jon_chaisson | RTS Presents: Saturday Morning Pop Music

I don't know what's happening, but for some odd reason I'm finding myself liking a lot of the poppier Top 40 stuff that VH1 is playing.

emmalyon and I have been watching their morning video shows and the Top 20 Video Countdown almost every Saturday for the past few months, and quite enjoying it. And I haven't enjoyed pop music this much since the mid 80s, and it's kind of freaking me out. It's not as if I don't have access to alternative music anymore (I thank Live 105, KFOG and Alice 97.3 for that), but damn it, I'm a nonconformist! I'm not supposed to like pop music! It goes against my nature! [/snark]

Cases in point:

Justin Timberlake, "Lovestoned/I Think She Knows"--damn it, this is funky, and it's full of 80s-style human-beatbox goodness. Probably the same reason I actually had NSYNC's "Pop" on single for awhile.

Nelly Furtado, "Do It"--tell me this isn't a long-lost Paula Abdul demo or something that a Prince protege recorded and never released. Very 80s but in a good way!

Kanye West, "Stronger"--Daft Punk samples, shiny visuals, an Isotoner reference, and creative use of blocking swears. Kanye wins AGAIN. 'nuff said.

Rooney--"When Did Your Heart Go Missing?"--HOLY 80S, BATMAN. A Ferris Bueller band name, a video shot on an L.A. beach, and a song that sounds straight from a John Hughes movie. All that's missing is Molly Ringwald.

And this is the freaky bit--

Nickelback, "Rockstar"--Emm and I both agree that everytime we get to the point we can't stand this band, they turn around and come out with something really fun like this.

I think it's the fact that I find pop music is best when it's kept simple and not following a trend (like, say, the rap metal of the late 90s or the recent r&b/rap stuff that refuses to have a normal beat). Okay, so maybe a lot of it is emulating the 70s sound, or at least inspired by it, and maybe that's part of the appeal for us.

*sigh* I think I may have lost my indie cred. :p