#(<- said in tone of sickos meme)

[experiencepop]

Week Ending January 5th

10. Burl Ives - Holly Jolly Christmas

Here we see a Christmas song still hanging on the chart after the end of the season (There are a couple more of these). This song is a classic, and appeared in the well known Rudolph special produced by Rankin Bass, however Ives himself should be a tainted figure in the modern American conscience. A contemporary of musicians like Pete Seeger, he sold out his fellow folk musicians to McCarthy. While Ives is not an admirable figure this is a cheerful Christmas tune with secular appeal, so it’s not surprising to see it chart.

9. Brenda Lee - Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree

Another secular Christmas song hanging around on the list shortly after the end of the season. This a more exciting song than the previous with a danceable beat and bright horns. This is also a classic and not surprising to see buoy up to the top of the charts during the holiday season.

8. Bobby Helms - Jingle Bell Rock

It is worth noting at this point that the three Christmas songs we have seen thus far range from 1957 to 1964 in origin. This puts them in a range where baby boomers would either be children or teens when they heard them for the first time. And perhaps that’s why these songs are classics - they’re nostalgia pieces for one of the largest generations of Americans. They’re what people want to hear to remind themselves of Christmases long ago. This of course makes sense as Christmas has become to many a holiday about family and reliving your past Christmases will recall those times that can no longer be had.

7. Happier - Marshmello Feat. Bastille

Finally I get to talk about something other than a Christmas song. I will admit one reason for me doing this project is to understand more about current pop music. And I will admit I don’t really know anything about Marshmello’s music. I know he’s a super popular DJ (EDM musician?) but I hadn’t heard anything. I am aware of Bastille though. I remember hearing Pompeii years ago. It’s kind of a monument to pop excess. It starts with a grandiose chant which pulls back in on the chorus, which to me became the parts that stood out. Sure there’s some impressive singing in the verses, I think the vocalist is competent for sure - but it’s kind of boring. So when something big happens that’s what I care about. Happier similarly has this issue where the vocals are pretty bland but I’m not sure that’s to the song’s detriment. I hear more of the adjustments in the vocals than I do the words. It’s more about tone and how it plays with the beat than anything else. The vocals are clearly not the center of this song. This might be a theme I’ll notice with these vocalist featuring DJ tracks. I do feel like the song is kind of boring, but it probably just isn’t meant to be experienced the way I usually consume music.

6. High Hopes - Panic! At the disco

I have listened to exactly one Panic! album and that was the first one. So I wasn’t really sure what to expect here. And what I got is their brand of pop-punk emo filtered through some of the more modern pop-rock trends. It sounds to me like they’re using more synth these days and the chorus is appropriately huge. Now I’m not going to act like old Panic! didn’t have quotable lines, but the way this chorus is built is more than that. The dynamics of the song start loud, pull down for the verse - fade even more into the bridge then explode into the chorus, a reprise of the opening. This song structure focuses the entire song on one extremely singable memorable section.

5. Sunflower - Post Malone & Swae Lee

This song features two musicians I don’t really like but never the less appeals to me. I’m not saying I love, but I like it the way I like candy, ice cream or any other sweet. It’s hollow and probably not very good for me but it makes me feel a little better for a little bit. Even if you ignore the lyrics this song sounds happy and fun. In ten years I very likely may have completely forgotten about this one - but for right now putting it on feels good. It brings my mood up even if it doesn’t do anything else for me. And there’s no shame. Sometimes I don’t want to be challenged by the music I listen to. Sometimes it doesn’t need lyrical, emotional, or musical depth. It just needs a good beat and a pleasant tune.

4. Sicko Mode - Travis Scott Feat. Drake

I’ve been listening to both these dudes for years and while I’ve started turning on both of them as people and a little as artists, this song rules. Some of the songs I’ve talked about feel huge because of their swells at the chorus, because of tricks in dynamics, artificiality. There is nothing artificial here. The beat/tempo change is a massive attention grabber more powerful than any trick. The Biggie sample is a tiny tool used to huge effect. The beat itself here that shifts around constantly while still carrying solid through the whole song makes this seem like an epic at only 5 minutes long. I’ve heard this called a prog rap song and that totally holds up. I may not love Travis but he’s been doing pretty innovative stuff for a while. I’m not trying to say there’s nothing else like this, but there’s nothing else like this as high up the charts. As someone who tries everything and loves listening to challenging and complex music, I have to remember the context this track is in here.

3. All I want for Christmas is You - Mariah Carey

Remember those Christmas songs before? This is that but for millennials. I believe this song became the most streamed song on Spotify in a single day this Christmas and that tracks. While it doesn’t have the nostalgia pull for boomers it does for millennials. And it’s better than those other tracks so I feel like it probably has a wider appeal any way.

2. Without me - Halsey

I had to check when I started this track if I’d ever heard a Halsey song befoe and I think all I’ve heard is closer. I really don’t like this song. As much as I said about the Marshmello song and the Panic!, that some parts are more interesting than others - that’s where I expected this one to go. And then the chorus came in and barely changed what was happening in the song. So this isn’t a bland song with a big chorus or bland lyrically with a good beat. It’s just bland. I can tell from the lyrics this song is a break up track, or at least targeted at an ex. A quick search says G-eazy maybe. I don’t know who that is. My issue is that the chorus has no teeth. It doesn’t sound angry, vindictive or even sad. She doesn’t sound mad at this person, she doesn’t sound like she’s mourning a loss, nor does she seem like she’s acting to hurt them. The words are just sung in a “pleasant” tone. There’s no pain that would make the message work.

1. thank u, next - Ariana Grande

2018 was the first year I ever heard an Ariana Grande song. And then this song blew up. There were multiple twitter meme spun out of this song, the music video actually added context in a way one really hasn’t in years, plus the song’s really good for a couple reasons. A real emotional depth comes off the vocals in this song that just really was not present in the last one we talked about. This too is a song about ex’s and it really doesn’t have any teeth, because it isn’t supposed to. At the very beginning when the discussion of ex’s occurs the tone is much more of reminiscence and memories. And when we go into the chorus is when we get the title of the song and learn why the tone was that way. Ariana is taking on the popular idea of how breakups work in our culture and defying it. She’s redefining her whole life as a series of experiences that build on each other, rather than full of drama and failure as I’m sure a lot of people saw it. She also through the song refocuses on herself. The entire song while very personal ends up inspirational.

#pop music #billboard #music