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This is the thread to discuss the latest/greatest in pop music. THIS IS A NO THREADSHITTING ZONE I know the very subject of pop music brings out the worst trigger-happy bufoons on the Internet, but this thread is to have an actual discussion about pop, not to be the 84,328,943rd online nerd to proudly proclaim you don't listen to such banal nonsense. I will refer to NMD's rule here: quote:4) NO TROLLING. this is obviously a general rule for SA but I want to stress it. People have different tastes in music. Don't waste people’s time crapping on a thread just because you hate a certain band or genre. This will get you banned. If you disagree with someone post about it but make sure you include reasons why you disagree. If you're not interested in discussing pop music, there's about a billion other places on the Internet to say you don't care. So why pop music? For starters, we're not in high school anymore, it's okay to like this poo poo. But for a real answer, pop music, and the Billboard charts in particular, are a really interesting snapshot of where the cultural zeitgeist is trending. Given the nonstop turnover in today's Twitter age, the trends can literally change by the day. 8 years ago crunk was all the rage. 2 years ago the Euro-dance wave finally made its way overseas, and we got a bunch of vauge "party" songs with house beats. And then there is the occasional breaking of the mold, such as in 2012 when offbeat indie bands like fun. and Gotye dominated the charts. Basically, the pop scene never gets boring. As I type this OP, dubstep is where it's at (including one of the newer Justin Biebeer singles), but this industry is changing almost too fast. Your latest bandwagon-jumping hit may be passe before it even hits the charts--I guarantee we'll be seeing 2,500 Gangnam Style copycats over the next few months. But like I established at the start of the OP, this thread isn't about making GBS threads on pop music. It's about celebrating it. Let's all get together and remember the first time we threw our arms up to "Call Me Maybe" without feeling any shame. Talk about the latest singles. Share your favorite hits from years ago. Have some loving fun--that's what pop music should be about in the first place. Benne fucked around with this message at 11:29 on Jan 28, 2013 |
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Jan 28, 2013 11:08
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pospysyl posted:I like the idea of "Thrift Shop" more than the actual song. It's good that a more counter-cultural, low production song can make it to the top of the charts, especially after, what, a year after its original release? The lyrics are fine, but the beat's just anemic. Macklemore is a weird case to me. He spent years building a devoted fanbase in the Seattle underground scene. I will admit that his actual rapping doesn't do much for me, but he and Ryan Lewis write some pretty drat good beats and he tackles some compelling social issues, as well as his own personal battle with drug addiction. He's a talented guy and I've been waiting for his breakthrough for a while now. Now he finally has a huge crossover hit...and it's about second-hand clothing. Billboard confuses me sometimes.
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Jan 29, 2013 04:44
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Alvarez IV posted:Regarding the mold being broken by indie rock; I'd peg that as having happened a couple years ago, and claim that we're now in the very beginning of the ultra-saturation stage where everyone's realizing how lucrative a stripped-down earnest acoustic guitar song sung by a bearded Portlander is and is going to start churning them out with reckless abandon without realizing why they became popular in the first place. Indie-folk is the most recent iteration in the long trend of radio-friendly rock music (still counts as pop) because emo didn't get as huge as it was supposed to six years ago. I remember back in 2005 or so when the charts got blown up by the likes of The Killers, Modest Mouse and Franz Ferdinand and people were saying the same things back then, that indie-rock was the new normal and we were finally getting our first real revolution since "Nevermind". That never happened, obviously. So I'm naturally a bit skeptical about 2012's breakout bands sticking. Now Gotye and fun. have real talent, and I don't doubt that they'll continue putting out quality music, but is lightning going to strike again for those guys? I'm already bracing for the Gotye knockoffs coming this year.
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Jan 29, 2013 04:51
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Speaking of Sweden, Loreen had another big hit with "Euphoria" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcnWysA9gxo It was the winning entry in last year's Eurovision Song Contest, and is just a great song overall. I listened to this countless times. Sweden really does just get pop music right.
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Jan 29, 2013 05:40
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Here's the latest Billboard Hot 100, courtesy of a Youtube compilation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIHXQQYTz3Q Some random observations: --Anne Hathaway's "I Dreamed A Dream" took a big tumble, down 19 spots to No. 93. Her song was one of the few highlights of the Les Mis movie, and I never thought it would last long in the public consciousness. It's still good enough that she should be prepping her Oscar speech right now, but it's a non-starter on the mainstream charts. --Justin Timberlake's comeback has an uphill road. "Suit & Tie", his collaboration with Jay-Z is dripping with star power, but it only debuted at #84. Will be interesting to watch how this single tracks. --Rihanna had a big climb, with "Pour It Up" jumping 14 spots to #76. Doesn't look like she's taking a break anytime soon. --The movie "Pitch Perfect" still has a strong presence on the charts, and Anna Kendricks' "Cups" climbed 13 spots to #68. This movie is slowly gaining a cult following, and I can't wait to see it myself. --Is Tim McGraw back? His "One Of Those Nights" is up 12 spots to #57 in its seventh week on the chart. --I'm so loving sick of the Zac Brown Band. Country pop groups are bland enough, but why do these guys still show up in my football games making GBS threads all over the National Anthem? Could've sworn I saw them like 80 times during the college bowls and NFL playoffs. Go away already  --Still have no clue what the gently caress Nicki Minaj is doing anymore --Looks like Ke$ha has another ubiquitous hit on her hands. "C'mon" jumped 17 spots to #48 and is only in its 4th week. This isn't the last we'll hear of that song. --Blake Shelton had the highest debut with "Sure Be Cool If You Did" at #44, solidifying himself as the new Keith Urban with bland but competent country ballads. Also like Urban, you'll be loving sick of him in 2 years. --Goddamnit why can't Maroon 5 just go away already. "Daylight" is up 9 spots to #25 and will probably be their latest #1 hit by the end of February  --Ke$ha dropped 4 spots to #16 with her best song yet. Just as well, it had a good run at the top. --fun.'s "Some Nights" spent nearly a full year on the charts, yet it actually moved up one spot to #14. This song has serious staying power, and I don't see it leaving the charts anytime soon. fun. really hit this one out of the park. --Swedish House Mafia moved up 4 spots to #7, confirming my suspicions that the Euro-Dance wave in America isn't done yet. --Bruno Mars and Macklemore are 1-2, something I never thought I would say 6 months ago. Fast-changing trends, indeed.
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Jan 29, 2013 12:09
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My biggest problem with "Titanium" is the chrous. You have a great intro, a talented singer in Sia, and a build-up that feels like it's about to tear the house down. Then the climax comes and it's...a generic repetitive beat and the same vocals on repeat for a good 30 seconds. It's a massive letdown and the main reason why I can't embrace that song even though I want to like Guetta.
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Jan 30, 2013 07:15
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Pirate Jenny posted:Perhaps for clarification/specificity, rename the thread "Hot 100 Megathread" or "American Top 40 Megathread"? This thread seems to be already trending in that direction, but I'd like to keep it to a broader discussion about the pop landscape. And also not restrict it to American stuff--some people have already shared good European songs in this thread that don't have a chance of tracking on Billboard. I don't want to restrict things to a specific topic, is what I'm trying to get at with this thread. All things related to "pop" are welcome here 
Benne fucked around with this message at 09:23 on Jan 30, 2013 |
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Jan 30, 2013 07:19
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I never really cared for Chris Brown even before all that poo poo happened. He's always been "just there" in my book 
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Feb 2, 2013 05:12
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I've spent the last few days swamped in Super Bowl coverage for SB Nation. Will get caught up on the latest Billboard chart as soon as I get time. E: Beyonce had the best halftime show in years.
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Feb 4, 2013 12:05
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Man I would hope they have some other way of calculating the Youtube data than simple page views. Otherwise, what's stopping a 4chan/reddit raid from getting, say, Anal oval office on the charts?
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Feb 22, 2013 07:50
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Well, since the PYF Internet Critic thread isn't coming back, guess I'll start posting Todd In The Shadows videos here. Some of you probably already know him from that thread, but for the uninitiated, Todd reviews pop music. In the shadows. He's funny and insightful, and y'all should be watching him. Anyway, here's his newest video looking at one of the new One Direction songs: http://blip.tv/todds-pop-song-reviews/little-things-by-one-direction-a-pop-song-review-6551534
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Mar 15, 2013 11:51
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Having just heard the new Psy song, I don't think lightning is going to strike twice here.
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Apr 16, 2013 03:03
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It may have been mentioned in the thread earlier, but Macklemore's "Can't Hold Us" is loving incredible and a huge improvement over "Thrift Shop".
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May 2, 2013 00:11
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"Can't Hold Us" hits No. 1. Macklemore is the first artist to take his first two singles to the top since Lady GaGa. http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1560817/macklemore-ryan-lewis-cant-hold-us-tops-hot-100?utm_source=twitter I can't say I saw this coming 8 months ago but it's pretty cool.
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May 8, 2013 18:18
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