Another Year In America December 24, 2009
Ke$ha's sober and subtle "TiK ToK" has risen to number one (sober and subtle compared to everything else I've heard by her, that is; I'm impressed by Ke$ha's total commitment to cheesiness and stupidity, though nothing other than "TiK ToK" gets the cheese 'n' honey burbling together for an entire song).
Alicia Keys "Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart": Quite poignant at the start as Keys goes from desolate chirps to a subdued wail. Loses feeling as it gets more emphatic and she determines to make it through, though enough remains for a TICK.
Eminem ft. Dr. Dre "Hell Breaks Loose": Strings are all Bernard Herrmann suspense, while Em and Dre sound inexplicably small and distant. And tired, exhausted, spent. NO TICK.
Train "Hey, Soul Sister": Says Wiki, "Train is a Grammy Award-winning rock band formed in San Francisco, California. To date, three of their albums have peaked in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 and have sold a total of over 4 million albums in the US." All this without me noticing. [Reads further] Hmmm, I suppose I've heard "Drops Of Jupiter." [Checks] Yes, it does sound familiar, though sounding familiar could be what this band does. "Jupiter"'s sung with constipated mediocre Matchbox 20 achiness; in contrast, "Hey, Soul Sister" is half-baked half reggae that'd have an easy feeling if it had any feeling. I won't say I have no idea what this music's constituency is - Mraz and Mayer and Sting also can go for a low-impact walk, but they provide a little bit of push and pull, to give their music presence. Don't know why someone would choose a track with so little presence. NO TICK.
Alicia Keys "Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart": Quite poignant at the start as Keys goes from desolate chirps to a subdued wail. Loses feeling as it gets more emphatic and she determines to make it through, though enough remains for a TICK.
Eminem ft. Dr. Dre "Hell Breaks Loose": Strings are all Bernard Herrmann suspense, while Em and Dre sound inexplicably small and distant. And tired, exhausted, spent. NO TICK.
Train "Hey, Soul Sister": Says Wiki, "Train is a Grammy Award-winning rock band formed in San Francisco, California. To date, three of their albums have peaked in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 and have sold a total of over 4 million albums in the US." All this without me noticing. [Reads further] Hmmm, I suppose I've heard "Drops Of Jupiter." [Checks] Yes, it does sound familiar, though sounding familiar could be what this band does. "Jupiter"'s sung with constipated mediocre Matchbox 20 achiness; in contrast, "Hey, Soul Sister" is half-baked half reggae that'd have an easy feeling if it had any feeling. I won't say I have no idea what this music's constituency is - Mraz and Mayer and Sting also can go for a low-impact walk, but they provide a little bit of push and pull, to give their music presence. Don't know why someone would choose a track with so little presence. NO TICK.