Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Albums to Look Forward to in 2013

image from ps23bronx.org

Here are some of the major album releases for 2013. Check the “Resources and Related Links” at the bottom for even more complete lists. I am highlighting releases from major acts and those with at least one album in the DMDB’s top 1000 of all time.

Jan. 14: New Order Lost Sirens
Jan. 21: Adam Ant Adam Ant Is the Blueback Hussar in Marrying the Gunner’s Daughter
Jan. 29: Justin Bieber Believe Acoustic
Jan. 29: Andrea Bocelli Passione
Feb. 2: My Bloody Valentine MBV
MBV - the first album in 22 years from My Bloody Valentine
Feb. 4: Josh Groban All That Echoes
Feb. 10: Tim McGraw Two Lanes of Freedom
Feb. 18: Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds Push the Sky Away
Feb. 25: Atoms for Peace (Thom Yorke, Red Hot Chili Pepper’s Flea, et al) Amok
Feb. 25: 50 Cent Street King Immortal
Feb. 25: Johnny Marr The Messenger
Feb. 26: Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell Old Yellow Moon
Mar. 4: Dido Girl Who Got Away
Mar. 4: Jimi Hendrix People, Hell and Angels
Mar. 4: Stereophonics Graffiti on the Train
Mar. 5: Boz Scaggs Memphis
Mar. 11: Bon Jovi What About Now
Mar. 12: David Bowie The Next Day
Mar. 12: Eric Clapton Old Socks
Mar. 15: Justin Timberlake The 20/20 Experience
Mar. 18: Suede Bloodsports
Mar. 18: Eric Woolfson Somewhere in the Audience
Mar. 19: Black Crowes Wiser for the Time (live album)
Mar. 19: will.i.am #willpower
Mar. 22: Depeche Mode Delta Machine
Mar. 25: Simple Minds (compilation)
Mar. 25: Wire Change Becomes Us
Mar. 26: Lil Wayne I Am Not a Human Being II
Mar. 26: The Strokes Comedown Machine
March: Mariah Carey – TBA
Apr. 1: The Flaming Lips The Terror
Apr. 2: New Kids on the Block 10
Apr. 2: Various Artists: The Music Is You: A Tribute to John Denver
Apr. 8: Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark English Electric
Apr. 16: Fall Out Boy Save Rock and Roll
Apr. 22: Avril Lavigne Hello Candy
Apr. 23: Michael Bublé To Be Loved
Apr. 30: Iggy & the Stooges Ready to Die
April: Janet Jackson – TBA
May 7: Goo Goo Dolls Magnetic
May 7: Vampire Weekend Modern Vampires of the City
May 27: John Fogerty Wrote a Song for Everyone
May: Daft Punk, Lady Gaga – TBA
June 11: Black Sabbath 13

The following acts are expected in 2013, but no release date has been announced:

AC/DC
Christina Aguilera
Alice in Chains The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here
Backstreet Boys
Justin Bieber Believe 2.0
Jimmy Buffett
Deep Purple
Eminem
Nelly Furtado
Iron Maiden
Limp Bizkit
Jennifer Lopez
Megadeth
Nicki Minaj
Kylie Minogue
Motörhead
Pearl Jam
Katy Perry
Queens of the Stone Age
Sigur Rós
Britney Spears
The Vines

Black Sabbath will release 13, their first studio album with Ozzy Osbourne since 1978

Resources and Related Links:

TheFourOhFive.com: Upcoming Album Releases 2013
Metacritic: Upcoming Album Release Calendar
Wikipedia: List of albums released and scheduled for release in 2013
DMDB’s Top 1000 Albums of All Time

Monday, February 18, 2013

Why the Grammys Matter

Originally published in my "Aural Fixation" column on PopMatters.com on February 18, 2013. See original post here.

So your favorites didn’t win, huh? Get over it. Bashing the Grammys is too easy. Try recognizing them as markers of what is happening in the music industry, not on your iPod.

The day after the 2012 Grammys, an NPR article debating the award ceremony’s merits found its way onto my Facebook feed (“Question of the Week: Be Honest – Do You Care About the Grammys?”, 11 February 2013). As Jacob Ganz notes, “cataloging the Grammys’ flubs has become easy sport,” yet he answers his question with “a surprising yes.”

Wait – what? How could any self-respecting journalist part with the widely-held belief that “the Grannys” are out of touch and irrelevant? Didn’t this guy get his Music Journalism 101 handbook? It clearly spells out what anyone writing about music is supposed to hate: pop music made for and by teens and tweens, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, bands that sell out and, most of all, the Grammys.

After all, this is the organization which made such notorious flubs as giving a Best New Artist trophy to Milli Vanilli and deciding to break in its hard rock category by bypassing Metallica in favor of Jethro Tull. The judges thought it made more sense to give Song of the Year to Roger Williams’ “Little Green Apples” than The Beatles’ “Hey Jude”. Heck, this is the organization which gave Tony Bennett’s 1994 MTV Unplugged the lofty Album of the Year prize.

Indeed, there are some embarrassing chapters in the Grammy history book. However, more often than not, the Grammys get it right. Well, maybe not 100 percent right, but more right than wrong. Let’s look at just the last decade’s Album of the Year winners (parentheses indicate year it won, not year of release):

Mumford & Sons Babel (2013)
Adele 21 (2012)
Arcade Fire The Suburbs (2011)
Taylor Swift Fearless (2010)
Robert Plant and Allison KraussRaising Sand (2009)
Herbie Hancock River: The Joni Letters (2008)
Dixie Chicks Taking the Long Way (2007)
U2 How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2006)
Ray Charles Genius Loves Company (2005)
OutKast Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (2004)

The most popular criticism of the Grammys is that it leans toward safe, middle-of-the-road picks. Most of these albums can be spun at a dinner party without riling the guests. Even OutKast, arguably the edgiest act on this list, is bound to produce smiles when “Hey Ya!” kicks in.

However, this isn’t just a list of music for 40somethings and beyond. Adolescents caught with Arcade Fire and Mumford & Sons on their iPods aren’t going to become pariahs. No matter how mainstream Adele and Taylor Swift are, can anyone reasonably argue they don’t deserve golden trinkets to decorate their fireplace mantles?

Another common complaint levied specifically at the Album of the Year prize is that it’s more of a career achievement award. That certainly has happened – does anyone really think Hancock’s River or Charles’ Genius are the pinnacles of their careers? Doesn’t it seem silly that the former beat out Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black and Kanye West and that the latter triumphed over Green Day, Usher, Alicia Keys, and, well, Kanye West?

Sorry, Kanye. None of these are for Album of the Year;
image from smokingsecion.uproxx.com

However, most of these albums were significant releases representative of a surprisingly wide array of genres including folk, British blue-eyed soul, rock, country, Americana, jazz, R&B, and rap.

Cynics may whine that none of these albums represent their genre at its best. Sure, Taylor Swift may be categorized as country, but she’s more pop. U2 may be the biggest rock band in the world, but they hardly represent the edgiest stuff the genre has to offer. These albums, however, may well open up the average music fan to stretch his or her music palette.

Detractors are fond of screaming “The Grammys are just a popularity contest!” Uh, yeah. That’s kind of the point. The Recording Academy isn’t generally trying to tout the next big thing – unless it’s crowning Esperanza Spalding Best New Artist like a couple years ago. Its members are understandably looking to boost the profiles of already familiar properties. The ideal candidates mix critical acclaim and an “it” factor along with commercial clout. It should be no surprise that the Grammy powers-that-be aren’t aiming to spotlight your local club’s favorite Saturday night bar band as the best in its field.

One of the biggest flaws behind the average person’s arguments regarding awards shows, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, or assessments of who should and shouldn’t get radio airplay comes down to this: people are baffled when the rest of the world doesn’t share their musical tastes.

It also wouldn’t hurt to remember that when Mumford & Sons takes home the big one, their fans who have been with them since the beginning had their dreams come true – the rest of the world did catch on to their personal tastes.

Reflect on the Grammys of yesteryear and there are signs that things have changed. Look at the ‘80s. It was the decade of the blockbuster and the Grammys were doled out accordingly. Phil Collins, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, George Michael, Lionel Richie, and U2 all produced memorable Album of the Year pop chestnuts, but were far from edgy picks which would challenge the average music listener to open up to a “new” kind of music.

Maybe you didn’t root for Mumford & Sons or Adele the last couple years. Maybe you have no use for them at all. However, they are flag bearers for some of the most significant directions for music in recent years. Along with success for the Mumfords comes exposure for The Lumineers, Alabama Shakes, The Avett Brothers, and The Decemberists – and maybe a dip of the toe into the musical folk-rock pond which spawned them. People who champion Adele might also try Amy Winehouse, Duffy, Joss Stone, Florence + the Machine, or other artists indebted to the blue-eyed soul of Dusty Springfield a generation ago.

That’s the context in which to judge the Grammys. They are markers of what is popular today and what is trending for tomorrow, but they can also serve as links to the musical past. Complain and whine about the awards if you wish, but as for Jacob Ganz’s question “Do You Care About the Grammys?” I reply with a resounding Yes!

Friday, February 15, 2013

100 years ago: “When the Midnight Choo Choo Leaves for Alabam’” hit #1

When the Midnight Choo Choo Leaves for Alabam’

Arthur Collins & Byron Harlan

Writer(s): Irving Berlin (see lyrics here)

First Charted: February 8, 1913

Peak: 1⁶ US, 1¹ GA, 1⁴ SM (Click for codes to charts.)

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.01 video, -- streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

“When the Midnight Choo Choo Leaves for Alabam’” was “a syncopated, upbeat crowd pleaser.” ^TY2 This was one of several tunes Irving Berlin wrote “about the idealized South, a very popular topic in American culture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This topic was a popular one among Tin Pan Alley writers at the time.” ^AY

It “was not about the train but about the means of getting back home, to the folks who think of him.” ^SM “According to the first verse of the song, a person is packing his things, giving the landlord back the key to the dreary flat, and getting ready to catch the train back home.” ^TY2

“In the chorus he claims he has his fare and will tell ‘that rusty-haired conductor man’ that he’s to stop the train in Alabam’. He intends to remain there with his honey-lamb.” ^TY2 In the second verse, the singer says he intends to ‘over-feed my face ‘cause I haven’t had a good meal since the day I went away.’ He is going to kiss his ‘Pa and Ma a dozen times for ev’ry star shining over Alabama’s new mown hay.’” ^TY2

Arthur Collins and Byron Harlan took the song to #1 in 1913. The Victory Military Band charted that same year with the song, reaching #9. ^PM Alice Faye performed the song in the 1938 movie musical Alexander’s Ragtime Band; Judy Garland and Fred Astaire sang it in 1948’s Easter Parade; and Ethel Merman, Dan Dailey, Mitzi Gaynor, and Donald O’Connor performed it in 1954’s There’s No Business Like Show Business.” ^TY2

Resources:

^AY Alabama Yesterdays blog
^SM Sharon Mawer Charts (1900-1968)
^TY2 Don Tyler (2007). Hit Songs, 1900-1955. McFarland & Company, Inc.: Jefferson, North Carolina. Pages 65-6.
^PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Record Research, Inc: Menomonee Falls, WI. Page 607.

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Mumford & Sons’ Babel takes home Grammy for Album of the Year

Babel

Mumford & Sons

Released: September 21, 2012

Charted: September 30, 2012

Peak: 1⁵ US, 1³ UK, 1⁶ CN, 2 AU

Sales (in millions): 2.7 US, 1,06 UK, 5.67 world (includes US and UK)

Genre: folk rock

Tracks:

Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts.

Babel (10/13/12, 60 US, 13 AA, 19 MR, 76 UK)
Whispers in the Dark (10/13/12, 81 US)
I Will Wait (8/7/12, 12 US, 14 RR, 11 AC, 1 A40, 1 AA, 37a CW, 1 MR, 12 UK, 9 CN, 23 AU)
Holland Road (10/13/12, 84 US)
Ghosts That We Knew (10/13/12, 88 US)
Lover of the Light (10/20/12, 97 US, 36 A40, 1 AA, 4 MR, 94 CN)
Lovers’ Eyes (10/13/12, 85 US)
Reminder
Hopeless Wanderer (11/24/12, 59 US)
Broken Crown
Below My Feet
Not with Haste

Total Running Time: 52:17

The Players:

Marcus Mumford (vocals, guitar, drums)
Ted Dwane (bass, backing vocals)
Ben Lovett (keyboards, backing vocals)
Winston Marshall (banjo, guitar, dobro, backing vocals)

Rating:

3.524 out of 5.00 (average of 36 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album:

“English folk revivalists Mumford & Sons’ 2009 debut, Sigh No More, boarded the slowest train it could find on its journey from regional gem to pleasantly surprising, international success story.” ^AMG The band Rolling Stone called “the biggest little string band on the planet” ^WK recalled days when “the Carter Family and the Louvin Brothers were radio gold” ^RS by crafting crafted “a set of rousing tunes clad in choirboy harmonies, clawhammer banjo and Salvation Army brass that exploded amid a sea of AutoTuned cyber-pop.” ^RS Perhaps even more surprising than the success of their debut, however, was how much their sophomore effort was embraced. With 600,000 copes moved in its first week out, the album was second only to Taylor Swift’s Red for biggest debut of the year. ^WK

The album did much to cement the growing folk-rock revival which has now included success for back-to-their-roots acts like The Lumineers, The Avett Brothers, and Alabama Shakes. The launch of the movement could arguably be tied to the Album of the Year Grammy win for Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs. Interestingly, Markus Dravs produced that album and he also lends his talents here – and the result is another Grammy for Album of the Year (as well as a nomination for the UK equilvalent, the Brit Award for Album of the Year).

“Short of being a little rowdier and raspier, Babel feels less like a legitimate sequel and more like an expanded edition” ^AMG of Sigh No More. This album “steps up Mumford & Sons’ game without changing it too much. It feels shinier, punchier, more arena-scale than the debut, with the band hollering, hooting, plucking and strumming like Olympian street buskers.” ^RS

The band admitted they deliberately tried to hone the sound they’d already developed instead of altering it. ^WK These are songs which are “ballsy, pained, fiery, and fraught with near constant references to sin, salvation, and all of the pontifical hopes and doubts that lie between.” ^AMG “Most of Babel is caught between the confessional and an apocalyptic hootenanny, delivering its everyman message with the kind of calculated spiritual fervor that comes from having to adapt to the festival masses as opposed to the smaller club crowds.” ^AMG

The downfall is that while this is “another set of incredibly spirited songs” ^AMG they sometimes “bark much louder than they bite.” ^AMG As the Chicago Tribune’s Greg Kot wrote, “There’s nothing wrong with a rousing sing-along among 25,000 of your closest friends. The real issue with Mumford & Sons is its pedestrian songwriting and predictable delivery.” ^WK Kot also said, “The band pays lip service to the idea of keeping things earthy and organic, and therefore somehow more sincere or heartfelt…but they wash out the gritty details.” ^WK “Tracks like Hopeless Wanderer, Broken Crown, and the vivacious title cut bristle with moxie and self-importance, but feel like a ruse” ^AMG as they rely on a “kind of generic, turgid melodrama that always overshoots its mark.” ^AMG

This is an album “full of all manner of religious shoptalk, with Biblical metaphors swirling.” ^RS Still, “proselytizing is not the mission on Babel; instead the band uses spirituality “to supersize and complicate love songs. Lovers’ Eyes is merely the best of several songs that wrestle with betrayer’s guilt.” ^RS Elsewhere songs like the “hymnlike first single, I Will Wait and Lover of the Light both are proof that the Mumfords do dramatic builds, dropouts and soft-loud shifts as impressively as U2.” ^RS

Resources and Related Links:

DMDB encyclopedia entry for Mumford & Sons
^AMG All Music Guide review by James Christopher Monger
^RS Rolling Stone review by Will Hermes
^WK Wikipedia

First posted 2/12/2013; last updated 5/2/2022.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

VEVO’s Certified Award for Videos with 100 Million Views

image from Billboard.biz

Originally posted 7/11/12. Updated 2/6/13.

VEVO – the company which has made its existence off official music video posts on YouTube – announced a new award on July 11, 2012. The Vevo Certified award is given to videos which have garnered 100 million views. As stated at vevo.com, “VEVO’s video view counts represent the only official metric across the digital landscape, including online and mobile views as well as those of syndication partner sites like AOL, Facebook, Yahoo! Music, and YouTube.” Here’s the top 20:

VEVO: The Top 20 Most Watched Videos of All Time

1. Justin Bieber with Ludacris “Baby” (2010)
2. Jennifer Lopez with Pitbull “On the Floor” (2011)
3. Eminem with Rihanna “Love the Way You Lie” (2010)
4. LMFAO with Lauren Bennett & GoonRock “Party Rock Anthem” (2011)
5. Shakira with Freshlyground…Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” (2010)
6. Lady Gaga “Bad Romance” (2009)
7. Don Omar with Lucenzo “Danza Kuduro” (2011)
8. Carly Rae Jepsen “Call Me Maybe” (2012)
9. Eminem “Not Afraid” (2010)
10. Pitbull “Rain Over Me” (2011)

11. Adele “Rolling in the Deep” (2010)
12. Justin Bieber “Never Say Never” (2010)
13. Katy Perry “Firework” (2010)
14. One Direction “What Makes You Beautiful” (2011)
15. Miley Cyrus “Party in the U.S.A.” (2009)
16. Justin Bieber “One Time” (2009)
17. Nicki Minaj “Super Bass” (2011)
18. Rihanna “What’s My Name?” (2010)
19. Pitbull “Give Me Everything” (2011)
20. Rihanna “Only Girl in the World” (2010)

The dominance of videos from just the last couple years plays out throughout the list. Of the 140 videos which have reached the 100 million mark, only 32 were pre-2009 songs. Only two videos on the list date to the 20th century – Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” (1983) and Guns N’ Roses “November Rain” (1992).

Also apparent from the list is the predominance of certain artists. Justin Bieber places two videos in the top ten and 13 on total list. Other artists with multiple video as either a lead or support artist include Rihanna (11), Beyonce (7), Black Eyed Peas (7), Eminem (7), Lady Gaga (7), Lil Wayne (7), Katy Perry (7), Chris Brown (6), David Guetta (6), Nicki Minaj (6), LMFAO (5), Pitbull (5), and Shakira (5). Those artists alone comprise half the list.

Interestingly, the VEVO list serves neither as a true indicator of the most celebrated videos of all time or even the biggest hits of the 21st century. Only 21 of the videos also rank in the DMDB list of the best songs of the 21st century. The difference between the VEVO list and the DMDB’s list of the 100 videos of all time is even more staggering. The latter, which aggregates 56 best-of-all-time video lists as well as 20 potential video awards, includes only three songs from the VEVO list: “Thriller,” “November Rain,” and Beyonce’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It).”

Here’s the full list of songs with more than 100 million views:

Adele “Rolling in the Deep” (2010)
Adele “Someone Like You (2011)
Adele “Set Fire to the Rain” (2011) *
Akon with Kardinal Offishall & Colby O’Donis “Beautiful” (2008)
Beyoncé “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” (2008)
Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)
Beyoncé “If I Were a Boy” (2008)
Beyoncé “Halo” (2008)
Beyoncé “Run the World (Girls) (2011)
Beyoncé “The Best Thing I Never Had (2011)
Justin Bieber “One Time” (2009)
Justin Bieber “One Less Lonely Girl” (2009)
Justin Bieber “Love Me” (2009)
Justin Bieber with Ludacris “Baby” (2010)
Baby
Justin Bieber “Never Let You Go” (2010)
Justin Bieber with Usher “Somebody to Love” (2010)
Justin Bieber with Jaden Smith “Never Say Never” (2010)
Justin Bieber “Mistletoe” (2011)
Justin Bieber “Boyfriend” (2012)
Justin Bieber with Big Sean “As Long As You Love Me” (2012)
Justin Bieber with Nicki Minaj “Beauty and a Beat” (2012)
Black Eyed Peas “Pump It” (2005)
Black Eyed Peas “My Humps” (2005)
Black Eyed Peas “Boom Boom Pow” (2009)
Black Eyed Peas “I Gotta Feeling” (2009)
Black Eyed Peas “Meet Me Halfway (2009)
Black Eyed Peas “The Time (Dirty Bit)” (2010)
Black Eyed Peas “Just Can’t Get Enough” (2011)
B.o.B. with Bruno Mars “Nothin’ on You” (2010) *
B.o.B. with Hayley Williams “Airplanes” (2010) *
Bon Jovi “It’s My Life” (2000)
It’s My Life
Chris Brown with T-Pain “Kiss Kiss” (2007)
Chris Brown “With You” (2007)
Chris Brown “Yeah 3X” (2010)
Chris Brown with Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes “Look at Me Now” (2011)
Chris Brown with Justin Bieber “Next 2 U” (2011)
Coldplay “Viva La Vida” (2008)
Coldplay “Paradise” (2011)
Taio Cruz “Dynamite” (2010)
Miley Cyrus “7 Things” (2008)
Miley Cyrus “The Climb” (2009) *
Miley Cyrus “Party in the U.S.A.” (2009)
Miley Cyrus “Can’t Be Tamed” (2010)
Diddy – Dirty Money with Skylar Grey “Coming Home” (2010)
Celine Dion “My Heart Will Go On” (1997) *
Dr. Dre with Eminem & Skylar Grey “I Need a Doctor” (2011)
Eminem “Like Toy Soldiers” (2004)
Eminem “When I’m Gone” (2005)
Eminem “Beautiful” (2009)
Eminem “Not Afraid” (2010)
Not Afraid
Eminem with Rihanna “Love the Way You Lie” (2010)
Eminem with Lil Wayne “No Love” (2010)
50 Cent “In Da Club” (2002)
Flo Rida “Good Feeling” (2011) *
Foster the People “Pumped Up Kicks” (2010)
Selena Gomez & the Scene “Naturally” (2010)
Selena Gomez & the Scene “A Year without Rain” (2010)
Selena Gomez & the Scene “Who Says’ (2011)
Selena Gomez & the Scene “Love You Like a Love Song” (2011)
Gotye with Kimbra “Somebody That I Used to Know” (2011) *
David Guetta with Flo Rida & Nicki Minaj “Where Them Girls At” (2011)
David Guetta with Taio Cruz & Ludacris “Little Bad Girl” (2011)
David Guetta with Sia “Titanium” (2011)
David Guetta with Nicki Minaj “Turn Me On” (2011)
David Guetta with Usher “Without You” (2011)
David Guetta with Sia “She Wolf (Falling to Pieces)” (2012)
Guns N’ Roses “November Rain” (1991)
November Rain
Gym Class Heroes with Adam Levine “Stereo Hearts” (2011) *
Whitney Houston “I Will Always Love You” (1992) *
Enrique Iglesias with Pitbull “I Like It” (2010)
Jessie J with B.o.B. “Price Tag” (2011)
Jessie J “Domino” (2011)
Michael Jackson “Thriller” (1983)
Thriller
Jay-Z with Alicia Keys “Empire State of Mind” (2009) *
Carly Rae Jepsen “Call Me Maybe” (2012)
Call Me Maybe
Jeremih with 50 Cent “Down on Me” (2010)
Ke$ha “Tik Tok” (2009)
Alicia Keys “No One” (2007)
Sean Kingston with Justin Bieber “Eenie Meenie” (2010)
Lady Gaga with Colby O’Donis (2008)
Lady Gaga “Poker Face” (2008)
Lady Gaga “Bad Romance” (2009)
Bad Romance
Lady Gaga “Alejandro’ (2009)
Lady Gaga with Beyoncé “Telephone” (2009)
Lady Gaga “Born This Way” (2011)
Lady Gaga “Judas” (2011)
Avril Lavigne “Girlfriend” (2007)
Avril Lavigne “When You’re Gone” (2007)
Avril Lavigne “What the Hell” (2011)
Avril Lavigne “Wish You Were Here” (2011)
Led Zeppelin “Stairway to Heaven” (1971) *
Leona Lewis “Bleeding Love” (2007)
Lil Wayne with Static Major “Lollipop” (2008)
Lil Wayne with Eminem “Drop the World” (2010)
Lil Wayne with Bruno Mars “Mirror” (2011)
LMFAO with Lil’ Jon “Shots” (2009)
LMFAO with Lauren Bennett & GoonRock “Party Rock Anthem” (2011)
Party Rock Anthem
LMFAO with Natalia Kills “Champagne Showers” (2011)
LMFAO “Sexy and I Know It” (2011)
LMFAO “Sorry for Party Rocking” (2012)
Jennifer Lopez with Pitbull “On the Floor” (2011)
Jennifer Lopez with Lil Wayne “I’m into You” (2011)
Jennifer Lopez with Pitbull “Dance Again” (2012)
Maroon 5 “Misery” (2010)
Maroon 5 with Christina Aguilera “Moves Like Jagger” (2011)
Maroon 5 “One More Night” (2012)
Bruno Mars “Just the Way You Are (Amazing)” (2010) *
Bruno Mars “Grenade” (2010) *
Bruno Mars “The Lazy Song” (2010) *
Nicki Minaj “Super Bass” (2011)
Nicki Minaj “Starships” (2012)
Jason Mraz “I’m Yours” (2008) *
Nelly “Just a Dream” (2010)
Don Omar with Lucenzo “Danza Kuduro” (2011)
Danza Kuduro
Don Omar “Taboo” (2011)
One Direction “What Makes You Beautiful” (2011)
One Direction “One Thing” (2012)
One Direction “Live While We’re Young” (2012)
Katy Perry “Teenage Dream” (2010)
Katy Perry “Firework” (2010)
Katy Perry with Kanye West “E.T.” (2011)
Katy Perry “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) (2011)
Katy Perry “The One That Got Away “(2011)
Katy Perry “Part of Me” (2012)
Katy Perry “Wide Awake” (2012)
Pitbull with T-Pain “Hey Baby (Drop It to the Floor)” (2010)
Pitbull with Ne-Yo, Afrojack, & Nayer “Give Me Everything” (2011)
Pitbull with Chris Brown “International Love” (2011)
Pitbull with Marc Anthony “Rain Over Me” (2011)
Psy “Gangnam Style” (2012) *
Gangnam Style, most watched video of all-time with one billion views but not VEVO certified
Rihanna “Unfaithful” (2006)
Rihanna “Don’t Stop the Music” (2007)
Rihanna “Rude Boy” (2010)
Rihanna “Only Girl in the World” (2010)
Rihanna with Drake “What’s My Name?” (2010)
Rihanna “California King Bed” (2011)
Rihanna “Man Down” (2011)
Rihanna with Calvin Harris “We Found Love” (2011)
Rihanna “Where Have You Been” (2011)
Rihanna “Diamonds” (2012)
Jay Sean with Lil Wayne “Down” (2009)
Shakira “Whenever Wherever” (2001)
Shakira with Wyclef Jean “Hips Don’t Lie” (2006)
Shakira with Freshlyground “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” (2010)
Waka Waka
Shakira with El Cata “Loca” (2010)
Shakira with Pitbull “Rabiosa” (2011)
Soulja Boy Tell’Em “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” (2007)
Britney Spears with Nicki Minaj & Ke$ha “Till the World Ends” (2011)
Britney Spears “I Wanna Go” (2011)
Taylor Swift “Love Story (2008)
Taylor Swift “You Belong with Me” (2008)
Taylor Swift “Mine” (2010)
Taylor Swift “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” (2012)
System of a Down “Chop Suey” (2001)
Timbaland with Doe & Keri Hilson “The Way I Are” (2007)
Will.i.am. with Britney Spears “Scream & Shout” (2012)
Wisin & Yandel with Jennifer Lopez “Follow the Leader” (2012)

* These songs have not been certified by Vevo, but have at least 100 million views on YouTube.

Resources and Related Links:

Dave’s Music Database: The Top 100 Songs of the 21st Century…So Far
Dave’s Music Database: Music Videos – Top 100
Bilboard.biz: Vevo Launches Certifed Award for Videos with 100 Million Views by Glenn Peoples (6 June 2012)
Vevo.com: All Certified Videos (6 February 2013)

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Who Should Play the Super Bowl Halftime Show?

image from horsuprocks.blogspot.com

Beyonce is set to perform the halftime show at the Super Bowl today. Who, however, should perform next year? As with all DMDB lists, I started out compiling best-of lists on who should do a halftime show. I decided I’d still present the top 20 (see bottom of page), but thought it would be more interesting to break down the list into several categories so as to talk about more possibilities. In each category, I also list the DMDB pick. This is not necessarily my favorite in the category, but the one which I believe would have the widest appeal. So here we go.

Let’s Get the Band Back Together. This could also be called the “wishful thinking” category. These are bands no longer working (or at least not in the capacity in which we knew them best), but we’d like to think would step up to the plate for another go. Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Guns N’ Roses would be the biggest candidates here. DMDB Pick: Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin, image from spin.com

Long in the Tooth, But Still Rockin’, Part 1: The Bands. These are classic rock bands which are still working, be it touring, releasing music or both. Most of the halftime faves fall here. AC/DC, Van Halen, Rush, the Eagles, Journey, Fleetwood Mac, and Kiss all made the list. DMDB Pick: Eagles

Eagles, image from glennfreyonline.com

Long in the Tooth, But Still Rockin’, Part 2: The Solo Artists. Because classic rockers dominate the picks so much, I broke it into two categories. David Bowie, Billy Joel, John Mellencamp, Eric Clapton, Bob Seger, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Rod Stewart, and Elton John all made the cut. DMDB Pick: Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton, image from skyarts.sky.com

Are They Considered Classic Rock? These are the groups which have been around 20 years or more, but we sometimes can’t bring ourselves to call them “classic rock.” As such, they might have a bit more relevancy. Metallica, Pearl Jam, and Bon Jovi all made the cut. DMDB Pick: Bon Jovi

Bon Jovi, image from fanpop.com

Why Not a Rapper? Rap stars have made guest appearances in past Super Bowls, but none have ever been given the stage to themselves. Jay-Z, Eminem, Kanye West, and Lil Wayne rated highest. DMDB Pick: Eminem

Eminem, image from vibe.com

Keep Up the Pop Stuff Fans of pop divas have been in heaven the last couple years with Madonna and Beyoncé, but there are still others out there who could command a worldwide audience. Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Adele, Katy Perry, Britney Spears, and Ke$ha are the biggest names. DMDB Pick: Rihanna

Rihanna, image from hiphopwired.com

Go Alternative Once you’ve reached the point that you are even mentioned as a possibility for the Super Bowl, I’m not sure if the alternative tag even sticks, but these are acts who have launched huge careers with a large debt to alternative fans. Green Day, Foo Fighters, Coldplay, Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Black Keys, and the Dave Matthews Band most fit the bill here. DMDB Pick: Foo Fighters

Foo Fighters, image from outofordershow.com

Kickin’ It Country Style Like rap, country music gets a little more specialized but there are still some country artists who’ve gained huge audiences. Taylor Swift, Willie Nelson, Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood, and Tim McGraw all made the cut. DMDB Pick: Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift, image from inquisitor.com

And Don’t Forget… There were other genres, like R&B and adult contemporary, which didn’t muster enough acts to justify a category, but there were still individual names worthy of mention. Aretha Franklin, Neil Diamond, and Weird Al Yankovic (?!) all made the list. DMDB Pick: Aretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin, image from wmur.com

Here were the results after aggretating 18 best-of lists:

1. AC/DC
2. Van Halen
3. Green Day
4. Metallica
5. Rush
6. Pearl Jam
7. Jay-Z
8. Lady Gaga
9. Coldplay
10. Foo Fighters

AC/DC, image from last.fm

11. Taylor Swift
12. Journey
13. Eagles
14. Eminem
15. Bon Jovi
16. Kanye West
17. David Bowie
18. Rihanna
19. Kenny Chesney
20. Lil Wayne

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis hit #1 with “Thrift Shop”