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[Iyouboushi]

So I had an idea for a thread that I thought might be fun (for you guys, not so much for me) in which I found I go through what America considers the BEST OF THE BEST 100 songs of 2010 that appeared on the pop charts. So starting sometime soon (possibly tonight) I will start listening to the songs (starting at #100) and going down the list giving a small review and my thoughts on each. Hopefully I can survive to #1.

 

Before I even get started I just want to mention that my favorite music tends to be rock these days. I really love classic rock of the 80's especially. But I don't like JUST rock. Heck, when I was about 8 until maybe 10 or 11 I listened to country almost exclusively. Now that I'm older my mantra is "if it sounds good, I'll probably like it." I'll listen to anything, even foreign language songs (you guys all know I love a lot of Japanese music). So we'll see how many of these songs I like and how many I'll hate with a fiery passion.

 

If anyone wants to listen and review alongside me, feel free. Though I suspect that no one else on this forum would voluntarily subject themselves to this kind of torture.

 

Below the spoiler is a list of the song titles for the top 100 (listed in the opposite order I'll be reviewing/listening to them). Some of these I've heard before, some of them I have not.

 

Spoiler

#001 TiK ToK
#002 Need You Now
#003 Hey, Soul Sister
#004 California Gurls
#005 OMG
#006 Airplanes
#007 Love The Way You Lie
#008 Bad Romance
#009 Dynamite
#010 Break Your Heart
#011 Nothin On You
#012 I Like It
#013 BedRock
#014 In My Head
#015 Rude Boy
#016 Telephone
#017 Teenage Dream
#018 Just The Way You Are
#019 Cooler Than Me (Single Mix)
#020 Imma Be
#021 Empire State Of Mind
#022 DJ Got Us Fallin In Love
#023 Billionaire
#024 Not Afraid
#025 Replay
#026 Sexy Bitch
#027 Breakeven
#028 Your Love Is My Drug
#029 I Gotta Feeling
#030 Fireflies
#031 Say Aah
#032 Find Your Love
#033 Alejandro
#034 Ridin Solo
#035 Just A Dream
#036 How Low
#037 Like A G6
#038 Carry Out
#039 Haven't Met You Yet
#040 Club Cant Handle Me
#041 Down
#042 Bulletproof
#043 Whatcha Say
#044 Baby
#045 Whataya Want From Me
#046 Mine
#047 Only Girl (In The World)
#048 Live Like Were Dying
#049 Hard
#050 Young Forever
#051 Blah Blah Blah
#052 Bottoms Up
#053 Do You Remember
#054 All The Right Moves
#055 According To You
#056 My Chick Bad
#057 You Belong With Me
#058 Meet Me Halfway
#059 Take It Off
#060 Over
#061 Animal
#062 Misery
#063 Magic
#064 Paparazzi
#065 Tie Me Down
#066 Your Love
#067 Party In The U.S.A
#068 Deuces
#069 3
#070 Impossible
#071 Forever
#072 Two Is Better Than One
#073 My First Kiss
#074 Already Gone
#075 Rock That Body
#076 Secrets
#077 Naturally
#078 Un-Thinkable (Im Ready)
#079 All I Do Is Win
#080 I Made It (Cash Money Heroes)
#081 Stuck Like Glue
#082 Hey Daddy (Daddys Home)
#083 There Goes My Baby
#084 Today Was A Fairytale
#085 Say Something
#086 Sweet Dreams
#087 Use Somebody
#088 Undo It
#089 Eenie Meenie
#090 Right Above It
#091 The House That Built Me
#092 If I Die Young
#093 The Only Exception
#094 American Honey
#095 King Of Anything
#096 Life After You
#097 Smile
#098 Teach Me How To Dougie
#099 Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart
#100 Lover, Lover

 

Due to just how big this list is and how busy I tend to be these days it might take me a while to go through all 100. I'll try to go through them as fast as I can though.

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

Mine:
#100-#095
#094-#090
#089-#085
#084-#080
#079-#075
#074-#070
#069-#065
#064-#060
#059-#055
#054-#050
#049-#045
#044-#040
#039-#035
#034-#030
#029-#025
#024-#020
#019-#015
#014-#010
#009-#005
#004-#002
#001

 

Andy:
#100-#095
#094-#090
#089-#085
#084-#080
#079-#075
#074-#070
#069-#065
#064-#060
#059-#055
#054-#050
#049-#045
#044-#040
#039-#035
#034-#030
#029-#025
#024-#020
#019-#015
#014-#010
#009-#005
#004-#002
#001

[Dead]

I will subject myself to the torture if you provide links and or cd. lol Although it seems I have heard quite a few of these just randomly driving home w/ the radio on.

[Iyouboushi]

I will subject myself to the torture if you provide links and or cd. lol Although it seems I have heard quite a few of these just randomly driving home w/ the radio on.

Yay! Someone to suffer with me! You may regret this decision soon enough.

 

Okay, so here's how I'm going to do it. For each song on the chart I'll be reviewing/listening to I'll post either the song or the official music video from youtube (whichever I can find) under a spoiler (so that this thread doesn't take forever to load with all the videos). I'll review it and then I'll give it a score. To keep this simple I'll stick with the Andy/Kuro emoticon score system.. only I'll spice it up a little.

 

The scoring will go like this (from best to worst):

 

<-> <-> <-> <->

 

With meaning I could listen to that song multiple times in a row without even really realizing (it's that good!), to being "OMG THIS IS GOD AWFUL! SOMEONE SAVE ME FROM THIS EVIL NOISE!"

 

Got it? Good.

 

Reviews to follow in my next post here.

[Iyouboushi]

#100 Jerrod Niemann - Lover, Lover

Spoiler

Oh great. We're starting with a country song? Okay, well, remember in the opening post I mentioned that I listened to country almost exclusively when I was younger? Well, as I grew older my tolerance for country started disappearing. The old stuff I used to listen to is still okay to me but country music in 2010 is just..well, I can't really stand it. But I promised I'd go into this with an open mind and so I listened to the entire song. According to wikipedia, "Lover, Lover" is a remake of Sonia Dada's 1992 debut album song "You Don't Treat Me No Good No More".

 

Lyrically, well, the lyrics sound like a country song. It follows a male who is leaving his spouse/girlfriend/fiance/whatever but before he goes he wants to tell her something. And that something is... she doesn't love him any more and treats him like crap so he's packed his bags and is saying goodbye. Yup. Typical country.

 

Overall it's a pretty bland song. It's basically just an acoustic guitar and a clapping for the drum. Zzzz. It's not the worst, it's not the best.

 

Rating:

 

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#099 Alicia Keys - Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart

Spoiler

Alicia Keys' debut album back in 2001 earned her the titles "best selling new artist" and "best selling R&B artist" and her biggest hit was the song Fallen. That song was everywhere and to be quite honest, it wasn't bad. She's a pianist and she has a strong voice. So let's see how her newest hit (which I've never heard before now) "Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart" is..

 

...what happened to your VOICE?? Most of the verses sound like she's trying to sing while whispering. For some singers maybe this works but not for you Alicia. The chorus sounds better I guess, but gah.

 

Lyrically.. this song is kind of depressing. It's a woman who's singing about having a broken heart (duh). "Why don't you hold me, need me? I thought you told me you'd never leave me." But at least the song has a positive message: she's staying strong and is going to find a way to make it without this guy. At least she's not emo and is threatening to cut herself or something.

 

Rating:

 

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#098 Cali Swag District - Teach Me How to Dougie

Spoiler

The first "learn a dance" song on this particular chart (and hopefully the last). I know nothing about Cali Swag District (except, as he says in this song, he's from the west) and this is the first time I've heard this particular song. I am not impressed.

 

This song is all about people wanting to learn how to do the "Dougie." Why? Because it makes you attractive to the ladies. So learn the Dougie and get laid. Woo!

 

Musically this song is boring as sin. It's basically the same beat the ENTIRE SONG. There's no difference between chorus and verse. Lyrically it's bland and boring. The verses are all people asking to learn the Dougie and explaining why. The chorus just basically repeats "Teach me how to Dougie".

 

So the biggest question is..how do you DO this most exotic dance that will get you laid just by the very sight of it? Well, I am sad to say that the song DOESN'T ACTUALLY TEACH YOU HOW TO DOUGIE. Unless this is it:

 

And for you, you, and you to back it up and dump it!
Put your arms out front, lean side to side

 

In which case, this is the most boring dance in the world. Even Macarena is a better dance than this crap.

 

Rating:

 

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#097 Uncle Kracker - Smile

Spoiler

Our first "feel good" song on the this particular list. In 2001 Uncle Kracker had a hit called Follow Me and I have to admit I liked it. Then he sort of disappeared. I figured he was a one hit wonder. Turns out he had a hit in 2010 called "Smile". Who would have guessed?

 

I don't really want to call this song "bubble gum pop" but it is one of those sappy songs but it's so upbeat and happy that I can't help but like it. It's basically the singer telling some girl that she makes him really happy ("ohhh you make me smile")and that she's so awesome. I enjoy the chorus but even the verses are okay. There's really not much else to say about this song though.

 

Rating:

 

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#096 Daughtry - Life After You

Spoiler

Technically this is the first rock band to appear on this particular list. Daughtry has had a few hits here and there but to me most of them are pretty forgettable. I have heard this song before though, many times in fact, as I listened to the radio while playing FFXI. I'm sorry to say that I'm not a big fan of this one. It's a shame that Crashed didn't come out this year instead. I liked that one a whole lot more. In fact, I'd give "Crashed" a rating but this one.. well..

 

Lyrically.. it's about a guy who broke down and just wants to get home to see his wife/girlfriend/whatever to tell her "I was wrong". He left her for some reason and then realized "there's no life after you". It's not that great to me. Not to mention the whole "I was wrong" thing has been done to death already a billion times over.

 

Rating:

 

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#095 Sara Bareilles - King of Anything

Spoiler

Who? Oh, the girl who sang Love Song (which I only know because work overplays it to death). "Love Song" sounds like a song that was made specifically for commercials. Let's see if "King of Anything" is better.

 

..Okay. It's okay I guess. I like it more than "Love Song" but it's not a song I'd listen to a million times. Lyrically it's about a girl who's sitting in a cafe (or at some place that sells coffee) with a guy who is apparently blabbing on about his opinions on things and expects her to agree with her. She, meanwhile, is staring out the window biting back her tongue ("But I just keep quiet and count the cars that pass by"). The guy sounds like a jerk. He won't listen, he talks way too much, and he tries to force his opinions on others. But Sara, oh Sara, just wants to know who declared this guy a king of anything and is standing her ground..

 

Hey, at least it's not a song about cheating, or trying to teach you a dance move (and then forgetting to actually teach you).

 

Rating:

 

 

 

I don't think we're off to a great start here people. But we'll see in the next post when I review #94 to #90.

[Iyouboushi]

#094 Lady Antebellum - American Honey

Spoiler

Another country song to start us off in this post. I really don't care much for Lady Antebellum to begin with but I promised I'd suffer--er I mean listen--to these songs in full.

 

Now, while Jerrod Niemann's "Lover, Lover" was country, it could probably pass as a pop song (well, twangy pop? I don't know) but this one IS country. There is NO mistaking it. You've got the almost stereotypical country sound to this song. And now you have a female singer who sounds pretty much like every other country singer out there singing about a girl. Gee, what a surprise.

 

It's not my cup of tea. If you like it, all the more power to you. I won't judge. But me, no. I just don't like this song. It's not god-awful by any means, but it'll never be on my play list.

 

Rating:

 

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#093 Paramore - The Only Exception

Spoiler

Okay, so Paramore (for those who don't know) is a rock band with Hayley Williams as the lead vocals. Most of the band's songs are upbeat, and..well, rock. I really like Paramore. But this year she decided to try something more acoustic and ballad-ish and we get this song, "The Only Exception".

 

This song is about a girl who sees her parents go through a divorce (presumably) and decides that she doesn't believe that love exists any more. That is until she meets someone and she wants him to prove her wrong. But most of the song is her saying that she believes he's going to leave her and she's going to have to find a way to make it alone in life. It's kind of a song and the whole tune is kind of sad. But at least she has hope?

 

With that said, the first few times I heard this song (and I've heard it a lot) I really didn't like it. In fact, I used to turn it off pretty quickly when I recognized it. Compared to the other Paramore songs (like Crush Crush Crush and Misery Business which are both for me) it's just so sad and slow. But the more I hear it the more I like it. It's not my favorite by them but it's on my play list now.

 

Rating:

 

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#092 The Band Perry - If I Die Young

Spoiler

Never heard of The Band Perry or this song. A few seconds into it and I can tell you it's a country song just from the way the music is. Wiki confirms it for me.

 

It's a fairly morbid song about how she wants it to be if she dies young. Wait, what? EMO MUCH!? The last thing I want to think about when I listen to music is my own mortality and how I might die young (and how I haven't prepared for it).

 

Anyway, I could probably rant and pick apart some of the lyrics but why bother on this song? There's bigger fish to fry.

 

Rating:

 

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#091 Miranda Lambert - The House That Built Me

Spoiler

Oh come on. Another country song?

 

Lyrics..

 

"I know you don't know me from Adam"
Boy did you get that one right. Who are you again?

 

Okay, okay. It's about a girl who returns to the house she grew up in to reminisce. She tells the new owner of the house about all the various things that happened in her childhood. Why is she doing this? "I thought if I could touch this place or feel it/This brokenness inside me might start healing/Out here it's like I'm someone else/I thought that maybe I could find myself". As sad as this is, it's probably something we can all relate to (or will one day).

 

Moving on.

 

Rating:

 

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#090 Lil Wayne - Right Above It (feat. Drake)

Spoiler

Oh Lil Wayne! If you've heard any of the top "pop" music in the last year or so you've heard this guy. When he's not doing his own music (he had a top 40 hit called Lollipop) he's popping up into everyone ELSE'S music. I swear this guy is everywhere. He also founded his own record lable called "Young Money Entertainment."

 

This song also features Drake, a young rapper who is signed up under Young Money Entertainment.

 

But that's enough about the people. I'm going to listen to this hit, "Right Above It". I'm sure this will be a masterpiece..

 

Okay, listen to the song and ignore the rapping on it. The actual melody isn't that bad. It's actually quite enjoyable. But then we have to listen to both Drake and Lil Wayne. Lyrically.. well..

 

It's a rap song (duh captain obvious!). Most of the song's lyrics are all about the fact he has money and fame. And of course he's putting down the others who would be jealous of him and try to bring him down. And ultimately he says "It's Young Money [...] If you ain’t runnin’ wit it, run from it". For some reason I picture him as Godzilla and people are running away screaming.

 

Okay, so I'm not a huge fan of it. The melody/song, as I mentioned, is pretty good but lyrically it's almost laughably cliche at this point. Does every rap song have to be about money and fame and how you're sooooooooo much better than everyone else??

 

Rating:

 

 

Taking a quick glance at the songs from 89 to 80, I can tell you I recognize a few of them and am NOT looking forward to hearing them all the way through. But I will press on..

[Dead]

My turn. I like what I like musically, (that being rock, hard rock, metal, alternative) and hate just about everything else. I'll use the same rating system as James So expect lots of zomg or suicide smileys from me. Also, Im watching these as well as hearing them so yay for extra torture.

 

first off #100, Lover Lover.

 

As James said, its not the worst thing I've ever heard, in fact it's not that bad. The lyrics while trudging the same old path as always, are especially bad with grahmmer, and a bit repetitive. Hearing this a few times wouldn't kill me, but would definately start to get on my nerves. The video really has nothing to do with the song really. Basically some kids playing around and people moving out of thier house while some lady walks around and a guy plays guitar. whoopee.
I give this the same score as James,

 

#99, Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart

 

I envy James for not watching the videos for these. This possibly is one of the lamest videos and songs I've ever heard. Its obvious that Alicia can sing but it is not apparent in this song. It sounds at first like some crap 80's casio piano song with singing thrown (literally) on top of it. The video at first is just typical fare, her walking about in an empty urban landscape singing alone, then all of a sudden she develops mutant powers and heals a dog out of nowhere. She struts about in a horrible purple unitard and chases some guy in a hood around (even laughably flying with MK movie style bad special effects) everything she does is cloaked in girly pink/purple after effects (these are her powers I assume) and she even gives a craptastic nod to Tron with pinky/purple motorcycle lines. ugh. This song quickly got on my nerves and just kept annoying me as it went on. However for the video's laughably bad effects it gets instead of a

 

#98 Teach Me How To Dougie

 

In the first 5 seconds I knew I hated this song. As I stated before I seriously HATE rap so its only natural that I insta-hate this song. Reading further ahead aparently rappers are even lazier now and they tend to have more than one rapper in any given song. This song features at least 3 different ones all of which grate my nerves in their own way, however the one that really bothered me the one that sounded like he was 12 (and looked like it too in the video) REALLY!? Isn't that some sort of child endangerment? As James said prior, the song consists mostly of "teach Me How To Dougie" repeated so much I was beating my head into a desk to make the pain stop. Video wise, you still don't really learn how to 'Dougie' but aparently its something anyone can do because all manner of life was contorting about like epileptic loose boweled primates. I can't help but constantly think of the Snuggie when I hear this song. Perhaps because Dougie rhymes with Snuggie, and with lines like "my beats are like bublegum so pull one out and chew it" Im actually surprised that they're not all decked out in assorted snuggie fashions. Oh and if doing the Dougie is so damn seductive, then why does it make my ears and eyes bleed so much?! UGH!!!! There are not enough to warrant a decent rating for this.

 

#97 Smile

 

The first song on the list I somewhat like. In fact it really didn't annoy me at all. Like James says, its bubblegummy and kind of sappy, but its not bad. A song anyone can relate to. The video does a decent job of translating that also while being quite possibly the least expensive video ever. (its basically lots of photos of the band and random people having good times) I could listen to this song a few times and not mind it at all. Its even somewhat catchy in a good way.

 

#96 Life After You

 

Another not bad song on the list. While you can't quite relate as much to it as Smile, its still a rather straightforward song that is decent. Musically a bit slow, but it serves well. I'm with James on this, I've heard this song a billion times and none of which are by choice. It suffers from being very overplayed. I hear it at work when I'm transferring callers to other places. I mean its just way over played (like I fear many of these songs will be) I've also heard better from this artist, and while the song is good, it's not their best.

 

#95 King of Anything

 

Right off the bat this song made me think of commercials. It sounds like something you'd hear watching an Ipod commercial or something you'd hear like in an officemax commercial. It just has that poppy attention getting sound to it. Like James said, its not the typical type song, its not about I'm so sad or you left me or I want you back, which is a nice change of pace. The video also fits James' description of the song (quite literally) A woman in a cafe with some guy and she leaves him sitting there. The whole video has this same commercial type feel like I mentioned also. Its like its trying to sell this artist (who I'm not at all familiar with) to you the whole time, and I think it tries a little too hard. As far as the song, its all "WOMAN POWER!" Not something I'd typically listen to ever. But not so terrible that I want to shoot myself.

[Iyouboushi]

If I did these one at a time there'd be over 200 posts in this topic by the time both of us were done. Just be glad I'm doing 5 at a time and not 10 like I originally planned.

 

Anyway!

 

#089 Sean Kingston & Justin Bieber - Eenie Meenie

Spoiler

Oh no. It's a Justin Bieber song. Not only that, he's in a song with Sean Kingston. Now, Kingston had a major hit called Fire Burning back in April of 2009. When it came out it was given a review of "the most danceable single yet" [of the year] And yeah, okay, I can see that. But I don't really think that Sean Kingston is all that memorable.

 

Bieber, on the other hand, is much more memorable. He's memorable as being one of the most hated singers in our recent history. I have never seen the Internet collectively hate someone as much as they apparently do with Bieber. But let's talk about the kid for a second before we look at this song (which I have heard more times than I want to admit). He's 15. He's apparently self-taught for piano, drums, guitar and trumpet (which, admittedly, is pretty impressive; guitar by itself is a really hard instrument to self-learn as I know from experience). When he was 12 he sang a song and uploaded it to youtube where apparently someone saw it and thought that he'd make the best pop star ever. So he has to be good. Right? ...RIGHT?

 

I don't really want to pick on their looks as I'm really only listening to the songs. I'll leave that for Andy (and believe me, there's probably quite a lot of things you could say about both of them). So onwards to the song!

 

I feel the first thing I should mention is that this song's beat sounds exactly like Fire Burning. It's the same song with new lyrics on it! I guess someone out there thought that Kingston's last song was so popular that just copying it would give the same result. Well, it doesn't. Why? Because of the lyrics. Let's look at some of them, shall we? Kingston starts the song for us..

 

Eenie meenie miney mo
Catch a bad chick by her toe
If she holla (if, if, if she holla) let her go

 

Why do I feel like I'm about to witness a torture scene? So what did this alleged "bad chick" do that requires such harsh treatment?

 

She's indecisive
She can't decide

 

Um.. yeah. That's usually what the word 'indecisive' means..

 

She keeps on lookin
From left to right

 

But really, that's it? The crime she's committed that deserves such harsh punishment is that she's indecisive? Well, look at her choices..

 

Girl, c'mon get closer
Look in my eyes
Searchin' is so wrong
I'm Mr. Right

 

Okay, that's enough out of you Kingston. Let's see what Bieber has to say.

 

Cause shorty is a eenie meenie miney mo lova
Shorty is a eenie meenie miney mo lova
Shorty is a eenie meenie miney mo lova
Shorty is a eenie meenie miney mo lova

 

..Shut up. Shut up! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

 

Okay, seriously. While reading about Justin Bieber makes him sound like he's not that bad and perhaps the Internet is wrong, just listen to the kid! I don't think he's hit puberty yet. Oh and I hope you like choruses that repeat the same line over and over because if you don't, you're reaaaaaaaally going to hate this song.

 

Shorty is a eenie meenie miney mo lova
Shorty is a eenie meenie miney mo lova
Shorty is a eenie meenie miney mo lova
Shorty is a eenie meenie miney mo lova

 

..Someone had to sit down and actually write this. Also, Bieber should never use the word "shorty."

 

In short, I liked the song the first time when it was called Fire Burning and didn't have these horrible lyrics.

 

Rating:

 

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#088 Carrie Underwood - Undo It

Spoiler

Country. But you know what? While I'm not a big fan of Carrie Underwood and I really didn't like her song "Until He Cheats" I have to admit that "Undo It" is actually..not bad at all. It reminds me a bit of the country I actually used to like. The melody is nice. However, what about the lyrics?

 

The song is about a woman who regrets being in a relationship with the guy. She wants to "undo it" and go back in time to before she met this guy. However, she does admit that it's her own fault for staying in a relationship in which she's miserable in ("Now I only have myself to blame").

 

Okay, so lyrically it's not the best song in the world but I can't help but actually like this one. Everything that I've said in the previous country posts suggests I should hate this song, but I don't.

 

Rating:

 

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#087 Kings Of Leon - Use Somebody

Spoiler

For some reason this song is still on this list of the most popular songs of 2010. The song was released in 2008! Wow America, you must really like this song. However, I don't.

 

The song's content is pretty much the title. He just needs somebody. That's it. That's as deep as the song goes, really. Sure, he makes some observations that make him sound incredibly boring ("Off in the night while you live it up I'm off to sleep") and makes you go "well, no wonder you're alone" but that's it.

 

Even the song's melody just sounds boring to me. I'm sure there's someone out there who likes this song (clearly, for it to still be in the top 100 after two years) but count me out.

 

Rating:

 

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#086 Beyoncé - Sweet Dreams

Spoiler

Like #87, this song is not from 2010. The song was found on her 2008 album "I Am... Sasha Fierce" but was released for radio in 2009. And, like before, the popularity has not died. Beyoncé for me is hit or miss. Some of her songs are kind catchy but a lot of them are forgettable at best or downright chauvinistic towards men at worst.

 

Sweet Dreams can be considered to have a slightly darker tone than most of her other songs (melodically). And it's okay. This is one of the few that I can see why it's stuck around. Lyrically, the song is basically the singer saying that her man can be either a sweet dream (nice, amazing) or a beautiful nightmare (he's mean/abusive/whatever but she still loves him anyway) and that she doesn't want to wake up (leave him) because she loves him. Nothing we haven't heard before.

 

Overall..it's okay I guess. At least she doesn't sound angry against all men in this one. I think Beyoncé needs to really step back and reevaluate her taste in men though.

 

Rating:

 

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#085 Timbaland - Say Something (ft. Drake)

Spoiler

Like Lil Wayne, Drake seems to be popping up a lot lately. I can't tell you why. Timbaland is sort of similar to Lil Wayne also in that respect. Come to think of it, it seems a lot of these rappers are doing that lately. But I digress.

 

The beat is okay. You're going to learn that I happen to like a lot of beats in rap music. It's just the lyrics/singers that really bug me about these songs. This song is no exception.

 

Lyrically.. uhh well, a guy and his girl broke up and he went on to become famous. He regrets the breakup and just wants her to say something. That's basically the gist of it (at least with one listen through).

 

Again, it's not a total ZOMG horrible song, but it's not one I'd put on my play list and listen to a million times either. It's just... there. It doesn't even really register with my brain. In fact, once I finished the song I almost immediately forgot it. And that's how it is when Drake is involved.

 

Rating:

[Iyouboushi]

#084 Taylor Swift - Today Was A Fairytale

Spoiler

Everyone has a band or a singer that they just.can't.stand. and will immediately go for the off button the moment they hear anything by that person. For me, that someone is Taylor Swift. And to be honest, I don't know why that is. But I just can't stand her music! Sure, I felt bad for her when Kanye West decided to interrupt her and make a meme out of himself, but that doesn't mean I'm going to start liking her music.

 

And "Today Was a Fairytale" was probably her first big hit (or at least the first one I can remember). They play this song at work so I have heard it more times than I'd like (with a lot of raging going on every time I hear it there and can't shut it off). Her music is just so cutesy and innocent. There's no... what's the word? Drama? Conflict? I don't know. It's missing something that would make it good to me.

 

This song is all about a girl who loves a guy and every time he's near it's like she's in a fairytale. That's pretty much it. What more can I say about it?

 

Rating:

 

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#083 Usher - There Goes My Baby

Spoiler

In 2004 Usher released a huge hit called Yeah!. And it's an incredibly catchy song that basically made Usher one of the kings of rap/hip-hop/dance music. He had some other #1 hits soon after that too but as time went on he just sort of lost his momentum. Well, in 2010 he's back. He had a lot of different songs this year and "There Goes My Baby" is the first on this particular list that I'll be listening to.

 

The first thing I noticed about this song is, oh holy crap, USHER CAN SING. I mean, really sing. He's got a really good voice. In today's day and age where a lot of the non-country pop artists are all auto-tuned this seems to be a rarity. This song just works for his type of voice.

 

Okay, with his voice out of the way, what else? The beat isn't that complex but I like it. Lyrically though, it's not a very complex song. Basically a guy is just super in love with a girl. "But Iyou" you're probably going to say, "Taylor Swift's song is exactly the same message! Why do you hate her's but not this one?" One word: Usher.

 

This song is nothing new, I'll give you that, but for some reason it works for this song. Maybe it's just the tune of it. Or maybe it's how it's sung (Usher certainly doesn't call it a fairytale). Or perhaps it's the fact that when I hear Usher I know that he's been through some stuff in his life while Swift has had no real conflict (or that's the feeling I get when I hear her music). So when Usher says how good it feels to call her his girl you can feel for him vs Swift's cutesy almost teenage puppy dog love.

 

Whatever the reason, this song is great while Swift's is so annoying I can't stand it.

 

Rating:
(The first of the list!)

 

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#082 Usher - Hey Daddy (Daddy's Home) (ft. Plies)

Spoiler

It's a double dose of Usher!

 

Okay while I absolutely love "There Goes My Baby" ..this song, not so much. It's not awful but it isn't as good to me. The beat to this song just doesn't work for me. And while the last song was all about love this one seems to be more about just getting into some girl's pants. ("And girl, tonight we gonna do a lot of sexin'")

 

Oh and there's a "I'll buy your love" type theme going on here I see.

 

Isn't that the house you wanted? I'll buy you two of those
A hundred thou, baby? That just too shows

 

A great message to teach the kids.

 

Rating:

 

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#081 Sugarland - Stuck Like Glue

Spoiler

More country. When did the top 100 pop songs start having so many country songs in them?

 

Anyway, according to Wiki, Sugarland is a duo. They've been active since 2003 but I couldn't tell you a single song or hit they've had. In fact, until today I didn't even know of this band's existence. With that said, I listened to this song and Jennifer Nettles on lead vocals makes me shudder. There's something about her voice that really irritates me.

 

The song is another feel good, I love you so much, I'm stuck to you like glue songs. Moving on.

 

Rating:

 

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#080 Kevin Rudolf - "I Made It" (Cash Money Heroes)

Spoiler

Flashback! In 2008 Kevin Rudolf released a song called "Let It Rock" (featuring Lil Wayne, go figure) and it was incredibly catchy and I really, really liked it. A total and definite for me. But who is Kevin Rudolf? Turns out he was a record producer who got tired of producing hit songs for everyone else and thought "hey, I can do this too." With "Let It Rock" I would say he was right. But then he had to go and make "I Made It."

 

This song is nowhere near as addictive or as great sounding as "Let It Rock." If that song is a rock star then this song is a groupie who's trying to share some of the spotlight. This song has a few things that really irritate me (though it's not just exclusive to this song). It has an unnecessary lyric that references the previous song ("I told you to let it rock"), it has a ton of guest rappers (someone named Birdman, Jay Sean, Lil Wayne) -- so many in fact that Rudolf only sings the chorus and the first verse; the rest of the song is sung by guest rappers. Taken by itself the main theme is okay I guess, certainly not the worst, but knowing that Rudolf only had one other huge hit, can he really say that he "made it"?

 

Anyway, melodically.. eh I'm bored. It doesn't have the same energy as his other song. What a shame.

 

Rating:

[Iyouboushi]

#079 DJ Khaled - All I Do Is Win (feat. Ludacris, Rick Ross, T-Pain & Snoop Dogg)

Spoiler

Who? Wiki informs me that this is another producer who wanted to make a name for himself. He's also apparently a radio personality and a real DJ. Huh. Okay.

 

This is probably the first song on the list where we can actually hear the overuse of auto-tune. T-Pain might be considered the father of auto-tune; at least I can't remember it being used very much before he started using it in his songs. And he cranks it up. Auto-tune by itself might be okay in small doses to fix a small pitch problem, but T-Pain uses it so much and pushes it to the point that he starts to sound robotic.

 

This song suffers from the same problems of #80; way too many guest rappers. If it had been just Luda or just Snoop, fine. Maybe even those two together would be okay but four rappers? Way too many. But maybe I'm wrong. Let's take a look at some of the lyrics and see if these guest rappers have saved this song.

 

We'll start with T-pain and the chorus (since that's what the song starts with).

 

All I Do is win win win no matter what
got money on mind i can never get enough
and everytime I step up in the building
everybody hands go up
and they stay there
and they say yeah
and they stay there

 

So all he has on his mind is money and he's popular so when he enters buildings people's hands go up? Probably in fear, like, "don't rob me bro!" (I immediately apologize for that joke.. it can probably come off as sounding racist but I'm not intending that way. I would have made this joke even if it had been Weird Al singing it. I mean, come on. If you entered a building and people's hands shot upwards, what would you think? okay, moving on)

 

Up down, up down

 

What is he doing? The Konami code?? Enough. Ludacris you're up.

 

Ludacris goin in on the verse

 

Good thing you're telling us who you are. Otherwise we'd never know. I mean, you only have one of the most recognizable rapper voices in the country..

 

they saying Luda’s back
blame it on that conjure
the hood call it Ludayac

 

I somehow doubt the hood call it that.

 

my hands go up and down like stripper's booties go

 

Ugh. Next? Rick Ross... impress me.

 

we come together holding hands and holla thug life
we are strapped in all black
it’s like thug life
(all we do is win)
you riding the what
we riding the night

 

Did any of that actually rhyme?

 

Come on Snoop Dogg. Save this song!

 

heat in the Kitchen, pot on the stove

 

You making dinner?

 

water getting boiled, dope getting sold

 

.. oh.

 

snoopy in the hoopty, system overload

 

I have to love Snoop Dogg just for giving us stuff like this line right here.

 

Okay, DJ Khaled.. it's your song, you should send this baby home. ... DJ Kahled? Paging DJ Kahled to the recording booth! Did he just get bored and leave? Usually when a song is released under someone's name that person is actually ON it. I guess he did the music? I don't know.

 

I'm done with this song.

 

Rating:

 

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#076 Alicia Keys - Un-thinkable (I'm Ready) (ft. Drake)

Spoiler

Please let her not be trying to sing like she did in that other song on the list.

 

...Okay, starting off with an okay beat.. no singing yet... oh here we go. Okay, this song is better than the other one she has on this list. Drake's lines are pretty minimal in this song (what, no guest rap this time Drake?) but are kind forgettable as usual. Alicia's parts aren't bad. At least she's singing this time and not doing what she did in the last one.

 

Lyrically.. to me this song is about a woman who wants to date some guy but it might be taboo because of their race. Well, that's what I get out of it. Mainly because of the lines: "If we do the unthinkable would it make us look crazy/or would it be so beautiful". Because if it's not an interracial conflict/drama going on, then it's just a silly song about some girl who wants to date someone and thinks it might be crazy for wanting to do so.

 

Rating:

 

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#077 Selena Gomez & The Scene - Naturally

Spoiler

Another 2009 song that America apparently loved so much that it had to be dragged into 2010.

 

You're probably expecting me to hate this song. But the truth is, it's okay. Not great, not bad.

 

Rating:

 

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#076 OneRepublic - Secrets

Spoiler

If you've seen the movie The Sorcerer's Apprentice from 2010 then you have already heard this song. A lot. If not, you should probably go listen to it. Actually, the song was recorded in 2009 but became pretty popular in 2010 (probably because of that movie).

 

OneRepublic claims to be a "genreless" band which is probably why some people don't seem to notice them. They had a hit in 2006 called "Apologize" and one in 2009 called "All The Right Moves". Now they're back with "Secrets". Some people might compare OneRepublic with Maroon 5 and The Fray. Or maybe that's just me. But I digress again.

 

Honestly, I like this song. Everything seems to fit in it. The cello works in this song for me (I didn't really like it much in "All The Right Moves"). It's nice. The lyrics are simple though but so are a lot of other songs on this list so I can't really fault them for that.

 

Rating:

 

Despite the rating, do not go looking for this song live. I had the misfortune of hearing it. It's very

 

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#075 Black Eyed Peas - Rock That Body

Spoiler

Our first Black Eyed Peas of the list. This is the band that brought us the song "Let's Get Retarded" in 2003 and got away with it. The band's members include Fergie, Will.i.am, and two other guys whose names no one can ever remember (apl.de.ap and Taboo).

 

In 2009 they had a pretty awesome upbeat song called "I Gotta Feeling". It contained so much energy in that song that every time I heard it I almost wanted to get up and dance on the spot (and you know me, I don't do that). So yeah, I don't HATE the Black Eyed Peas. With that said, this song, "Rock That Body" is not very good.

 

Without going and referring to other BEP songs I'll do my best to just listen to THIS ONE and give an honest opinion on it.

 

Right off the bat the song starts with something I can't stand in music any more: stuttering. Even the music sounds like it's stuck. Someone kick the jukebox and wake it up.

 

I want to rock right now. I want to, I want to rock right now. [...] Now now

 

Will.i.am then starts us off on the verses..

 

I wanna dance, I wanna dance in the light
I wanna rock, I wanna rock your body
I wanna go, I wanna go for a ride
Hop in the music and rock your body right

 

Yeah, I should probably mention that Will.i.am is not exactly a poet when it comes to lyrics. This is followed immediately by Fergie.

 

Rock that body, come on, come on
Rock that body, rock your body
Rock that body, come on, come on
Rock that body

 

Oh Em Gee.. WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO HER VOICE?? This is torture. Surely this is not the real song. Someone please tell me this isn't how the song really goes and that this is a joke. Worse that they make her REPEAT that in the same awful voice.

 

Rock that body, come on, come on
Rock that body, rock your body
Rock that body, come on, come on
Rock that body

 

Phew. Fergie is done. Oh my poor ears. Back to Will.i.am.

 

Let me see your body rock
Shakin' from the bottom to the top
Freak to what the DJ drop
We be the one to make it hot

 

Skipping ahead in the song a little bit because so far I think the song really is stuck and is just repeating itself..

 

Go, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Now go oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Now go oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Now go oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

 

Okay we're done.

 

Rating:

[Dead]

#94 American Honey

 

First off, I DESPISE country. Mainly because to me it's all the same sound. Some would argue that (insert any other genre here) can have the same said about it. Being as it may, this song sounds like every other feel good country song out there. American Honey, is actually said numerous times throughout the song (HEY DID YOU KNOW THIS SONG IS AMERICAN HONEY? NO? GUESS WHAT ITS AMERICAN HONEY.) The video is your typical country fair. Lady Antebellum rolls about in some grass some kids play and grow up and fall in love. blah blah blah. LIKE AMERICAN HONEY! because everything is like freakin' American Honey. The song actually says "She grew up like, AMERICAN HONEY" and "I can't wait to get back to "AMERICAN HONEY." Its like they picked a phrase and said lets use country phrase insert-a-tron to write a song.
Perhaps it would be better if the robot sang "AMERICAN HONEY" in robot voice.

 

#93 The Only Exception

 

Okay, I admit that I sort of like Paramore (although I have only heard a few of their songs)so maybe this is slightly biased. Then again maybe not. First off, the song is again a slow one. At first I was expecting something along the lines of 'Thats what you get' but was instantly like 'oh' when the song began. Its not a bad song, again most people can relate to it. The video for some reason reminded me of Scott Pilgrim (the movie) but had none of the cool digital game type stuff that Scott has. I really ended up liking the video. It didn't take itself too seriously and related well to the song. The song itself was alright, however any time the lead singer says the word 'are' I cringe a little. you ARE .... (and its repeated many times throughout the song) Even so there are a few instances where the 'are' is sang in a way that I didn't want to shoot myself. The score this gets would be better if 'are' didn't make me wince in pain so much. It is a very nice song tho, and the video is great.

 

#92 If I Die Young

 

COUNTRY!! AAARGH!! I realize what I hate most in country is the always out of place finger pickin' banjo/fiddle noises that always accompany any country song. (maybe that is why Lover Lover wasn't that bad to me.)This song, as sad as it maybe is FULL of banjo/fiddle, and to me it ruins it. Its a song about life cut short, but like every other country song ever, it just has this out of place sound that doesn't fit the subject matter. I kept wishing she would die. The video keeps promising sad but fakes you out at the end. (and its nigh identical to in look to the Lady Antebellum video.) Everyone wants to roam around in grassy open spaces while dressed well. ugh.

 

#91 House That Built Me.

 

More country.. ugh.. As odd as it is, this one seems sadder than the last one. I've never heard of this artist but according to the video (she pulls up to this house in a big tour bus) she just has to stop by this house where she grew up and check things out one last time. The lady at the door obliges. (really in this day and age? Just let some stranger roam about the place?!) the song goes with the video well, and nothing seems out of place. The annoying banjo/fiddle finger pickin' oddness is gone, replaced with the other bane of country music, sad cat noise twang. It is kept to a minimum and when used serves its purpose. The video while still set in same grassy nowhere as the last two, takes things inside this house where she solemnly looks about remembering her childhood. If I liked country, I would likely rate this song higher. As it is the best I can give it is..

 

#90 Right Above It (feat. Drake)

 

ugh rap. This song insta-annoyed me. Since there was no video for it, I just got to hear the awful awful song. I don't know one rapper from the other so I don't know who has the robot voice that I just want to short out and electrocute whoever is making the awful noise behind it. The best thing about this song is the beat and electro behind the rapping. However the rapping is what completely ruins it. The main chorus (if you can call it that) is the catchiest part, and also the best part. (Scratch that the best part is that it ends, and the silence afterward. There is no greater gratification than knowing its finally over..) Its not really saying much since most of the song is F#($& B#$()* and the usual crap you get with this type of music. Seriously every other word is some cussing something. Even the beat I liked at the beginning began to grate on my nerves towards the end. How anyone likes this is beyond me.