The Week's Billboard Hot 100 #1

But will it make her more than hipster bait in everyone else's eyes?

What, exactly, was her one hit? There was "Video Games", but that didn't get too high. There was "Young and Beautiful", which didn't get too high and was attached to a kind-of-sort-of-forgettable movie. And there was "Summertime Sadness", which, when you get right down to it, wasn't really her song when it got popular.

You sure have a thing against Lana, don't you?

Really, I don't care much about the whole hipster concept concerning music. So what Lana isn't really indie? She sounds good to me, so I like her music.

I'm thinking the Cedric Gervais remix of "Summertime Sadness" (which nature is definitely One-Hit Wonder material). "Young and Beautiful" was more of a hit just among the music community, and "Video Games" was her calling card.

Honestly, I think "West Coast" would be a nice track to shake things up. Her music might be throwback material (and therefore not particularly original), but she's the ideal artist to bring her particular sound to radio.

edited 16th Apr '14 8:00:34 PM by chihuahua0

Honestly, I don't like her music (too melodramatic for the kinds of things she writes about, and I still resent the fact that "Young and Beautiful" gives a completely invalid interpretation of the relationship in The Great Gatsby) and I don't like her image (whoever seems to be marketing her as a hipster dream queen, please find a new place of employment). Both of them conflate to make me dislike her as a performer. I don't care whether or not she's indie. I don't care about her. I don't want to care about her.

I kinda sorta like the remix of "Summertime Sadness", I'll admit (though I think the original version is dreck, and the lyrics are still bleh), but that's about all I can stand from her.

Understanding that we don't want this thread to become "Let's all line up and worship Lorde", Lorde basically does everything Lana does, but better.

Eh, I'd argue she goes about it in a different way, a way that certain works a lot better, and she writes about different subjects and comes from (well, obviously) a different point in her life. And she doesn't seem to be self-consciously trying to attract attention in way Lana is. She's not as much putting on an act of being weird so much as she is legitimately weird. Everything feels too plastic with Lana. Lana is like the wannabe-indie Lady Gaga, except even Lady Gaga does (well, used to do) it better.

I feel like Lana and Lorde are different enough. Lana does slightly grandiose chamber pop (and maybe now with rock influences); Lorde does stripped-down electro-pop. Lana sings about vintage America from a twentysomething's perspective; Lorde is a teenager recounting suburban New Zealand. Lana's all about love, and Lorde not much.

They both deal with a cohesive aesthetic, but both are distinct enough that they safely co-exist in my music library.

At this point, authenticity doesn't make-and-break music for me. Maybe it's because I don't feel it that way, but I enjoy Lana as a fictional character, rather than someone true to her life. The distance's apart of her thing.

edited 16th Apr '14 8:12:24 PM by chihuahua0

Except I'd argue that Lorde isn't weird; her image doesn't seem to show anything other than a very intelligent and perceptive teenage girl.

But Lorde's voice does what she wants it to do (portray the disaffected nature of teenagers), and she does it in a way that doesn't make her sound like a bleating goat.

I wasn't saying they're exactly the same. But they certainly share similarities.

edited 16th Apr '14 8:15:39 PM by ILoveDogs

Hey, intelligence can come across as weirdness—honestly, I feel like the two are often part of the same package—and I don't necessarily see weirdness as a bad thing.

Also, "Except I'd argue that Lorde isn't trying to be weird"...yeah, that's pretty much exactly what I said.

I agree completely with this, though: "But Lorde's voice does what she wants it to do (portray the disaffected nature of teenagers), and she does it in a way that doesn't make her sound like a bleating goat."

The authenticity factor isn't a major issue for me, though it does still bug me. My major issues are still with her music in general.

I messed up the wording. I edited.

As for authenticity, I'm reminded quite a lot of another musical artist who creates an image and comes under flack for authenticity.

edited 16th Apr '14 8:18:07 PM by ILoveDogs

I actually haven't listened to any Emilie Autumn, so I can't judge there.

I have no problem with creating an image or a character. David Bowie did it, and it worked. Lady Gaga did it, and it worked. The Residents do it, and it's unsettling. Lana, though? It just doesn't work at best and is generally off-putting at middle...est, and just plain is terrible at worst.

edited 16th Apr '14 8:22:58 PM by Odd1

Having done so, I think the issue comes when the artist is trying to create a grand point about something (mental illness and asylums for Autumn, America for Lana). If they're trying to bring across a sincere point when hiding behind a persona, it strikes as insincere (Gaga notwithstanding; at least she doesn't claim to be named Lady Gaga at birth)

I think I see where you're going with that, yeah. It honestly depends on the execution, and some artists do it a lot better than others.

Having said all that, though, I confess that I don't hate Lana. She's just...alright.

It's a shame I don't like her music, because Demi Lovato seems like a sweetheart.

"Happy" is still #1. But we got new entries.

http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6062909/pharrell-williams-still-atop-hot-100-justin-timberlake-chris-brown-reach-top

"Not a Bad Thing" by Justin Timberlake reached #8, breaking his singles fugue, while Chris Brown's "Royal" reaches #9, despite (or maybe because) of his arrest.

I hate Chris Brown. 3:

So, Lindsey Stirling isn't exactly Hot 100 material, but she's big on You Tube, and this song has radio potential, if it gets a shorter cut:

Steampunk + music box ballerina = awesome video.

And for a more relevant video, there's "Birthday" by Katy Perry. It's pretty interesting, and breaks the theme of her previous Prism videos by going for a modern, hidden-camera style.

Meanwhile, "West Coast" debuts at a comfy #17. Good showing!

"Fancy" by Iggy Azelea feat. Charli XCX rockets to #18. It's not poetry, but it's a great spring banger. One of my favorites lately.

Also, "Human" by Christina Perri is #31, Demi Lovato's "Neon Lights" slowly climbing in the 30s, the derivative but still fun "Me and My Broken Heart" by Rixton is at #41, and "She Looks So Perfect" by 5 Seconds of Summer prepares to be the next boyband hit at #54.

Actually, there's a lot of songs I want to mention, but one notable mover is "Stay With Me" by Sam Smith. It made a reentry in the 90's, but with its performance on The Voice, it might start a climb to become a strong radio ballad.

As I said before, I wish Demi Lovato made better music, because I am fully prepared to like her.

You can like someone without liking their music.

I meant, like her music. I like her, but not her music, and that disappoints me slightly.

No need to be disappointed about it. Someone can still be a perfectly decent human being and still put out bad material.

I don't like Demi Lovato either...I mean she's alright as a person, I'm sure, but to me she is just a Disney star who isn't with Disney anymore.

If nothing else, at least she's turned out sane compared to most of the other big former Disney stars, and she seems to be defending herself rather well against being taken advantage of.

edited 25th Apr '14 8:07:41 PM by Odd1