{"id":116,"date":"2009-12-28T22:55:25","date_gmt":"2009-12-29T03:55:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mattcasarino.com\/?p=116"},"modified":"2009-12-29T10:59:03","modified_gmt":"2009-12-29T15:59:03","slug":"matt-goes-pop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mattcasarino.com\/?p=116","title":{"rendered":"Matt goes POP!"},"content":{"rendered":"

or,<\/strong><\/h3>\n

How to avoid playwriting by spewing a few meaningless opinions<\/h2>\n

Has it always been this way, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m just now figuring it out? Or is this a 2009 thing? When did pop\/rock become dominated by women? Why is it men are stuck with heavy but banal dirges on finding second chances and being all hurt n\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 stuff while women get to explore every avenue of music and emotion?<\/p>\n

Beats me. But nearly every bit of pop that made an impact (on me, anyway) was delivered by women this year. Even the reliable rockers like the Foo Fighters and hip hop provocateurs like Kanye forgot to be interesting (on record, anyway). You have to head into indietown to find men who aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t stuck in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153everything I know, I learned from Nickelback\u00e2\u20ac\u009d territory.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, the ladies \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and a few of the indie fellows \u00e2\u20ac\u201c came through this year. Below are my choices for the good stuff \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and some of the bad. Enjoy, friends!<\/p>\n

Oh, and as always, these opinions are solely those of the author. Where do I get the nerve?<\/p>\n

THE BEST POP SINGLES OF 2009<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I Do Not Hook Up,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Kelly Clarkson<\/strong>. Oh-h! No-o! Kelly\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s defiant roar of pride is pop at its most pure, most joyful, most fun \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s everything disposable music SHOULD be, and more. Heck, the only reason we aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t unanimously crowning it \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Pop Single of 2009\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is because \u00e2\u20ac\u0153My Life Would Suck Without You\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is so damn good too.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sober,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Pink<\/strong>. I know it was released in 2008, so it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a bit of a cheat, but most of us found it after January, so it counts. Good thing, too\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6Pink\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s finest hour is perhaps the best song of any<\/em> year. Some of her rock tracks suffer a bit from quick-paced formula (short verse, loud catchy chorus, repeat), but \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sober\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is so strangely complex, emotional, and lyrically & musically risky that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an instant classic. You hear it, and you want to hear it again. And geez, how about that video?<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Zero,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Yeah Yeah Yeahs<\/strong>. Listening to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Zero\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201c to all of It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Blitz!<\/em>, actually \u00e2\u20ac\u201c takes you (well, me, since I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m old) back to the glory days of New Wave, back when indie music felt new and pure and not so damned self-conscious and ironic. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Zero\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is a sincere delight \u00e2\u20ac\u201c plus, thanks to Karen O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s very adult and sexy voice, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a great transcendent rocker.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Single Ladies,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Beyonce<\/strong>. Overplayed? Sure. But not only is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Single Ladies\u00e2\u20ac\u009d a magnificently punchy, genre-defying slice of attitude, it has a genuinely odd structure that keeps you guessing, even on the 300th listen. Listen to those changes under \u00e2\u20ac\u0153if you like it\/then you should\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve put a ring on it\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6not exactly cookie-cutter chords, are they? Besides, nobody knows the power of a well-timed \u00e2\u20ac\u0153oh-oh-oh\u00e2\u20ac\u009d like our own Miss Fierce.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153LoveGame,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Lady Gaga<\/strong>. So what was YOUR favorite Lady Gaga song of the year? Many swear by the odd mashup of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Bad Romance,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d some still love the sneaky \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Poker Face,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d still others prefer \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Just Dance\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Paparazzi.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d All fine choices, but with its bold dance-all-night synth lick, sexy-sweet come-ons, and Grace Jones-evoking chorus, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153LoveGame\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is my fave Gaga jam to date. Still, what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s truly amazing is that we all have a pet song by Ms. Germanotta \u00e2\u20ac\u201c love her or hate her, you still love her.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Day \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcn Night,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Kid Cudi<\/strong>. Try to classify this one \u00e2\u20ac\u201c stoner hip-hop folk, maybe? Kid Cudi takes us on a lyrically adventurous trip into his mind, letting the simple, hypnotic melody and haunting synth licks guide us into pop bliss. Even as it keeps a foot firmly in iTunes-happy territory, it could be the most original song of the year.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sometime Around Midnight,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Airborne Toxic Event<\/strong>. I know\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re named \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Airborne Toxic Event.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d They wear wool caps and skinny jeans, too (I assume, anyway). But here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a song that takes the offbeat observational skills of Okkervil River and infuses it with the kind of sincere emotion you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expect to hear from indie folks\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6and then the music just builds and builds until it surrounds your soul. Plus\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6it rocks. If there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a post-hipsterdom movement in 2010, this song will kick it off.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153People Got a Lotta Nerve,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Neko Case<\/strong>. It sounds a bit like a throwaway at first\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6jangly guitars, subtle hook, an almost effortless vocal. But then you catch those lyrics and sneaky, sexy chorus, and you hear that really odd and disturbing second verse, and you realize Ms. Case knew what she was doing all along\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6and then, just as it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s soaring into pop bliss, it all ends. But oh, while it lasted\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Battlefield,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Jordin Sparks<\/strong>. Every American Idol<\/em> finalist record is loaded with pop potential \u00e2\u20ac\u201c hooks galore, repetitive choruses, a chance for the singer to hit a money note or two. Unfortunately, they almost always sound like what they are \u00e2\u20ac\u201c pop ditties composed by committee, stripped of idiosyncrasies and personality. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Battlefield\u00e2\u20ac\u009d could have been one of those, but Ms. Sparks gives it just enough emotion to let it truly soar and become something sublime. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll get stuck in your head for days, but you won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be sorry.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Heavy Cross,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Gossip<\/strong>. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m a big fan of Beth Ditto, but I was a little disappointed when I first heard the disco-singed \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Heavy Cross.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I thought it too dense, too processed, too far removed from the awesomely spare, pokey dance punk of Standing in the Way of Control<\/em>. But the more I listened, the more I loved \u00e2\u20ac\u201c sure it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s disco, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s damned good disco, sexy, rocking and satisfying. And the Divine Ms. Ditto refuses to get lost in the mix \u00e2\u20ac\u201c she delivers a powerful vocal that gives the whole enterprise a healthy dose of sexy soul.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Rake\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Song,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The Decemberists<\/strong>. You have to go all the way back to the Violent Femmes\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Country Death Song\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to find another awesomely catchy song about, er, murdering your own children. Of course, Gordon at least had the courtesy to feel bad about what he did\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6not Colin, who sounds relatively pleased. Creepy as hell\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6and really fun. Which just makes it more creepy. And fun.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Waking Up in Vegas,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Katy Perry<\/strong>. Katy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s got a fantastic look, and she got off to a slyly provocative start with the strictly PG \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I Kissed a Girl,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d but with her limited range and by-the-numbers delivery, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to have to count on great material until she finds her own voice (if she ever does). Fortunately, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Waking Up in Vegas\u00e2\u20ac\u009d has got a killer chorus, a great beat, and a sense of humor \u00e2\u20ac\u201c everything a disposable summer pop song needs to cross the line from good to great.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u01531901,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Phoenix<\/strong>. Now that radio is in such a weird place and MTV and VH1 barely show videos, I suppose there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a case to be made for licensing as a means for launching little-known acts. But what a freakin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 shame that Phoenix\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s towering bit of electronica will forever be associated with car commercials.<\/p>\n

Honorable Mentions:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Honey West,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Betty<\/strong>. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think it was ever a single, but man, it should be\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6Betty\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s paean to a forgotten 60\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s TV detective is a delightful rocker.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153What Are You Like,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Indigo Girls<\/strong>. Subtle production and a great groove make this one nearly irresistible \u00e2\u20ac\u201c unless you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a diehard Indigo Girls fan, in which case you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve essentially heard it before. Still, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a good \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcun.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Me With You,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Brian Turner<\/strong>. A great songwriter turns in one of his very best. When BT drops his CD, get in line for a copy \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s gonna be awesome! In the meantime, go to Brian’s ReverbNation Page<\/a> and give it a listen.<\/p>\n

THE WORST POP SINGLES OF 2009<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153No Surprise,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Daughtry<\/strong>. Look, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t object to the sentiment, or even the guy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s voice. No, my problem is that every note, every chord, every drumbeat in this humorless dirge is more predictable than the last. The absolute nadir of overproduced, oversung, oh-so-earnest white-boy \u00e2\u20ac\u0153power chord\u00e2\u20ac\u009d pap.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Second Chance,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Shinedown<\/strong>. I stand corrected.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Gives You Hell,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d All-American Rejects<\/strong>. Damn you, Green Day \u00e2\u20ac\u201c you see what you did? You inspired guys like the All-American Rejects, who think they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re being \u00e2\u20ac\u0153edgy\u00e2\u20ac\u009d with their braggy, twee little kiss-off song, in which they crow about sleeping all day while their ex has to, like, have a real job. Obviously, this little bastard struck a chord, since the song was a smash. But \u00e2\u20ac\u0153obnoxious\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153slickly produced pop\u00e2\u20ac\u009d are a bad combination, and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Gives You Hell\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is the worst of both worlds.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We Made You,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Eminem<\/strong>. Eminem\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153comedy\u00e2\u20ac\u009d songs used to have some zip. But more and more they belong on the Dr. Demento show. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still got a raw talent, but this one\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s dumb and irritating.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I Gotta Feeling,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Black-Eyed Peas<\/strong>. My God, the Peas have grown lazy. If their habit of repeating a single word to fill in the gaps in poorly-metered lyrics isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t bad enough, now they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not even bothering to rhyme, write melodies, or provide an interesting beat. Sure, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s catchy, but so is a pre-programmed drum n\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 bass track on an old Casio keyboard.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Use Somebody,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Kings of Leon<\/strong>. These guys came loaded with hype as the next big rock band, and hell, maybe they are. Truth be told, the only bad part of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Use Somebody\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is the chorus, where the title is repeated in a choked whine over and over until the song becomes nothing but an aggravating little earworm.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u01533,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Britney Spears<\/strong>. Shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a song espousing the manage-a-trois be, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122know\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6sexy? Not this time. Britney sounds as detached as ever, and the beats are tired and square. Imagine what Lady Gaga woulda done with this one and you can see the trouble Britney might be in.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Fireflies,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Owl City<\/strong>. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s okay to admire Ben Gibbard. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s okay to ape his voice and inflection. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s even okay to give your track the exact same cheap-synth sound you might find on any Postal Service song \u00e2\u20ac\u201c we all gotta start somewhere. But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s NOT okay to give your song the most maddeningly cloying lyrics in recent history. Seriously\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6the hilariously vague \u00e2\u20ac\u009deverything is never as it seems\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is the best line on the track. Even Spandau Ballet would have rejected \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Why do I tire of counting sheep\/when I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m too tired to fall asleep.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (Maybe.) By the time 10,000 lightning bugs are holding a sock hop, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll want to heave 10,000 meals.<\/p>\n

Dishonorable Mentions:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Good Girls Go Bad,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Cobra Starship<\/strong>. I get that the, er, Cobra Starship (ugh) are going for humor with their contribution to junior-high dance playlists across the country. We should encourage that, as humor is too rare a thing in pop music. But still\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6what an inane little song. Too silly to be truly offensive, but too stupid to be anything but annoying.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u01531 2 3 4,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Plain White T\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s<\/strong>. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s horrible, exactly, and I give them all the credit in the world for miraculously avoiding one-hit-wonderdom. But Lord do I hate that chorus. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the equivalent of setting a 4th-grade love note to music.<\/p>\n

COULD GO EITHER WAY\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Party in the U.S.A.,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Miley Cyrus<\/strong>. You either love it or hate it. The haters find it pandering (absolutely) and overproduced (certainly). The lovers are too busy moving our hips like yeah.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153If You Seek Amy,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Britney Spears<\/strong>. I love the chorus, even though it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s based on an old joke. I love the throwback \u00e2\u20ac\u0153oh baby baby\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in the verses. But something so \u00e2\u20ac\u0153outrageous\u00e2\u20ac\u009d shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be so forgettable. I dunno\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6either it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s too dumb, or not dumb enough.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Boom Boom Pow,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Black Eyed Peas<\/strong>. The epitome of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s got a good beat and you can dance to it.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d And it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so big and infectious that yes, dammit, you even want<\/em> to dance to it. But oh, the brain-dead lyrics\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6so stupid, off-putting, and unnecessary that they almost kill the fun.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153She Wolf,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Shakira<\/strong>. An infectious groove, clever lyrics, and a nifty chorus are compromised (for me, at least) by Shakira\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s less-than-inspired delivery, making what should be a pop masterpiece into something mostly forgettable.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015321 Guns,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Green Day<\/strong>. Green Day were always a commercial-minded pop band in punk-poseur costumes \u00e2\u20ac\u201c but there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nothing wrong with that, as long as the music\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s good, which it usually is. \u00e2\u20ac\u015321 Guns\u00e2\u20ac\u009d basically picks up where \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Wake Me Up When September Ends,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not quite soaring enough to make up for its soft-pedaled repetition and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153perfect\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (thanks to studio manipulating) vocals. Still, I catch myself singing it an awful lot.<\/p>\n

Anything<\/em> by Taylor Swift<\/strong>. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s got a knack, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s for sure, and she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be around a long time, but her songs tend to get away from her. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Love Song\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is catchy but cloying and lyrically ragged (at best\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6has she READ the stuff she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s referencing!?), \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Fifteen\u00e2\u20ac\u009d walks the line between sympathetic and condescending, and not even her pure n\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 innocent voice can keep \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You Belong With Me\u00e2\u20ac\u009d from sounding a bit creepy. Give her a few years and she may just be onto something.<\/p>\n

Well there you go, my friends \u00e2\u20ac\u201c keep on rockin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 in the new year!<\/p>\n

Love & kisses,
\nMatt<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

or, How to avoid playwriting by spewing a few meaningless opinions Has it always been this way, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m just now figuring it out? Or is this a 2009 thing? When did pop\/rock become dominated by women? Why is it men are stuck with heavy but banal dirges on finding second chances and being all […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[14,21],"class_list":["post-116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-playpen","tag-lists","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mattcasarino.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mattcasarino.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mattcasarino.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mattcasarino.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mattcasarino.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=116"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/mattcasarino.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":166,"href":"https:\/\/mattcasarino.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116\/revisions\/166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mattcasarino.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mattcasarino.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mattcasarino.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}