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Wheat Loaf
Feb 13, 2012

by FactsAreUseless
There's been much talk of a "boy band revival" but in actual fact it's more a case of One Direction becoming immensely popular while happening to be a boy band. The Wanted have achieved one significant hit on the Hot 100 so far; I think much will depend on how well their next release fares.

I get the impression that One Direction aren't really as big as we're supposed to think they are. While their albums have been pretty successful considering the sales climate (still barely a tenth of what the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC could do ten years ago) their singles beyond "What Makes You Beautiful" haven't doing quite as well as one might expect of the sort of act they are. Their second American single ("One Thing") stalled in the lower reaches of the Top 40, but this might have been because Syco wanted to gear up for their second album and didn't want to promote another single. However, although "Live While We're Young" actually broke a digital sales record in its first week of release, it dropped out of the Top 10 in its second and then plummeted out of the Top 40 in its third. The follow-up (the Ed Sheeran-penned ballad "Little Things") was touted as a megahit, but it only scraped into the bottom half of the Top 40 and its on its way out of the Hot 100 at the moment.

At this point, it's probably better to speculate which one of them will have the most success when they go solo than it is to debate the future prospects of the group. Even on that front, the prospects seem difficult to determine.

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OldTennisCourt
Sep 11, 2011

by VideoGames

Metal Loaf posted:

There's been much talk of a "boy band revival" but in actual fact it's more a case of One Direction becoming immensely popular while happening to be a boy band. The Wanted have achieved one significant hit on the Hot 100 so far; I think much will depend on how well their next release fares.

I get the impression that One Direction aren't really as big as we're supposed to think they are. While their albums have been pretty successful considering the sales climate (still barely a tenth of what the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC could do ten years ago) their singles beyond "What Makes You Beautiful" haven't doing quite as well as one might expect of the sort of act they are. Their second American single ("One Thing") stalled in the lower reaches of the Top 40, but this might have been because Syco wanted to gear up for their second album and didn't want to promote another single. However, although "Live While We're Young" actually broke a digital sales record in its first week of release, it dropped out of the Top 10 in its second and then plummeted out of the Top 40 in its third. The follow-up (the Ed Sheeran-penned ballad "Little Things") was touted as a megahit, but it only scraped into the bottom half of the Top 40 and its on its way out of the Hot 100 at the moment.

At this point, it's probably better to speculate which one of them will have the most success when they go solo than it is to debate the future prospects of the group. Even on that front, the prospects seem difficult to determine.

It's strange because it feels like a bit of the Justin Bieber thing in that they feel like they're supposed to be on top of the charts constantly, but they just have a hugely dedicated fan base. I don't HATE One Direction, but god drat Thats What Makes You Beautiful is a loving bad song. The Wanted at least have a fun "Yeah we're a flash in the pan, but at least we're going to have fun" while OD are just bland bland bland.

Wheat Loaf
Feb 13, 2012

by FactsAreUseless
Indeed. If their sales reflected their hype, the months of January and February would have been Take Me Home and Red trading the number one album spot. It wasn't to be, though. I suspect that, to a certain extent, they're being propped up and hyped to high heavens to try and vindicate The X Factor and its brand; the series has being hemorrhaging viewers in the UK and even the inclusion of Britney Spears on the judges' panel hasn't helped it in America and Simon Cowell probably wants to demonstrate that it can still produce bankable stars to reassure his investors. That's totally unverified, of course. Really, it's just guess-work on my part.

Keep in mind, though, that's not to say 1D haven't been successful. On the contrary, they had two albums that sold a million in America last year at a point where going Gold is treated as a massive achievement.

Anyway, I believe the Grammy Awards will be presented tomorrow evening. This seems as good a thread as any to discuss them.

Sprat Sandwich
Mar 20, 2009

As long as Fun don't win anything ('We Are Young' is sooooo dull, holy poo poo) I'll be relatively happy. Oh and nothing for 'Mumford & Sons' either. Look just let me have this, OK?

Regarding the nominations (on Wiki) it's somewhat be expected (although I can't really say anything about Contemporary Christian). I don't know if I want 'Stronger' or 'We Are Never…' to get ROTY - quite a dilemma, I'm guessing 'channel ORANGE' gets AOTY and 'Call Me Maybe' for SOTY?

Also looking at that list I'm reminded of how much I enjoyed 'Wide Awake' and 'Shake It Out' while not really liking 'Where Have You Been' and despising 'Payphone'.

OldTennisCourt
Sep 11, 2011

by VideoGames
I can't see Call Me Maybe winning anything. It was a fad song. Carley Rae does have a surprisingly nice voice, but the song was the butt of way too many jokes for it to win and not look like a huge joke. I wouldn't be surprised to see Ocean take Album of the Year though, onyl problem is whether or not he fades away though what with his recent talk about taking a two year trip to a remote area to make the new album. Will people still care after that?

Scorched Spitz
Dec 12, 2011
They might if Earl drops Doris and it puts Odd Future back in the spotlight.

Wheat Loaf
Feb 13, 2012

by FactsAreUseless
I think fun. could win a couple of the categories they've been nominated for. Certainly, Pop Vocal Album is a possibility, if Kelly Clarkson doesn't get it instead.

It never ceases to bemuse me when I see Mumford & Sons listed in the Rock category alongside bands like Iron Maiden and the Black Keys. Now, that's my personal bias showing, and I know the fact that my user name and avatar betray my corporate rock leanings, but it rouses the same sentiment in me as the discovery that there are people who like to "rock out" to Train.

I'm not entirely sure if Taylor Swift will win her nomination. I imagine she'll dominate the awards in 2014 since Red is going to keep spinning off hit singles, but WANEGBT feels like the "token sixth nomination" in its category.

unknown poster
Aug 4, 2007

Danger - Octopus! posted:

I started a pop music thread a couple of weeks ago, but no one posted! Anyway, Die Young is probably my favourite pop song of the last couple of years. I think it's an awesomely anthemic party track.

The most recent release by Charli XCX is really good, and catchy as hell. http://youtu.be/qtrHH1BDlzk

I knew I heard this before, its her singing over this Gold Panda track

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Su1wK7iCQfQ

Alvarez IV
Aug 3, 2010
Probation
Can't post for 8 years!
I'm not sure what this thread's definition of pop music is, but Fall Out Boy was pop when they came out and now they're off hiatus with a new song to boot. My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up) is my favorite Linkin Park song since New Divide. I was never huge on FOB at their peak because even at twelve I was cynical enough to know when I was being pandered to (although not so much that I didn't love Linkin Park), but I think they hit their stride halfway through Infinity on High and that their first single Dead on Arrival is an underlooked pop-punk gem. It's just the one album I wasn't sold on. Same thing happened to me with Green Day, I thought I hated them until I realized that I just didn't like all the ballads on American Idiot.

But yeah, back to Light Em Up (like hell I'm dignifying the name of the song by typing it out). It seems like all the rock bands from ten years ago that want to stay vital are either going the Mumford & Sons folksy route or taking up EDM elements like Korn, I appreciate how FOB does neither and just says "we're gonna do a nu-metal song, kiss my rear end." Also, Patrick Stump is one of the best singers in modern rock and I love how he twists the word "fire".

HJB
Feb 16, 2011

:swoon: I can't get enough of are Dan :swoon:
As someone who listens to a fair bit of electronic music, the ubiquity of it in the charts these days draws mixed emotions from me. On one hand, I hate the recent trend of 'electronic bands' who are set up like pop/rock bands but it feels like they're trying too hard to force electronic elements into their music just so they get airplay. Tracks like Chasing The Sun by the aforementioned Wanted are what I'm on about. Though to be fair they don't have a lot of choice - if you look at the UK Top 40 there's about three artists you could consider "bands" in there, it's not a popular style right now.

On the other hand, there's a growing number of tracks being released that have vague 90s influences that wouldn't have got a look in back in the day but are capitalising on the growth of the genre. B Traits - Fever is a big example from last year, but I've also been hearing tracks recently like If You're Never Gonna Move by Jessie Ware, which I believe was produced by Julio Bashmore, and White Noise by Disclosure which are rather tickling my fancy.

Just as a NB, I think this sums up chart music quite nicely. Have a look at that top 40 chart I linked earlier, and check out what's currently #29:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_6jDPTokXs

As a big drum & bass listener I'll happily say this is utter shite, but the thing is it made its way into the charts because of one of those Youtube 'superstars' who apparently uses the track a lot in his videos. I don't listen to many radio stations but I've never heard it played out anywhere, so it just goes to show how much of an influence the Internet has on music nowadays.

Leonard Pine
Apr 20, 2008

HJB posted:

I don't listen to many radio stations but I've never heard it played out anywhere, so it just goes to show how much of an influence the Internet has on music nowadays.

I've been thinking about this in regards to K-pop. No touring, no press and yet people are actually paying money to download Gangnam Style and there was a K-pop shelf in HMV Oxford street when I was in last. Whenever a Korean pop act does a gig in Europe it seems to sell out immediately (according to my friend who likes the stuff anyway). Nerds have managed to make a whole genre borderline mainstream and commercially successful for a whole new market without any promotion, that's nuts.

unknown poster posted:

I knew I heard this before, its her singing over this Gold Panda track

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Su1wK7iCQfQ

Thanks for posting that.

I really like Charli XCX, I thought both her mixtapes were quality and she's put out a couple of near-perfect pop songs. It's a pity the album's been so delayed and she cancelled her headlining UK tour, but I think she's strong enough as an artist to weather it. As an older music fan it's also drat interesting to see a young artist pretty much coming of age on the internet and being so actively influenced by it - there's a real magpie tumblr aesthetic going through a lot of her work, at least visually.

Schremp Howard
Jul 18, 2010

What attitude problem?
I usually listen to punk and hardcore, but GOD drat I cannot wait for the new Justin Timberlake album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_QZPcNoXGw

somnambulist
Mar 27, 2006

quack quack



Schremp Howard posted:

I usually listen to punk and hardcore, but GOD drat I cannot wait for the new Justin Timberlake album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_QZPcNoXGw

It sounds.............exactly like cry me a river :/

Schremp Howard
Jul 18, 2010

What attitude problem?

somnambulist posted:

It sounds.............exactly like cry me a river :/

I don't see that as a problem :colbert:

But yeah I thought the same thing when I first listened.

ninjahedgehog
Feb 17, 2011

It's time to kick the tires and light the fires, Big Bird.


HJB posted:

As someone who listens to a fair bit of electronic music, the ubiquity of it in the charts these days draws mixed emotions from me. On one hand, I hate the recent trend of 'electronic bands' who are set up like pop/rock bands but it feels like they're trying too hard to force electronic elements into their music just so they get airplay. Tracks like Chasing The Sun by the aforementioned Wanted are what I'm on about.

On a related note, Chasing the Sun totally sounds like an electronic version of The Elder Scrolls main theme.

somnambulist
Mar 27, 2006

quack quack



Schremp Howard posted:

I don't see that as a problem :colbert:

But yeah I thought the same thing when I first listened.

And yet, I've been listening to it non stop all day. I think it's growing on me.... ._.

Paperhouse
Dec 31, 2008

I think
your hair
looks much
better
pushed
over to
one side
Apparently Miley Cyrus's sister is in a pop band, and apparently they actually own?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQnRJbpYOfk

I recommend the EP they released last year, it's only 4 songs but they're all good. Wonder if she'll blow up like Miley did, though this is definitely a bit less chart poppy than she is

Panic! At The Tesco
Aug 19, 2005

FART


Schremp Howard posted:

I usually listen to punk and hardcore, but GOD drat I cannot wait for the new Justin Timberlake album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_QZPcNoXGw

There must be some weird fan crossover with the punk scene and JT because it's the same with me and a lot of people I know in the punk/hardcore scene here.

Future Sex is one of my favorite albums and both his new songs own.

Sprat Sandwich
Mar 20, 2009

JT is blabbering about every song (11 songs) on the album being 7-8 minutes long.

poo poo Justin 3 and a half minutes is the true length to any pop song what the hell is this?

HorseRenoir
Dec 25, 2011



Pillbug

Sprat Sandwich posted:

JT is blabbering about every song (11 songs) on the album being 7-8 minutes long.

poo poo Justin 3 and a half minutes is the true length to any pop song what the hell is this?

I actually kind of like that Justin goes balls-out with the self-indulgent track lengths; it makes him stand out from other pop artists. Besides, most of his long tracks either don't feel that long or are just two regular songs stuck together.

Sprat Sandwich
Mar 20, 2009

HorseRenoir posted:

I actually kind of like that Justin goes balls-out with the self-indulgent track lengths; it makes him stand out from other pop artists. Besides, most of his long tracks either don't feel that long or are just two regular songs stuck together.

I have nothing against long tracks but every track on an album being one may be a bit too much. All the possible singles would need some extensive editing for them to not sound like a poo poo radio edit. I guess it depends on the songs he has - if they are 7-8 minutes long because of a 2 minute intro/outro then trimming those gets you a 4 minute song. If not then you might end up with a jarring mess.

Oh and don't inexplicably slap some filters and autotune and poo poo on the edit if there are none on the album version, that's just silly.

E - Speaking of radio edits the alleged radio edit of 'Mirrors' has surfaced and it's literally the long one that fades out at the 4 and a half minute mark. I guess it works for a ballad.

Wheat Loaf
Feb 13, 2012

by FactsAreUseless
"Thrift Shop" is number one in America for a fourth consecutive week and it shows no signs of slowing down. It's not yet clear if this will be a hit of the same magnitude as "Somebody That I Used To Know" was in 2012, but at this point there's no reason it couldn't be. There seems to be a distinct lack of serious competition; perhaps Taylor Swift could dethrone them if her label released "I Knew You Were Trouble" to streaming outlets, but that isn't going to happen any time soon.

OldTennisCourt
Sep 11, 2011

by VideoGames

Metal Loaf posted:

"Thrift Shop" is number one in America for a fourth consecutive week and it shows no signs of slowing down. It's not yet clear if this will be a hit of the same magnitude as "Somebody That I Used To Know" was in 2012, but at this point there's no reason it couldn't be. There seems to be a distinct lack of serious competition; perhaps Taylor Swift could dethrone them if her label released "I Knew You Were Trouble" to streaming outlets, but that isn't going to happen any time soon.

My major problem and maybe I'm alone is that I can barely hear the guy in the song. I think his beat is just a little too load and it drowns him out.

Gym Leader Barack
Oct 31, 2005

Grimey Drawer
If the Australian TripleJ audience is any measure of popularity it will be. The hottest 100 countdown (annual listener-voted song tally) for 2011 placed Gotye at #1 for Somebody I Used to Know and for last years countdown Macklamore took out the top spot for Thrift Shop.

It's really interesting to see such a time-disconnect between the songs doing the rounds down here and making an impact on the US charts. I'm not trying to make this a "we're so ahead of you" thing but did Thrift Shop have any sort of airplay beyond the previous few weeks? It was way back in 2012 when it was popular on JJJ, same with Gotye, his song was the big hit of 2011 here and he's taking out the 2012 Grammys there. There's also a pretty big disconnect in duration between JJJ (Australia's main alternative radio station) and our commercial channels, there just seems to be a long gap between when something is released and when it gets played as new on the mainstream channels.

Acute Grill
Dec 9, 2011

Chomp

Metal Loaf posted:

There's been much talk of a "boy band revival" but in actual fact it's more a case of One Direction becoming immensely popular while happening to be a boy band.

That's actually a really good point. I didn't realize they were a boy band until people were talking about them bringing boy bands back.

prahanormal posted:

I honestly didn't like Thrift Shop for a while, but after hearing "Same Love" by the same dude I wish that man all the success in the world.

I don't mind him in general. Thrift Shop is however, without competition, the worst song to gain any sort of popularity so far in 2013.

Acute Grill fucked around with this message at 14:45 on Feb 15, 2013

Wheat Loaf
Feb 13, 2012

by FactsAreUseless

RandomCheese posted:

If the Australian TripleJ audience is any measure of popularity it will be. The hottest 100 countdown (annual listener-voted song tally) for 2011 placed Gotye at #1 for Somebody I Used to Know and for last years countdown Macklamore took out the top spot for Thrift Shop.

With Gotye it's understandable; an Australian artist will obviously chart in their home country first. However, "Somebody That I Used To Know" also peaked in the UK and other parts of Europe a few months before it made similar headway in America.

I suppose it's a consequence of the sheer size and diversity of America and its listening audience. It can make it difficult for a song to infiltrate the Top 40 playlists and take root in the mainstream consciousness, especially when it isn't the sort of thing one would typically expect to see on the pop charts. At the same time, this situation encourages homogeneity out of the need to appeal to the largest possible audience. That's why it's much more common for novelty songs to become hits in countries where the audience is significantly smaller.

Speaking of novelty singles, which does everybody think are the best (for a certain value of "best")? I have a curious affection for "The Smurf Song" by Father Abraham and the version of "Fog On the Tyne" recorded by Lindisfarne featuring Paul Gascoigne. They are unimaginably bad, but in a fascinating way.

prahanormal
Mar 8, 2011

heya /

Kalos posted:


I don't mind him in general. Thrift Shop is however, without competition, the worst song to gain any sort of popularity so far in 2013.

I could not disagree with you more, seeing as Justin's awful acoustic version of As Long As You Love Me entered the charts this week.

It took me a while to warm up to Thrift Shop, but I do think it's really well produced and at least has a message. Plus I'm starting to think that some of the stupider verses are really self aware after hearing more of his hits.

Acute Grill
Dec 9, 2011

Chomp
It is definitely comedic song, but it's on the level of every member of The Lonely Island having a stroke and then preforming their show anyway. Also, all their beats were somehow replaced with the sound of dying cats.

Sprat Sandwich
Mar 20, 2009

I think 'Trift Shop' is not very good. It going #1 is not a big surprise, though.

Metal Loaf posted:

Speaking of novelty singles, which does everybody think are the best (for a certain value of "best")? I have a curious affection for "The Smurf Song" by Father Abraham and the version of "Fog On the Tyne" recorded by Lindisfarne featuring Paul Gascoigne. They are unimaginably bad, but in a fascinating way.

Gazzas effort is incredible and is exactly something he would do (also he was drunk as hell).

Mr Blobby is great, partly due to the video. Bob the Builder was poo poo, though.

Wheat Loaf
Feb 13, 2012

by FactsAreUseless

Sprat Sandwich posted:

Gazzas effort is incredible and is exactly something he would do (also he was drunk as hell).

When he yells, "C'MON!" at the start, that's the the instant you know exactly what kind of experience you're in for.

Even so, could you imagine somebody like, for example, Ashley Cole doing that?

Sprat Sandwich
Mar 20, 2009

Metal Loaf posted:

When he yells, "C'MON!" at the start, that's the the instant you know exactly what kind of experience you're in for.

Even so, could you imagine somebody like, for example, Ashley Cole doing that?

I can't imagine ANYONE doing something like this without it feeling off, like a bad promo cash-grab while Gazza is… earnest? Truly a product of it's time. Although Frimpong appeared on his cousins (I think) track and he seemed to be having a good time.

What I'm trying to say is... stay dench?

Wheat Loaf
Feb 13, 2012

by FactsAreUseless
In an interesting development, Billboard has announced its intention to incorporate YouTube viewing data into its calculation of the Hot 100. The ramifications of this decision are potentially massive and their effect is immediate; "Harlem Shake" has become the twenty-first song to debut at number one on the Hot 100 thanks to its memetic presence on YouTube.

If this policy had been in place last year, "Gangnam Style" would have broken Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men's record for the longest occupation of the number one slot.

If this policy had been in place a couple of years ago, "Friday" would have been a number one song.

Sprat Sandwich
Mar 20, 2009

That's pretty interesting. I know quite many people who use YouTube as their primary method of listening to music, but that's mostly because we don't have Spotify or anything like that. Although how do they deal with multiple views? People usually buy a song once or twice and you'd still get a relatively accurate result, but with YouTube and other streaming services you can't just use the view count, even with IP checks.

In other news Taylor Swift killed it at the Brits and was the only worthwhile part.

Wheat Loaf
Feb 13, 2012

by FactsAreUseless

Sprat Sandwich posted:

That's pretty interesting. I know quite many people who use YouTube as their primary method of listening to music, but that's mostly because we don't have Spotify or anything like that. Although how do they deal with multiple views? People usually buy a song once or twice and you'd still get a relatively accurate result, but with YouTube and other streaming services you can't just use the view count, even with IP checks.

As one might expect, they're only taking into account views from American IP addresses, so I assume there's software that will address that issue.

Likewise, with iTunes, they only count the first purchase from either a given account or IP address (I can't remember which it is), so I imagine they'll have some way to deal with the inevitable :f5h: problem caused by zealous fans

Benne
Sep 2, 2011

STOP DOING HEROIN
Man I would hope they have some other way of calculating the Youtube data than simple page views. Otherwise, what's stopping a 4chan/reddit raid from getting, say, Anal oval office on the charts?

Sprat Sandwich
Mar 20, 2009

Benne posted:

Man I would hope they have some other way of calculating the Youtube data than simple page views. Otherwise, what's stopping a 4chan/reddit raid from getting, say, Anal oval office on the charts?

I imagine they at least have IP checks - only the first view from an IP is counted so when you go on a binge it doesn't count 50 plays, but that doesn't help with non-static IP addresses and DHCP which is what I think most ISPs use so they'd need to use something else, like maybe only counting users who have logged in.

Wheat Loaf
Feb 13, 2012

by FactsAreUseless

Benne posted:

Man I would hope they have some other way of calculating the Youtube data than simple page views. Otherwise, what's stopping a 4chan/reddit raid from getting, say, Anal oval office on the charts?

That would be hilarious, but if it did happen it would probably compel them to change their policy again.

Popper
Nov 15, 2006

Benne posted:

Man I would hope they have some other way of calculating the Youtube data than simple page views. Otherwise, what's stopping a 4chan/reddit raid from getting, say, Anal oval office on the charts?

Artists get money from youtube views, so it would properly reflect Anal oval office being a hugely popular and well paid band that week. Also despite the popularity of reddit and 4chan they don't really make a dent on the viewing figures of the most viewed videos on youtube.

Sprat Sandwich
Mar 20, 2009

Reminds me when, I think in 2009, a bunch of people on Facebook started a thing to get Rage Against The Machine's 'Killing In The Name' as the UK Number 1 Christmas single and did it, with digital sales only.

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pug wearing a hat
May 29, 2012

please allow me to introduce myself i'm a man of wealth and taste
Icona Pop is performing at my college this evening and I won't be there :(

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