The Week's Billboard Hot 100 #1

So I watched Todd in the Shadow's latest video about Suit and Tie and Thrift Shop...

and he compared Suit and Tie's quality and themes to Vogue.

Wut. The songs are both about being stylish but are completely different in both quality and theme. Not to mention the mountains of gay subtext in Vogue.

The song is so much better than Suit and Tie.

I have a massive hateboner for Suit and Tie. I think it's middle of the road and boring.

edited 21st Apr '13 2:31:55 PM by Completion

Since this got on the Billboard 100, I'll like to bring up this song:

I'm unfamiliar with Paramore, but it seems like they're known for being a rock band with some attitude. However, I like this song. It's happy, but happy done right. The lyrics are vivid, the guitar riff is solid, and the singing execution is unusual. Sugary, but not in a melodramatic way. It feels honest.

I'm not sure if it will rise on the charts, but it should.

Paramore's had some pretty big hits actually.

• "Misery Business": Basically, your standard girl pop punk song. Easily confused for a song by The Veronicas, but not bad.
• "That's What You Get": Similar, but a bit more restrained, and a song I actually personally really like (or at least used to get stuck in my head all too often).
• "The Only Exception": A love song ballad. Kinda eh, but sung nicely enough.
• "Decode": A Twilight movie tie-in. Yuck.

Also, lead singer Hayley Williams was the featured singer in B.o.B.'s "Airplanes", a song which I despise but everyone else seems to love, so eh.

edited 21st Apr '13 11:53:00 PM by 0dd1

The Twilight movies actually had rather good soundtracks. The movies sucked, of course.

"Just Give Me a Reason" stayed #1 and "Stay" falls to #6. So much for my predictions. However, "Can't Hold Us" is #2.

"Gentleman" ascends to #5, mostly on digital sales, streaming services, and You Tube. I predict that it will rise again once radio picks it up.

Finally, Daft Punk sets a personal record with "Get Lucky", with #20.

Music politics is fun. Sort of. Does this count as music politics?

edited 24th Apr '13 2:50:44 PM by chihuahua0

Wow, Gentleman actually charted.

I honestly thought Psy would be a one-hit wonder in America.

This. The first few soundtracks also serve as a great indie rock compilation.

edited 26th Apr '13 3:23:58 PM by Completion

I just heard "Gentleman" for the first time last night when a friend played it for me. It sounds really dull compared to "Gangnam Style". And just in general. In fact, I don't think I really liked the song at all.

He also played another PSY song that I don't remember the name of, which I liked MUCH better.

I think the main reason as to why it charted is because Billboard now includes Youtube views in ranking songs on the Hot 100.

Neither song is all that great in retrospect.

I dunno, I really liked "Gangnam Style", and I still do. All memes aside, I think it's a genuinely good song. The difference between one and the other is that one is catchy, has some nice hooks, is sung relatively well, and is exciting, whereas the other one just sounds dull, forced, and has very few (if any, since I can't remember a damn thing from it) hooks.

edited 27th Apr '13 6:59:37 PM by 0dd1

I'll admit that it's well-produced, but it's what he produced that I dislike.

Fair enough if it's just that you dislike it.

Gentleman manages the rare feat of being both boring and annoying at the same time. Impressive, PSY. Anyway, I'm afraid that when I look back at Spring 2013 and think of what I was listening to, I'm gonna think of dreadfully boring Piano ballads. Even though I like Just Give Me A Reason (Thanks Nate), Stay is kinda a guilty pleasure, and When I Was Your Man is just blughhhhh... I don't think fondly of this trend. Other things: Am I the only one that noticed that Mirrors jacked the beat from Cry Me A River? Also: If Radioactive charted FAR BETTER than It's Time, and It's Time has fallen out of the Top 40, why am I still hearing that and not Radioactive? Robin Thicke/Pharell/T.I.'s Blurred Lines needs to rise really fast and Can't Hold Us needs to be Macklemore's second number 1.

All right, so this week...

"Just Give Me a Reason" stays at #1.

"Can't Hold Us" stays #2.

"Stay" wiggles back into #3 thanks to getting #1 on the Radio Songs chart. I don't think this will hit #1.

"Gentleman" sinks like a stone to #26, probably due to a drainage in digital sales and a slight leak in streaming views. It's seeing little luck on radio, and PSY's people need to remedy that it they want to see better chart success.

This week's darkhorse and indie crossover is "I Love It" by Icona Pop feat. Charli XCX, which goes to #9. Really, I'm more interested in Charli XCX—since she just uploaded a duet with Marina & the Diamonds.

"Started from the Bottom" is out of the Top 10.

Okay, that seems more like it. I'm still annoyed that it broke the top 10, though.

More like "started from the top, then we fell," amirite?

I'm quite happy that "I Love It" is in the Top Ten. Between that, the two Macklemore songs ans "Suit and Tie", they're the only great songs on the radio.

By the way, I just learned that "Young and Beautiful" by Lana Del Rey charted #82. Her biggest hit, "Video Games", was #91. According to Billboard Biz, it was because of digital sales.

I'm not sure that "Young and Beautiful" will see mainstream radio play, but I won't be surprised if Alt Nation on Sirius XM picks it up.

Well, it is tied to an ultra-hyped up movie, so it may pick up some steam.

Eh, songs connected to soundtracks haven't really done so well recently. Not since their heyday of the late-90s. The last one I can think of is the Bruno Mar's song that was connected to Breaking Dawn, but there won't be something like the Twilight saga for another few years.

EDIT: Rihanna's next single has been confirmed to be Right Now. Predictions to its success?

edited 5th May '13 10:50:20 PM by Completion

Keep in mind, there aren't many films that are this hyped up with an accompanying single lately. I'd say it has a chance.

(Keep in mind, though I'm not exactly that much of a fan of the song.)

And that Rihanna song sounds like pretty much every pop song with minor dubstep elements that's been on the radio in the past year or so (see also, "Sweet Nothing", "The Time (Dirty Bit)", etc.).

So of course it'll be a hit. It's Rihanna. You even need to ask?

EDIT: Featuring David Guetta? Boy, I never could've guessed it from it having the same exact formula as all his other songs!

edited 5th May '13 11:09:47 PM by 0dd1

Haha, same exact thought here. I was mainly thinking "number 1" or "number 1 for eight consecutive weeks". It's so formulaic it's going to get that spot.

Honestly, I'm tired of David Guetta. Let's get him out of the way before Titanium stops justifying his existence.

edited 5th May '13 11:16:56 PM by Completion

is David Guetta man or machine.

That's the real question here.

He's more machine than man now.

I liked David Guetta's first U.S. hit (it was a minor hit, but a hit nonetheless).

After he became notable, though, he started just reusing the same exact formula for every single song he's worked on since (or at least every single...single). And it's gotten really tiring by this point.

But at least he gave us the amazing mondegreen of "I'm living on sexy oven!"