poptimists | Poptimists Review of 2006: Genre Of The Year

What was the sound of 2006? That's what we're asking in the second of our end of year polls, discussing the genre of the year. Contenders - drawn from your nominations - include...

Teenpop: Teen confessional and pop narrative (a la High School Musical) drove the genre on in '06 - more teen than ever.
R&B: From Bouncy's hi-gloss dramas through Ciara and Justin's takes on the Prince legacy to Cassie's minimal precision.
Electro: Still the sound of the clubs in 06 (like I'd know) and with big high street traction too.
Emo: The comment box's friend and the parent's foe - whatever it is, it's selling.
Nu Rave: A shot in the arm for indie or a lame NME concoction? 2006's most enigmatic genre.

(A special note: I didn't put "POP" in cos it's all pop, innit. I went for Teenpop as a more specific option, and one picked by as many people.)

[Poll #891678]

You can still vote in yesterday's poll - and still nominate in the remaining 8 categories. Final results collated in the new year!

Tomorrow I'm at home, with YouTube access, which means it's a good day to do the Video Of the Year poll.

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But where confessional might be breaking big is in country, where women influenced by Jewel and Sheryl are making their mark. My attention to country being sporadic and relatively recent, I don't know how long this has been going on (need to track down the first two Deana Carter albums, from the '90s). Stay tuned for the Wreckers and Taylor Swift (hitting big) and Ashley Monroe (struggling for airplay; "Satisfied" is by far the best of her two singles).

The Wreckers, if you don't know, are the duo Jessica Harp and Michelle Branch, both ex-teenpoppers; Michelle Branch's "Everywhere" from 2001 was the first big teenpop singer-songwriter hit and set the template for much of what was to follow from Avril and Ashlee and the like. The Wreckers' two hit singles are only so-so, but the album has some really nice personal-angst slush in the middle, with instrumentation and sound that's only nominally country, if even that. The Wreckers' sound is more interesting than their words, but Taylor's got great words, and she's a much smarter singer, has a smart sense of when to hold back. Also, her big hit is about looking back with bittersweet memories at an early love, a fairly common theme in country since Deana's "Strawberry Wine," but usually done by someone in her twenties or thirties, not by a sixteen-year-old. And there's an aggressive subtext: "When you think Tim McGraw, I hope you think my favorite song," can mean "I hope you have warm memories of me," but also can mean "I hope I haunt you, fucker, the way you haunted me. Sincerely, your discarded girlfiend, Taylor."

Poptimists Review of 2006: Genre Of The Year

But where confessional might be breaking big...