But you need to hear constructive criticism. I’m not exaggerating. You HAVE to. Or else you don’t grow as an artist.

“Nigga just as a reminder to myself”
“I wear every single chain, even when I’m in the house”

Still not rhyming. And I get what you’re saying, you wear your riches around you at all times as a reminder. But why not remember where you came from? Why remind yourself of where you are at this moment? Do you have amnesia? I’m so fucking tired of this.

After this is another chorus, followed by a bridge that basically talks about people using him for his fame. And I understand that this sucks, especially since this really happened to him with The Weekend, who after being helped to fame by Drake, signed to a different label, basically using him as a stepladder to fame, but I’m so annoyed I can’t even really think about these words. After this, the song ends.

This song is terrible in every way. The lyrics are idiotic, Drake sounds asleep throughout, the production is repetitive, and the meaning is dead at the starting gate. I don’t hate Drake, I will admit to liking a few of his songs, like “Forever” and “Take Care”, but this is nothing but terrible hype for his upcoming album. Skip it.

Score: F

Trip-Hop

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 20:21:26 -0700

Well it’s been a while since I’ve done this. Fads are the lifeblood of any kind of media, so now, we’re talking about Trip-Hop, one of England’s biggest passing fads of the 90s. So why don’t we take a look at the vaguest genre since New Wave hit the scene.

Before Trip-Hop, there was the underground Electro scene. Back in 80s England, Dance and House were beginning to become huge, and eventually Rap began to seep in with this. However, this Rap scene was different. Due to most of the Black Population of Britain descending from the Caribbean, music took more from Caribbean stylings than from the old Funk recordings that Rap in America used. Eventually, these influences grew to include Jazz and Soul. And right around here, Massive Attack releases Blue Lines, the album that pushes Trip-Hop into the mainstream.

And from here, Trip-Hop grew. The other big Trip-Hop group, Portishead, came around right near this time, but unlike Massive Attack’s Dub atmospheres and soul singers, Portishead was more influenced by Jazz and old movie soundtracks. More on these differences later. Tricky, the most famous member of Massive Attack, later split off and recorded the 3rd cornerstone of Trip-Hop, Maxinquaye. It was around this time that original Trip-Hop ended as a big thing, though many artists would incorporate aspects of it in the 2000s, most notably Gorillaz, who’s first album could be considered the last breath of Trip-Hop before they went more alternative.

For a while, I couldn’t figure out exactly how to describe Trip-Hop. Originally, I thought it was just weirder Rap, but Portishead didn’t use rap, and there are weird Hip Hop acts that aren’t considered Trip-Hop. But I realized that it’s based on Hip Hop and not Rap, and the two are different. From what I understand, Rap is the stuff with a harder edge, like Eminem, while Hip-Hop is what you can dance to, like the Sugarhill Gang. So Trip-Hop took the funk beats of Hip-Hop and overlaid layers of Dub and Jazz on there, a few soul vocalists, and you got a Trip-Hop record. Trip-Hop was also used to describe a few of the entirely Sample made DJs at the time, like Fatboy Slim and DJ Shadow.

Essential Listening

Blue Lines- Massive Attack

Maxinquaye- Tricky

Dummy- Portishead

Better Life Through Chemistry- Fatboy Slim

Endtroducing…- DJ Shadow

Gorillaz- Gorillaz

Also, I promise that I’ll start doing doing articles on a regular basis again shortly.

Follow-Up Failure: Congratulations

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:16:00 -0700

Well, time to return to this segment. Welcome to the 2nd edition of Follow-up Failure, where we look at the sequels to classic albums that somehow didn’t do as well. And going a little more recent than a Yes album, today we have MGMT’s follow-up, Celebration.

The Masterpiece

Oracular Spectacular is still one of the few Indie albums from the 2000s that’s as fondly remembered now as it was acclaimed when it came out. As Poppy as it was Psychedelic, everyone from the handlebar hipster to my 2-year-old brother love it. Songs like “Time to Pretend”, “Electric Feel”, and “Kids” are still loved by many. So how do you follow it? With some surf music, apparently.

The Follow-Up

Even after a few years, Congratulations is still a bizarre concept. Can a Synth-Pop group impersonate the Beach Boys? OK, so there’s quite a few bands that do exactly that, mostly Grizzly Bear. But still, it’s a weird concept. Especially when you throw a little Zombies-esque Psychedelia throughout, sometimes making the album boil into chaos throughout. And combined with MGMT’s vocals as they were before, it has the capability to be unlistenable. But is it?

Well, it took me a while, but I think this is one of my favorite albums of the 10s so far. All the elements on the album blend perfectly, coming off as if Pink Floyd covered Pet Sounds, combined with the technology of today. The songs sometimes clash a bit, most notably the lead-off single “Flash Delirium”, which changes at a rate of twice a minute, but sometimes it just works. My favorite song on the album has to be “Siberian Breaks”, a 12 minute Prog masterpiece that has a similar name to “Siberian Khatru”, my favorite Yes song, so that’s already a good sign. Really, it might take a little bit, but I highly recommend this album.

RESULT: SUCCESS

Sorry for the missing article today. I’ll try to have one...

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 20:45:53 -0700

Sorry for the missing article today. I’ll try to have one up tomorrow night if I can. So for right now, how about some 90s Funk Metal.

Rihanna: an Outside Analysis

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 16:18:35 -0800

Note: I will not be talking about the incident with Chris Brown in this article. I know that it plays an important part in Rihanna’s history, but I’ve already said what I have to on the subject, and I think we should pay no more focus on Chris Brown ever again. Ok? Good, let’s start.

Rihanna: an Outside Analysis

Rihanna’s music career started off in 2005 with the album Music of the Sun. Don’t remember it? It’s ok, most people don’t. However, her next album A Girl Like Me grew to be her break-out release, with songs like “SOS” and “Unfaithful” growing to become some of the biggest hits of the year. Afterwards, she released her biggest album yet Good Girl Gone Bad, with “Umbrella” being regarded as one of the best Pop songs of the last decade, even making it onto Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs list at #412. Along with hits like “Disturbia” and “Shut Up and Drive”, Rihanna was one of the biggest Pop singers in the world. And then…

Well, after the… incident, Rihanna’s music changed in a big way, multiple times. First, she made Rated R, still her darkest album to date. Based around themes from R-rated movies, the album ended up not doing that well, causing her to switch around for her next album, Loud, which went for full-on party music, continued by its sequel Talk That Talk, where she achieved more chart success than previously imaginable. She also got more and more openly sexual on each single released until “Birthday Cake”, where she stepped back. And now we have her newest album, Unapologetic, where the first two singles are generic pop ballads.

So what do I think? Honestly, I’m just sick of her at this point. She’s been around for eight years, and she’s put out 7 albums. Do you see how that’s ridiculous? Not only that, but she’s never really had a personality to latch onto, like how Katy Perry is bubbly, Ke$ha is trashy, and Lady Gaga is an alien. She just seems to drift from song to song, taking anything she can get. And it does seem like she just gets any song that another artist won’t take. There’s just no foundation to any of it. What Rihanna needs is either quality control or a break, and honestly, I think she needs both.

Root Notes: 4 Chords of Pop

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 20:08:00 -0800

People often claim that pop music is overly samey-sounding and boring, that it’s just the same song repeated over and over again. And while I think they are generalizing a bit, they do have at least one part of it down, and that’s the chord progression. Today, we’re talking about the Four Chords of Pop.

Well, not specifically the Four Chords of Pop. I’ll be talking about both variations; the standard progression, or “the Pop-Punk Progression” since every single Blink-182 and Offspring song use it, and the Canon Progression, or as I call it, “Pachelbel’s Graduation in D”. Both are very commonly used, even to the point where you don’t recognize it when you hear it in a song unless you’re trained to. To put it another way, play “Cecilia” by Simon and Garfunkel for someone, then play “Some Nights” by fun. at a later time. No matter how long it’s been, they’ll recognize them as being the same song. But play “When I Come Around” by Green Day and “Take On Me” by A-ha to someone, and they won’t recognize it unless they trained their brains to hear it, since it’s so universal.

Both of these progressions have likely been around since music was first being written, so it’s pretty much impossible to know who first used these chords together, though they first gained major use during the Baroque period, which was also when Pachelbel was writing music. So while they most likely originated earlier, they were most likely solidified as integral parts of music during this time. Both became popular during the 20th century through Doo-Wop music using a slightly different variation, after which other musicians changed that, which ended up being the original. This got especially popular during the 90s, though other songs before used them, like “Africa” by Toto. This even led to the first satire on the phenomenon, with “Hook” by Blues Traveller mocking the trend.

The standard progression is commonly written as I-V-vi-IV, which can be translated into C G Am F for plebeians such as myself (While the roman numerals actually mean a progression of tonics, dominants, and subdominants, these are just how they are usually used). This branched off from the Doo-Wop Progression of the 50s, where it went I-vi-IV-V, or C Am F G. The Canon Progression is basically an extended version with eight notes, going D A B F# G B G A, meaning it’s the same progression moved slightly up and extended by four notes, which is why both are used often in Pop Music, especially when versions in different keys are added in.

I find that the best test to use to see if a song follows these progressions is to play “Don’t Stop Believing” for the standard progression, and “Canon in D” for Pachelbel. After this, add the lyrics of the song you’re testing on top, and see if the pieces fit. The two most famous videos on these are “Pachelbel’s Rant” and “4 Chord Song”, which I both recommend for a better understanding on the subject. There are a hundred other videos of this, so you can watch as many as you want. You can probably watch them until my next article is posted! See you then.

So sometimes, if I need some more time for an article,...

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 19:55:48 -0800

So sometimes, if I need some more time for an article, I’ll post a song recommendation here. First up, a soul number by one of Alternative Hip-Hop’s most underrated groups, “Light of the Moon” by Scapegoat Wax. Enjoy.

Harlem Shake and What it Predicts

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 17:12:00 -0800

Why. Why did this happen. HOW did this happen. I don’t even wanna talk about it. But I have to, don’t I. Very well.

Harlem Shake: a Song(?) Review

Honestly, how do you review a song like this. I talk about Pop songs, but is this even Pop music? It’s just one beat, some woman shouting out Spanish, and growling lion sounds. Oh, and of course, “DO THE HARLEM SHAKE”. So instead of talking about generic club drivel, let’s talk about everything around the song, since it’s way more interesting. First, off, its impact on the Hot 100.

“Harlem Shake” is the first song to reach no.1 on Billboard’s hot 100 on Youtube views alone. You know how the internet is often stated as the new standard of the music industry? Well now, you don’t even need promoters, all you need is word of mouth. If this had been established even a few months ago, we could have had “Gangnam Style” at no.1, instead of stalling at no.2. And think about this. I looked it up, and I can’t even find the original video, which makes me believe there isn’t one. This got no. 1 on the fact that it was a meme alone. I hope we use this as an opportunity to get smaller Indie music artists more attention, but it’s probably just going to end with a lot of memes reaching no. 1. Speaking of which…

“Harlem Shake” will likely disappear very soon from the hot 100, as will all the songs that follow in its footsteps. Why? Because memes die very quickly, and if they don’t, they quickly become hated on all corners of the internet. Basically take the line from The Dark Knight about either dying a hero or living lone enough to become the villain, and replace villain with Chuck Norris. So what I see happening is lots of new one-hit wonders getting massive hits, followed by a complete disappearance from the charts. We will have brand new definitions for flash-in-the-pan artists. They’ll chart in the top 10, followed by a complete falling off. And finally…

“Harlem Shake” is the 21st song to debut at no. 1 on Billboard’s charts. These songs could be divided into three categories before Harlem Shake: Generic inspirational songs/ballads (Born This Way, Part of Me, My Heart Will Go On), generic goofy pop songs (Hold It Against Me), and honestly still really awesome songs by Lauryn Hill. And out of these, 17 are ballads or “inspirational songs”. But I predict that not only will this off-balance ratio change in the upcoming years, but it will also devaluate the meaning of a song debuting at no. 1. Sure, it barely ranked above music trivia factoid before, but now, when a song debuts at no. 1, the likely response will probably be “so what?”.

So that’s the future that “Harlem Shake” has foretold to us. Will it be true? Am I completely off the mark? Well, we’ll have to wait and see.

Billboard's Top 10: 2/23/13

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 20:30:53 -0800

One of my favorite things about Pop music is how it constantly changes. You can look at the top 10 a month after you last looked, and see completely new faces and sounds. So today, we’re looking at…

Billboard’s Top 10: 2/23/13

10. Beauty and a Beat- Justin Beiber ft. Nicki Minaj

I’ve already talked about this song at length before, so let’s just say it’s godawful and stupid.

9. When I Was Your Man- Bruno Mars

After “Locked Out of Heaven”, I was really excited to hear Bruno Mars’ next single, “When I Was Your Man”. Sadly, I was pretty disappointed with this song. Bruno has gone back to his standard of ballads with soaring vocals and lots of piano. And I’m not completely against songs like this. I’m still a big fan of his two big ballads from Doo-Wops and Hooligans, “Grenade” and “Just the Way You Are”, but the problem is that there just isn’t enough in this song. It just has no kick to hit, and limps to its ending the same as it begins. It’s mostly just mediocre.

8. Suit & Tie- Justin Timberlake ft. Jay-Z

I honestly can’t tell if this song is awful or fantastic. Based on drums, horns, and a harp sample, it’s almost too surreal to be real. It’s almost like if you asked an alien to write a pop song, using only two samples. But it also happens to be awesomely catchy, and the amount of swagger in Justin Timberlake’s vocals does boost the quality of the song. Than you get to the Jay-Z verse, the music gets slower and weirder, and I get confused. I guess what I can say right now is that I hope the new album is as good as Justified or Futuresex.

7. Daylight- Maroon 5

Wow, is this really Maroon 5? I just can’t get over how much they’ve sold out in these last few years, even if they were always a Pop group.I know I’m just saying what every other reviewer has said, but this might as well be a Coldplay single, and not even a good Coldplay song. It sounds like a remix of “Viva La Vida” that took out everything that made that song good. I honestly wish they went back to the Songs About Jane era. At least it’s not as bad as “One More Night” or “Payphone”.

6. Don’t You Worry Child- Swedish House Mafia ft. John Martin

I admit, I don’t know as much about Electronica as I do about Pop music. And in Electronica, artists like Swedish House Mafia aren’t what I listen to; I listen more to artists like Aphex Twin or Les Rhythmes Digitales. But I have a friend who said they were good so I’m using this as an introduction. And honestly, I didn’t really mind it. It’s upbeat and catchy, and it definitely does serve as a good dance track. It’s not mind blowing or anything, and it’s no “Windowlicker”, which is still my high mark in terms of Electronica, but it’s inoffensive and catchy enough for it to get a pass from me.

5. I Knew You Were Trouble- Taylor Swift

Remember when Taylor Swift could be considered a Country artist? Yeah, funny how that ended up. The fact that the chorus of this song features bass drops and voice distortion already shows the massive change. Plus there’s the verses, which is just quick guitar and drumming. Yeah, if this was any farther from country, it would be Skrillex. And it’s not just that this is even more of a sell-out than “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”, it’s also not nearly as good. It’s just this awful mess of faux-electro and the lyrics Taylor Swift has used in every song ever. Just terrible.

4. Ho Hey- Lumineers

I know some people are tired of this song, but I must say that I still think this song is great. I love the fact that we’re hearing folk music on the radio, and that it’s not coming from Mumford & Sons, one of the most boring bands in existence. It’s warm and charming, not to mention delightfully understated for a song in the top 10. It’s a very small song, consisting of a guitar, one drum, some banjo, and a vocal hook. And the fact that they get so much out of that is pretty great. So yeah, I really enjoy this song.

3.Scream and Shout- Will.i.am ft. Britney Spears

Also already talked about. And once again, stupidly enjoyable.

2. Locked Out of Heaven- Bruno Mars

Yeah, I absolutely adore this song. Bruno Mar’s first single off of Unorthodox jukebox was everything a Pop song needed to be. It’s fun, it’s catchy, it’s bouncy, and it sounds exactly like a Police song. Is there anything wrong with that equation? I just hope that in the future, he makes more of this instead of cheesy pop ballads OH WAIT DAMMIT.

1. Thrift Shop- Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ft. Wanz

You thought gotye was a weird hit? Well how about an independent rap single by three complete unknowns about shopping at a thrift store? Somehow, the 2nd independent song ever to peak at no. 1, after “Stay (I Missed You) by Lisa Loeb, has become the biggest hit of the year so far. I can definitely see Macklemore and co. becoming one-hit wonders, but I do enjoy the song for being goofy and fun to jam to. It’s undeniably silly, yes, but it’s a damn good party song. And also, all of you should listen to the full album The Heist, which is one of the best rap albums in years. So in short, THIS IS FUCKING AWESOME.

Well it’s Valentine’s Day, so here’s a video...

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 20:09:43 -0800

Well it’s Valentine’s Day, so here’s a video that serves as a good end for the day. Enjoy.

100 articles, and the year's already great.

Sun, 10 Feb 2013 20:45:32 -0800

Well well well, here we are. 100 articles. Usually, I would have probably stopped around 50 out of boredom. Well, I guess it’s time to start the next 100 articles, and I want to start it off with a more positive note. Today, I’m going to be talking about how Pop music seems to be going uphill =, and how this looks like a great year for music so far.

There’s been a big change in Pop music in the last few years. Frankly, what qualifies as “Pop music” has become far broader a term then it was even a few years ago. We went from the no. 1 song of the year go from “Tik Tok” to “Somebody That I Used to Know” in only two years. Think about how crazy that really is. And in the years before, you only had one Indie song a year become a massive hit, with “Pumped Up Kicks” and “Animal” being the only things even close to Indie in the previous years. In 2012, that gate busted open, with gotye, fun, Neon Trees, Lumineers, and Imagine Dragons all having large hits, with fun even getting two. That’s not a fluke, that’s a transition. It’s only a matter of time until even more Indie Rock comes in, getting rid of all the Flo Ridas of the world.

Not only that, but it’s a great year so far for music in general. It took a while for an album I really loved to come out last year, but this year, we already have a new Bad Religion, Eels, David Bowie, Nick Cave, Alice in Chains, AND A NEW FUCKING MY BLOODY VALENTINE ALBUM HOLY SHIT YES. Do I need any more proof that this is going to be a great year for music? Well, we’ll have to wait and see. I’ll see you all on Wednesday.