Rebecca Black - Friday

"Fun, fun, fun"

Well, it is Friday. I'm not usually one to get excited about viral videos or bandwagons, but this is just too good of a story to pass up. Girl pays a vanity company to write, produce and record a pop song/music video to be put on youtube. Turns out the music video's so unintentionally cringe-worthy, that it begins to rack up views by the millions (just over 16 million as of this writing) and becomes the number one trending topic on Twitter worldwide. Then, after spots on radio stations and TV shows, the track rockets up the itunes chart (#26 as of Friday morning). And the real kicker is, when interviewed Black comes off as a sweet, self-aware teenage girl. I can't help but want to root for her, even with such an obviously horrible song. But, really, is it horrible? After watching the video half a dozen times last night and laughing so hard I was crying, I've now approached the point where I realize that I'm no longer listening to it ironically. I fear it's the point of no return for me. But it does bring me a lot of joy, especially the monotone "fun fun fun" and the infamous "standing in the backseat of the car" scene. But when all the dust has settled, the true beauty of this pop song is that, when it comes down to it, it's not all that different from a Ke$ha single. Rebecca Black has, unintentionally, created the finest satire of modern pop music that we've seen in quite some time.

Rebecca Black-Friday by budwoods



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Buy the single here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Pop Blitz 3/17/11

George Michael - True Faith
Michael comes back with a midtempo track (a cover of the New Order hit) that overuses vocoder effects. He's got one of the best pop voices of all time, so what's with the electronics? And why can't we get something more uptempo (or at least with a better melody)? C-

Glee Cast - Loser Like Me
Glee remains as frustrating as it is entertaining. There's more potential than this radio-friendly track displays, but it's not bad, either. Next time, they need to opt for a more unique sound that capitalizes on their use of choral harmonies. B

Selena Gomez - Who Says
It's a brief (hopefully) pit stop to "uplifting" Taylor Swift-esque material for the Disney star. It's actually not as bad as I feared. The production's catchy enough, but I wish it was in another language so that I couldn't understand the lame lyrics. C+

The Wanted - Gold Forever
They're really building up a strong set of singles. This is the exact direction I was hoping they'd follow -- more electronic, more dramatic and uptempo. It's a promising sign for their second album, whenever they decide to release it. A

Martin Solveig & Dragonette - Hello
If this is what it takes to give Dragonette a world-wide audience, I'm totally okay with it. It's not the band's best track (and yeah, I know it's Solveig's song, but it sounds enough like Dragonette to be classified as such), but even their average material is heads above most everything else. A-

Jessie J - Price Tag
Honestly, isn't the chorus to this exactly the same as Pink's "F**king Perfect" (another song that completely underwhelmed me)? I just don't get the hype over this. It's dull, predictable and forgettable. What am I missing? C+

Black Eyed Peas - Just Can't Get Enough
How can one band be responsible for both some of the worst songs and best songs on the past few years? This isn't close to their low point (that would be previous single, the vomitatious "The Time (Dirty Bit)") but it's no "I Gotta Feeling," either. It's simply alright. B-

Nelson Clemente - No Protection

"I only feel rejection"

I remember blogging about Australian pop singer Nelson Clemente years ago. He'd honestly faded from my memory since then, but I happened to stumble upon the news that he's working on a new album and (even better) releasing a free EP. You can get that EP by heading to his reverbnation page, but I'd like to preview the lead track today on the blog. At his best, Clemente reminds me of old Savage Garden music, though this track is a little more electronic and 80's new wave influenced than some of his stuff. The brooding verses lead into a punchy chorus that's catchy from the very first listen. He's currently soliciting funds to complete his independently released album, so if you like what you hear today, consider giving it a whirl!

Nelson Clemente - No Protection by alienhits

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Download the free EP here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Viktorious - Unrequited Love

"I have to walk away"

I know I already blogged a Viktorious song a few weeks ago, but this whole "Weekends" thing that he's got going is too good not to share over and over. For anyone who hasn't, you've got to go to his website and start downloading these free tracks he's giving away. They've been universally amazing so far. Unrequited Love, last week's track, is no different. Built on top of a famous Yaz (or Yazoo, if you're British) electro sample, it's a stately piece of electropop with a great chorus. The lyrics are not written from the perspective of the person in love, but from the person who isn't in love. It flips your expectations a little, which is pretty cool. Bottom line, though: this guy hasn't created anything subpar. He's pretty awesome.

Viktorious - Unrequited Love by alienhits

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Download a new song every Friday here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Das Pop - The Game

"I don't know whether we're inside or out"

Belgian pop/rock back Das Pop have been on my radar for awhile now. In fact, I think I even wrote about them years ago. They're the kind of band that, for me, releases a brilliant single or album track every once and awhile but can't hold my interest for an entire album. That being said, their new release, The Game, is easily their most consistent. With the first single (of the same name), they've embraced a more electronic sound. It's reminiscent of the great Norwegian band King Midas (are they still making music?), with amazing production that really heats up about halfway through. It's such a cool indiepop sound. Sometimes I feel like this band's "hipness" gets in the way of writing a good pop song. That's not the case here. There's an amazing ELO-type drama to The Game. It's not the kind of thing you hear much anymore, and I hope they experiment with this type of production again in the future. This is easily their best track to date.

The Game by Das Pop

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Buy the single here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.