Erik's Lists: 2003 Single Possibilities
I never have been known not to fold under pressure. As more and more people start compiling year end lists, I guess I should let people in on some personal highlights of music from the last ten plus months. Here for your consideration, in not too particular an order, are some singles I've enjoyed.
1. "Ignition (remix)" - R. Kelly. Easily my favorite R. Kelly song ever (though the remix of "Feelin' On Your Booty" is mighty fine), here he really seems to be having fun. There just isn't enough fun in music anymore. Every release seems so calculated, with just the right guest spot or hot video director or what-have-you. I like fun. I love how he slyly begins, "Now, usually I don't do this, but..." I like fun.
2. "Harder To Breathe" - Maroon 5. Utterly derivative, catchy and, again, fun. Plus the drummer sings a falsetto harmony during the chorus, and it's actually not very well done. Maybe I just like white-boy guitar funk. Something about it strikes me as Jamiroquai jamming with "Detroit Breakdown"-style J. Geils Band, except it's good.
3. "In Da Club" - 50 Cent. I'm not a fan - I pretty much hated the album, but this song is undeniable. Just a party definite for years to come. That "techno stab" keyboard with the hand claps is just another Dr. Dre masterpiece. Plus 50 manages to keep to the rhythm for an entire song, which is undeniably a record for this cut rate Biggie wannabe.
4. "The Laws Have Changed" - New Pornographers. The return of the Canadian indie-pop supergroup, which is comprised of every Canadian indie rocker not in Sloan. Pure power-pop in a head-shaking 4/4 every hipster can sway to. A song a liked better the first time I heard it, but it's still a head nodder months later.
5. "Crazy In Love (crazy Chinese version)" - Beyonce f/Vaness Wu. I need to thank Matthew for this - it kept the song fun long after Jay Z ruined the original for me. Again, my criticism of Jay Z is his inability to keep a beat, and, based on 50 Cent and others, it appears to be contagious. He's not on some sort of Kool Keith rhythmic meta-plane either - he just sounds lazy and disinterested. But Beyonce, buoyed by the drums (as Thomas and I discussed, it is the fact they accelerate when the choral horns kick in that makes this so amazing), soars like the big-booty diva she desperately wants to be.
6. "Ghettomusick" - Outkast. The craziest single by a major artist that I can remember. At least three different songs are merged into this genre busting techno/soul/rapalicious spectacular. Nothing prepared me for hearing this song for the first time - Stankonia, masterpiece that it is, did not clue me in to this possibility. It scares me when I think that the two subsequent singles, "Hey Ya" and "The Way You Move", are further ahead than any other mainstream releases this year. Go to Outkast.com and help pick their next singles. If "Bowtie" and "Prototype" get released before New Years, you could almost argue for an Outkast top five. That is scary.
1. "Ignition (remix)" - R. Kelly. Easily my favorite R. Kelly song ever (though the remix of "Feelin' On Your Booty" is mighty fine), here he really seems to be having fun. There just isn't enough fun in music anymore. Every release seems so calculated, with just the right guest spot or hot video director or what-have-you. I like fun. I love how he slyly begins, "Now, usually I don't do this, but..." I like fun.
2. "Harder To Breathe" - Maroon 5. Utterly derivative, catchy and, again, fun. Plus the drummer sings a falsetto harmony during the chorus, and it's actually not very well done. Maybe I just like white-boy guitar funk. Something about it strikes me as Jamiroquai jamming with "Detroit Breakdown"-style J. Geils Band, except it's good.
3. "In Da Club" - 50 Cent. I'm not a fan - I pretty much hated the album, but this song is undeniable. Just a party definite for years to come. That "techno stab" keyboard with the hand claps is just another Dr. Dre masterpiece. Plus 50 manages to keep to the rhythm for an entire song, which is undeniably a record for this cut rate Biggie wannabe.
4. "The Laws Have Changed" - New Pornographers. The return of the Canadian indie-pop supergroup, which is comprised of every Canadian indie rocker not in Sloan. Pure power-pop in a head-shaking 4/4 every hipster can sway to. A song a liked better the first time I heard it, but it's still a head nodder months later.
5. "Crazy In Love (crazy Chinese version)" - Beyonce f/Vaness Wu. I need to thank Matthew for this - it kept the song fun long after Jay Z ruined the original for me. Again, my criticism of Jay Z is his inability to keep a beat, and, based on 50 Cent and others, it appears to be contagious. He's not on some sort of Kool Keith rhythmic meta-plane either - he just sounds lazy and disinterested. But Beyonce, buoyed by the drums (as Thomas and I discussed, it is the fact they accelerate when the choral horns kick in that makes this so amazing), soars like the big-booty diva she desperately wants to be.
6. "Ghettomusick" - Outkast. The craziest single by a major artist that I can remember. At least three different songs are merged into this genre busting techno/soul/rapalicious spectacular. Nothing prepared me for hearing this song for the first time - Stankonia, masterpiece that it is, did not clue me in to this possibility. It scares me when I think that the two subsequent singles, "Hey Ya" and "The Way You Move", are further ahead than any other mainstream releases this year. Go to Outkast.com and help pick their next singles. If "Bowtie" and "Prototype" get released before New Years, you could almost argue for an Outkast top five. That is scary.
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