Sorry for the delay in getting this up. Between the holidays, having company, and hanging out with family (saw Big Hero 6, which I recommend to anyone who likes Disney movies), I didn't have a whole lot of time to work on this.
#45: "Not A Bad Thing" by Justin Timberlake
I tend to agree with the title when it comes to Timberlake, "Carry Out" notwithstanding.
Music is pretty good. It opens with a nice piano line, and is soon joined by some guitar. It sounds kind of like an alternative rock ballad, musically, and I mean that in a good way. Vocally, Justin Timberlake shows off his lower voice more here than normal, but it doesn't necessarily work as well. He sounds more like he did in his N'SYNC days. He doesn't sound bad, but he doesn't really sound genuine.
This is a love song. Basically, he is reassuring a girl that it's not a bad thing to fall in love with him.
I like this song. Yes, Justin Timberlake doesn't sound quite as "real" as he usually does, but the music has a nice, soft tone to it, and holds my interest, while the lyrics are quite genuinely sweet. This song just makes me feel good, and that is not a bad thing.
#44: "Wrecking Ball" by Miley Cyrus
Re-review and repeat artist!
The music is...not bad, but it's a little boring. The sole musical instrument in the verse is a piano, with a line that somewhat follows the rhythm and notes of the lyrics, with the chorus music sounding like it wants to be dubstep, but in slow motion. It just feels a little too slow and listless. Vocally, Miley Cyrus does not sound that good here. She sounds fine on some parts, but she ends every other line in the verses with a whine, which gets old. As for the chorus, she sounds better there, but she gets Autotuned. Not on a line, not on the entire chorus, but on one word, "wreck". Oh, I'm sorry, according to Miley, it's "wre-e-e-ck".
This song is a post breakup song. Miley blames herself for the relationship going sour, saying that she was trying to break down her ex's defenses to find out what he was hiding, comparing herself to a wrecking ball. However, the only thing she ended up wrecking was herself and their relationship.
I like the concept of this song, actually. Hearing a singer write a post breakup song that takes responsibility for causing problems in their relationship does not happen often enough. In practice, though, this song does not work that well. Miley's voice is too uneven, although she does show significant improvement over her voice when she started singing, and the music line doesn't do enough to back up Miley, leaving the song feeling dreary. The simile used in the lyrics breaks down pretty easily, after a few seconds of thought. What the hell kind of wrecking ball only wrecks itself? Overall, this song isn't bad, but it's a bit too dull, and doesn't quite work once you stop and think about the lyrics.
#43: "Show Me" by Kid Ink feat. Chris Brown
Kid Ink is an LA based rapper. He started out with an interest in being a record producer, but decided to pursue a career as a rapper instead. This is his biggest hit so far, with this being the first year he's had standalone success on the charts with any singles, but he's been building his way up over several years, working with various artists, as well as releasing a fairly successful independent album, something I respect. "Respect" is not a word that comes to mind with Chris Brown, however.
Honestly, this music isn't all that bad. The opening is done with a piano, with some more standard synthesizer. It's minimalistic, but still unique. In addition, the production by DJ Mustard is pretty solid, leaving the music in the mix at the proper volume to back up the artists, rather than fight with them. Chris Brown is the first artist you hear in the song, as he is allowed to sing the chorus, intro, and pre-chorus solo. He's not that good. I think he might have some talent, but it's all Autotuned away in this song. As for Kid Ink, I was a bit disappointed. He doesn't so much rap as not-quite-sing his way through the verses. He doesn't sound too badly, but I wanted to hear him rap.
This song is about sex. The artists are about to get laid, and are hitting on the girl, saying she reminds them of something, but they can't quite remember, so she'll have to show them.
This song has some good production value, and some unique music. That's about all it has going for it, though. Neither of the artists deliver in talent or in sounding like they are believing what they are saying. Of course, I can't entirely blame the artists, as the lyrics are so cringeworthy, I want to add a "giggity" to the end of every line in the chorus. I will probably not remember this song by the time I'm putting my "worst of" list together. That's the only reason it might escape the bottom 10 for this year.
#42: "Don't Tell Em" by Jeremih feat. YG
Jeremih is a record producer and R&B singer. He's had hits in the past, including 2009's "Birthday Sex" and 2010's "Down On Me", which featured 50 Cent. As for YG, he is a repeat artist, being the main artist in "My Hitta".
Music is...well, dull. This song could definitely use a different producer. It's essentially a basic keyboard line that loops after a few notes, and gets old fast. How DJ Mustard went from the last song to this is a mystery. As for Jeremih's singing...well, he sounds like that guy in high school that's trying to look cool in the verses. On the chorus, he just sounds like every rapper who tries singing for a change. As for YG, he does successfully sound like a total asshole. In that sense, he raps quite well. OK, to be fair, he does have decent flow, even he seems to be inspired by Rick Ross.
The lyrics...well, for Jeremih, they are somewhat loving towards a woman, even if he's clearly just interested in the sex. YG has no such illusions, being rather blatant about how he feels about his sexbot. I mean girl. Yes, his girl.
There are songs that I go into with no expectations, and they blow me away. There are songs I go into with high expectations, and they disappoint me. Then there are the songs like this. Songs where I expected it to be bad, but still ended up being amazed at how awful it was. The music gets on my nerves within 30 seconds, the artists either sound immature, lazy, or like an asshole, and the lyrics are just plain terrible. He's telling the girl "Don't tell anyone just how much I'm fucking you. Keep me your dirty little secret." He doesn't use those words, but that's the gist of the lyrics. I cannot find anything redeemable in this song.
#41: "Rather Be" by Clean Bandit feat. Jess Glynne
Clean Bandit is a British electronic group, while Jess Glynne is an English singer-songwriter. Clean Bandit had their first success with last year's "Mozart's House", but this is their first taste of international success. As for Jess Glynne, this is her breakout year, being featured on two UK top 10 hits, as well as having a UK hit of her own.
It's been a while since I've heard a song open with violin. That's not a slight towards the song. It has a quite unique sound, with the main instrument sounding like a cross between a xylophone and a keyboard. There are drums and more standard piano, but this song still sounds quite unique. As for Jess Glynne, she sounds quite good. She has a fairly deep voice, and pulls it off quite well. She also hits some fairly high notes, showing off a pretty good range.
The lyrics are that of a love song. When her love is with her, there's no place she'd rather be.
This is a simple song, but simple is not always bad. The music sounds like a time capsule back to the 70's or 80's, in a good way, and Jess Glynne has a pretty good voice, and sounds genuine in her words. The song is sweet, even if they are cliche. This is just a fun, nice song to listen to. Nothing wrong with that.
A couple of good songs, a couple of crap songs. Could be worse.
Previously: #50-46 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.867932-2014-Billboard-Top-100-50-46]
Next: #40-36 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.868351-2014-Billboard-Top-100-40-36]
#45: "Not A Bad Thing" by Justin Timberlake
I tend to agree with the title when it comes to Timberlake, "Carry Out" notwithstanding.
Music is pretty good. It opens with a nice piano line, and is soon joined by some guitar. It sounds kind of like an alternative rock ballad, musically, and I mean that in a good way. Vocally, Justin Timberlake shows off his lower voice more here than normal, but it doesn't necessarily work as well. He sounds more like he did in his N'SYNC days. He doesn't sound bad, but he doesn't really sound genuine.
This is a love song. Basically, he is reassuring a girl that it's not a bad thing to fall in love with him.
I like this song. Yes, Justin Timberlake doesn't sound quite as "real" as he usually does, but the music has a nice, soft tone to it, and holds my interest, while the lyrics are quite genuinely sweet. This song just makes me feel good, and that is not a bad thing.
#44: "Wrecking Ball" by Miley Cyrus
Re-review and repeat artist!
The music is...not bad, but it's a little boring. The sole musical instrument in the verse is a piano, with a line that somewhat follows the rhythm and notes of the lyrics, with the chorus music sounding like it wants to be dubstep, but in slow motion. It just feels a little too slow and listless. Vocally, Miley Cyrus does not sound that good here. She sounds fine on some parts, but she ends every other line in the verses with a whine, which gets old. As for the chorus, she sounds better there, but she gets Autotuned. Not on a line, not on the entire chorus, but on one word, "wreck". Oh, I'm sorry, according to Miley, it's "wre-e-e-ck".
This song is a post breakup song. Miley blames herself for the relationship going sour, saying that she was trying to break down her ex's defenses to find out what he was hiding, comparing herself to a wrecking ball. However, the only thing she ended up wrecking was herself and their relationship.
I like the concept of this song, actually. Hearing a singer write a post breakup song that takes responsibility for causing problems in their relationship does not happen often enough. In practice, though, this song does not work that well. Miley's voice is too uneven, although she does show significant improvement over her voice when she started singing, and the music line doesn't do enough to back up Miley, leaving the song feeling dreary. The simile used in the lyrics breaks down pretty easily, after a few seconds of thought. What the hell kind of wrecking ball only wrecks itself? Overall, this song isn't bad, but it's a bit too dull, and doesn't quite work once you stop and think about the lyrics.
#43: "Show Me" by Kid Ink feat. Chris Brown
Kid Ink is an LA based rapper. He started out with an interest in being a record producer, but decided to pursue a career as a rapper instead. This is his biggest hit so far, with this being the first year he's had standalone success on the charts with any singles, but he's been building his way up over several years, working with various artists, as well as releasing a fairly successful independent album, something I respect. "Respect" is not a word that comes to mind with Chris Brown, however.
Honestly, this music isn't all that bad. The opening is done with a piano, with some more standard synthesizer. It's minimalistic, but still unique. In addition, the production by DJ Mustard is pretty solid, leaving the music in the mix at the proper volume to back up the artists, rather than fight with them. Chris Brown is the first artist you hear in the song, as he is allowed to sing the chorus, intro, and pre-chorus solo. He's not that good. I think he might have some talent, but it's all Autotuned away in this song. As for Kid Ink, I was a bit disappointed. He doesn't so much rap as not-quite-sing his way through the verses. He doesn't sound too badly, but I wanted to hear him rap.
This song is about sex. The artists are about to get laid, and are hitting on the girl, saying she reminds them of something, but they can't quite remember, so she'll have to show them.
This song has some good production value, and some unique music. That's about all it has going for it, though. Neither of the artists deliver in talent or in sounding like they are believing what they are saying. Of course, I can't entirely blame the artists, as the lyrics are so cringeworthy, I want to add a "giggity" to the end of every line in the chorus. I will probably not remember this song by the time I'm putting my "worst of" list together. That's the only reason it might escape the bottom 10 for this year.
#42: "Don't Tell Em" by Jeremih feat. YG
Jeremih is a record producer and R&B singer. He's had hits in the past, including 2009's "Birthday Sex" and 2010's "Down On Me", which featured 50 Cent. As for YG, he is a repeat artist, being the main artist in "My Hitta".
Music is...well, dull. This song could definitely use a different producer. It's essentially a basic keyboard line that loops after a few notes, and gets old fast. How DJ Mustard went from the last song to this is a mystery. As for Jeremih's singing...well, he sounds like that guy in high school that's trying to look cool in the verses. On the chorus, he just sounds like every rapper who tries singing for a change. As for YG, he does successfully sound like a total asshole. In that sense, he raps quite well. OK, to be fair, he does have decent flow, even he seems to be inspired by Rick Ross.
The lyrics...well, for Jeremih, they are somewhat loving towards a woman, even if he's clearly just interested in the sex. YG has no such illusions, being rather blatant about how he feels about his sexbot. I mean girl. Yes, his girl.
There are songs that I go into with no expectations, and they blow me away. There are songs I go into with high expectations, and they disappoint me. Then there are the songs like this. Songs where I expected it to be bad, but still ended up being amazed at how awful it was. The music gets on my nerves within 30 seconds, the artists either sound immature, lazy, or like an asshole, and the lyrics are just plain terrible. He's telling the girl "Don't tell anyone just how much I'm fucking you. Keep me your dirty little secret." He doesn't use those words, but that's the gist of the lyrics. I cannot find anything redeemable in this song.
#41: "Rather Be" by Clean Bandit feat. Jess Glynne
Clean Bandit is a British electronic group, while Jess Glynne is an English singer-songwriter. Clean Bandit had their first success with last year's "Mozart's House", but this is their first taste of international success. As for Jess Glynne, this is her breakout year, being featured on two UK top 10 hits, as well as having a UK hit of her own.
It's been a while since I've heard a song open with violin. That's not a slight towards the song. It has a quite unique sound, with the main instrument sounding like a cross between a xylophone and a keyboard. There are drums and more standard piano, but this song still sounds quite unique. As for Jess Glynne, she sounds quite good. She has a fairly deep voice, and pulls it off quite well. She also hits some fairly high notes, showing off a pretty good range.
The lyrics are that of a love song. When her love is with her, there's no place she'd rather be.
This is a simple song, but simple is not always bad. The music sounds like a time capsule back to the 70's or 80's, in a good way, and Jess Glynne has a pretty good voice, and sounds genuine in her words. The song is sweet, even if they are cliche. This is just a fun, nice song to listen to. Nothing wrong with that.
A couple of good songs, a couple of crap songs. Could be worse.
Previously: #50-46 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.867932-2014-Billboard-Top-100-50-46]
Next: #40-36 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.868351-2014-Billboard-Top-100-40-36]