Hi, I'm Stellar, and I'm still on a "reacting to throwback popular songs" kick. Today's post is actually kind of similar to last week's, which was 2000s Pop Songs vs. 2010s Pop Songs, except this week, we're taking out the 2010s part. Today I'm going to be looking at a bunch of songs from 2008, and these songs were chosen because they were in this video. I was six years old in 2008, and most of what I listened to back then was country music like Taylor Swift (back when she was country) and Brad Paisley. Still, I like to think I'm pretty well-schooled in most of the big hits from 2008. I guess this could be considered a First Impressions post, because it's similar in format to a typical First Impressions post and there are a few songs I'm hearing for the first time, but honestly, I know way more of these songs than I don't. You know what to expect: I listen to a song, tell you what I think about it, and give it a score from 1 to 10. At the end I'll list my favorites. I don't have anything else left to say so let's just get started.
#1. "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)" by Beyonce
Even as somebody who wasn't really paying attention to pop music in 2008, I knew this song. It was completely inescapable, appearing in countless TV shows and movies and being parodied to death. It has one of the most iconic music videos ever created, just ask Kanye...speaking of, this song also indirectly spawned the definitive pop culture feud of our time: Kanye West vs. Taylor Swift (I mean, if Kanye had never crashed Taylor's VMA speech and said that "Single Ladies" deserved to win Taylor's award, the feud would've never happened). To this day, it's probably Bey's most instantly recognizable track. But I'd be lying if I said it was one of my favorites. It's totally fierce and really catchy, but something about it is just obnoxious to me, and it feels extremely repetitive. I prefer Beyonce when she's both fierce and human, such as on "Crazy in Love". However, the one part of the song that I really love and feel doesn't get enough attention is the bridge. She just sounds fantastic on that part. In short, "Single Ladies" is iconic and deserves its immense recognition, despite not being a song I really love. 7/10
#2. "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay
A couple of the songs I talked about last week also appear on this list, and this is the first of them. I stated that out of the 34 songs I discussed last week, this was my absolute favorite. I just love it so much. I don't really have much to add from last week because the excellence of "Viva La Vida" just speaks for itself. So if you don't mind, I'm pulling the Lazy Stellar trick and just copying and pasting what I said last week:
"Viva La Vida", despite not being my absolute favorite Coldplay song, is still one of my favorite songs of all-time. It is a sheer masterpiece. It has a memorable and gorgeous string riff that takes my breath away, introspective lyrics about a king's fall from grace, an iconic and melodically wonderful chorus, and even a solemnly beautiful outro. The entire song feels larger-than-life and completely epic. I was obsessed with the song three years ago, even making an absolutely horrid cover of it that I sent to my friends and would prefer not to share here. And three years later, that love still stands." I'm just going to end this by saying that this is easily a 10/10 and probably the best song here.
#3. "When I Grow Up" by The Pussycat Dolls
There are also several songs on this list I discovered from Just Dance video games, and this is the first of them. Unfortunately, this song is not one of my favorite songs from those games. In fact it's one of the worst songs on here, honestly. I'm not gonna be subtle about it: this song is extremely annoying. The lyrics are basically about how the girls wanted to be famous when they were younger, and they're really, really shallow. The vocals are also really, really irritating. They're coated in autotune, which I don't have a problem with most of the time, but it's sloppily applied here and it doesn't sound good. I also hate the way they stretch out "be on magaziiiiiiines" and "step out on the sceeeeeene", as well as when one of them starts speaking the lyrics in the final chorus. The beat is also really annoying and messy. Frankly, I think this song is pretty terrible. 2/10
#4. "Touch My Body" by Mariah Carey
I didn't cover this specific song last week, but I did talk about Mariah Carey in general there. Basically, despite my general lack of knowledge of her discography, I'd still probably say Mariah is one of, if not the greatest, singers of all time. Yeah, I know she's a total diva and she has her witch-with-a-B moments, but her voice is just...wow. I just wish this song allowed her to flex her pipes more. She's known for having a huge vocal range, but you really don't get to hear any of those signature high notes here. She only really gets to show off at the end, and even then, she doesn't do nearly as much as what I know she's capable of. I will give her credit for being able to pull of the weird, rapidly sung verses really well. But overall, this song doesn't stand out for me. The lyrics are just generic, occasionally even creepy ("I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN" is way more disturbing than it should be) lines about sex, and the beat is your standard 2000s R&B song. It wastes Mariah's talents, is what I'm saying. 5.5/10
#5. "Love Story" by Taylor Swift
For many people, "Love Story" was the introduction to an artist who would eventually dominate the world. (However for me, "Teardrops On My Guitar" was the first Taylor Swift song I remember hearing.) To this day, "Love Story" is a really popular song amongst my classmates despite A.) it's ten years old, and B.) Taylor Swift has released countless hits since then. One of the most noteworthy things about "Love Story", and something I am far from the first to point out, is that Taylor doesn't seem to know how Romeo and Juliet ends. The basic premise is that she's telling the story of Romeo and Juliet (probably as a deep and meaningful metaphor for her own forbidden love affair), but unlike in the actual play (where the title characters kill themselves because they can't be together), Taylor's lover talks to her father and everything is just peachy-keen. It's a pretty dumb song, but I get why it's held up and is still so beloved. The song is just so innocent. Taylor's voice and the instrumental is so saccharine, the lyrics are relatable to young girls who want to be swept off their feet by Prince Charming, and the entire premise is just cute. I don't necessarily like Taylor Swift at this stage in her career, but I will say I prefer Cutesy Country Taylor to Edgy Bad-Girl Taylor. 6.5/10
#6. "American Boy" by Estelle ft. Kanye West
Oh joy, I get to talk about Kanye West! Considering his descent into madness over the past few weeks (the highlights include supporting Donald Trump, refusing to listen to John Legend's extremely politely worded statement asking him to reconsider his views AND posting the private conversation on Twitter, supporting black conservative leader and #BlackLivesMatter critic Candace Owens and claiming slavery was a choice), I do not want to talk about Kanye here. Even more so, I do not want to talk about Kanye in a positive manner here, but unfortunately, that's exactly what I'll be doing because "American Boy" is great. I discovered this song from Just Dance Summer Party or whatever it's called and I instantly fell in love. It's about a British girl (Estelle) falling in love with an American boy (Kanye), which is a cute and unique premise for a song. The chorus is instantly hummable and sticks in the brain. Estelle sounds super-flirty and breezy over the awesome retro-disco instrumental. And as much as I hate to admit it, Kanye's verse is fantastic, confident but not egotistical (Kanye isn't being egotistical? *gasp*) and just effortlessly cool. Kanye may be a problematic moron, but this song will always be awesome. 9.5/10
#7. "Shake It" by Metro Station
Oh my god, this was my brother's favorite song when we were little. Every time it would come on the radio, he would insist our parents keep it on and he'd just get so happy. Listening to it now that I'm older, I'm realizing he probably shouldn't have been listening to it, considering there are some pretty dirty lines here ("Your body's cold, but girl we're getting so warm, and I was thinking of ways that I could get inside"). He probably just liked it because of the really catchy chorus, which to be fair is a pretty good hook. The rest of the song is kind of awful, with an irritating beat that can't decide if it wants to be rock or dance, vapid lyrics, and just an overall obnoxiousness to it. This is one of those songs that is pretty bad objectively, but I still kind of like it because it's catchy and it brings me nostalgia, even though I forget it exists from time to time. Also fun fact: did you know Miley Cyrus's brother was in this band? The more you know. 7/10
#8. "Circus" by Britney Spears
Here is another song I know entirely from Just Dance, specifically Just Dance 2016. The dance for that one is probably one of my favorites on that game, but the song isn't one of my favorites. Other than "Toxic", which I love, and I guess "Baby One More Time" is okay, I don't really like Britney Spears. I mean, I get why she's so famous and I even consider her a pop music legend, but most of her music just isn't my cup of tea. I think a big part of that is because I don't like her voice. And I know, she's not trying to be an A-list vocalist, but her tone of voice actively annoys me (even if it is fun to imitate). "Circus" has an interesting premise, basically being about how Britney loves performing and attention similar to a circus ringmaster. It's a cool metaphor you don't hear very often. However, I don't care much for the beat (which is kind of annoying, tbh) or Britney's voice. This song's okay I guess, but it's far from my favorite song of all time. 6/10
#9. "Lollipop" by Lil Wayne ft. Static Major
I'm something of a casual fan of rap music, but I can't say Lil Wayne is one of my favorite rappers. His voice just irritates me, and this song doesn't help. This song has so much autotune it makes someone like T-Pain sound human in comparison, and it's just grating. The lyrics are lazy lines about sex with the too-literal metaphor of "lick me like a lollipop". The beat sounds like a really annoying ringtone. Lil Wayne and Static Major (the latter of whom apparently died a month before the song's release, according to Genius. I'd never heard of the guy prior to this but may he rest in peace.) sound almost exactly the same, with the one difference being that Static Major annoys me less. Lil Wayne just sounds horrible on this song. And of course, one of the biggest problems is that the song just seems to go on forever and ever and it feels like it never ends. I don't like this song. 3.5/10
#10. "Disturbia" by Rihanna
I've said it before and I'll say it again: this is my favorite Rihanna song. Rihanna's been huge for close to 15 years now and had an endless amount of hits, which can vary drastically in quality. "Disturbia" is one of the darkest songs she's ever done, and yet it's one of the catchiest. I mean, listen to those "bum-bum-be-dum, bum-bum-be-dum-bum"'s (or however you're supposed to write it). Rihanna sounds fantastic, especially in the second verse when she sings "I gotta get out, or figure this sh*t out" in this raw, angry voice. The autotune is perfectly used to blend in with the amazing production, which is dark yet danceable. I feel like over time "Disturbia" has sort of been forgotten compared to other Rihanna songs, and that sucks because it's her best one. *checks Wikipedia page* Wait...CHRIS BROWN wrote this song? This already creepy song just got even creepier now. Oh well, despite those...unfortunate implications...this song is still a 10/10 for me.
#11. "Paper Planes" by M.I.A.
This is one of those songs you hear in random places but don't know what it's called. Then somebody plays it for you and says, "this is (whatever the song is called)" and you're just like, "OH, THAT SONG!" Genius says this song is about "tourist-murdering passport-counterfeiting thieves", which is dark, but it sounds so catchy that you'd never be able to tell. Okay, that's not really true, because the chorus is basically the line "All I wanna do is take your money" repeated over and over again with gunshots and cash register effects added for good measure...and there's the one part in the bridge where she says something about murder. But still, this is a classic example of a song that sounds happy but has dark or depressing lyrics. I really love the beat on this song, and the chorus is such an earworm. Frankly, the "this song sounds really happy but has really dark lyrics" trope is one of my favorites (which might explain why I like Twenty One Pilots), so this song gets a pass from me. 8/10
#12. "Forever" by Chris Brown
Guys...I hate this song. I hate it because it's a legitimately fantastic song...by famed abuser Chris Brown. I'm a person who values my morals over anything else. If a celebrity does something that severely goes against what what I believe is right, their reputation will be damaged for me, and it could be irreparable depending on how serious the crime is. Chris Brown has violently assaulted Rihanna, had a restraining order placed upon him by ex-girlfriend Karrueche Tran (also because of alleged domestic abuse), mocked R&B singer Kehlani after her suicide attempt, and dressed up as a terrorist for Halloween- and that's just the tip of the iceberg. We'd be here all day if we were talking about every scummy thing Chris Brown has done, so you can look that stuff up on your own time if you so choose to. In my eyes, his reputation is damaged beyond repair and I feel disgusting every time I'm forced to listen to his music. But I'll give credit where credit is due: "Forever" is a really damn good song. Musically, it's a great mix between 2000s R&B and techno-dance music, and it has some amazing, if not a little bit dated, production. The lyrics are about falling in love on the dance floor, and they're actually really cute and innocent (to be fair, this was before the Rihanna incident). Chris also sounds surprisingly sincere. This song was used in one of my favorite scenes in The Office, and you'll know what I'm talking about if you've seen the episode ;). To sum it up, due to the controversial, often violent tendencies of its performer, I feel like I'm committing a sin for enjoying this song. But I do really, really love it...just not enough to give it a 10/10 cause it's Chris Brown. 9.5/10
#13. "I Kissed A Girl" by Katy Perry
I talked about this one last week too. Despite my love of a lot of Katy's big pop hits, this is one I don't really like. I like the pop-rock production and the catchy chorus, but everything about the song's lyrical content is #Problematic. No, I don't think it's problematic because she's singing about kissing a girl and I find that morally despicable. I'm not homophobic, in fact I believe LGBTQ+ people are no different from their straight, cisgender counterparts and it's a damn shame that they face the struggles they do. Actually, I find "I Kissed A Girl" problematic for the opposite reason: it makes you think it's about an LGBTQ+ relationship until you look closer. The narrator of this song is a straight girl who's making out with another girl because she's really drunk and bored. It exists only to be fetish material for guys who find girls making out with girls hot. Katy had the perfect opportunity to actually make an anthem for the LGBTQ+ community (if not a song about actually being queer, a song meant to empower them a la "Born This Way"), but she instead decided to be "risque" and "shocking" and frankly, that pisses me off. The only reason why this song won its battle last week was because it was going against "Look What You Made Me Do" and pretty much every song sounds amazing compared to "Look What You Made Me Do". But still, "I Kissed A Girl" is a 3/10.
#14. "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz
Honestly, who doesn't know this song? This song was huge from 2008-2009 and you can still hear it every now and then. Unfortunately, it's not one of my favorite songs, far from it in fact. I liked this song fine enough as a kid, but now it just bores me. It's just your standard boring acoustic guitar love song. Some of the lyrics are pretty lame ("I tried to be chill, but you're so hot that I melted" is a really dumb line) and the melody is really basic. Also, there's a remix featuring Lil Wayne and yeah...I'd prefer not to hear that. This song just is really dull for me and I'd be happy to never hear it again. 3/10
#15. "4 Minutes" by Madonna ft. Justin Timberlake
An easy way to tell that I'm a millennial is the fact that I'm more familiar with the latter artist on this song than the former. The team-up of these two huge stars probably gave it tons of hype back in the day, but I was six so I can't tell you for certain. Also, I'm surprised this song isn't more remembered considering Madonna and Timberlake are both huge. This song has some really cool beats and a great usage of brass instruments. Both performers do a great job on the track, sounding confident and having a ton of chemistry (despite Madonna being 22 years older than JT). I also really love the prechorus, which has an awesome melody. Lyrically this song is about, I don't know, saving the world, but it also works as a great party song. Surprisingly, the one gripe I have is that the song is not four minutes- it's four minutes and four seconds. It's like, the song doesn't go "we only got four minutes and four seconds to save the world!" You had one job, you guys! Petty gripes aside, this is a pretty dope pop track. 7.5/10
#16. "Human" by The Killers
Is it bad that my knowledge of The Killers is almost exclusively limited to "Mr. Brightside"? I know a few snippets of other songs like "Somebody Told Me" and "When You Were Young", but I've never really heard either in their entirety. I love "Mr. Brightside" and the snippets of the other songs sound pretty great so I feel like they're a band I'd probably like. This is my first time hearing this song "Human" and my first impression is, "Wow, this is a really good song." The lyrics are sort of nonsensical, with the main line "Are we human or are we dancer" being 100% grammatically incorrect. However, I'm able to overlook this because holy crap this song sounds AMAZING. I guess I'd describe it as a cross between alt-rock and new wave and it sort of has an 80s influence. In other words, it totally appeals to my (whatever the auditory equivalent of an aesthetic is). There's this one part after the first chorus where it's just an instrumental break, and that part is so cool. I should probably get more into The Killers, but I'm lazy. 9/10
#17. "Just Dance" by Lady Gaga ft. Colby O'Donis
I love Lady Gaga. Not every song she's released is a 10/10, but I still think she's one of the defining artists of the new millennium. She's creative and she uses gimmicks, but she has the legitimate talent to back it up. "Just Dance" was her first single, and yet it's still my favorite from her. What even is there to say about it, really? It's the perfect introduction to the immense personality and craziness that is Gaga herself. It's the perfect blend of weird (the bridge on this thing is slightly bonkers) while still being an exceptionally solid pop song. Gaga sounds fantastic, even with the autotune (which is actually fitting here) and it's just an instantly memorable and fun little pop tune. Not even a mediocre feature from Colby O'Donis (who?) can take away from the brilliance of it. For me at least, it's one of those songs that will never get old. 10/10
#18. "Love In This Club" by Usher ft. Young Jeezy
I've heard this song in gym class and pretty much nowhere else. It's not Usher's best song (that answer goes to "Yeah!", obviously), but it's still pretty dope (I hate how much I use that word). The beat is pretty of-its-time. The synths, drum beats, and bass sound like your average 2000s R&B song, but during the bridge and outro there's this piano line which sounds really complex and almost like a piano solo. That part is legitimately awesome. Usher gives a smooth-as-always vocal performance and Young Jeezy's part is inoffensive, if not forgettable. The basic concept and theme of this song lyrically is exactly what the title says: it's about finding love in the club. There really isn't much to comment about this song lyrically. One last thing I have to say is that I really like the melody on the prechorus, something about it just feels nostalgic to me. Overall, this song is a 7.5/10. It's a solid song, but it doesn't compare to "DJ Got Us Falling In Love", another Usher song with a similar premise.
#19. "Sweet About Me" by Gabriella Cilmi
There are a few songs on here I've never heard, but this is probably the only song where I also haven't heard of the artist. I've never heard the name "Gabriella Cilmi" in my life, and I've never heard of any of her songs. This isn't even one of those songs I talked about during "Paper Planes" where hearing it makes me go, "oh, THAT song!" Anyways, let's ignore the fact that I've never heard of the song or artist: how is the song itself? Well, it's pretty good. Like the next song I'm going to talk about, it's a fun, pretty catchy soul throwback. Gabriella Cilmi also has an interesting voice and she sings it very sweetly (I know, how appropriate). It's a good mix of sweet but not saccharine, as the lyrics are literally about how she isn't so sweet. I'm not sure if I'll end up looking up more songs from this artist, but the first impression could be a lot worse. 7.5/10
#20. "Mercy" by Duffy
I'm sorry, but I will always and forever associate this song with the So You Think You Can Dance routine set to it. That's one of my favorite dances from that show and I always make sure to watch it whenever I go on SYTYCD binges on YouTube. Of course, that routine wouldn't be nearly as memorable if it didn't have a great soundtrack to it, and of course it does. "Mercy" is a great throwback-soul song, but unlike your average Adele song, it's really upbeat and catchy as hell (and no, that's not an Adele diss. I like her fine enough). Listen to this song once and the "yeah, yeah, yeah"'s will be in your head for eternity. Duffy has a very unique voice and she approaches the song with a ton of confidence, and the beat is a really catchy throwback. I love the bassline. I wish we had more throwback-style songs like this. 8.5/10
#21. "No Air" by Jordin Sparks ft. Chris Brown
Oh yay, more Chris Brown! Exactly what I want to hear! To be fair, he isn't even the main artist on this song, as it's a duet with American Idol winner Jordin Sparks. I'm pretty sure she had a few hits and then kind of faded away afterward. And the theme of praising Chris Brown despite my immense hatred of him continues. Whoopee. This song isn't as good as "Forever", obviously, but it still is a pretty solid power ballad. The production is a little dated, but I do like the string elements. The lyrics are okay, pretty much your standard love song lyrics. Where this song really shines is in the melodic composition and vocal performances. The melody in the chorus is gorgeous. Our two performers get to show off their vocals and have great chemistry, even though Jordin blows Chris out of the water vocally. Her voice is amazing. This is a pretty of-its-time love ballad, but it's good. 8/10
#22. "If I Were A Boy" by Beyonce
I love Beyonce. I think she's one of the most talented and influential artists of our time. So why do I have such mixed opinions on both of her songs here? This song sounds way better than "Single Ladies", to be fair. Beyonce gives one of her best vocal performances ever, sounding raw, powerful, emotional, and goosebump-inducing. The production backs her up really well, with a great blend of acoustic and electric guitars as well as some fantastic backing-vocals. The melodies are also really pretty and sad. If we were judging this song based on how it sounds, it would be like an 8.5/10, but nope, we have to talk about lyrics too. And the lyrics are where this song falls for me. The lyrics basically paint all men as being cheating, horrible people while the women are flawless and incapable of cheating. And like, yeah, I'm all for writing songs about feminism and double standards, but that's kind of despicable. Not every man is going to cheat on you, and women do cheat as well. This just brings me to what I think is one of the biggest misconceptions of feminism: feminism is not stating that all men are horrible and all women are flawless. It's just saying that men and women are on the same level. They should be praised and criticized an equal amount when it is necessary, and neither gender is better or worse than the other. So now that we're done with that feminist rant, let's just say that good music and bad lyrics balance out to be a 6.5/10.
#23. "7 Things" by Miley Cyrus
I was in elementary school in the late 2000s-early 2010s. OF COURSE I liked Miley Cyrus and Hannah Montana! And yet I've actually never heard this song in its entirety until now. I guess I got on the Hannah Montana bandwagon a little late. I remember hearing parts of it some Webkinz video when I was younger, so I guess that's something. Everything about this SCREAMS Disney teen-pop from the late 2000s. The instrumentation is pop-rock, but more on the bubblegum-pop side. The lyrics sound like a cliche teenage girl in a Disney Channel movie wrote them, which I guess is the point considering it's early Miley. It's basically Miley listing off seven things she hates about her boyfriend, but at the end, it's seven things she likes about him, which is cute. Miley sounds as good as normal. Obviously not her best performance, but I do think she's overall an underrated vocalist. This song is pretty much what I expected it to be, a fine Disney-pop song. If you like Disney-pop, you'll like it, but otherwise you probably won't. 7/10
#24. "Decode" by Paramore
Like The Killers, Paramore are a band I wish I was more familiar with. Not only am I massive fans of similar bands like Fall Out Boy and Panic! At The Disco, but I also adore frontwoman Hayley Williams's voice. Seriously, she is AMAZING, and despite the fact that I've only heard a few songs she's on, I'd still probably put her on a list of my favorite vocalists. "Decode" was actually written for the Twilight soundtrack, and it is easily the best Twilight-related thing I've ever encountered. I'm not huge on Twilight, but this song is incredible. Hayley Williams sounds like a freaking angel, especially on that hook. She just belts it out so emotionally and I get chills. The lyrics are about emotional tension in a relationship, and I'm not sure how well they relate to the book because I haven't bothered to read it but they're really well-written. The instrumentation is also really good, chilling even. It matches Hayley's intensity in her voice perfectly. To wrap this up, I'll just say #StellarListenToMoreParamore2018. 9/10
#25. "Got Money" by Lil Wayne ft. T-Pain
This was a top ten hit by two of the biggest names of the era, so how have I never heard of this song? Going into it, I expected a metric ton of autotune because it's Lil Wayne and T-Pain, and that's exactly what I got. I definitely prefer this one to "Lollipop" because it's more of a banger. It sort of reminds me of "All I Do Is Win" by DJ Khaled, another song with T-Pain on the hook. I love that song, so that's definitely a compliment in my book. Lil Wayne's voice is still annoying, but he has some pretty okay bars here. Except for the part where he says something about how girls want to rape him, which...yeah, no me gusta. T-Pain's chorus. T-Pain's chorus is catchy and the beat is pretty good. I guess this song is alright, but I'm not going to excuse the rape line. 6.5/10
#26. "Hot N Cold" by Katy Perry
Screw "I Kissed A Girl", this is the Katy Perry I love. This is a song about a boyfriend who can't make up his mind, and although a first grader could probably write this chorus, it's still so much fun to sing along to. Katy sounds kinda terrible but she sounds like she's having a blast, which is all I'm asking for. The hook is infectious and pop in the best way, and the production is poppy with a hint of rock. This song is just so cheesy and happy-sounding and it just makes you smile. When Katy is good, she's really good at making pop songs, and this is one of her best. Just ignore the fact that it was produced by Literal Actual Piece of Trash Dr. Luke and blast it. 9.5/10
#27. "Womanizer" by Britney Spears
So...two years ago I went through my emo phase, and my favorite band during that time was Fall Out Boy. (Side note, I'm going to rank all of Fall Out Boy's singles from worst to best in a few weeks, so tune in for that :D) This phase mainly consisted of me going on YouTube for hours and watching every Fall Out Boy-related video I could get my hands on, and as a result, I found a video of Patrick Stump and Pete Wentz singing "Womanizer" by Britney Spears in a bathroom with Ellen DeGeneres. Seeing as I loved both FOB and Ellen, I watched this video so many times, and I've never been able to listen to the song the same way since I found it. The song itself is actually one I find pretty annoying. Britney gives one of her most grating performances, especially when she goes for the low notes in the verses. The lyrics are also very repetitive and the beat and melody are obnoxious. But still, I can't get too mad at it because of the Fall Out Boy video. Emo Stellar will never die. 5/10
#28. "Pocketful of Sunshine" by Natasha Bedingfield
This is quite possibly the catchiest, most feel-good pop song of all time. If you can't listen to this song without smiling, you might actually be a robot. Just sayin'. The only other song I know from Natasha Bedingfield is "Unwritten" (which I prefer, to be honest), but I sort of get the vibe that every song she makes is just pure joy. She sounds so unbelievably happy on this song, and I just want to smile and sing along as I listen. This song is pretty repetitive, but that actually helps it in my opinion because that makes it easier to learn the words and sing along to. There are two main hooks in this song, the "I got a pocket, got a pocketful of sunshine" and the "take me away, take me away" and both are so much fun to sing. This is just a cute and immensely likable little pop song. 9/10
#29. "So What" by Pink
Hey, I talked about this one last week! And multiple times prior to that! So yeah, I don't have much to really say about it other than just saying it's awesome. It's the perfect mix of pop with a rock edge, and it's super-catchy. Pink is being Pink here, sounding like she doesn't give a single f**k and being totally empowered and awesome. Self-empowerment songs can be hit-or-miss for me, but Pink has such a great personality that this is easily a hit in my eyes. Plus my marching band played it in our homecoming halftime show this year, so that just makes me love it even more. It's a killer pop-rock song, not much else to add here. 10/10
#30. "That's Not My Name" by The Ting Tings
Here's another song I know solely from Just Dance. Man, those games have done wonders for my musical knowledge. Last week I talked about "Girlfriend" by Avril Lavigne, and honestly quite a bit of what I said about that song also applies to this one. This song is basically a cheerleader chant from its marching band-esque beat to its vocal delivery, and it's very catchy, but it's also really annoying. Something about the way this girl sings makes me want to punch a wall. To be fair, the lyrical message of "That's Not My Name" is a lot better than that of "Girlfriend", because the former is about feeling invisible (something I feel more often than not) and the latter is about stealing somebody's boyfriend. But a relatable topic doesn't take away from how obnoxious I find this song. 4.5/10
#31. "Poker Face" by Lady Gaga
Hello, song I talked about last week! Although I prefer "Just Dance", "Poker Face" is definitely the more iconic song of the two. If I were to pick Gaga's signature song, I'd pick this or "Bad Romance". This one has everything that made early Gaga stand out: great techno production, quirky lyrics, nonsensical hooks ("pa-pa-pa-poker-face, pa-pa-poker-face, ma-ma-ma-ma"), catchy melodies in every part of the song, and a great performance from Gaga. Gaga is an amazing vocalist who doesn't need autotune, but it's used entirely as an effect here and it sounds really cool. While "Just Dance" was a great introduction, it was "Poker Face" that really showed the public that Lady Gaga was a new cultural icon and she was here to stay, whether you like her or not. And she's still kicking a decade later! Also, at some point, I may post the lyrics to that Romeo and Juliet parody of this song I wrote last year, just on the condition that nobody who is in that class is allowed to plagiarize it. 9.5/10
#32. "Gives You Hell" by The All-American Rejects
I used to hear this song in first and second grade. The thing I remember about it is that my naive little self thought they were saying "get you how", which makes no sense. Then I remember this one girl playing it on the bus and saying, "I sing it as 'Gives you well'", and then it started to make sense to me. This is one of the best examples of Fetus Stellar being so naive (another example is how I thought Hell's Kitchen was called Hal's Kitchen and Gordon Ramsay's name was Hal). "Gives You Hell" is one of the most bitter, petty songs ever written. And that's saying something because pop-punk (which this song is-emphasis on the pop, though, because this song is catchy as hell. No pun intended) is, from the little of it that I've heard, a very pissy genre. It's basically this guy ranting about this girl he dated and how he hopes she goes to hell. I like the part at the end where they get meta and change the lyrics to "When you hear this song I hope that it will give you hell". It's sort of annoying, but I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a bitter, spiteful little part of me who enjoys the pettiness of this song. It's sort of like the pop-punk version of "I Don't F**k With You" by Big Sean, and although it's not as fun to scream as that song, it still is pretty fun. 7/10
So now that we've listened to 32 of the biggest hits from the year, I would say that 2008 was a pretty good year for music. Not every song is a 10/10 and there were some pretty bad songs, but there were even more good songs. And even more noteworthy is that the good stuff is insanely good. Songs like "Viva La Vida" and "Just Dance" are some of my all-time favorites, and it felt like I gave a lot of 8's, 9's, and 10's, at least more than I usually do. I added my scores for every song together and found that the average of these songs is a 7.3/10, which is a very good score. Overall, this was fun, and I hope to do this again with another year in music. I'm Stellar in Neverland, and I'll see you next week. Peace!
Stellar
No comments:
Post a Comment