Monthly Report: January Singles
I always liked Tom’s quarterly report posts and I thought I’d just bite that whole idea (not for the first time, either), except accelerate the timeframe a little. It’ll be harder to pin singles to a given month than album release dates, so this’ll be a little loose and just whatever I’m digging at the moment than the albums report. But really I just miss writing about singles regularly ever since Stylus and the Singles Jukebox closed down:
1. Jamie Foxx f/ Lil Wayne – “Number One”
The first time I heard this on the radio was in December, just as I was putting the finishing touches on my ’08 singles list, and was briefly really torn about whether to just throw it near the top or hold off and hope it would blow up in ’09. I would like to think that Just Blaze had an epiphany in the last few months, and realized that his rightful place as one of rap’s best producers was slipping away as he saved all his beats for a Saigon album that’ll never drop and occasionally threw away a good beat on a shitty post-retirement Jay album. At least, that would explain how he kind of came out of nowhere to land his first #1, T.I.'s "Live Your Life," and it seems like he's really trying to make radio-friendly records now without really sacrificing his basic aesthetic. I had high hopes that the new Maino/T-Pain single he did would be up to the same standard, but it's pretty much a rehash of "Live Your Life" with seriously diminishing returns, but the shit he did with the claps on this song is insane. Right now it looks like Jamie's label isn't going to work this as an A-side, and I can't be mad because the current single "Blame It" is also really good, but every time I hear this on the radio I wish it was a heavy rotation smash.
2. Young Jeezy – “Who Dat”
Now that the ’08 is over and I know The Recession was by far my favorite rap album of the year, I can start being actively annoyed that it solid significantly less than, say, Paper Trail and Tha Carter III and trying to figure out why. And I think it all comes down to the singles campaign, which was kind of slow and scattershot for a big A-list rap album – the only advance single, “Put On,” was big, but then “Vacation” turned out to be kind of a dud. He finally got around to releasing a video for “My President” just in time for the inauguration, but really they could’ve given that song a big push the moment the election was over in November. In the meantime, he shot videos for street singles like "Who Dat" and "Crazy World" that were awesome but not really radio-friendly, but I'm enjoying their brief little moments of airplay. The "Who Dat" video is one of the more entertainingly chaotic low-budget rap videos in a while, and I especially love the neon "DA TRAP" sign, the T of which is blurred out in the MTV version so that it says "DA RAP." The chorus really loses something with the n-word censored out, though, there's kind of an awkward silence in the vocal track where those 2 syllables, or really any 2 syllables, could be.
3. Shinedown – “Second Chance”
I just realized that I’ve never mentioned Shinedown in any of my Corporate Rock Still Sells pieces, which is kind of funny considering how totally dominant they are on rock radio the last few years. But really they’ve just never stood out from the pack, even when the pack is other somewhat anonymous hit machines like Three Days Grace and Theory Of A Deadman, and I pretty much hated the band right off the bat when their first couple hits were that "staring down the barrel of a 45" song (true story: I worked with a guy who had that song as his ringtone, shit creeped me out) and a really bad cover of my favorite Lynyrd Skynyrd song. They've slowly won me over with hooky singles like "Save Me" and that one Daughtry sang on Idol, though, and “Second Chance” is their best yet, some massive anthemic shit like a nu-grunge Bon Jovi (even moreso than Nickelback’s recent Mutt Lange-produced records). I have no idea what the song is about but it's just full of random phrases that are fun to belt out all dramatically in the car like "I just saw Haley's Comet" and "tell my mother, tell my father" and (my favorite) "I'm not angry, I'M JUST SAYING" which comes at the big climax of the chorus when the drums switch up.
4. The Veronicas – “Untouched”
This has been out a while but I think it's just now peaking in the U.S. and it took a while to really grow on me anyway. This song is a great example of how you can get really close to a grade A pop song if you have a big chorus and a strong riff or recurring musical theme, but shitty verses can still hold it back. The string pattern is awesome and the chorus has a huge insistent pull to it, but to get to that you have to sit through the most tedious jibber jabbering verses ever.
5. Rick Ross – “Mafia Music”
In keeping with the theme of #1 and #2, it seems like these days the songs artists are releasing as teaser/street singles are way stronger than the proper mass market singles lately. I didn't think Ross had a song like this in him, even when he's had better beats and no guests he's never been this compelling. If he makes a substantial step up in his rapping like Jeezy did in the past year or two, I’m gonna feel kind of conflicted; I at least always understood Jeezy’s appeal and why he had a career even when his verses sucked, but I’ve always rooted against Rick Ross. I was really hoping the whole correctional officer thing would end his career. Still, if he starts making good music, can’t complain about that, because we're probably stuck with him either way (and judging from the proper lead single, "Magnificent," he'll still make shitty songs too). The lines directed at 50 are kinda outta nowhere but are one of the funnier disses I've heard lately.
1. Jamie Foxx f/ Lil Wayne – “Number One”
The first time I heard this on the radio was in December, just as I was putting the finishing touches on my ’08 singles list, and was briefly really torn about whether to just throw it near the top or hold off and hope it would blow up in ’09. I would like to think that Just Blaze had an epiphany in the last few months, and realized that his rightful place as one of rap’s best producers was slipping away as he saved all his beats for a Saigon album that’ll never drop and occasionally threw away a good beat on a shitty post-retirement Jay album. At least, that would explain how he kind of came out of nowhere to land his first #1, T.I.'s "Live Your Life," and it seems like he's really trying to make radio-friendly records now without really sacrificing his basic aesthetic. I had high hopes that the new Maino/T-Pain single he did would be up to the same standard, but it's pretty much a rehash of "Live Your Life" with seriously diminishing returns, but the shit he did with the claps on this song is insane. Right now it looks like Jamie's label isn't going to work this as an A-side, and I can't be mad because the current single "Blame It" is also really good, but every time I hear this on the radio I wish it was a heavy rotation smash.
2. Young Jeezy – “Who Dat”
Now that the ’08 is over and I know The Recession was by far my favorite rap album of the year, I can start being actively annoyed that it solid significantly less than, say, Paper Trail and Tha Carter III and trying to figure out why. And I think it all comes down to the singles campaign, which was kind of slow and scattershot for a big A-list rap album – the only advance single, “Put On,” was big, but then “Vacation” turned out to be kind of a dud. He finally got around to releasing a video for “My President” just in time for the inauguration, but really they could’ve given that song a big push the moment the election was over in November. In the meantime, he shot videos for street singles like "Who Dat" and "Crazy World" that were awesome but not really radio-friendly, but I'm enjoying their brief little moments of airplay. The "Who Dat" video is one of the more entertainingly chaotic low-budget rap videos in a while, and I especially love the neon "DA TRAP" sign, the T of which is blurred out in the MTV version so that it says "DA RAP." The chorus really loses something with the n-word censored out, though, there's kind of an awkward silence in the vocal track where those 2 syllables, or really any 2 syllables, could be.
3. Shinedown – “Second Chance”
I just realized that I’ve never mentioned Shinedown in any of my Corporate Rock Still Sells pieces, which is kind of funny considering how totally dominant they are on rock radio the last few years. But really they’ve just never stood out from the pack, even when the pack is other somewhat anonymous hit machines like Three Days Grace and Theory Of A Deadman, and I pretty much hated the band right off the bat when their first couple hits were that "staring down the barrel of a 45" song (true story: I worked with a guy who had that song as his ringtone, shit creeped me out) and a really bad cover of my favorite Lynyrd Skynyrd song. They've slowly won me over with hooky singles like "Save Me" and that one Daughtry sang on Idol, though, and “Second Chance” is their best yet, some massive anthemic shit like a nu-grunge Bon Jovi (even moreso than Nickelback’s recent Mutt Lange-produced records). I have no idea what the song is about but it's just full of random phrases that are fun to belt out all dramatically in the car like "I just saw Haley's Comet" and "tell my mother, tell my father" and (my favorite) "I'm not angry, I'M JUST SAYING" which comes at the big climax of the chorus when the drums switch up.
4. The Veronicas – “Untouched”
This has been out a while but I think it's just now peaking in the U.S. and it took a while to really grow on me anyway. This song is a great example of how you can get really close to a grade A pop song if you have a big chorus and a strong riff or recurring musical theme, but shitty verses can still hold it back. The string pattern is awesome and the chorus has a huge insistent pull to it, but to get to that you have to sit through the most tedious jibber jabbering verses ever.
5. Rick Ross – “Mafia Music”
In keeping with the theme of #1 and #2, it seems like these days the songs artists are releasing as teaser/street singles are way stronger than the proper mass market singles lately. I didn't think Ross had a song like this in him, even when he's had better beats and no guests he's never been this compelling. If he makes a substantial step up in his rapping like Jeezy did in the past year or two, I’m gonna feel kind of conflicted; I at least always understood Jeezy’s appeal and why he had a career even when his verses sucked, but I’ve always rooted against Rick Ross. I was really hoping the whole correctional officer thing would end his career. Still, if he starts making good music, can’t complain about that, because we're probably stuck with him either way (and judging from the proper lead single, "Magnificent," he'll still make shitty songs too). The lines directed at 50 are kinda outta nowhere but are one of the funnier disses I've heard lately.
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