Saturday, September 22, 2012

2012: Revival of the Pop Single?



“We Are Young,” “Call Me Maybe" and “Somebody That I Used To Know,” -- All apparently number 1 singles this year, according to this AV Club feature.


Now, I was living under a rock, culturally, for most of 2012, so the only one of these I was aware of vaguely was "Call Me Maybe" only because I heard of the tendency to produce parody/fun-sing along videos. So I decided to listen/watch to the Youtube videos for these songs.

1. "We are Young" by fun

It appears to be an funish pop song, from some white guys called "fun" -- novel! Maybe not a "I Want To Hold Your Hand" type achievement, but certainly a welcome development on America's airwaves. Youth's superiority complex articulated.


2. "Call Me Maybe" -- Number 1 single, but more importantly 265,967,547 YouTube videos and counting.

So what do we have here? I was pretty floored -- some filler setting the stage for a triumphant chorus depicting a coy romantic overture paired with that production -- I think it's the strings that do the heavy lifting here. Is it just me or does anyone else see a connection with the ur-female pop song --"Be My Baby" by the Ronettes (no less than Brian Wilson's obsession) -- in that it depicts a romantic overture from the female perspective?

3. Gotye "Somebody That I Used To Know" -- a staggering 320,000,000 + views.

Now this is weird -- a slow-burn break-up song with the strange, arty video that sounds more Elliott Smith than anything common on the pop-charts over the last few years. Also features the female perspective from "Kimbra." Australian. This was the number 1 song in America??? Very interesting. The hook is pretty pop.

All in all, it seems the internet is driving a come-back of sorts for adult (ie not pre-teen) white pop music. We will see if this sticks. Unlike A.V. Club, I don't really see much narrative per se in any of these songs. Compare any of them to the development of "Be My Baby" (or even Taylor Swift's "You Belong with Me") and it us pretty much non-existant, and that is hardly a story-song.

So, where does that leave music made by black people ? A glance at the Billboard charts sees only the least respected rapper of recent memory, Flo Ridda, is in the top ten. Kanye and company are regulated to 12 (for "Clique"), behind Gangman Style(!) for now at least.


As for "Clique," it truly is a great, slithery beat from Hit-Boy (I think he's the producer) -- but it's not pop at all and therefore doesn't sound very zeitgeist. Also, only Jay-Z shows the ability to flow adroitly on it, saying nothing of note but sounding amazing ("Yeah I'm talking" anchoring every line.) This has always been his secret calling card, allowing his collaborations with Timbaland to his the stars. Big Sean says some stupid lines (Kanye can't find a better weed-carrier than this?) while Kanye, naturally, reaches for critics' plaudits by overstuffing his lines with stupid references to awkward effect. Of course, pop-critics identify his verse as best. I don't see this making a big cultural dent.

In what seems like a long time ago, i.e. the early 2000s, rappers did actually appear in pop-love songs (see Ja Rule and Jennifer Lopez's "I'm Real" for example.) Discerning rappers hoping to remain paid might want to investigate reviving this lost art.

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