I like fluffy pop music about love, despite the bad rap it may get in some corners of music connoisseurship. I must say, though, I may actually be overestimating the degree to which pop music is looked down upon. There are plenty of critics out there who give pop a fair shake, whether or not they prefer other genres. But the reason I am even mentioning this information in the first place is because people who know me somewhat but not completely may be surprised at how much I like lovey-dovey pop music, considering that I usually prefer to rock it out, or to roll with the wild experimental EDM beats. To be honest, I wouldn’t say as a rule that I like this lovey-dovey genre; you won’t be likely to find me doodling hearts and flowers on my notebook. But I definitely have a romantic side. So I’m happy to have declarations of love enter my ears, but I prefer when there’s something unique to those declarations. And I caught on to something unique the first time I heard Bridgit Mendler’s “Ready or Not.” Genre organizers have lumped Bridgit in with the Demi Lovato’s and the Selena Gomez’s of the pop world- which makes sense considering that like those two, she first became famous on the Disney Channel – but she really has a sensibility that is different from any other tween-targeted artist. In “Ready or Not,” her reggae- and jazz-inflected vocal style is subtle, but noticeable, with a satisfying scat breakdown at the end. Her strange approach (strange by 21st century pop standards, anyway) may not be full-fledged yet, but this debut single portends great things to come. And in the meantime, this fluffy, lovey-dovey tune is perfectly enjoyable on its own. B+
Song Review – Bridgit Mendler’s “Ready or Not”
December 29, 2012
Music, Song Reviews Leave a comment
VH1 Top 20 of 2012
December 23, 2012
Music, Television, VH1 Top 20 Countdown, VH1 Top 20 of the Year Leave a comment
VH1 cut its yearly countdown down to 20 after doing 40 for the past several years. I must say, I miss the mix-up to the regular format that the Top 40 provided, but this here Top 20 was a nice change of pace, and I appreciate the stringency inherent in cutting down the list total. I figured that with a smaller list there might be a chance I wouldn’t have to yell at VH1 for inaccurately gauging the bigness of the hits of 2012, and Jim Shearer’s explanation that all the charts were pored over to determine the countdown bolstered my confidence. For the most part, this list makes sense, with a few questionable choices and one egregiously wrong one. Did I miss something or was “Call Me Maybe” not the biggest song of 2012? You could perhaps make the argument that “Somebody That I Used to Know” should be Number 1 (it was my favorite song of 2012 that was actually released in 2011), as it was the first song to ever hit Number One on the Billboard Hot 100, Adult Contemporary, Adult Pop, Alternative, Hot Dance Club, Pop, and Rock charts. “We Are Young” also deserves to be up top, having been the anthem of 2012. But “Call Me Maybe” anywhere lower than 3? That’s just not in touch with reality. Elsewhere, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” looks a little low to me at 17th, while “I Will Wait” looks a bit high at 10th (although, maybe not, seeing as Babel had the second highest debut week of any album).
As per usual, my estimation of the quality of the songs follows the original version.
Original Version
1. Gotye ft. Kimbra – “Somebody That I Used to Know”
2. fun. ft. Janelle Monae – “We Are Young”
3. Maroon 5 ft. Burj Khalifa – “Payhpone”
4. Kelly Clarkson – “What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger)”
5. The Lumineers – “Ho Hey”
6. Rihanna – “Where Have You Been”
7. Train – “Drive By”
8. Ellie Goulding – “Lights”
9. Carly Rae Jepsen – “Call Me Maybe”
10. Mumford & Sons – “I Will Wait”
11. Adele – “Set Fire to the Rain”
12. Neon Trees – “Everybody Talks”
13. P!nk – “Blow Me (One Last Kiss)”
14. Flo Rida – “Whistle”
15. Demi Lovato – “Give Your Heart a Break”
16. Ed Sheeran – “The A-Team”
17. Taylor Swift – “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”
18. Bruno Mars – “Locked Out of Heaven”
19. Katy Perry – “Wide Awake”
20. Ne-Yo – “Let Me Love You”
Jmunney’s Revision
1. Somebody That I Used to Know
2. Lights
3. Where Have You Been
4. Locked Out of Heaven
5. Wide Awake
6. We Are Young
7. Call Me Maybe
8. Give Your Heart a Break
9. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
10. Ho Hey
11. Set Fire to the Rain
12. Blow Me (One Last Kiss)
13. I Will Wait
14. What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger)
15. Everybody Talks
16. The A-Team
17. Drive By
18. Let Me Love You
19. Payphone
20. Whistle
Fuse Top 20 Countdown – 12/18/12
December 20, 2012
Fuse Top 20 Countdown, Music, Television Leave a comment
Man, Maroon 5 are really boring.
Original Version
1. Bruno Mars – “Locked Out of Heaven”
2. will.i.am ft. Britney Spears – “Screa & Shout”
3. The Lumineers – “Ho Hey”
4. Rihanna – “Diamonds”
5. Justin Bieber ft. Nicki Minaj – “Beauty and a Beat”
6. Psy – “Gangnam Style”
7. Phillip Phillips – “Home”
8. Alicia Keys – “Girl on Fire”
9. Flo Rida – “I Cry”
10. Ke$ha – “Die Young”
11. P!nk – “Try”
12. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ft. Wanz – “Thrift Shop”
13. Maroon 5 – “One More Night”
14. fun. – “Some Nights”
15. Swedish House Mafia – “Don’t You Worry Child”
16. Pitbull ft. TJR – “Don’t Stop the Party”
17. 50 Cent ft. Eminem and Adam Levine – “My Life”
18. Ed Sheeran – “The A Team”
19. The Script ft. will.i.am – “Hall of Fame”
20. Imagine Dragons – “It’s Time”
Jmunney’s Revision
1. Die Young
2. Locked Out of Heaven
3. Girl on Fire
4. Diamonds
5. Try
6. Gagngnam Style
7. Home
8. I Cry
9. Ho Hey
10. It’s Time
11. Some Nights
12. Thrift Shop
13. Don’t You Worry Child
14. Don’t Stop the Party
15. My Life
16. Beauty and a Beat
17. The A-Team
18. Scream & Shout
19. One More Night
20. Hall of Fame
SNL Video Recap December 15, 2012: Martin Short/Paul McCartney
December 17, 2012
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television Leave a comment
SNL Recap December 15, 2012: Martin Short/Paul McCartney
December 16, 2012
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television Martin Short, Paul McCartney, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live Season 38, SNL, SNL Season 38 Leave a comment
I asked for an end to genocide.
Cold Opening – The New York Children’s Chorus performs “Silent Night”
At first, I assumed this performance was in response to the Connecticut shooting. Then I figured it was just be the kids singing. But as it turns out, it probably was in response to Connecticut. Anyway, they sounded good.
Martin Short’s Monologue
What really made this monologue work was the timing of the revelation of the guest appearances: Oh, Kristen’s stopping back. And Jimmy’s here, too! And Tom Hanks! And Sam Jackson?! (Oh, but he’s too scary to kiss.) B+
VH1 Top 20 Countdown – 12/15/12
December 15, 2012
Music, Television, VH1 Top 20 Countdown Leave a comment
Ke$ha: Week 3. (Leap of the Week again)
Original Version
1. Bruno Mars – “Locked Out of Heaven”
2. OneRepublic – “Feel Again”
3. Phillip Phillips – “Home”
4. Rihanna – “Diamonds”
5. The Lumineers – “Ho Hey”
6. Ke$ha – “Die Young”
7. The Script ft. will.i.am – “Hall of Fame”
8. P!nk – “Try”
9. Ne-Yo – “Let Me Love You”
10. Flo Rida – “I Cry”
11. Kelly Clarkson – “Catch My Breath”
12. Alex Clare – “Too Close”
13. Maroon 5 – “One More Night”
14. Taylor Swift – “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”
15. Pitbull ft. TJR – “Don’t Stop the Party”
16. Ellie Goulding – “Anything Could Happen”
17. Mumford & Sons – “I Will Wait”
18. Alicia Keys – “Girl on Fire”
19. Grace Potter & the Nocturnals – “Stars”
20. Calvin Harris ft. Florence Welch – “Sweet Nothing”
Jmunney’s Revision
1. Too Close
2. Anything Could Happen
3. Die Young
4. Locked Out of Heaven
5. Girl on Fire
6. Diamonds
7. Sweet Nothing
8. Try
9. Home
10. I Cry
11. Ho Hey
12. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
13. I Will Wait
14. Stars
15. Feel Again
16. Don’t Stop the Party
17. Catch My Breath
18. Let Me Love You
19. One More Night
20. Hall of Fame
Fuse Top 40 of 2012
December 13, 2012
Fuse Top 20 Countdown, Fuse Top 40 of the Year, Music, Television Leave a comment
When I’ve posted on VH1’s Top 40 of the Year, I’ve included comments on the side regarding whether or not the rankings of particular songs/videos made sense. With FUSE, there is just too much that does not make sense that it’s just not worth it to even bother with that. This Top 40 is not consistent with how FUSE’s Top 20’s have gone throughout the year, so it feels useless to attempt to correct it. (That lack of consistency must be due to the fact that this list was determined by fan voting … which makes the fact that Xtina ended up Number One even more inexplicable.) But I will include some comments to indicate something about how I feel about the song placement.
Original Version
1. Christina Aguilera – “Your Body” (see above)
2. Katy Perry – “Part of Me”
3. One Direction – “What Makes You Beautiful”
4. fun. – “We Are Young”
5. Justin Bieber ft. Big Sean – “As Long as You Love Me”
6. The Wanted – “Glad You Came”
7. Maroon 5 ft. Wiz Khalifa – “Payphone”
8. Demi Lovato – “Give Your Heart a Break”
9. Ellie Goulding – “Lights”
10. Chris Brown – “Turn Up the Music”
11. Linkin Park – “Burn It Down”
12. David Guetta ft. Sia – “Titanium”
13. Adele – “Set Fire to the Rain”
14. Rihanna – “Where Have You Been”
15. Taylor Swift – “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”
16. Carly Rae Jepsen – “Call Me Maybe”
17. Drake ft. Lil’ Wayne and Tyga – “The Motto (Remix)” (was this actually a big hit?)
18. Train – “Drive By”
19. 2 Chainz ft. Drake – “No Lie” (hmm?)
20. Flo Rida ft. Sia – “Wild Ones”
21. Ne-Yo – “Let Me Love You”
22. Mumford & Sons – “I Will Wait”
23. Bruno Mars – “Locked Out of Heaven”
24. Psy – “Gangnam Style”
25. Karmin – “Brokenhearted”
26. Gotye – “Somebody That I Used to Know”
27. Nicki Minaj – “Starships”
28. Calvin Harris – “Feel So Close”
29. No Doubt – “Settle Down”
30. Gym Class Heroes ft. Neon Hitch – “Ass Back Home”
31. Trey Songz – “Heart Attack” (eh?)
32. Neon Trees – “Everybody Talks”
33. Kanye West ft. Big Sean, Pusha T, and 2 Chainz – “Mercy”
34. Pitbull ft. Chris Brown – “International Love” (This song came out in 2011. And it was a hit in 2011.)
35. P!nk – “Blow Me (One Last Kiss)”
36. Tyga – “Rack City”
37. Usher – “Scream”
38. J. Cole ft. Missy Elliott – “Nobody’s Perfect” (what?)
39. Of Monsters and Men – “Little Talks”
40. Kelly Clarkson – “What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger)”
Jmunney’s Revision
1. Somebody That I Used to Know
2. Feel So Close
3. Lights
4. Little Tlaks
5. Locked Out of Heaven
6. Titanium
7. Where Have You Been
8. We Are Young
9. Give Your Heart a Break
10. Call Me Maybe
11. Wild Ones
12. Starships
13. Gangnam Style
14. Burn It Down
15. Mercy
16. Brokenhearted
17. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
18. Set Fire to the Rain
19. Part of Me
20. I Will Wait
21. Rack City
22. Scream
23. Ass Back Home
24. Blow Me (One Last Kiss)
25. What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger)
26. Everybody Talks
27. As Long as You Love Me
28. Glad You Came
29. International Love
30. Settle Down
31. Your Body
32. Nobody’s Perfect
33. What Makes You Beautiful
34. Turn Up the Music
35. Payphone
36. Let Me Love You
37. The Motto (Remix)
38. Drive By
39. Heart Attack
40. No Lie
Fuse Top 20 Countdown – 12/11/12
December 12, 2012
Fuse Top 20 Countdown, Music, Television Leave a comment
It looks like Nicki Minaj is everywhere, but it doesn’t feel like she’s everywhere.
Original Version
1. Phillip Phillips – “Home”
2. Bruno Mars – “Locked Out of Heaven”
3. The Lumineers – “Ho Hey”
4. Psy – “Gangnam Style”
5. Ke$ha – “Die Young”
6. Flo Rida – “I Cry”
7. Rihanna – “Diamonds”
8. fun. – “Some Nights”
9. P!nk – “Try”
10. Maroon 5 – “One More Night”
11. Nicki Minaj – “Beauty and a Beat”
12. Imagine Dragons – “It’s Time”
13. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ft. Wanz – “Thrift Shop”
14. Swedish House Mafia – “Don’t You Worry Child”
15. Pitbull ft. TJR – “Don’t Stop the Party”
16. Alicia Keys ft. Nicki Minaj – “Girl on Fire”
17. Taylor Swift – “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”
18. Ne-Yo – “Let Me Love You”
19. Ed Sheeran – “The A-Team”
20. Nicki Minaj – “Va Va Voom”
Jmunney’s Revision
1. Die Young
2. Locked Out of Heaven
3. Girl on Fire
4. Diamonds
5. Try
6. Gangnam Style
7. Home
8. I Cry
9. Ho Hey
10.Va Va Voom
11. It’s Time
12. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
13. Some Nights
14. Thrift Shop
15. Don’t You Worry Child
16. Don’t Stop the Party
17. Beauty and a Beat
18. The A-Team
19. Let Me Love You
20. One More Night
Rihanna Slow Burners
December 10, 2012
When it comes to Rihanna, a new album is an annual thing, so for me, buying the new Rihanna album is also an annual thing. With the past couple of Rihanna albums, it has also been an annual thing wherein there has been one song per album that I do not think too much of upon a first listen, but after several more listens (around when it starts to get plenty of airtime), I gradually realize just how great that song I initially overlooked is. In fact, those songs are so good as to deserve consideration among the best singles of the year. On Loud, it was “Cheers (Drink to That).” On Talk That Talk, it was “Where Have You Been?” And with Unapologetic, it appears Rihanna has already anticipated my reaction by making the song that I initially overlook but then come to love the first single – yes, “Diamonds” is a mighty fine song, and it deserves consideration among the best songs of 2012 (right alongside “Where Have You Been?”, which was released as a single in this calendar year).
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