I was going to write something akin to what I did last year to reflect on the past fifty-two weeks, but honestly? This reflects my year on this blog better.
#10: "Roar" by Katy Perry
Yes, "Roar" managed to ascend to this lofty peak, and I'm not as frustrated as I might've been earlier this year. I don't recall if it ever came up in the past (it probably did), but this song is irritatingly similar to Sara Barrillapasta's "Brave" but is significantly more popular. This is annoying because "Brave" is a song about how the listener should feel empowered, while "Roar" is about how Katy Perry specifically feels empowered. So, for a while, I would make disgruntled noises about how "Roar" was a lesser song whenever it came on the radio and praised "Brave." Such is no longer the case for several reasons. For one, it's been stated that Perry wrote her song before Bareilles did. For another, when all's said and done, they're both really boring songs that I don't terribly care about aside from 'white-knighting' "Brave" (as Watson so eloquently put it once).
So at this point, my feelings on both songs are pretty lukewarm, though it's still annoying when you think one song's in the background of a commercial and it turns out to be the other one. Music video's all right, though. I'm a fan of the untwist ending.
#9: "Cruise" by Florida Georgia Line feat. Nelly
This is still a terrible song. This never stopped being a terrible song. There was one time this summer where I saw a guy in West Virginia drive by in his lift-kitted pickup truck, and do you know what was blasting? Here's a hint: THIS GARBAGE. I'm not the only one who holds this opinion. As usual, Todd in the Shadows has similar views, and his video on the song takes a look at how country music is pop-ifying itself, so give that a look if you're curious. I wish I had a more nuanced viewpoint to offer, but I'm just happy it's not getting constant airplay anymore. It was a long summer of channel-hopping away from that beast.
#8: "When I Was Your Man" by Bruno Mars
I'm not sure if this song was ever on the top ten when I was writing these reviews, which is a sign that it didn't leave much of an impression on me. I mean, it's not a bad piece. I can accept a song about a guy who regrets a failed relationship, especially when it's him regretting being a catalyst for that failure. This isn't accusatory like "Grenade," it's just sadness over missed opportunities that can't be recouped. It's very much "I want my beloved to be happy" in its lyrics.
It's also kind of dull. There's times and places where these sentiments are fitting, but, I dunno, it kind of slows me down when I'm listening to the radio. I mean, it is what it is, and that's a fine thing to be, but... at the end of the day, I yawn and check what else is playing. I guess I can see why it's number eight, though, because it's all inoffensive and gentle and Bruno Mars-y. Shrug.
#7: "Just Give Me a Reason" by P!nk feat. Nate Ruess
I'm very tired of the specific style of bombast that fun. and P!nk like so much. This song bores me, but in a way that's distinct from "When I Was Your Man." Mars is yawn-inspiring because he's singing sadly about lost love on the piano instead of doing something. "Just Give Me a Reason" bores me because it's two people acknowledging a problem that they want to fix without offering any solution. I don't know, maybe it's that I don't really buy their chemistry (I don't). Maybe it's because their problems sound really inane from my perspective (they kind of do). Maybe it's the monotonous beat that I don't love. Maybe it's that both P!nk and Nate Ruess sound the same way that they do when singing about literally everything else. There's no emotional dynamism here, especially from the frontman of fun. who sounds this emotionally invested in everything he's ever sung, which kills my empathy.
This all feels extremely picky of me, even from a critical standpoint, but the song just never engages me. It feels like I'm sitting in on a very slow, melodramatic spat between a couple that's going through the most minor of rough patches. I don't think that's what they intend to communicate -- the lyrics feel like they're trying to be very big about the emotions -- but at the end of the day, the whole thing feels entirely static. I don't think they're going to learn to love again, but then again, the way they sing about it, I'm not convinced they were there to begin with. Not with a song that, judging by the emotions in the singers' voices, could be about an argument over the use of coupons at the grocery store.
#6: "Mirrors" by Justin Timberlake
Watson hates that this song had more staying power than "Suit and Tie," but I'm not exactly surprised. He and I have agreed that Justin's collaboration with Jay Z (no, not that one, this one) is a fairly niche song due to being about looking hot in menswear. "Mirrors," meanwhile, has all of the oozing charm of earlier Timberlake songs. One could argue that this makes for a less distinctive song, and one would not even be wrong, but that's probably got quite a lot to do with why it got to be popular. People like the familiar, and "Mirrors" fits right into current airplay. It's what you thought the next JT song would sound like, and thus you are content.
That being said, it's still almost hilariously narcissistic to have your musical compliment amount to "hey, baby, being with you is the closest I'm gonna get to making out with myself." I know it's intended as an "aw, you're my other half" thing, but the wording is absolutely "I like a girl who's a reflective surface."
#5: "Can't Hold Us" by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Ray Dalton
This song is still awesome. The music video for this song is still awesome. It's been a good year for Macklemore. It's been a good year for us because there's been Macklemore to listen to on the radio. This song isn't controversially political, this song doesn't appear to enrage people who want people other than allies to be heard supporting minority causes, nah, it's just awesome. I really like this song.
#4: "Harlem Shake" by Baauer
So, yeah, this whole trend sort of passed me by. By the time I heard of the concept of a "Harlem Shake" video, the Internet was already rebelling against the fad. Anyway, it's not a very pleasant song to listen to for any great length of time; really, the meme length is about as much as one needs to hear from it. And this is coming from someone who likes repetitive dance music. My assumption is that this made the fourth slot on this list due to the overwhelming number of views it garnered all over the Internet, views which are now tallied in Billboard rankings. Such is the horror released unto us by our own choices.
(Fun fact: "The Fox" by Ylvis is #73 this year, and was on the weekly top ten list when last I checked. You have power, Youtube viewers. Wield it carefully. Maybe get the leekspin song on there next.)
#3: "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons
I do like this song, but even I will admit that it got overplayed this year. There's also quite a bit that's, well, strange about it. Its music video, for instance, every frame of which screams "we never expected to be popular!" And how about the lyrics themselves? Are they about atomic bomb survivors, or is it an ode to cancer treatment, as Watson theorizes? Whatever the case may be, that gasp in the opening verse is still super cool.
#2: "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke feat. T.I. + Pharrell
I'm surprised. Oh, I'm not surprised that this song is on the top ten list. This wretched tune plagued the summer charts, hell, I'm pretty sure it's still charting. It ushered in a fresh era of stars being inappropriate in the (answered) hopes of garnering attention and sales. And it was rapey and awful. Let's not forget that. But, no, what surprises me is that this song somehow isn't number one. When a performance of a song creates an instantly viral image that gets milked for months of press, you'd think it'd be top of this chart. What beat it? Who do I have to thank?
#1: "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Wanz
:D :D :D :D
You know, it's so easy in the tail end of a year to forget all that came before, in the first half, let's say. The first half of 2013 was actually pretty great. We had a new Ke$ha album, we didn't really know who Robin Thicke was, Miley had yet to debut The Tongue Thing, and a rap song about buying neat threads from a secondhand clothing store was top of the charts. Also, my life was going pretty well, so, you know, icing on that cake. I still like "Thrift Shop," and I'm delighted that it's the number one song of 2013.
Really, I've been skimming the whole list while writing this review, and overall the music was stuff I quite liked. I would probably listen to most of these songs again (certain outstanding exceptions notwithstanding). Sure, there's the faint realization that this is the music I will be tormenting my children with during car trips when I'm forty, but that's Future Me's problem. This is the here and the now, and for someone with my musical sensibilities, this is mostly all right.
Oh, and I did end up caving and getting that tumblr, so you can follow me there for my opinions on a wider variety of things, as well as postings alerting to when this blog is updated. Elsewise, I will see you all here again in approximately a month's time. Have a happy and safe New Year, y'all.
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