Tom Ewing’s overview of pop in the oughts is crucial reading for any Idolator reader, not the least because without his influence in the earliest part of the decade this site (and probably a good chunk of the Pitchfork list!) would look pretty different. (Tom was one of the guiding lights behind the bulletin board I Love Music, where I and a lot of other writers cut their musical-rhetorical chops.) It’s a dense piece full of lots of meaty material on how the “pop” ideal has shape-shifted since the Britney-n-Justin glory days that ushered in the millennium; I’ve excerpted a bit about the curious nature of pop qua pop in the current moment (which is something that I think about a lot) after the jump. MORE »
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the way we listen now
the way we listen now
Scott Stapp’s pipes are so powerful, they can even inspire friendships in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth metro area to shatter… via text message. [Texts From Last Night; HT @brandon / Pic via The 412] MORE »
the way we listen now
Esmee Denters: 2007’s YouTube Sensation, 2009’s Pretty Decent Song For Working Out
Two years ago, the Dutch singer Esmée Denters was a YouTube phenomenon who got snapped up by Justin Timberlake’s label, thanks presumably to her covering “What Goes Around… Comes Around” in full-on Webcam confessional mode. Well, since then Timberlake’s been trying to get her name out there, first putting her singing up for charity, then taking her around the country on showcases where she flaunts her new single “Outta Here.” I actually became acquainted with this song at the gym, where it was one of the many semi-anonymous dance tracks blaring on the TVs that weren’t tuned to (sigh) the YES Network, mixed in with endless plays of all those failed Pussycat Dolls singles and “Single Ladies.” “Outta Here” is not groundbreaking by any stretch—it’s pretty much perfectly paired to being played while people sweat out calories and hangovers—but it’s pretty punchy, and her growly tendencies make the track even better. Clip after the jump. MORE »
the way we listen now
Mamma Mia, This Article On “The Decline Of The Soundtrack” Has Some Major Problems
Today the fancypants Hollywood site The Wrap ran a lengthy piece on what author Dominic Patten saw as the demise of the soundtrack, using as evidence the weak performance of the Linkin Park-led tie-in album for Transformers 2; lousy sales for the 500 Days Of Summer soundtrack compared to Zach Braff’s Garden State juggernaut; the lack of soundtracks Bruno and Obsessed (the latter of which starred Beyoncé); and the generally crummy atmosphere for album sales this year. But despite having a bit of reportage and a few statistics sprinkled into its stew of bad news, the whole article felt kind of off to me. I asked Courtney Smith, a sometime music supervisor and writer for the music-in-movies blog The Playlist, what she thought of the piece. Our back-and-forth, after the jump. MORE »
Update
“Stripper Radio” May Actually Be Slightly Preferable To The Format Replacing It
Last week, we noted that the Denver metropolitan area had a new radio format geared toward “stripper music,” the sort of stuff that one might hear in a gentleman’s club like “Crazy Bitch” and, uh, “Life Is A Highway.” As we figured, the format was basically a way for the station’s management to transition from the knowledge-worker-friendly Indie 101.5 to something a lot louder. And angrier. MORE »
the way we listen now
“Stripper Radio” May Be A Stunt, But It’s Still A Pretty Depressingly Plausible Format
At the end of July, the formerly Indie-formatted Denver station KTNI flipped formats from a low-rated blend of knowledge-worker hits to something at another end of the spectrum: It became 101.5 The Pole, and branded itself with the tagline “Our Hits Are Bigger!” Yes, Stripper Radio has hit America, complete with a club who’s sponsoring the whole shebang and pole-dancing tracks like Buckcherry’s “Crazy Bitch” and Warrant’s “Cherry Pie” among its most-requested tunes. The general manager of the station’s parent company, Max Media of Denver, explains: MORE »
the way we listen now
The Pussycat Dolls Throw A Hail Mary Pass
Last night’s Critical Karaoke event was pretty rousing success, and thanks to everyone who came out. Apparently there will be video of the whole night online soon (which is a good thing, because everyone’s performances were stellar), but for now my piece—which looks at the Pussycat Dolls’ current attempt to recapture the zeitgeiest, “Hush Hush; Hush Hush”—is after the jump, with a video so you can listen to the song while reading along, as the performative nature of the evening dictated. Just imagine it being read by someone whose arms are flailing a lot. MORE »
the way we listen now
Chris Brown Follows Jill And Kevin’s Wedding Procession To The Charts
The viral-video sensation that was the Chris Brown-scored wedding procession of Kevin Heinz and Jill Peterson has resulted in “Forever,” the song employed by the clip, returning to the charts: It sold 50,000 downloads in the week ending July 26 (Sunday)—a 1,721% jump, which was enough to put the song at No. 21 on Billboard’s sales-derived Hot Digital Songs chart. (Because of rules about songs’ ages, the track isn’t eligible to re-enter the Hot 100.) Given that “Forever”’s chart position at iTunes and Amazon has held—it’s currently at Nos. 22 and 6 on those digital-music outlets’ respective singles rundowns—it’ll probably be on next week’s chart as well. Meanwhile, some Internet yuksters have decided to see how the couple will use “Forever” in a viral video a few years from now… MORE »
the way we listen now
Attention Aspiring Bridezilla-Fameballs: Here Are Six Songs That You Can Use For “Dancing Down The Aisle” Purposes
The much-ballyhooed video featuring a soon-to-be-married couple and their wedding party dancing down the aisle to Chris Brown’s “Forever” has just passed the 10-million-view mark, leaving some chart success for the song (which is still in the iTunes Store’s top 10 as of this writing) in its wake. Perhaps more important than Brown’s career being revived by two people who are not on his payroll, though, is the effect that this clip will have on soon-to-be-married people who want their weddings to be just as special and media-frenzy-like as the blessed union of Kevin Heinz and Jill Peterson. To that end, Idolator presents six songs that could help you, soon-to-be-wedded person, turn your Big Day into a Viral Event. (NB: If you do use one of these suggestions, I accept invitations via e-mail!) MORE »
the way we listen now
Chris Brown Might Want To Send Jill And Kevin A Wedding Present
A Minnesota couple choreographed their attendants’ wedding entry to Chris Brown’s Doublemint-jingle-turned-pop-smash “Forever,” and someone in attendance found this so adorable, they threw it up on the Internet. Time passed, and the YouTube clip of the procession eventually became a viral-video sensation that caused at least three people whose blogs I read to say that it made them all misty; unsurprisingly, perhaps, the song is experiencing something of a revival on the paid-download charts. It’s currently No. 45 on the iTunes Store’s singles chart, and No. 41 on the corresponding chart at Amazon MP3. Considering that this clip has done more for Brown’s troubled career as a pop star than his apology regarding his February domestic-violence incident with Rihanna, I’d think that the happy couple deserves at least a KitchenAid mixer, no? [YouTube] MORE »
