Being sensitive to some of our readers, I've marked some of the songs on this list as explicit because of content. I want you to be aware that some of the music covered is not safe for young children or for those offended by coarse language and sexual content.
I think it is appropriate that we begin with the Billboard Radio Monitor's CHR (Contemporary Hit Radio) chart because this is the music melting pot. CHR is a really fancy and modern way of defining the top 40 hits in popular music. The only reason we don't call it Top 40 anymore is because music has segmented so much and now there are 22 different radio charts. CHR is what happens when you mix Rap, Hip Hop, Adult Contemporary (AC), Hot AC, Rock, and any other song that sort of fits into the pot and stir it up . This is the music that appeals to that group of people who are to old for MTV and to young for VH1. Who like a little rap but not too much, a little AC but not the slow stuff, and a little Rock (we'll except for the hardest stuff) thrown in.
As you'll discover the CHR/Top 40 chart is much more diverse than a lot of the formats we're going to be dealing with in the coming weeks, and that can be a good thing, or a bad thing.
Now onto the songs.
40. About Us
Brooke Hogan (featuring Paul Wall)
I guess if you have to start reviewing music, you can't get any more generic than this ode to a young girl being hounded by all the 'haters'. Brooke Hogan has a serviceable, if whiny voice, that gets drowned out by too much loud audio production. The single's one saving grace is that its got a pretty catchy beat.
Honestly, I'm more curious why she chose this as her first single. The lyrics are just bland, take for instance this glowing poetry.....
I'm just trying to live but you're all up in my grill How's a girl to breathe with the media starring down my mouth With a four inch lens I just wanna hit the mall with some of my
friends.
Ouch! I understand why your whining Brooke if I had a camera jammed down my throat while attempting to get to mall I'd be whining too.
But it's biggest problem is that it doesn't really feature the artist. Paul Wall's rhyming steals the spotlight from Brooke, even going as far as to insert his name into the tune at least twice.
Will Ms. Hogan have a future in music? If this tune is any indication No. Her next single should go out of it's way to plaster Brooke all over it. Right now I wonder why this tune isn't on Paul Wall's new album.
39. If Everyone Cared
Nickelback
This Nickelback's single feels as if it's channeling John Lennon's Imagine or Coca-Cola's I'd Like To Teach the World The Sing. Lying somewhere between an anti-war protest song and a modern rock ballad, the song has a lot of heart, but some laughably silly lyrics. My favorite:
And in the air the fireflies Our only light in paradise We'll show the world they were
wrong And teach them all to sing along
.
I'm glad the answers to all the worlds problems begin and end with us grasping hands and singing along. Alas, the song offers empty platitudes about if we didn't lie, or we swallow our pride, than nobody would die. Well that is except for the ones who live in countries full of famine and disease.
This songs biggest crime is that it takes itself far to seriously and says nothing of substance. While I admire the idea of getting along and praying for a day "when nobody dies." How about offering solutions, instead of sappy lyrics?
38. Street Corner Symphony
Rob Thomas
(sorry no Video is Available)
I think we've found the 21st centuries answer to Billy Joel and a great example of why the above Nickelback single feels empty. Thomas's song is fun, vibrant, and not at all preachy and yet tells almost the same exact story.
Take a look at these lyrics,
Some people
It's a pity
They go all their lives and never know
How to love or to let love go
But it's alright now
We'll make it through this somehow
And we'll paint the perfect picture
All the colors of this world will run together more than ever
I can feel it
Can you feel it
Thomas's lyrics hit on the theme of loving one another and accepting one another. But instead of weighing down the lyrics with a false sense of seriousness, he takes a much more light hearted approach. Thomas's single hit's the right chords and demands to be turned up. This is what a great song should strive to be.
37. U + UR Hand
PINK (Explicit)
I'd like to thank Pink for the tip. If you're ever hanging out at the dance club and Pink's there don't even bother, she just wants to be left alone. What's funny, is this tune is the perfect antidote to Brooke's About Us. Same basic idea, we want to go out and have a good time so if your going to be a jerk leave us alone. But Pink's version is clever (if obscene) and Brooke's is not.
My favorite line in this song is of course:
Keep your drink just give me the money
Now that's a classy way to get rid of an unwanted suitor.
36. Here (In Your Arms)
HELLOGOODBYE
Wow! If I didn't know any better I'd say that this song has been on the chart for far too long. Hellogoodbye have crafted an 80's new wave classic that somehow sounds like it was written twenty years ago and yet feels fresh and new. Of the music that I've reviewed so far, this single is my favorite, maybe it's because I'm secretly an 80's new wave fan, or maybe it's because this song is so different from everything that has come before it. It's such a simple song but the modern synthesizer and other audio effect work is incredible. Too many pop songs use computers to enhance bland music. Hellogoodbye has a great song and uses the audio production tools to make it shine even more.
35. Suddenly I See
KT Tunstall
I'm still trying to wrap my brain around just what exactly Tunstall is talking about in this song. Who exactly is the beautiful girl in the magazine? Is she talking about herself? Or somebody else? I'm not quite sure. But what I do know is that this is a fun song. It's tightly written and Tunstall herself is an amazing performer.
While this single is not as inventive as her previous, Black Horse and the Cherry Tree, it is still better than a lot of the music invading Top-40 Radio.
34. SHOW STOPPER
Danity Kane
Okay I don't get it? This song is really annoying and features some of the silliest rhymes I've ever heard. The best (of the worst)
Put in the keys, make that engine purr
3 in the back, one in the passenger
hmm... I got one:
There was a man, he was a cur (def: a surly or cowardly fellow)
His Momma Called him, Bad Boy Kissinger. (Rap: Henry That Is! WORD)
Honestly, this song sounds like it was jammed together on a Friday night with left over verses from Brooke Hogan's About Us. In fact one of the girls in this pre-fabricated (MTV's Making the Band 3) group sounds just like Brooke. One of them should sue.
33. Keep Holding On
Avril Lavingne
(no Video Available)
I want to thank Avril Lavingne for finally proving that her Skater Girl/Punk image was just a joke. Because if this song is any indication of where her career is going, than she easily make herself into the rock version of Celine Dion any minute from now. All I can tell you about this tune is that it's very positive and uplifting, like an After-school Special without the cheesy 80's haircuts.
Check out this chorus....
Keep holding on 'cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through just stay strong cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you there's nothing you can say, nothing you can do there's no other way when it comes to the truth so keep holding on cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through.
It's so sweet, I think I have a cavity.
Here's my challenge to you readers , without listening to the song, take 5 minutes to write a brand new chorus.
I just want to prove that anyone could have written a better Chorus than this in under 5 minutes.
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See you tomorrow when we look at 8 new songs ranging from Ludacris, to Vanessa Hudgens, with a little Gwen Stefani thrown in for good measure.