Top singles through the third quarter 2010

[koganbot]

The year divides into "Blah Blah Blah" and everything else; over the summer I was listening to too much top 40 or was busy discovering old stuff, so not enough here is new. Haven't read much in this neck of the woods about DJ Sbu "Vuvuzela Bafana," Lil Wayne "Drop The World," Colette Carr "Back It Up," Lee Hyori "Swing," Belinda ft. Pitbull "

Comments

[justfanoe]

Any thoughts on 2010 albums? I've been mostly off the grid this year and have heard almost nothing, but I've got an iTunes gift card and I'm ready to start exploring 2010 music.

[koganbot]

I've let albums slide, so I need to do lots of exploring myself. I don't know what you think of Ke$ha; her vision or shtick is up my alley, and is pretending to come form an alley, but I think her lyrics could use stronger, more original images, and her voice is opening-act raw; yet somehow she seems like the only pop star who knows what she's doing this year, the only one to sound like she's riding the current dance-pop mess rather than just trying to grab hold somewhere, balancing ugliness and prettiness and storm and calm, etc. "Blah Blah Blah" is my favorite and after that the best stuff hasn't been singles: "Backstabber," a hint of Latin freestyle, the words being a bitch-fest about a gossip but the music bounces the words around in the rhythm so much that Ke$ha hardly sounds unhappy; "Boots And Boys," which compares boys to boots, loves them both, tries them on, they got her looking rad, while a quagmire bass tries to pull her under but she floats blissfully above it; and "Party At A Rich Dude's House," sounding like Dr. Luke

[justfanoe]

I've much enjoyed the Ke$ha songs on the radio, have not sought out otherwise, but will do so now. Thanks for the recommendations.

Preliminary thoughts on "Egoista"

[jonathanbogart]

I like it after one listen (I may have heard it before on the radio but if so it was only once and partially). In the video, she's definitely doing a Gloria Trevi thing (which Ke$ha is also doing, though probably less aware that she's doing it) -- I wrote about Trevi here for comparison, though the music's nothing alike except that both Trevi and Belinda are claiming American pop as their own instead of sticking to Latin norms.

It's the rare Pitbull collab where he doesn't totally blow his co-star out of the water, possibly because nothing short of dynamite can lodge that AutoTuned chirp of a chorus out of the ear.

Re: Preliminary thoughts on "Egoista"

[koganbot]

Mexican videos definitely outdo those from the U.S. in intensity and extravagance. Here's Belinda's "Angel."

Someone once gave me a Gloria Trevi calendar (might have been Xhuxk, or maybe my friend Patty). I love her look, but have had trouble with her vocals, incredibly raw and scratchy. I'm probably not tough enough for Mexican women.

(I'm several months behind on Bilbo's Laptop. I hoped to catch while you were on vacation, but I got distracted.)

[askbask]

What do you think of this? BEG member's solo debut.

[koganbot]

Holy wow! Amazing video! Didn't really take in the music, I was so engrossed in the story. Is there a tradition of briefcase videos in Korea pop, as there is in Eurodisco? 'Cause this sets you up to expect a suitcase chase, instead, the 'case is abandoned for far more important matters.

I assume that the ending is a flashback (as opposed to the beginning being a fantasy); is any of the Korean dialogue crucial? I rather assume that this is self-explanatory without it.

First impression of the music is that it's kinda soft-shoe tango'n'R&B, in any event a mixture that doesn't quite map onto the American grid.

I posted this over on poptimists to see if anyone there had ideas to add.

[koganbot]

here is mine

[anthonyeaston]

Albums So Far This Year