RSRCH

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

Hello everyone, I'm doing some impromptu research.

[Poll #1264707]

As I said above, it's not a test so don't get too neurotic about it, I'm just curious. Feel free to discuss The State Of Pop In 2008 further in the comments, if you want. Linking to YouTube videos and that is very much encouraged; get on a soapbox.

Comments

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

It started off REALLY PROMISING what with all the bassline and Estelle and Kanye and Lil'Mama, and then everyone just sort of gave up trying :(

Luckily CHART BOSH has been the unlikely saviour of the year. I still inexplicably love that Bob Sinclair song innit.

Possible mitigating factor: no unifying ZOMG song as per Umbrella last year?

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

Blimey my Opera just went bonkers when I tried to reply to this. Really must learn to use my internet browser.

Which Bob Sinclair? I quite like him.

I think the disappointment of Bassline failing to rule the world is one I am not going to get over fast. 'What's It Gonna Be' is still one of the best things I've heard in years.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Nah the great pop continued to come thick and fast...the charts are a real red herring. They've been depressing to look at recently but they're a terrible indicator of pop music.

Genre of 2008 = funky house.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've been toying with doing a post like this. I found it very easy indeed to name five terrific singles, which I'd classify as pop (using the wide-ish screen definition I tend to), but which others maybe wouldn't. For individual stellar tracks it's been as fine a year as ever, but for "pop" in the Popjustice sense, nothing's really registered.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

lockedintheatti named five more tracks I love, none of which I thought of. The poptimists tracks poll this December is going to be MAZING but there certainly won't be as clear a winner as last time.

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

unsurprisingly, my choices are somewhat indie. if paper planes doesn't count i would like "ready for the floor" instead.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Swapping one indie for another there!!

I think VW may still be my album of the year, mind you. I was all set for 2008 YEAR OV LIKING INDIE AGAIN but it hasn't really happened. I blame Some Foals.

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

I'm kind of disappointed that mine are indie through dint not of This Will Destroy You but Roots Manuva. :(

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Five songs off top of head:

Crazy Cousinz ft. Calista - Bongo Jam
Wookie ft. Ny - Fallin' Again
Jazmine Sullivan - Need U Bad
Kat DeLuna ft. Busta Rhymes - Run The Show
Low Motion Disco - Love Love Love (Aeroplane Mix)

Five albums (not off top of head - actual top 5 albums I've heard this year):

Erykah Badu, New Amerykah Part One: 4th World War
Mariah Carey, E=MC2
Lil' Wayne, Tha Carter III
Lindstrøm, Where You Go I Go Too
The-Dream, Love/Hate
Young Jeezy, The Recession
Wiley, Grime Wave
Danity Kane, Welcome To The Dollhouse
The Bug, London Zoo
Anja Schneider, Beyond The Valley
Shed, Shedding The Past
Akiko Kiyama, 7 Years

[koganbot]

Five tracks off the top of my head:

Rihanna "Disturbia"
Cassie "Activate"
Ashlee Simpson "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)"
Ashlee Simpson "Little Miss Obsessive"
Heidi Montag "No More"

Five albums not off the top of my head:

Danity Kane Welcome To The Dollhouse
Ashlee Simpson Bittersweet World
María Daniela Y Su Sonido Lasser Juventud En Éxtasis
Vanessa Hudgens Identified
Um, er, let's see, a number 5? A really don't know if there's a real winner here, but the following might benefit if I decide to institute the All Albums Are EPs Rule: Jamey Johnson, Willie Nelson, Cansei De Ser Sexy, Lil Mama, Santogold, Lil Wayne, Mariah Carey, Ashton Shepherd, Jordan Pruitt, Cyndi Lauper, Sonya Kitchell. And the following might benefit if we decide to institute the All Albums Have Just One Song We Pay Attention To Rule: Annie. Dolly Parton and Eyrkah Badu aren't clicking for me, though there's some OK stuff. Solange I've still not made my mind up about, like her personality and range but think there's an underlying blahness to her voice, despite all the energy and adventurousness. I'd be curious to hear the Michelle Williams even though her voice competes in lameness with Vanessa Hudgens' (who may well make my top ten, so go figure). Have yet to hear any of the other albums that Lex lists.

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

Jordan's made a second album???

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Frank check out the funky house tracks in my link above!

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

ALSO Frank - you loved 'Falling' by Sadie Ama right? I discovered tonight - I had no idea before - that one of the funky house producers Crazy Cousinz was responsible for the Wifey riddim, ie the music for 'Falling' (and he's still only 18 now!). And then leaving the studio I randomly bumped into Sadie's sister Shola having a fag outside, and got so excited that I was all like OMG I LISTENED TO YOUR MUSIC IN SCHOOL which I then realised was the wrong thing to say (though she was v nice about it!)

Very strange year

[koganbot]

I ticked AWESOME but I will note that unreleased Cassie tracks are inexplicably failing to top the pop charts as are a whole slew of nonsingles from Vanessa Hudgens, Ashton Shepherd, María Daniela, Willie Nelson etc. and YouTube-only cover songs by Taylor Swift not to mention actual singles by Paula DeAnda and Heidi Montag and V.I.C. and so on.

Rap songs of the year: V.I.C. "Wobble," The Knux "Cappuccino," Wiley "Wearing My Rolex."

[koganbot]

Most of youse to be forgettin "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)" which at the time was generatin "Potential Breakup Song"-size fervor in the hereabouts.

[bengraham.livejournal.com]

I prefer 'Wearing My Rolex' to 'American Boy' as a chart anthem for 2008. I appear to be in the minority though.

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

I also vote this way. 'Wearing My Rolex' will definitely be in my year-end list. Really must get 'Grime Wave.'

[koganbot]

According to Billboard albs by these people are just out or on the verge:

Nelly
Lisa Loeb
Lindsey Buckingham
DJ Khaled
Kristy Lee Cook
Nina Sky
Pussycat Dolls
Fannypack (tho 1/3 of it seems to be remixes)
TV On The Radio
Jazmine Sullivan
Keri Hilson
The Streets
Ice Cube
Missy Elliott
T.I.
Dem Franchize Boyz
Cappadonna
Marnie Stern
Lucinda Williams
Kenny Chesney
The Knux
Ludacris
The Cure
Michelle Williams

Also rumored to have forthcoming product:
t.A.T.u.
Taylor Swift
Britney Spears
Guns N' Roses

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I have the Pussycat Dolls - it's OK, some vg tracks there, but it's way too long (srsly I love PCDs and even I can't see any need for 18 songs by them on one CD) and, you know, not as good as the Danity Kane.

Everything

[jel-bugle.livejournal.com]

Here is everything I can remember liking from this year:

Pop songs - er, the Pussycat Dolls, "Piece of Me" - Britney Spears, "Work" - Kelly Rowland, "Touch my Body" - Mariah Carey,, "One for the Radio" - McFly, "All Summer Long" - Kid Rock...

Albums: "La Revolucion Sexual" - La Casa Azul; "Live Gothic" - Therion; "At Mount Zoomer" - Wolf Parade; "Sea Lion" - The Ruby Suns; "Ultra Beatdown" - Dragonforce; "Death Magnetic" - Metallica; "Volume One" - She & Him; "Music Tapes For Clouds and Tornados" - The Music Tapes; "Watershed" - Opeth; "01011001" - Ayreon

[jel-bugle.livejournal.com]

I am looking forward to the new Parts & Labor album.

Some YouTube Linkage

[jel-bugle.livejournal.com]

Ruby Suns - Tane Mahuto - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCcN0CH_mlY&feature=related
Music Tapes - Minister of Longitude - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jpw5_A7s6lM
Therion - Lemuria -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpbdNkb8lcw
Wolf Parade - Language City (just song) -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziPJxj72QTs
La Casa Azul - Una Cosa O Dos (just song) -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w16mSTi0cuA
Dragonforce - Heroes of Our Time -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7GpiRiFOo0
Ayreon - Beneath the Waves -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYEzZyLyzlM

Re: Some YouTube Linkage

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

I'm totally getting the Ayreon, from that.

I'm kind of torn between excitement and total disinterest re: Dragonforce. I'm not really sure they could top 'Inhuman Rampage' for me.

[jel-bugle.livejournal.com]

PS

Are "Walls of Jericho" named after the Helloween album?

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

I rather assume they are- they're very aggressive metalcore with a reasonably attractive woman at the helm. They don't really sound anything like Helloween, unfortunately.

[skyecaptain.livejournal.com]

Bubble Under Albums:

-Like a good half of Sam Sparro's alb, which takes a few mundane everyday activities and tries to turn 'em into sex jams.

-Xtian pop artist Krystal Meyers's 10-track album is solid, not overlong by any stretch, and has only a select few retch-worthy inspirational messages that are otherwise too vague to come across. Meanwhile her production is maybe the tightest of any teenpoptype album I've heard this year.

-Max Tundra's new alb does seem overlong, but it has a lot of great tunes, esp. the one-two of "Will Get Fooled Again" and "Which Song" (the one that should win my heart -- "Glycaemic Index Blues" -- hasn't stuck yet).

-Y'all seriously need to listen to the new CSS album a few times. Seriously.

-Supergrass is the most consistent rock album I've heard this year that isn't the CSS album, lots of fun with Blur-style ambiguous bandwagon hopping/parody. Requires 1x low expectations for full impact.

-R. Kelly's new alb is about as good as his last one, which means it isn't as good as it should be but has a handful of great ones ("Son of a Bitch" -- Anthony spot on on this one, don't think anyone commented on it -- "Might Be Mine," "Make a Baby," and "At the Same Time").

-Alex Moulton is like Daft Punk doing one of those Nike mix thingies before Discovery came out. (A-Trak's actual Nike mix isn't really worth checking out.)

Show Your Work

[skyecaptain.livejournal.com]

Sam Sparro's is probably 2007 anyway. A few tracks:

Krystal Meyers - Make Some Noise (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJEe618YvXk), Shine (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNcjzOmCWi0), Beautiful Tonight (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxKUTtDUnPM), Feel So Good (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDjVcm1mPuA) -- the last one is like a heartbeat away from being about sex, if only she were saying "I think I found a new love / in my loins" instead of "in my lungs."

CSS - Move (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvUW-dkviak) and Left Behind (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSJ8TkMDIHs&feature=related)

Supergrass - Diamond Hoo Ha (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EPHk16mO20)

R. Kelly - Might Be Mine (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=du-UStoWF3Y)

[lastclearchance.livejournal.com]

Time breakdown (these have some overlap):

30 secs: sorting in itunes by most-played from 2008
30 secs: deciding whether i was prepared to defend a choice of "that's not my name" (answer: not right now)
30 secs: deciding whether "township funk" qualifies as 2008 (answer: sure)
30 secs: deciding whether i'd heard the los campesinos enough to vote for it (answer: no)
1 minute: deciding whether i could defend fuck buttons as pop if necessary (answer: probably not but i voted for it anyways)

and i left out "see you again" which is top 3 of the year for me. so much for accuracy.

[lastclearchance.livejournal.com]

novelty single of the year: PUT A DONK ON IT (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckMvj1piK58)

(have we talked about this yet?)