Wrapping up 2003.
20 - "Stand Up," Ludacris
19 - "Holidae In," Chingy
18 - "Invisible," Clay Aiken
17 - "Bright Lights," Matchbox Twenty
16 - "The Voice Within," Christina Aguilera
The second half opens with the first #1 pop hit by rapper Chris "Ludacris" Bridges. It's basically about a night of drinking, smoking weed, and admiring the charms of young ladies at a nightclub. Not revolutionary, but good beat, easy to dance to, and Luda has a nice flow. Like it.
Ludacris also contributes a guest verse to Chingy's entry here, and Snoop Dogg chips in on the choruses. It's a song about having a wild drink-drug-and-sex party at a reasonably-priced chain hotel. A lot of hip-hop in this era recycles the same things, so for me, it usually comes down to the music, the voices, or some unique turns of phrase to measure my enjoyment. This one was very much meh.
Next is North Carolinian Clay Aiken, who earlier in this year was the runner-up to Ruben Studdard on the second season of American Idol. But Aiken's first recordings clearly outsold Studdard's, and his rabid fanbase dubbed themselves the "Claymates." But this, the lead single from his first album, doesn't really hold up. Sure, he sings this pop-rock song about wanting to be noticed by the object of his affection well enough, but it's clear he's just not comfortable in the genre. He works best as a belter of ballads. And as much as his label tried to market him to the teen crowd, his natural audience skews older. I don't think he's ever going to be a big pop star again, but I think he'll maintain enough of an audience to keep him a decent live draw for years to come.
Then it's...them. They just won't leave me alone. Back they come with a bland and insipid take on the "when you inevitably fail in the big city, come back home to me" theme. Fortunately, with the charts coming up, I think I'll be safe from them for a while. But wait...Rob Thomas also put out solo albums! Shudder.
Rounding out this section is Christina Aguilera with a gentle ballad on which she advises a young girl to trust herself when dealing with the big bad world. Nice message, nice song, that's it.
15 - "Shake Ya Tailfeather," Nelly with P. Diddy and Murphy Lee
14 - "Why Can’t I," Liz Phair
13 - "Get Low," Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz featuring the Ying Yang Twinz
12 - "Harder to Breathe," Maroon 5
11 - "Someday," Nickelback
This group is led off by Nelly's collaboration with his homeboy Murphy Lee and some other guy who I think has done some rapping and stuff. On this track from the film Bad Boys II, they sing (though not literally) the praises of female posteriors. In an unlikely and bizarre connection to the holidays, Nelly at one point raps "Is that your ass or your mama have reindeer?" It gets an extra point for that, and another one for Murphy Lee's mention of Dean Martin. I like Dean.
In 1993, Chicago's Liz Phair released Exile in Guyville, an album of sexually frank rock songs that quickly became a critical favorite and is considered one of the best records of that decade. But ten years later, she hadn't risen above the underground, so on the advice of her label, she recorded four tracks from her fourth album with the production team called The Matrix, the trio who masterminded the breakthrough of Avril Lavigne. One of these was this bouncy pop track about the thrill and frustration of having an affair. It got a good deal of radio play, but no other hits followed, and the album sold roughly the same amount as Exile. And the critics were merciless, accusing her of being the dreaded "sellout." Me, I like the song, and I found it cool hearing her voice in dollar stores filling a playlist spot that might have been filled by...others. But I do admit, she has quite a few better songs than this.
Next are Atlanta's Lil Jon and his crew with their biggest hit, a sex rap that introduced the world not only to Jon's cartoonish rasp, but to the term "skeet." I won't describe it here, but suffice it to say, it's a verb. Overall, this is not one of the genre's most progressive moments.
Then it's the first hit for Maroon 5. It's a catchy little rock earworm that I instantly liked, and I still do. However, every other song I've heard of theirs I find annoying. Adam Levine in lothario mode just doesn't do it for me. But this, I will still listen to with pleasure and without apology.
Anchoring this quintet are Nickelback with a power ballad about trying to repair a broken relationship. It's okay by their standards. It was accompanied by a Sixth Sense-esque clip that introduced their penchant for gimmicky videos. My favorite is probably "Savin' Me."
Top Ten lords a' leaping.
10 - "Stacy’s Mom," Fountains of Wayne
These New Jersey power-poppers picked upt their lone pop hit with this fun tune about a teenage boy lusting after a female friend's attractive mother. There are other FoW songs I like better, but this was a worthy hit. It's like a great lost Cars single.
9 - "Perfect," Simple Plan
These Montrealers had their biggest American hit to date with a power ballad about trying and failing to live up to a father's high expectations. Not great, but it's not hard to see why there was an audience for it.
8 - "It’s My Life," No Doubt
Gwen and her men had their last hit before she launched her solo career with this slick cover of Talk Talk's 1984 statement of independence. Not better than the original, but they do it some degree of justice.
7 - "Why Don't You and I," Santana featuring Alex Band
This midtempo romance rocker was written by Nickelback's Chad Kroeger, who sang it on Santana's Shaman album. But Kroeger's record label refused to allow Santana's label to release it as a single, so Carlos re-recorded it with Band, a Kroeger soundalike who sang lead for the band The Calling. But even though Casey played that version, most stations went ahead and played the original. Can't blame them. The only thing worse than mediocrity is a pale imitation of it.
6 - "(There's Gotta Be) More to Life," Stacie Orrico
Orrico, a Christian-pop singer from Seattle, released her first album at the age of 14, then scored two mainstream hits three years later, the biggest of which was this bouncy tune about a quest for meaning beyond "chasing down every temporary high." The song is catchy, the message is subtle yet clear, and she sings it well. Can't say anything bad about it.
5 - "Headstrong," Trapt
This California band that shared Staind's allergy to the letter "e" had their one major pop hit with this noisy rock song about anger and stuff. Not much of anything in the long run.
4 - "Baby Boy," Beyoncé featuring Sean Paul
Ms. Knowles had her second solo hit with this dancehall song about being in love with a man. At one point, she sings to her lover "Let's conceive an angel." I don't know how angelic Blue Ivy will turn out to be, but I'm certainly happy for B and Hov. Oh, and Sean Paul does his thing. That's nice.
3 - "Suga Suga," Baby Bash
Mexican-American rapper Ronnie Ray Bryant had his biggest pop hit with this this laid back tribute to his "superfly chick." It was nice to hear an actual love song in this genre after all the other songs about more temporary relationships.
2 - "Here Without You," 3 Doors Down
The Mississippi band play a boring sappy ballad. It's not "Kryptonite," so I don't care. Millions did, however, which is why it's up here. Good for them.
And on top nine years ago was...
1 - "Hey Ya!" OutKast
This was the first single from The Love Below, Andre 3000's half of OutKast's double album. And it is, without doubt, one of the most brilliant things I've ever heard. It starts out as a catchy acoustic rock song about a complicated relationship, then adds some funk keyboards on the chorus, which consists of a two-word phrase that doesn't make sense yet is somehow perfect. Then there's the spoken-word bridge about ice and sugar that again works in spite of itself, which is followed by the immortal instruction to "shake it like a Polaroid picture," and at last a simple call to dance before the chorus repeats until the fade and you just feel like shaking your ass on into infiinity. The song is joyous, it's meaningful, it's musically complex yet accessible. And best of all, it became a hit pretty much proportional to its greatness. It was everywhere back then, and yet I never got sick of it. And I don't think I ever will.
In the first of the LDDs, a girl dedicated TLC's "Waterfalls" to her incarcerated older brother. Then a woman dedicated Jessica Simpson's "I Wanna Love You Forever" to her loyal boyfriend. Finally, a girl sent out Uncle Kracker's "Drift Away," to the best friend who moved to Florida.
So this was the final AT40 countdown Casey ever did. He began with Marvin Gaye and ended with OutKast. He saw disco, new wave, metal, rap, grunge,and boybands all emerge, but he stayed the same, just playing whatever the kids were into. Sometimes he embarrassed himself by trying to adopt the lingo of the day, but mostly, he just stayed timeless. For better or for worse, he's one of the voices of my life.
Next time: a little something special for the season.
No comments:
Post a Comment