Report card: 2/3/10

Pitbull f/ Akon- Shut it Down D (So tired of hearing Pitbull on the radio.)

Slipknot- Snuff: B+ (The cool thing is this sounds more like a personal song that would be left as an album cut, yet it's a single.)

Foo Fighters- Wheels: B- (What difference does changing up a bit make when it's not even interesting?)

Agreed on all counts.

Mariah Carey- I Want to Know What Love Is: B (This not only is loads better than her version of ~~"Open Arms,"~~ "Bringing on the Heartbreak" [never heard her version of "Open Arms"] it actually turns a kind of annoying song into something pretty listenable.)

I agree.

Broken Bells- High Road: n/a (Who?)

James Mercer (singer for the Shins) and Danger Mouse's new band. Surprised neither you or Matt had heard about this yet.

Kesha- Tik Tok: B+ (I like it, but it still bothers me how the bridge has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the song.)

Oh really? I guess I never paid close enough attention to what she's actually singing there, since her words are more airy and elongated in that section.

Rihanna f/ Jeezy- Hard: [red]F[/red] [green](The only things hard about Rihanna are probably her nipples from those random nude shoots she's been doing for various magazines in unconvincing attempts to portray a "mature" image

)[/green]

LOL I know I don't take her seriously as an adult yet, and stuff like that comes off as desperate, like when Ciara did it. I certainly don't enjoy this song as much as I do because I believe her. It's just not laughable enough to disrupt any of my enjoyment.

Timbaland f/ Justin Timberlake- Carry Out: B+ [green](Too bad it sounds like a random album cut though.)[/green]

Yeah, it's not quite as good as I was hoping it would be and expecting it to become.

Lady Antebellum- Need You Now: B+ [green](Saw them perform at the Grammy's and I thought they were one of the best performances that night.)[/green]

Agreed.

Selena Gomez & The Scene- Naturally: [red]F[/red] [green](I miss the days when these singers would stay at Radio Disney. My biggest gripe with the song is that this song was so sloppily written that it barely makes sense. i.e. chorus: You are the thunder and I am the lightning, what the hell does that even mean?! The fact that the dude always comes way before you do? And in the next line, she jumps to singing And i love the way you know who you are, which had nothing to do with the previous line)[/green]

If he's the thunder and she's the lightning, wouldn't that mean she always comes quicker than he does?

Jay-Z- On to the Next One: B+ (So far too. The video is pretty damn cool)

Yeah, the video is seriously badass.

Robin Thicke- Sex Therapy: [blue]A-[/blue]

In the two times I've already heard this since grading it, I'm starting to think it'll reach the A range, as it's already my favorite Robin Thicke song I've heard. After hearing this back-to-back-to-back with Maxwell's "Bad Habits" and Melanie Fiona's "It Kills Me" this morning (3 of the best R&B songs out right now), what I wanna know is why is it that as a straight man, I find slow jams sung by dudes generally sexier than slow jams sung by females? (I know Melanie's is a breakup song, but still.) I mean, they always make me think of romancing ladies, of course, but am I forgetting tons of sexy female-sung slow jams?

Hmm...thought I had enough time to pull quotes from Andrew's and Matt's report cards before work, but it looks like it'll have to wait 'til later.

I know the stripper's real name. Stop me if I'm wrong.

friday
Experienced Board Member

Posts: 855

Report card: 2/3/10 Feb 5, 2010 23:15:41 GMT -4

Quote

Post by friday on Feb 5, 2010 23:15:41 GMT -4

Feb 4, 2010 1:56:48 GMT -4 a Nick O! said:

Pop
Jay-Z f/ Alicia Keys- Empire State of Mind: B- (Why was this such a huge hit again? If the guest vocalist wasn't the overrated Alicia Keys, and they weren't singing about New York this song wouldn't have gotten very high.)

On the other hand, I'm kinda stunned that such a "New York-centric" song, if you will, could do so well nationally on Pop. I would've guessed a brief top 20 appearance, at best, figuring Z100 and The Station Formerly Known as K-Rock would've carried the lion's share of airplay, with it dwindling further away from the Northeast.

Feb 4, 2010 1:56:48 GMT -4 a Nick O! said:

Paper Tongues- Ride to California: B+ (With their kinda sound, though, I can easily see this song being a fluke. Hopefully they have at least a couple other good tunes to back this up.)

Haven't heard this one yet, but Alt Nation has been spinning "Trinity" fairly often in the last couple months, and I definitely recommend it. This band is apparently so new they don't even have a Wikipedia page yet, though some investigating apparently reveals their manager is none other than American Idol's Randy Jackson.

Last Edit: Feb 5, 2010 23:19:10 GMT -4 by friday

Mega248
Administrator

Posts: 2,746

Report card: 2/3/10 Feb 6, 2010 3:34:42 GMT -4

Quote

Post by Mega248 on Feb 6, 2010 3:34:42 GMT -4

Pop
Kesha- Tik Tok D (Yes, the production is decent. But her rapping style, which I've heard described as 'unique', is a complete rip-off of "Konnichiwa Bitches" by Robyn and "The Party" by Justice f/ Uffie, just to name a couple. And LeAnn Rimes already used this metaphor back in 2003, and even gave her song the same (phonetic) name!)
Lady GaGa- Bad Romance A-[/color]
David Guetta f/ Akon- Sexy Bitch C-
Iyaz- Replay C
Jay Sean- Do You Remember C- (at least "Down" was catchy, albeit nothing new.)
Boys Like Girls- Two is Better Than One B (I actually think this is the best thing Boys Like Girls have ever put out. BLG and Taylor Swift sound surprisingly good together.)
Orianthi- According to You C+
Jay-Z f/ Alicia Keys- Empire State of Mind A-[/color]
Rihanna f/ Jeezy- Hard B-
Lady GaGa f/ Beyonce- Telephone C (easily her worst single to date.)
Black Eyed Peas- Imma Be D- (I kinda figured "Meet Me Halfway" would end up being a fluke.)
Owl City- Fireflies A[/color]
Jason Derulo- Whatcha Say
Jason Derulo- In My Head C- (The chorus of "Tik Tok" already ripped off "Just Dance"; it's too soon for one song to be doing that, let alone two.)
Timbaland f/ Justin Timberlake- Carry Out B
Jay Sean f/ Lil' Wayne- Down C+
Kris Allen- Live Like We're Dying C+
Britney Spears- 3 B+
Young Money f/ Lloyd- Bedrock n/a
Kelly Clarkson- Already Gone C+
Taylor Swift- Fifteen B
Adam Lambert- Whataya Want From Me C
The Script- Breakeven B (but why didn't "The Man Who Can't Be Moved" do anything here? The songs are pretty similar.)
Daughtry- Life After You C+ (I'm sick of him getting hits by releasing the same song over and over, especially since the first of those was generic as hell.)
Black Eyed Peas- Meet Me Halfway B+
Shinedown- If You Only Knew B+
OneRepublic- All the Right Moves B+
Justin Bieber f/ Ludacris- Baby D (how the heck is this +1100 following a #14 and a #21 hit? I was hoping Ludacris's part would make this song a lot more tolerable, but no cigar; even that sounds half-assed. But most importantly, Justin's voice is more ear-grating than ever in this song.)
Ludacris- How Low (damnit Michael, you beat me to the joke.

)
Drake/ Kanye West/Lil' Wayne/Eminem- Forever n/a
Ke$ha f/ 3Oh!3- Blah Blah Blah F[/color] (Andrew, are you sure she doesn't take her music seriously? With quotes like "I love south. and boys. and boots. and boners." and "I sometimes wish I was a man. I'd have the siickesT trash-stash….", I have no reason to believe otherwise.)
Pitbull f/ Akon- Shut it Down D (I didn't mind his last two singles and I even find a couple of his older songs funny... but this one is garbage.)
Lady Antebellum- Need You Now B- (with room to go up.)
New Boyz f/ Ray-J- Tie Me Down D+
Uncle Kracker- Smile A-[/color]
Snoop Dogg- Gangsta Love n/a (sorta hot Eve f/ Alicia Keys remake!)
John Mayer- Heartbreak Warfare B (with definite room to go up. Probably his best since "Clarity")
Train- Hey Soul Sister C-
Selena Gomez & The Scene- Naturally D (In an attempt to find out who the heck "The Scene" was, I stumbled upon this on her Wikipedia page: "I'm going to be in a band — no Selena Gomez stuff. I'm not going to be a solo artist. I think that I don't want my name attached to it." You don't want your name directly attached to your music, so your solution was to come up with a band name that both includes your name and and sounds incredibly pompous? Speaking of which, is there some contest on the Disney channel to come up with the most self-conceited band name ever? First "Nick Jonas and the Administration", now this.)
Nickelback- Never Gonna Be Alone n/a (but probably between a C+ and a C- given what it's called and who it's by.)
Fray- Syndicate B- (they're becoming quite bland to me, a trend that will only continue unless they change things up a bit for the next album.)
Kings of Leon- Sex On Fire B
Cobra Starship- Hot Mess C (sadly there's nothing on their album as good as "Good Girls Go Bad".)
Rob Thomas- Someday B
Lifehouse- Halfway Gone B
Three 6 Mafia f/ Tiesto- Feel It n/a
Trey Songz- Say Aah n/a
Muse- Uprising A[/color]
We the Kings- Heaven Can Wait B- (the chorus is nothing original, but I like the verses.)
Alicia Keys f/ Beyonce- Put it in a Love Song n/a

Alternative
30 Seconds to Mars- Kings & Queens B (sounds more and more subpar for them with each listen.)
Phoenix- 1901 A+[/color] (but after this is finished at the top, how about letting this drop at a moderate pace and giving "Lisztomania" some attention, pretty please?)
Cage the Elephant- Back Against the Wall B (great album, but this isn't one of the best songs.)
Rise Against- Savior C+ (agreed with those who'd like them to go away for a year or two. I mean, after kicking off their Alternative chart career with two singles that were so different from each other, who'd have thought they'd have such minimal variety to offer otherwise?)
Weezer- (If You're Wondering if I Want You to) I Want You To B+
Pearl Jam- Just Breathe B+ (probably going up too. I wish I'd bothered to check this out sooner than last week, because it's a gorgeous song.)
Flyleaf- Again nfe
Three Days Grace- Break C-
Alice In Chains- Your Decision B-
Breaking Benjamin- I Will Not Bow C-
Muse- Resistance A-[/color]
Them Crooked Vultures- New Fang A-[/color]
Switchfoot- Mess of Me B+
Slipknot- Snuff B-
Chevelle- Letter From a Thief C
Crash Kings- Mountain Man B (I'd say this one has an equal chance of going either way from here.)
Silversun Pickups- Panic Switch A+[/color]
Paramore- Brick by Boring Brick
Vampire Weekend- Cousins A-[/color] (but their new album as a whole isn't as good as the first.)
Paper Tongues- Ride to California B- (see "Mountain Man")
Metric- Gold Guns Girls A[/color] (glad to see them getting a 2nd sleeper hit.)
Breaking Benjamin- Give Me a Sign C+
Sick Puppies- Odd One n/a (but I have yet to hear anything from this band that's much better than "ok".)
AFI- Beautiful Thieves B (so far.)
Manchester Orchestra- Shake it Out B- (this one's just not doing it for me the way "I've Got Friends" did.)
Death Cab for Cutie- Meet Me On the Equinox B+ (but bland and mediocre for them.)
Temper Trap- Sweet Disposition B (after one listen. Should go up if I hear it more.)
Puddle of Mudd- Spaceship F[/color] (well, at least they didn't pick this PoM song to payola to the top.)
Silversun Pickups- Substitution B- (still having trouble getting into this one)
Gorillaz- Stylo A[/color] (I can understand why the reception has been somewhat lukewarm, but nonetheless there aren't a whole lot of songs I've given As to this early on.)[/color]
Skillet- Monster B-
Green Day- East Jesus Nowhere B+
Foo Fighters- Wheels A-[/color] (well I really liked this one and wouldn't have minded a bit more longevity.)
Mudvayne- Scream with Me n/a
Silversun Pickups- The Royal We B+
Weezer- I'm Your Daddy B-
Violent Soho- Jesus Stole My Girlfriend n/a (but with a title like that who wouldn't be interested?)
Phoenix- Lisztomania B+ (but probably in the bottom half of their catalog)
Big Pink- Dominos n/a
Cold War Kids- Audience n/a
Broken Bells- High Road n/a
Spoon- Written in Reverse B+
Five Finger Death Punch- Walk Away n/a
Anberlin- True Faith B+
Cavo- Crash B- (heard it just once. it was instantly better than "Champagne".)
Passion Pit- Little Secrets n/a
Neon Trees- Animal n/a
Julian Casablancas- Out of the Blue A-[/color] (way too soon for this to be tumbling out of the top 50.)

AC
Taylor Swift- You Belong With Me B-
Michael Buble- Haven't Met You Yet B
Colbie Caillat- Fallin' For You B
Daughtry- No Surprise D+
Pink- Please Don't Leave Me C-
Five For Fighting- Chances B
Mariah Carey- I Want to Know What Love Is C
Keith Urban- Kiss a Girl B
Kings of Leon- Use Somebody
Norah Jones- Chasing Pirates C+ (not really, Nick. Slightly more uptempo, but that's about it.)
Bon Jovi- We Weren't Born to Follow B-
Black Eyed Peas- I Gotta Feeling D- (loses another 1/3 letter grade for being so out of place that it makes "Irreplaceable" and "Hot N Cold"'s top 10 peaks look like absolutely nothing.)
Foreigner- When it Comes to Love n/a
Brad Paisley- Then n/a
Katharine McPhee- Had it All B (but boy does that blonde hair need to go.)
Michael Franti & Spearhead- Say Hey (I Love You) A[/color]
Lady GaGa- Paparazzi B+
Alicia Keys- Empire State of Mind C+ (this is just boring without Jay-Z's part, in the same way "Thankyou" wasn't as good as "Stan".)
Lareau- Don't Let Me Go n/a
Jordin Sparks- Battlefield B+
Beyonce- Sweet Dreams D+ (Geez, is this format so shallow that ultra-pop leaning stations really have this much influence? Yeah, Mediabase really needs to go through and kick out about 10 stations that are clearly AC by name only.)

Hot AC
Carrie Underwood- Cowboy Casanova B+
Creed- Rain B-
Parachute- Under Control n/a
Barenaked Ladies- You Run Away n/a
Bon Jovi- Superman Tonight n/a
Snow Patrol- Just Say Yes A-[/color]
Cascada- Evacuate the Dancefloor B
Vedera- Satisfy n/a

Triple A
Dave Matthews Band- You & Me B
Brandi Carlile- Dreams n/a
John Mayer- Who Says n/a
One Eskimo- Kandi n/a
Avett Brothers- I & Love & You n/a
Ingrid Michaelson- Maybe B-
Melissa Etheridge- Fearless n/a
Bob Schneider- 40 Dogs n/a
Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers- Shady n/a
Mat Kearney- All I Have n/a
David Gray- Stella the Artist n/a
Kings of Leon- Notion B-
Jamie Cullum- Wheels C+
Wilco- You and I B
Parachute- She is Love n/a
Michael Franti & Spearhead- Hey World B
Jack Johnson- Better Together n/a
Ingrid Michaelson- Everybody n/a (hot Backstreet Boys remake!)

Rhythmic[/u]
Snoop Dogg- I Wanna Rock B-
Trey Songz f/ Drake- I Invented Sex D (with a title like that it had a 50-50 chance of being hilariously bad or just plain bad. Unfortunately it's the latter.)
Birdman f/ Drake & Lil' Wayne- Money to Blow n/a
Melanie Fiona- It Kills Me C+
B.O.B. f/ Bruno Mars- Nothing On You n/a
Mary J. Blige- I Am n/a
Timbaland f/ Drake- Say Something n/a
Rihanna- Rude Boy B- (Irresistibly catchy, but please give up the "bad girl" image. You really can't pull it off.)
Gucci Mane f/ Usher- Spotlight n/a
Jay-Z- On to the Next One n/a
50 Cent- Do You Think About Me n/a
Young Money f/ Gucci Mane- Steady Mobbin' n/a
Alicia Keys- Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart B-
Usher- Little Freak n/a
Kevin Rudolf- I Made It n/a

Feb 22, 2013 20:14:02 GMT -4 @maeve said:

Beyonce performed at the f**king SUPER BALL and the impact she had on itunes was..um nothing

blahblahblah
Board Veteran

Posts: 1,124

Report card: 2/3/10 Feb 6, 2010 13:04:06 GMT -4

Quote

Post by blahblahblah on Feb 6, 2010 13:04:06 GMT -4

Oh really? I guess I never paid close enough attention to what she's actually singing there, since her words are more airy and elongated in that section.

I meant that in both musically and lyrically. I remember somebody on Pulse was complaining that about Robin Thicke's "Wanna Love U Girl" and while I sort of agree with that, this song totally takes it to a whole new level.

It's not so much that her image stops me from liking the song as I usually try to be more objective about these kinda things, but it doesn't help the fact that her voice still sounds like a little girl's. The juxtaposition of that with the lyrics in the song totally ruins it for me. At least Ciara's image change wasn't as sudden as she was always slutty.

If he's the thunder and she's the lightning, wouldn't that mean she always comes quicker than he does?

Touché, I guess being an engineer doesn't mean you remember everything about physics! See, now the song makes even less sense as there's absolutely nothing natural about that! Unless he has ED, I guess...

That's a very good point. I'm wondering if it has to do with gender stereotypes that it's rather difficult for females in general to sound sexy singing slow jams without being judged as slutty, degrading, or dominating?

On the other hand, I just love Robin Thicke. He can pretty much release anything and I would gladly eat it up, and give it an [blue]A[/blue].

Feb 5, 2010 23:15:41 GMT -4 friday said:

I guess it's just the fact that it's by 2 of the biggest urban artists right now that they could've released anything remotely-catchy and it would've been a big hit. I mean hell, it's a big hit here in Canada too.

I totally agree with this. The first time I heard the song, it reminded me of Uffie right away. Hence, I still consider this song as a guilty pleasure!

Last Edit: Feb 6, 2010 13:10:53 GMT -4 by blahblahblah

radical347
Experienced Board Member

Posts: 590

Report card: 2/3/10 Feb 7, 2010 2:55:33 GMT -4

Quote

Post by radical347 on Feb 7, 2010 2:55:33 GMT -4

Pop
Kesha- Tik Tok F[/color] (Eric sez: 2) I'm at least fairly convinced even Ke$ha doesn't take her crappy songs seriously. Yeah, esp. with that Mick Jagger line. But not taking her songs seriously still can't pull what never was out of the red-letter range for me.)
Lady GaGa- Bad Romance nh, but I'm not going to bother looking this one up as I'm sure it'll be played to death everywhere 6 months from now a la Just Dance/Pokerface/Love Game/Paparazzi.
David Guetta f/ Akon- Sexy Bitch C+ (I honestly expected it to be much worse, although I'm sure it'd be lower if I heard it more.)
Iyaz- Replay B-
Jay Sean- Do You Remember B (I like this slightly better than 'Down'; +1/3, even though I can't tell the difference; -1/3.)
Boys Like Girls- Two is Better Than One B (Should be at least a grade lower, but for some unbeknownst reason I'm really diggin' harmless disposable pop songs these days.)
Orianthi- According to You B+ Nick wrote: I'm sorry, but while she may be a great guitar player and this song may have a great message, the execution is a very boring, faceless pop song.. (Agreed on all counts, but see above.)
Jay-Z f/ Alicia Keys- Empire State of Mind B+
Rihanna f/ Jeezy- Hard F[/color] (I could tell with the dozen-or-so 'uh-yeah-yeah-yeah's' at the beginning that this was not going to work.)
Lady GaGa f/ Beyonce- Telephone nh/dwt (See 'Bad Romance' but Beyonce turns this into a dwt for good.)
Black Eyed Peas- Imma Be nh/dwt (What the hell is an 'Imma Be.')
Owl City- Fireflies A-[/color] (But my oh my, where has this gone on alternative. Not that it really belonged there in the first place.)
Jason Derulo- Whatcha Say D
Jason Derulo- In My Head B Matt says: But it sets a new world record by shouting out the artist's own name, the producer, and the label before the 10-second mark of the song. Ethan says: The chorus of "Tik Tok" already ripped off "Just Dance"; it's too soon for one song to be doing that, let alone two. (I can't disagree on either count; given that, and his previous song, I fully expected this to be at least 2 entire grades lower. I guess the song, for the most part, seems harmless enough & it has a Ruff Endz-"No More" type beat that I can tolerate very well.)
Timbaland f/ Justin Timberlake- Carry Out D
Jay Sean f/ Lil' Wayne- Down B
Kris Allen- Live Like We're Dying C (So this is who sings that song I've been hearing on Mix 106.5 this past month.)
Britney Spears- 3 D-
Young Money f/ Lloyd- Bedrock nh/dr
Kelly Clarkson- Already Gone D (Well, why aren't you?!?!?)
Taylor Swift- Fifteen C
Adam Lambert- Whataya Want From Me B (Oh, Adam Lambert. You really didn't have to spell it like that. Otherwise it would have had much quicker A potential.)
The Script- Breakeven B+
Daughtry- Life After You C+ Ethan says: (I'm sick of him getting hits by releasing the same song over and over, especially since the first of those was generic as hell.) (Oh, yeah.)
Black Eyed Peas- Meet Me Halfway B+ (After one listen. I can see myself digging this more...and then totally burning out.)
Shinedown- If You Only Knew C+ (Lol. First time I heard this I knew I hadn't heard it and I didn't know they had a new song but I knew what it was. Next Daughtry?)
OneRepublic- All the Right Moves C (Sigh. I can't help but feel like this is trying too hard to be the next Apologize.)
Justin Bieber f/ Ludacris- Baby nh & I'm partially tempted to look this up to see how bad it can be but am ultimately deciding against it, so for now it's a dwt
Ludacris- How Low nh/dr
Drake/ Kanye West/Lil' Wayne/Eminem- Forever B
Ke$ha f/ 3Oh!3- Blah Blah Blah F-
Pitbull f/ Akon- Shut it Down nh/dr
Lady Antebellum- Need You Now B+ (Echoing the general sentiments; with as preposterous of a name as 'Lady Antebellum' and as generic of a title as 'Need You Now,' I was expecting something at least 1 2/3 grade worse. IMO, this is what 'Picture' would have been like had it actually turned out right.)
New Boyz f/ Ray-J- Tie Me Down D+ (This, on the other hand...

The video doesn't help either.)
Uncle Kracker- Smile D+
Snoop Dogg- Gangsta Love nh/dr
John Mayer- Heartbreak Warfare B- (But what an incredibly asinine title. In all other aspects it's a perfectly decent song.)
Train- Hey Soul Sister F (What are they doing still having pop hits. Or fans in general.)
Selena Gomez & The Scene- Naturally C (Harmless but slightly grating. Give it another month and it'll probably settle in the D-range.)
Nickelback- Never Gonna Be Alone C-
Fray- Syndicate B- (But I can't help but fear it will go down at least an entire grade by the time I've done with it. Their window of opportunity is about to slam shut.)
Kings of Leon- Sex On Fire B+
Cobra Starship- Hot Mess D-
Rob Thomas- Someday B
Lifehouse- Halfway Gone B- (Well, glad to at least see that they've risen from pop-rock Alt>CHR>Hot AC-dom and managed to re-institute themselves as pop staples for the time being.)
Three 6 Mafia f/ Tiesto- Feel It D+ (Hot The Tamperer ft. Maya remake! Anyway, even though this sucks and it took T. Mafia, S. Kingston, & F. Rida to get him there, I'm glad Tiesto got a pop hit.)
Trey Songz- Say Aah nh/drwtwaanatlt
Muse- Uprising D (Why is this and not 'Starlight' the song that crossed them over.)
We the Kings- Heaven Can Wait B
Alicia Keys f/ Beyonce- Put it in a Love Song nh/dwt

Alternative
30 Seconds to Mars- Kings & Queens B
Phoenix- 1901 B (But WHA--

I could have sworn this sputtered out in the 20s months ago!)
Cage the Elephant- Back Against the Wall B
Rise Against- Savior B-
Weezer- (If You're Wondering if I Want You to) I Want You To B+ (KFOG added this last week

)
Pearl Jam- Just Breathe F[/color] (Ok, you long ago wore out your welcome. It's about 15 years late to try something new.)
Flyleaf- Again D
Three Days Grace- Break B (For now.)
Alice In Chains- Your Decision B+
Breaking Benjamin- I Will Not Bow nh/dr
Muse- Resistance B+
Them Crooked Vultures- New Fang C
Switchfoot- Mess of Me B
Slipknot- Snuff D
Chevelle- Letter From a Thief B-
Crash Kings- Mountain Man C (Could be better. This sounds like a cross between the White Stripes and something that would be on generic Triple-A new music hours. Though Alt. has gotten quite a few of those lately.)
Silversun Pickups- Panic Switch D
Paramore- Brick by Boring Brick C+
Vampire Weekend- Cousins F[/color] (I don't get it. Who exactly are they trying to appeal to? And why is it working? #1 on Billboard?!?!)
Paper Tongues- Ride to California B- (Could go either way here too. There used to be too many of these, but we haven't had a California song in awhile.)
Metric- Gold Guns Girls C+ (In this particular case the sum of the parts is not greater than the whole. It just doesn't piece together right. Although for some reason I'm rooting for it. Probably because as Ethan said, it's nice to see this band get a second sleeper hit.)
Breaking Benjamin- Give Me a Sign nh/dr
Sick Puppies- Odd One C Could go either way too but I had trouble forcing myself to sit through an entire listen before going onto the next song I had to look up.)
AFI- Beautiful Thieves B
Manchester Orchestra- Shake it Out C
Death Cab for Cutie- Meet Me On the Equinox A-[/color]
Temper Trap- Sweet Disposition A[/color]
Puddle of Mudd- Spaceship B+ (Well, it's good to know I can still count on every third or so song from these guys to be ridiculously hilariously bad. With a ridiculously hilariously bad video to boot.)
Silversun Pickups- Substitution A-[/color]
Gorillaz- Stylo A[/color]
Skillet- Monster C
Green Day- East Jesus Nowhere C-
Foo Fighters- Wheels A[/color]
Mudvayne- Scream with Me nh/dr
Silversun Pickups- The Royal We D (Sigh. I really want to like this, but I don't see the point in trying with them anymore.)
Weezer- I'm Your Daddy B- for now
Violent Soho- Jesus Stole My Girlfriend B+ (Live 105 DJ: "And that wasn't Jesus the Christ that stole his girlfriend, it was Jesus the Day-laborer

)
Phoenix- Lisztomania B+
Big Pink- Dominos A[/color]
Cold War Kids- Audience A+[/color]
Broken Bells- High Road B+ (Wow. I had heard this before that Nick wrote it was the Shins dude and Danger Mouse, but had I known that before, this sounds nothing like I would have expected. Still not a bad song.)
Spoon- Written in Reverse B+
Five Finger Death Punch- Walk Away nh/dr
Anberlin- True Faith A+[/color] (I hope Feel Good Drag doesn't shut this one out like it did Breaking

)
Cavo- Crash nh/dr
Passion Pit- Little Secrets A-[/color] (I am currently digging this but I can't help but worry that this is going to burn out on me in a few months like The Reeling did)
Neon Trees- Animal B+ (Vocalist has a Matthew Bellamy/Morrissey kind of thing going on. I like.)
Kulian Casablancas (Kulian? You mean Julian? )[/i] - Out of the Blue A-[/color] (Only serious flaw is the first verse tries noticeably too hard.)

AC
Taylor Swift- You Belong With Me B
Michael Buble- Haven't Met You Yet D Michael wrote: (Eh, the uptempo pop sound just isn't a good one for him, I think.) (Yep. Not that I think he's that much worse than usual, but something is off.)
Colbie Caillat- Fallin' For You B- (At least this crossover song actually belongs here.)
Daughtry- No Surprise D
Pink- Please Don't Leave Me D
Five For Fighting- Chances B+
Mariah Carey- I Want to Know What Love Is D (Echoing Matt's sentiments on Kirk's here.

)
Keith Urban- Kiss a Girl C-, I guess
Kings of Leon- Use Somebody A-[/color]
Norah Jones- Chasing Pirates C+ Nick wrote: (I hear it's way different for her, though.) (Not really. She uses a different instrument, but it's just as bland as even more repetitive than anything else she's ever done.)
Bon Jovi- We Weren't Born to Follow B
Black Eyed Peas- I Gotta Feeling D (Ok, I agree that this doesn't belong here, but really, I don't think it's any more out of place than Please Don't Leave Me/Hot N Cold/Use Somebody/Get the Party Started/Paparazzi/Hips Don't Lie/half of everything else that's hit this chart the past few years.)
Foreigner- When it Comes to Love B+ (Ha. The vocalist is a bit rusty, but otherwise it's not half bad. I might chart this.)
Brad Paisley- Then nh/dr
Katharine McPhee- Had it All nh/dr
Michael Franti & Spearhead- Say Hey (I Love You) F[/color]
Lady GaGa- Paparazzi B
Alicia Keys- Empire State of Mind nh/dr
Lareau- Don't Let Me Go nh/dr
Jordin Sparks- Battlefield D
Beyonce- Sweet Dreams F[/color]

Hot AC
Carrie Underwood- Cowboy Casanova D (She has potential but this and Before He Cheats have been such garbage.)
Creed- Rain B+ (Good for them. This song might as well have been made for Hot AC.)
Parachute- Under Control D+
Barenaked Ladies- You Run Away [/color=blue]A-[/b][/color] (Sadly, this is probably going to get brushed aside & forgotten for good just like every BnL song except for One Week, Pinch Me, If I Had a Million Dollars, & The Old Apartment.)
Bon Jovi- Superman Tonight nh/dr
Snow Patrol- Just Say Yes A+
Cascada- Evacuate the Dancefloor C
Vedera- Satisfy C- (Halfway through this entirely droll and uninteresting song and video I realized her voice is actually very good.)

Triple A
Dave Matthews Band- You & Me D
Brandi Carlile- Dreams C (I do not get the point of Brandi Carlile.)
John Mayer- Who Says F[/color]
One Eskimo- Kandi B- (But they did not need to do an entire concept world tour a la One Giant Leap just to make songs like this.)
Avett Brothers- I & Love & You C+
Ingrid Michaelson- Maybe C+
Melissa Etheridge- Fearless A- (This song by no means sets any sort of standard whatsoever. But she seems to have reconciled the fact that she will never be popular again except Triple A (and the global warming/breast cancer/lesbian crowd) and as such she's having fun with it and milking it for all it's worth, which is not much.)
Bob Schneider- 40 Dogs A-[/color] (If I didn't have to look so hard to find it and go through about 20 live versions before I actually found the real one, it probably would not have a minus by now)
Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers- Shady Esperanto & the Young Hearts B+
Mat Kearney- All I Have B (I loved this initially for the same reason as "Closer to Love" & it's going to crash and burn on me for the same reason that did)
David Gray- Stella the Artist B (David Gray has not been too radio-friendly with the names of his singles from this album.)
Kings of Leon- Notion B+
Jamie Cullum- Wheels A (Hot Foo Fighters remake! Well, that would have been cool.)
Wilco- You and I C
Parachute- She is Love D
Michael Franti & Spearhead- Hey World D (The inspo-propaganda Michael Franti is back.

Not that his one-song departure from that was much better...or better at all. And apparently there are two versions of this, which sound nothing alike, but are both deserving of D's.)
Jack Johnson- Better Together B
Ingrid Michaelson- Everybody B- (Could go either way, but most likely down)

i hope i never forget that i first heard the news that bin laden was dead on grindr.

a Nick O!
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Report card: 2/3/10 Feb 8, 2010 4:41:06 GMT -4

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Post by a Nick O! on Feb 8, 2010 4:41:06 GMT -4

Broken Bells- High Road nh (Part 4 of 5: Who?!)

Wait a second, Matt. I just noticed you knew all along who these guys were. You sure knew two weeks ago...

Jan 19, 2010 14:00:27 GMT -4 @Matt4319 said:

Top 50 at Alternative:

56 48 BROKEN BELLS High Road 153 106 47 0.689

This is a collaboration between James Mercer (of the Shins) and Danger Mouse.

I know the stripper's real name. Stop me if I'm wrong.

mtm4319
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Report card: 2/3/10 Feb 8, 2010 12:35:51 GMT -4

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Post by mtm4319 on Feb 8, 2010 12:35:51 GMT -4

That's all you had to say about my comments? (I actually did remember that post after the fact, but figured I'd let it stand -- because I didn't remember it until after the fact. I had to research to even find out that fact about the group.)

Last Edit: Feb 8, 2010 12:36:12 GMT -4 by mtm4319

A Typical Pulse Poster:

evanescence0:
How the hell do you have time to play a song 700 times in a week? You realize that's almost 6 hours a day, right?

a Nick O!
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Report card: 2/3/10 Feb 9, 2010 5:54:57 GMT -4

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Post by a Nick O! on Feb 9, 2010 5:54:57 GMT -4

Feb 5, 2010 2:54:57 GMT -4 WotUNeed said:

Kesha- Tik Tok D- (My mother asked me to put this on her iPod, and this makes me laugh. Positive association for this song.)

Feb 5, 2010 2:54:57 GMT -4 WotUNeed said:

Trey Songz- Say Aah n/a (But I don't see why they didn't try to cross Trey Songz over earlier.)

They did. "Can't Help But Wait" spent 5 weeks in the Top 50 and peaked at #41 at the beginning of 2008.

Feb 5, 2010 2:54:57 GMT -4 WotUNeed said:

50 Cent- Do You Think About Me B+(It feels so wrong enjoying new 50 Cent in 2010.)

Timbaland f/ Justin Timberlake- Carry Out C- (I'm not a fan of the food similes/metaphors. Unfortunately, these make up the entire song.)

My favorite part of the song is Justin self-harmonizing when all the instruments drop out during the second pre-chorus (I think), where it goes "...your. way. fore. play. before. I feed your..." (That and the line where Justin says "Now is it fulla myself to want you fulla me?"

Ohhh...you can totally take that at least two different ways...

)

Young Money f/ Lloyd- Bedrock B+ (Rather endearing for a song that revolves around a line that 99 out of 100 girls would

at, if not slap someone for.)

Three 6 Mafia f/ Tiesto- Feel It nh (But what the hell?! Three 6 Mafia and Tiesto?!?!)

This was only the logical conclusion if you ever heard their singles from the past 2 years, like "Lolli Lolli (Pop That Body)" and "Shake My."

Rise Against- Savior B (Can you do us all a favor and go away for about 2 years? Seriously, we'll welcome you back... in 2 years.)

Agree 100%.

Flyleaf- Again A- (I'm pleasantly surprised, but stunned at the same time that this is still going... and with the largest bullet in the top 10.)

I'm behind the song, I just don't want it to get beyond like, #7, because it's too repetitive and commercial.

Switchfoot- Mess of Me A- (You'd think a group that nabbed 3 of my 30 favorite songs of the past decade, who unexpectedly returned from near-commercial oblivion with a hit as big as anything since their breakthrough, would be spending multiple weeks at #1 on my chart. Not quite so, but I'm obviously thrilled at their rock-radio resurgence.)

It's weird to hear a Christian crossover band that hasn't had a hit in 5 years get medium-to-heavy rotation on my Active-leaning Alt station, considering the bulk of its company. Especially since you'd never hear any of their 3 biggest songs on the station anymore. (Except for maybe a stray spin for "Meant to Live" once a year, if that.)

Gorillaz- Stylo B (but I can't listen to it anywhere on YouTube. Thanks, EMI, you assholes.)

All Access has it. That's the only place I've heard it.

Skillet- Monster B- (Of course it's their biggest hit ever. It's the same song as "Animal I Have Become".)

Yup.

Mariah Carey- I Want to Know What Love Is C- (Kirk, are you sure we're listening to the same song?)

Maybe I need to give the original another chance and then compare them side by side, but for as overblown and cheesy as Foreigner's version is, I totally see where Kirk's coming from.

Meant to squeeze in comments on some of Davey's quotes, but it's way too late for that tonight.

I know the stripper's real name. Stop me if I'm wrong.

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Report card: 2/3/10 Feb 9, 2010 20:37:01 GMT -4

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Post by halo19 on Feb 9, 2010 20:37:01 GMT -4

I'll say that Nick got the point for "IWKWLI," but also, I'd rather hear any vocalist sing a song that is not Lou Gramm. I get angry when I hear his voice, and obviously Foreigner is not intended to do that for anybody. I realize that the verses are similar, but she could have made the chorus more over-dramatic if she wanted to be more faithful to the initial arrangement.

mtm4319
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Report card: 2/3/10 Feb 10, 2010 1:06:16 GMT -4

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Post by mtm4319 on Feb 10, 2010 1:06:16 GMT -4

Feb 9, 2010 5:54:57 GMT -4 a Nick O! said:

This was only the logical conclusion if you ever heard their singles from the past 2 years, like "Lolli Lolli (Pop That Body)" and "Shake My."

Ahh. I heard "Lolli Lolli" several times, but passed on trying to get to know "Shake My".

Feb 9, 2010 5:54:57 GMT -4 a Nick O! said:

All Access has it. That's the only place I've heard it.

No worries. Torrents are my friend, and I can listen to it anywhere now. It's back on schedule for the top 10/15 of my chart.

A Typical Pulse Poster:

evanescence0:
How the hell do you have time to play a song 700 times in a week? You realize that's almost 6 hours a day, right?

WotUNeed
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Report card: 2/3/10 Feb 13, 2010 13:31:00 GMT -4

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Post by WotUNeed on Feb 13, 2010 13:31:00 GMT -4

(Andrew, are you sure she doesn't take her music seriously? With quotes like "I love south. and boys. and boots. and boners." and "I sometimes wish I was a man. I'd have the siickesT trash-stash….", I have no reason to believe otherwise.)

Well, I'm not sure, but I think so based partly on what Davey said and partly on the fact that at least a couple of the songs she co-wrote and chose not to record show a side of Ke$ha that has some sort of pop sensibility. I'm gonna put one on our file server, if you're curious; I listened because it was co-written by a guy I respect as a singer-songwriter (Martin Briley of The Salt in My Tears fame) and he sent it and one other Ke$ha outtake to his mailing list. With a capable vocalist and some alterations, it'd be a passable pop song.

I think the Ke$ha we know is just how she's presenting herself. Let's face it; she's not a great vocalist and her music, as you pointed out, doesn't really stand out on its own. Much though I dislike her, I do find her fascinating from a marketing standpoint, because somebody realized that pop music didn't have a proudly trashy female and did this imaging beautifully to fill the gap. I don't think it's completely an act, mind you, but I think one aspect of her is being played up considerably.

Last Edit: Feb 13, 2010 13:32:38 GMT -4 by WotUNeed

a Nick O!
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Report card: 2/3/10 Feb 14, 2010 20:17:07 GMT -4

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Post by a Nick O! on Feb 14, 2010 20:17:07 GMT -4

Selena Gomez & The Scene- Naturally D (In an attempt to find out who the heck "The Scene" was, I stumbled upon this on her Wikipedia page: "I'm going to be in a band — no Selena Gomez stuff. I'm not going to be a solo artist. I think that I don't want my name attached to it." You don't want your name directly attached to your music, so your solution was to come up with a band name that both includes your name and and sounds incredibly pompous?

Do you really think Disney would let her put out music without her name on it, though?

Cobra Starship- Hot Mess C (sadly there's nothing on their album as good as "Good Girls Go Bad".)

Hell, I could've told you that without even hearing any of it.