The History Of Pop Part 55 aka Now, usually I don't do this, but....

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

tATu won the Now 54 poll with Girls Alound a close second. Both groups are in it this time, as are Justin, R Kelly and 50 Cent - and the Fast Food Rockers! "Oh, 2003paws", as we wouldn't have said in 2003.

Lots to talk about here, so why don't we get on with it?


[Poll #763194]


TICKNITION (REMIX)

Comments

Re: Fiddy

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

He's a good role model in that he illustrates that any talk of popstars being role models in the first place is so much nonsense. He's thick, and not very talented, and probably a bit bigoted, and he got v rich, and you know what - it doesn't matter. It's not a question of moral outrage, despite the almost hysterical condemnation of him at times.

(In the formulaic cases the MC/singer is generally the icing on the cupcake - in fact if at any point the performer becomes cupcake him/herself, I would argue that it's not really the generic lowest-common-denominator stuff I'm talking about)

Re: Fiddy

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

Lots of people aspire to be like him because he is the latest who embodies/represents certain 'values'/lifestyle that are marketed as seductive. When 50 is gone someone else will do that (but T.I. won't get to his level so that's interesting - actual decline now in effect wrt generating new rap stars? at least in the UK). Pop stars just are role models, regardless of whether or not they should be ('yes when they do this, but not when they do THAT'), so yes it is daft in that respect.

Also it's weird that Busta has somehow gone back to top of the pile and this seems to leave the likes of 50 and The Game even more marginalised here.

Re: Fiddy

[zenith.livejournal.com]

I don't think The Game is so much marginalised as "between albums", surely? It's Game who arguably really renders Fifty irrelevant, you don't need the latter when you've got the former.

Re: Fiddy

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

but Game is even worse than 50! and i got the impression he was washed up already. there was all that in-fighting that was supposed to be good publicity/for sales but doesn't seem to have got them very far.

Re: Fiddy

[zenith.livejournal.com]

Game is technically the better rapper (where do I get my authority on this? - who can say?), seems to have more spark and intelligence, and has a wider range of interests.

Good Game tunes that don't have Fiddy on: Dreams, Put You On The Game, I'm sure there are others.

Good Fiddy tunes that don't have the Game (or Mobb Deep) on: er, the one in this poll and that's it.

Re: Fiddy

[zenith.livejournal.com]

I mean basically if you have 50 a beat like the one on Put You On The Game he would have zero clue what to do with it!

Re: Fiddy

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

But he embodies them in such a cartoonish way that I think even if you did aspire to the same material values, the way you set about acquiring them would necessarily have more to do with you than him. It's like the old music/violence arg - similar values existing in parallel rather than one causing the other.

I think The Game is pretty rubbish, actually - a couple of decent singles but nothing as spectacular as 'In Da Club' or even 'Just A Lil Bit'.