Rise of Skywalker Spoiler Review

Back in 2015, a new Star Wars trilogy was started by the big corporation: Disney. This was to be the final three chapters of the Skywalker story that started all the way back in 1977. The characters we all loved back in the day were all coming back to reprise their roles and pass the baton off to new young actors and also try to bring back quality to the Star Wars after the critical failure that was the prequels. The Force Awakens was a nice welcome back to the universe. It played it safe for the big return and it got fans excited again to see the familiar characters and the interesting new ones. The introduction of Rey, Finn, Poe, and Kylo was a success. Then came The Last Jedi, a movie that split many fans of the franchise in half. Some hated it, some loved it. The Last Jedi took a lot more risks and twist and turns on the franchise and it tried some new things out, which pleased some fans and angered the others. Personally, I thought it was an OKAY movie, I liked some of its ideas but now with everything wrapped up it feels a lot less important in the trilogy. This leads us to the Grand Finale... (warning: Spoilers for the new movie are going to be on here!!!!!!!!!!!!!).

Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker

Rise of Skywalker picks up several months to maybe a year after The Last Jedi, where the Resistance is picking up the pieces and trying to find a way to finally put an end to the First Order and Kylo Ren. The movie quickly re-introduces us to the main villain in Palpatine, who apparently didn't die all those years ago at the Death Star for some reason. His plan is to recruit Kylo Ren to bring him Rey so he can turn her to the dark side and he can once again start to rebuild the sith. The idea of bringing back Palpatine felt pretty unnecessary to me, although it was nice to see him and his crazy over-the-top performance again. It just felt like it was thrown in just to have another connection to the original movies everyone loves. The previous movies didn't feel like they were building up towards this reveal, so it just felt like it came out of nowhere and it didn't make as much sense as they probably thought it would. 

Later on, in the movie, it's revealed that Rey is actually a descendant of Palpatine, his granddaughter to be specific. This goes against the idea established in The Last Jedi that Rey's parents aren't important people. It makes the message of that movie weaker because it felt like it was trying to say something interesting in that you don't need to be a Skywalker or a Solo to be a hero. Not every hero in Star Wars has to be connected to a bloodline that is well-known in the franchise to be a Jedi, but that's apparently untrue since it turns out Rey was a Palpatine all along. 

It also turns out that Palpatine was behind the First Order from the start and that he created Supreme Leader Snoke in his weird lab, so Snoke was actually just Palpatine all along. It feels like that was just thrown in to put some meaning behind Snoke since he died in The Last Jedi before we really learned anything about him. It just doesn't feel like the story here was fully thought out and a lot of the story elements in this movie were put in to "fix" some of the plot points from The Last Jedi. This happens quite a bit in the movie actually.

Some things that happen in Rise of Skywalker that feel like they were just put in to try and fix or go against The Last Jedi:

- Rey actually being a Palpatine

- Snoke being a clone created by Palpatine

- Rose Rico and Finn's relationship being completely ignored

- Luke stopping Rey from throwing away her lightsaber

- Killing off General Hux pretty quickly and establishing General Pryde

Another annoying part of the movie was the whole dagger storyline. A good chunk of the movie revolved around getting this rare sith dagger that would help them find Palpatine's location with its inscription. There's a lot of coincidences that happen in order for them to even find this dagger. First, they randomly find Lando on a desert planet, then they get in a random speeder chase with troopers where they crash land onto some sort of quicksand. Inside the quicksand is a bunch of tunnels where they randomly find the dagger they were looking for. Towards the end of the movie, Rey finds a random hidden compass inside the dagger that just happens to show the location of Palpatine on the Death Star wreckage near Endor. It all just feels... a little too lucky? 

The movie also does this thing where it pretends to kill important characters and then brings them back to life or reveal it was fake all along later. It does this with Chewbacca, Kylo, Zori Bliss and C-3PO. It's like they are trying to get emotions out of the audience by pretending to kill off important characters you love only to bring them back. Plus it takes away from Kylo's actual death later on at the ending of the movie when you already thought he was going to die once when he was stabbed. 

It also feels like the movie doesn't really know what to do with Finn as a character. Since they completely erase his relationship with Rose from the last movie, we don't get to see what happens between them and if Finn actually feels anything for her. Much later in the movie, they do give him a new interesting character he connects with, a woman he also abandoned the First Order like Finn did in the first movie. This relationship sadly doesn't go much further than just them bonding over the fact that they both were forced to join the First Order when they were young. At the end of the movie, they just randomly stick her in a scene with Lando that doesn't go anywhere and feels a little too random. 

To talk about some things I did like though, the cast really brings it in this movie like they have in the previous entries. I really like the 4 main actors (Rey, Finn, Poe, Kylo) and I hope to see them more in the future, not just in Star Wars. They have great chemistry with each other and play off each other very well. I think this was the best of Poe we got in this trilogy, his character felt like it was handled well and I had a lot of fun watching him. Poe and Finn's relationship is the most fun one and seeing them on-screen together is always really good. This was also the first time we really got to see Rey and Poe do a lot together and it was also really good the way they played off each other. 

Something I wasn't too sure about that turned out to be really nice was how the movie handled Leia's character. I think they used her character well and did great with what little they had to work with. The only strange part was her death were they kind of just put a blanket over her entire body for the last part of her performance as she lay on a bed. It's understandable though because there was only so much they could have done. 

The best scene in the movie is actually the most surprising scene too. Han Solo makes a nice final return to have a really well done emotional moment with his son Kylo. Kylo declares himself once again to be Ben Solo and it's honestly really well done and Harrison Ford really brought it. 

The action in the movie is still pretty fun even if it sometimes doesn't make a lot of sense, like the weird final battle sequence where they are trying to destroy some kind of navigation system to prevent an entire fleet of star destroyers from being able to go destroy the galaxy. Along with some of the best visual effects you can find in a movie (this is Disney and Star Wars so that's not surprising). AND of course, there's the amazing score by John Williams that always deserves to be praised. 

Rise of Skywalker was probably never going to make every Star Wars fan happy, especially after The Last Jedi divided a lot of them. Its options seemed to be to either go along with the changes that The Last Jedi brought to the story or try to fix them somehow in two and a half hours. The movie seemed to mostly try to ignore a lot of what happened in the last movie or try to fix it by adding a new twist or new plot. I think by doing that it made the whole trilogy feel very uneven. It feels like nothing was really fully planned out from the beginning to the end of the trilogy and it was all made up as each movie was made. It could have worked out, but the problem was that this last movie tries too hard to pretend a lot of what The Last Jedi was setting up didn't matter. It also introduces a lot of new ideas that don't get a full payoff. Ideas like Finn maybe being able to control the force and also Finn never really tell Rey the thing that he tries the whole movie to tell her. They also introduce new characters like Zori and Jannah that don't really get to do much and ignore already established characters like Rose. 

Despite all of this, I still enjoyed watching the movie for the most part. It was hard to ignore its flaws and for that reason, I don't really see myself coming back to this movie very often. The only reason to return is to see Rey, Finn, Poe, and Kylo because they are the only reason this new trilogy worked at all. Their performances and chemistry kept this trilogy from being a total mess, even though it was still a mess. It's a trilogy that had a ton of potential after the first movie, but in my opinion, it fell apart with the next two movies. I think many people will still enjoy this movie and I know a lot of people really liked it. I thought it was okay and it had enough good in it to entertain me for most of its run-time. In the end, it's just disappointing to see this new trilogy end in on a low note without bringing much excitement to what's in store next for the Star Wars movies. I think there's still plenty of great stories that can be told in this universe, The Mandalorian and Fallen Order have recently proven that to be true.  

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Best/Worst Songs of 2019

We're just a month away from the end of the year and also the end of the decade (at least when I started writing this). Yeah, the decade went by pretty fast and this year went by even faster. Music is often categorized by decades and over time we like to look back and see what kind of music defined the decade. We make fun of the terrible music people used to like back in the day or argue that music hasn't been great since the '90s or '80s or whatever decade you grew up in. I think there can be an argument made for every decade and why it could be considered the best. Maybe that's a good idea for another day, writing an argument as to why each decade could be considered the best of all time musically. But today I just want to make a list of the best and worst songs of the last year of this decade. I do have to say it might be hard for me to argue the 2010s as the best decade for music though. 2019 was a pretty forgettable year for pop music. Most of the songs that were popular and on the charts this year were just boring and not really worth talking about. Looking through a lot of the popular songs of the year when trying to make this list, it was hard to really choose anything I really hated or loved. Thankfully I think it was at least an improvement on last year and outside of the pop charts music was actually pretty great. So I'm going to rank the top 10 worst and best songs of the year. It's going to be in order from bad to worst and good to best (if that makes any sense?).

Honorable Mentions for Bad Songs:

- Con Calma by Daddy Yankee / Katy Perry: A very strange sample of an old 90s hit "Informant" by Canadian artist Snow. A typical club song about sex or something where Katy Perry pretends to be attracted to Daddy Yankee and he tries his best to make sense but fails. It's still surprising that this guy keeps getting hits after a decade of doing the same exact thing over and over and rarely trying anything new. Why is Katy Perry even in this song? 

-The Git Up by Blanco Brown: Whenever a song gets huge there's always bound to be people who try to steal its style to make a quick hit off the popular song's success. In this case, Blanco Brown saw how huge the song "Old Town Road" was in the year 2019 and decided to try to cash in on the hip-hop with a bit of country trend. This is a really lazy song that sounds like it was made in a couple of hours and thrown out in a single to get as much airplay as possible off of "Old Town Road" and all the popularity around it. 

- Knockin' Boots by Luke Bryan: It's a song that refers to sex as "knockin' boots". Haha, get it? Because of people that like country music like wearing boots! Maybe I should make a hipster version of this song and call it "Knockin' TOMS". Get it? Because of hipsters usually wea---

-Wow. by Post Malone: Maybe I'll never understand Post Malone's music. To me, it's just boring and lifeless with nothing interesting to say. It's actually strange how two of the biggest artists of the decade in Post Malone and Drake both seem to make such boring and lifeless music and people just keep eating it up. The sad part is I know both artists are capable of making good songs because both have made some pretty great songs in the past. 

Bad Song 10: Closed on Sunday by Kanye West

Honestly, this one made the list for pretty much one reason:

"Closed on Sunday, you're my Chick-fil-a. You're my number one, with the lemonade"

Seriously, who gets a lemonade with the number one from Chick-fil-a? They put way too much sugar in that crap.

Joking aside, Just a really weird line in a song that's not actually that bad. It just feels completely out of place with the rest of the song to throw in a weird commercial for a fast-food franchise in a song that's supposed to be a worship song. It also doesn't make any sense. Who is he referring to when saying they are closed on Sunday? Is it God? That doesn't really make much sense.

Anyway, it's just a really bad line that completely takes away from what could have been an interesting song. Kanye has always had a strange sense of humor so maybe this is just a dumb dad joke he decided to include in the song, but that doesn't really make it any better. 

Good Song 10: Old Town Road by Lil Nas X (Ft. Billy Ray Cyrus)

Yeah, this song was everywhere for a few months and it felt inescapable. The fact that I still enjoy this song for what it is and am still not bothered by it shows that this song is actually a good song. Normally a song with this much overplay can start to annoy me, but this one hasn't gotten to that point yet, though I'm sure some people won't agree with that. As I've written before, this song is very catchy and feels completely different than anything else on the charts this year. That's why his follow-up was so disappointing, it felt very unoriginal and boring. While I don't love this song, I completely understand why it got the attention it did and I think it deserved it.

Bad Song 9: Sweet But Psycho by Ava Max

You ever listen to a new song and immediately hate it? Yeah, that was this song for me. There's something just very annoying about this song that makes it hard to listen to. The melody used in the chorus is so annoying and the lyrics don't help either. I've never heard of Ava Max before, but she's not very impressive. Her two big hits sound very similar to each other actually, but this one is slightly worse. The music in the song is very generic pop sounds that don't really add anything to an already boring song. I'd probably forget this song even exists in a couple hours if it wasn't annoyingly constantly used on Tinder profiles.

Good Song 9: Bury a Friend by Billie Eilish   

If Myspace were still a thing, this song would definitely by every high school girl's profile song. That being said, this song is still pretty great. Most people didn't know the name Billie Eilish until this song came out of nowhere and started gaining traction. Who knew that this would lead to the creation of a new mega-star who would go on to dominate the year. Billie was exactly what the mainstream music world needed in 2019, something fresh and different. While I can't say I love this song, I really appreciate it for bringing something new to the airwaves. Of course, lots of copycats are going to try to use this style now to make a quick profit, but that's what happens to all great new artists. The song has a dark mood to it that's basically become Billie's signature sound, at least for her big album this year. It will be interesting where she goes from here. 

Bad Song 8: I Don't Care by Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber

The last time these two teamed up, they made the biggest song of 2016 in "Love Yourself". This time they made one of the most forgettable songs in "I Don't Care". This was still the 16th biggest song of the year, but that's still pretty surprising considering the star power in this song. The problem is that the song is so boring that I think even the biggest fans of these two weren't very impressed. As every reviewer will probably say, the problem with this song is that they truly sound like they don't care. As if this song isn't even worth making, and they are just doing it because it's a guaranteed hit since they are two of pop music's favorite men... okay, boys. Maybe next time they'll actually make something that feels like some work was put into it. 

Good Song 8: Juice by Lizzo

This definitely sounds like something Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson would have made a few years ago. I'm honestly surprised this song wasn't a bigger hit, cause it's pretty damn great. I honestly wonder if it had been released by Bruno Mars would it have been a bigger hit? Probably. The lyrics wouldn't make as much sense coming from Bruno though. 

I love the music though, it's got a cool 70s/80s pop vibe to it with some really great bass. Lizzo has all the charm to make a song like this work and her vocal ability always shines. 2019 was a big year for Lizzo, who seems to be the exact opposite of Billie Eilish in her musical persona. There will always be space for some fun pop personalities like Lizzo's on the charts and I'm glad to see it there.

Bad Song 7: Harleys in Hawaii by Katy Perry

Oh, Katy, what are you doing? After her last album being a huge letdown for her with no big hits, Katy made a comeback in 2019. So far, it hasn't been a very good comeback. She's released a couple of new singles that are probably leading to a new album in 2020. None of those singles have made much traction in the charts and none of them were even close to reaching the top of the charts. "Harleys in Hawaii" was the worst of them all, not even getting in the hot 100 for one week.

The song is the kind of thing that Katy Perry just doesn't do very well in my opinion. Katy is at her best when she's belting out or at least having fun in songs like "Firework" and "California Gurls", not boring songs like this were she's barely singing along to some mediocre music. Also, if you're going to have a song that takes place in Hawaii, would it kill you to make it a little more tropical and fun... maybe that's too obvious?  

Good Song 7: Cruel Summer by Taylor Swift

Taylor's new album was pretty hit or miss overall, but it did have this gem of a song early on in the album. This feels like the perfect Taylor Swift song, and it also sounds like something that could have been on her "1989" album which is good. Taylor usually feels at her best when she's singing about real relationships and being more honest about them and her feelings. This song works in that way and the music is simple but works well with Taylor's voice in this case. Overall it's a very catchy song that's short and sweet that I can listen to over and over without getting tired of... yet? 

Bad Song 6: High Hopes by Panic! at the Disco

I've always been a fan of Panic! at the Disco's music, especially the early years of their discography but this song just really sucks along with the album it came from. It's a very loud and irritating song that I wish it would just chill out a bit and stop screaming in my ear. Bradon's vocals are very grating in this song, and the production just sounds very ugly and overdone. I seriously have to turn the volume down a significant amount when listening to this song or my head will start to hurt. Brandon's vocals are usually pretty good to great and I don't think he's really the main problem with the song. The problem is all in the production and the music. It makes what would have been a mediocre song even worse. 

Good Song 6: Shallow by Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper

I've talked a lot about this song in previous posts, so I'll keep it short to not repeat myself too much. This song is a great moment for the movie and it works as a song on its own outside of the movie. I think listening to the song outside of the movie is a lot less impactful of course because the moment this song takes place is a big moment full of emotion. Still a great song outside of the movie and I think it's worthy of the praise it gets.

Bad Song 5: Earth by Lil Dicky (Feat. Tons of celebrity cameos)

This is supposed to be a comedy song that's also a call to action for us to take better care of our planet. While the message of taking care of our planet Earth is one worthy of being promoted, this song doesn't really do a good job at it. Throughout time there's been a lot of songs like this where a lot of famous singers come together to promote a good cause. The most famous example of that is "We are the World" from back in the 80s, and that song was also pretty awful. This song (Earth) features lots of famous singers and pop stars vocals as they all pretend to be different animals on Earth and say gross things. It's basically just one joke throughout the entire song that's not actually funny. 

"I'm a Baboon, but I sound like Justin Bieber"

"I'm a Zebra, but I sound like Ariana Grande"

"I'm a Koala, but I sound like Ed Sheeran"

That's the joke. And it goes on for almost five minutes repeating that over and over again. The only funny one is Kevin Hart pretending to be Kanye West, but that's only because Lil Dicky couldn't get the real Kanye West to play himself. So yeah, I'll save you time and tell you that YES, it is important that we take care of our Earth while we still have time. Now you don't have to listen to this song. 

Good Song 5: Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles

When I first heard this song I thought it would be going on my worst list for this year, but something strange happened. I found the chorus very annoying at first, with the repetition of the phrase "Watermelon sugar high" over and over again till it made absolutely no sense. Over time and a couple dozen listens I think I really like this song now... I think. Never has a song made me feel more confused. The song has a lot of good things about it, mainly the music that has a good guitar and good bass lines throughout with a fun beat. There are also nice little details throughout like the horns that slowly build in the verses and become more powerful at the final chorus. The verses are really well done, it's just the chorus that I feel holds this song back a little. It could have been better, but I still enjoy it a lot for what it is. 

Bad Song 4: Senorita by Shawn Mendes and Camila Hair

I think I'd prefer to just forget this song even existed like I'm sure the rest of the world already has. It's a boring song with no chemistry between two people who are or were supposedly a real couple. Camila does the same thing she always does, by not really adding anything to the song and Shawn Mendes isn't doing much better. By the way, did you guys know that Camila is Latin? I don't think her music refers to that fact enough.

Good Song 4: Lover by Taylor Swift

*For some reason my blog here decided to delete all the text I had written for the next few songs, so I have to try to write everything out again, which is fun*

Taylor comes back with a simpler love song and it's really enjoyable. What I like a lot about this song is how the instruments are actually real and really back up Taylor's vocals really well. The song just has a nice vibe to it that's both relaxing and romantic, which matches perfectly with the lyrics. Taylor's vocals also work really well because the way she sings the song totally matches the mood the song is aiming for. 

Bad Song 3: Lose You to Love Me By Selena Gomez

Selena Gomez might just be the most boring artist of the decade. I don't think I've heard a single song from her that was actually impressive or even worth listening to. This one is no different as she returns with a new single that brings absolutely nothing new and exciting from an artist that really needs it. This is another song full of cliches and boring music where Selena fails to show any kind of emotion about what she's singing about. That's the difference between an artist like Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez, Taylor can actually convey emotion in her vocals and match the lyrical content of her songs. While not all of Taylor's songs are good, at least she's got that while Selena doesn't really have much of anything. I might be being extra mean because I had to write this whole thing out again and listen to this song one more time. I really hope to hear something different from Selena soon, cause I really want to see what she truly has to offer, this can't be all of it.

Good Song 3: Bad Guy by Billie Eilish

That bass line is enough to put this song in the top ten list, and the electronic melody in the chorus is enough to put it in the top 5. Listening to this song I do have to wonder how a song like this will stand the test of time. It's different than anything else on the charts for sure, and like I said about "Bury a Friend" it's a breath of fresh air at a time where a lot of music just kind of sounds the same. Although, a lot of music does have this sort of "dark" vibe nowadays, and emo-rap is at its peak popularity which this doesn't differ too much from. This actually kind of reminds me of that song "Heathens" by Twenty One Pilots, just with a little less energy. 

So maybe this song isn't as completely original as I maybe first though, but it's still a great song. I think I might actually like the music more than the subtle vocals by Billie Eilish though, but that's not really a bad thing. I still dislike the little breakdown at the last minute, so that keeps it from being any higher on this list.

Bad Song 2: 7 Rings by Ariana Grande

I wrote a lot about this song in one of my recent posts which you can see HERE. But I still really dislike this song and listening to it more hasn't really helped it. It's still boring and misguided with its very strange sample of "My Favorite Things" from the old musical "The Sound of Music". The whole song just feels ungenuine and Ariana just doesn't pull off the whole bragging about being rich thing off very well... despite the fact that she IS actually rich. The music is boring and Ariana just doesn't shine like she usually does. It's one of her weaker songs for sure, but I think every artist has these kinds of missteps every now and then. 

Good Song 2: Sunflower by Post Malone & Swae Lee

A also wrote a lot about this song in that recent post and most of that still applies. Both of these artists are more hit than miss for me usually but coming together for this song they really put together something great. Yeah, I'm sure lots of great producers and writers helped too, but the two artists still sound great in this song. It's a very easy song to listen to with a great flow and mood that works really well with these two artists. Usually, Post Malone is "singing" behind darker music and more moody, so hearing him in a more happy/chilled out song is really nice. The fact that it's so short is also really nice, by the time it ends it leaves you wanting more. 

THE WORST SONG: Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi

It didn't take long for me to realize that this is my least favorite song of the year. No one knew the name Lewis Capaldi until recently when this song randomly hit the charts pretty hard and even reached number one for some odd reason. Apparently, he's related to one of the doctors from Doctor Who so that's a thing. This song is pretty awful though and no amount of cool relatives is going to change that. It's a pretty generic "sad" song about a break-up. The entire song is pretty much just a piano playing basic chords in a standard pop-song chord progression, nothing else. The song feels empty in its minimal music. Having just a piano doesn't have to be a bad thing, the piano is an instrument that can be enough to carry a song. The problem here is that it's not really doing anything interesting. That means that it's up to the vocals and lyrics to really carry the song. Lewis' vocals aren't good enough to carry this song and the lyrics are just full of overused break-up song cliches you've no doubt heard too many times. It gets really bad when Lewis tries to belt out the chorus and sounds like he's about to blow out his voice with his raspy screeching. This song just fails in every way possible with boring music, generic lyrics, and weak vocals.

THE BEST SONG: thank u, next by Ariana Grande

 Leave it to Ariana to make one of the worst songs and one of the best songs of 2019. It was a tough choice between this and "Sunflower", but ultimately I think I enjoyed this one a little more than "Sunflower". This is just one of those songs that work on every level. Of course, Ariana's vocals are almost always on point and she has a great performance on this one. I admit the music isn't incredibly impressive, but it's nice and subtle and works well with the flow of the song. The real standout of this song though is the lyrics. The song is all about Ariana's real-life past relationships as she remembers all the things she's learned from each of them. There's even a nice shoutout to the late Mac Miller which is really nice. It's nice to see someone take a more positive spin on her past relationships and even using real names to compliment her exes. This song feels unique in that way, at least from all the other songs on the pop charts this year. It's a really catchy song with a great message featuring great vocals by Ariana. Definitely worthy of being my favorite pop song of the year.

Here's the playlist for the songs of the list. I also included another playlist I made recently that has 200 songs I really liked from the past decade if you're looking for some new music of all kinds.

Here's the 200 song playlist:

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A Look Back: 2 0 1 4

Welcome to 2014, a year that definitely happened four years ago. I swear, listening to all the big songs from this year, I honestly couldn't believe that 2014 wasn't that long ago. A lot of the big hits from this year just sound so dated and feel like they came out at least 15 years ago. Maybe you'll agree with me once you start seeing some of the songs that came out this year. 2014 was a pretty decent year for pop music though, there's actually a lot I liked in this year. So like always I'm going to list my favorites and least favorite songs of 2014 usually saving the best and worst for last. At the end of the year, I'm going to do the best and worst of the decade list and actually rank it in order. I'm also working on a playlist with 100 good pop songs from the decade and hopefully, that turns out OK.

Before I start there were two songs I wasn't too sure where to put, but I think should be mentioned:

Fancy by Iggy Azalea, because I can't tell if I actually like the song or not. I remember liking at the time, but over the years Iggy has just kept releasing terrible music nonstop and I think maybe that's changed my opinion of this song. It definitely feels like a fluke, but I can't take away how HUGE this song was in 2014.

Bang Bang by Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj. A really catchy song with amazing vocals, but some of the dumbest lyrics of the year. To be fair Jessie J lyrics are always pretty dumb, and she still has some decent songs out there. This one just barely missed my good list but was beaten out by this song...

BEST: Imagine Dragons "Radioactive"

This one barely made the list, to be honest. This song was so awesome back in 2014 because of how different it was from anything else. Imagine Dragons have shown over the years that they will probably never make another song this epic and different, but instead will make generic pop-rock tracks for the radio/advertisements. That being said, this song is still really cool and different. It feels epic with its explosive drum sounds and screaming vocals in the chorus. The music has a lot of little details in it with the guitar and synth sounds in the background behind the giant drum explosions. It really feels like it takes place in some post-apocalyptic world. 

WORST: MAGIC! "Rude"

This pop-reggae song really popped out of nowhere in 2014 and became an instant hit. MAGIC!'s frontman Nasri had been writing songs for big pop stars for years before he decided to start his own project. That lead to this song about a man who wants to marry the love of his life, but can't seem to get her father's approval (understandable). He then goes on to complain about how rude he is for nearly 4 minutes. To me, this song hasn't really aged that well over the years. At one point I was a fan of this band and even bought the album, which I thought was actually a decent album. This song though (Rude) just kind of annoys me now, and I can't fully explain why. Maybe it's the overplay it got for an entire year or maybe it's the annoying lyrics and how whiny it comes across. I think maybe this song really isn't THAT bad, but on a personal level, it just annoys me. Musically it's fine, pretty simple reggae-lite beat with a pretty nice bassline. Reggae has been a huge part of this decade though, as it has been used in plenty of pop songs throughout these last 10 years. I think I'll eventually come back around on this song after some time passes, but for now, it's not a song I like very much. 

BEST: Coldplay "A Sky Full of Stars"

This song is like joy personified. The reason I love this song is how it just slowly builds throughout the verse and hook to the big musical explosion that's honestly pretty amazing. The moment feels earned because of the lyrics and music that lead up to it work so well together to get you pumped. You can feel the big musical climax coming and it actually pays off because of the music working so well together. It's one of those few songs that I feel like I could listen to just to feel better. It's no secret that this album was inspired by Chris Martin's divorce and the fact that a song like this came out of that is pretty cool. It's so full of hope and inspiration through just the music, even without the few lyrics this song has I think it could work with the music alone. But the music does give some context to the joy the music expresses and that's important too. 

WORST: John Legend "All of Me"

This song is like boredom personified. The reason I hate this song is that it puts me to sleep and doesn't give me a single emotion. This might be one of the most boring love songs ever written, it feels so emotionless and passionless as he describes his love for the poor woman he's with. If anything this song makes me not want to ever fall in love, because it doesn't seem very exciting. I know I'm being really overdramatic, which this song could have used some of that, but this song really does bore me. It's just a piano playing some normal chords with nothing else going on. John Legend has great vocals and I know he's a very talented piano player, but this song doesn't show any of that off. Instead, it's a song that desperately needs some more detail in the music and lyrics. 

BEST: Pharell Williams  "H A P P Y"

It's the NUMBER ONE SONG of 2014! Speaking of emotion, this song is literally named after one (kind of?). When you name a song Happy, the song better be freaking happy and thankfully this one totally is. Pharell knows how to write a catchy song, but this one is a little more than that. His vocals are soulful and smooth and along with the music really gives off a fun vibe the song is clearly aiming for. Later in the song, a chorus backs him up and really helps the song feel a little different from the first half. It's got an old-school feeling to it that makes it a nice throwback, but with enough modern elements in the production also give it a fresh feeling. Overall a fun neo-soul song that's pretty hard not to get into.

WORST: Katy Perry "Dark Horse"

Getting the obvious part out of the way, Katy Perry doesn't know what a Dark Horse is. In this song, Katy Perry tries her best to seem dark, mysterious and powerful. Katy Perry is none of those things as an artist and this song proves that she can't really pull that off. Katy Perry is usually at her best when she's singing power anthems that are more inspirational or fun not whatever this is. The music feels like it belongs more in the early 2000s than in 2014, which I guess might explain why Juicy J is the guest rapper here. He doesn't really make much sense to the rest of the song, just kinda rapping about sex or something. I think this song was the start of Katy Perry's decline in good music because after this song it didn't get much better. Although she does have a new album coming out soon, so maybe that will be good? 

BEST: Sia "Chandelier"

I believe Chandelier was Sia's first official solo hit. A few years before this she was featured on two pretty big songs in "Wild Ones" by Flo Rida and "Titanium" by David Guetta. This song (Chandelier) is almost like a showcase for how much of a powerhouse vocalist Sia really is. She is the star of this song and she owns it with her ability. The music does a good job of keeping up with her though. It's crazy to think she didn't actually get a number one hit until 2016 with "Cheap Thrills", which I don't think is anywhere near as good as this song. I think the song is about the dangers of party life and possibly addiction. When you can't stop yourself from doing something and it feels great at first, but in reality, you're hanging on for dear life trying not to fall and crash. 

WORST: Meghan Trainor "All About That Bass"

"All About That Bass". A song that was literally everywhere for a few months and introduced the world to Meghan Trainor. I've never been a fan of Meghan Trainor, especially now that she's released a lot more terrible music. This was the one that really kicked off her career though, it reached number one and even knocked Taylor Swift's big new hit "Shake It Off" out of the number one spot for eight whole weeks. "All About That Bass" is a doo-wop style song that's meant to be a body-positive anthem for girls with big butts. It was also kind of controversial at the time for skinny-shaming, with a specific line in the song calling out skinny girls, which she immediately tries to step back on anyway. I'm not sure if the world really needed a song about how great big butts are though since big butts have been the topic of many songs over the past decade and more (mostly rap songs). It's also strange that a song that's about "bass" doesn't really feature a heavy bass sound in the music. It's kind of a catchy song, but it's also annoying because Meghan Trainor just has that quality to her music. 

BEST: Charli XCX "Boom Clap"

Charli had a big year in 2014, mainly from her strong showing in one of the top songs of the year "Fancy". She did manage to get a hit on her own though, and it was a much-deserved one. Charli's vocals are very unique and she's got a lot of personality behind her vocals, the kind of voice you recognize instantly. Charli's proven herself as a show-stealer on other songs and here on her own, she brings it too. I really like the energy in this song a lot, the music never takes away from her vocals.

WORST: Imagine Dragons "Demons"

This was Imagine Dragon's third big hit from their first album, showing that they weren't going to be going away anytime soon. This was the first big letdown for me as someone who was pretty interested in this band early on. This song is a pretty boring song compared to what they had released so far. This song lacked the energy or uniqueness of their two previous hits and just felt like a step in the wrong direction. It's supposed to be a more serious song about keeping secrets and the things we hide from most people. An interesting topic for sure, but the song doesn't really tackle it very well. The music is pretty boring, along with the vocals, it just drags along at a slow and boring pace. It's disappointing because I do feel like the song it actually trying to say something, but the music just isn't interesting enough for me to really dive into the meanings. 

BEST: Clean Bandit "Rather Be"

 I've always had an interest in European dance/club music like the one Clean Bandit present here. This song has a lot of layers to its sound and Jess Glynne's vocals fit so perfectly. The mix of the strings, keys, and electronic work so well together and each give little details throughout the song that are really cool. This song just feels really unique even five years later after it's release. Sadly, I don't think Clean Bandit will ever have a hit as big as this one in America. Thankfully though, they have plenty of success outside of the USA. 

WORST: Chris Brown/Tyga/Lil Wayne "Loyal"

These guys make up the trinity of sleaziness. Three guys that probably have enough restraining orders between them to populate an entire city. Three guys who are so insecure they have to constantly remind you how much women love them. Anyway, this song is just... gross and awful. Here are some great lyrics that are actually in the song to show you:

Actually no, I don't feel comfortable writing any of the lyrics in this song on here. Basically, it's just these three "men" talking about having sex with girls that are already in relationships and then calling them hoes. Chris Brown is one of the most unlikable artists in the world. Also, I'm pretty sure this beat was ripped from another Chris Brown song or vice versa. 

BEST: Paramore "Ain't It Fun"

This is still Paramore's biggest hit to date, reaching number ten back in May of 2014. The song definitely has some good qualities to it, mainly the interesting guitar and bass work that work very well together throughout the whole song. Hayley's vocals are good as they usually are and the lyrics are pretty interesting too. The song has kind of a sarcastic tone, poking fun at the cliches that older people tell new adults that are going on their own for the first time in their lives. It works on multiple levels and I really enjoy the end where the song has multiple vocals going over each other and the guitar and bass just kinda jamming out over them.

WORST: Jason Derulo "Wiggle"

Proving that the world is definitely not short on songs appreciating big butts (Meghan Trainor). This song is just so incredibly stupid, and not in a funny way like it thinks it is. It's just incredibly lame and has no redeeming qualities. The lyrics don't really make any sense, for the most part, as he even compares someone's butt to two planets. Like her butt is so big, it's the size of two planets? O K A Y. 

The music is also pretty worthless, as the drop just sounds like it's being played on a crappy recorder. 

Here's a picture of Jason Derulo in the upcoming "Cats" movie for no reason whatsoever. Good luck sleeping tonight. 

BEST: Ed Sheeran "Don't"

Sometimes the more personal you get with your music the better it sounds, at least that's the case with this song. The song is very likely to be about Sheeran's relationship with artist Ellie Goulding, but that's never really been confirmed. Either way, it's about Sheeran being in a relationship with a woman. They grow closer throughout the months and he feels like it's something serious and is really into her. Later he finds out that she was playing him the whole time and has been seeing another man, even in the same hotel they were both staying at. The music is pretty simple, playing the same four chords throughout the whole song, but it works pretty well. The main focus of the song is the lyrics and Sheeran's delivery of the lyrics. He does a great job with the melody and the speed of his delivery that's impressive and really catchy. Still one of Sheeran's best songs. 

WORST: Maroon 5 "Animals"

Adam Levine, dear god what have you done. Any song that features Adam Levine howling like a wolf is gonna be terrible no matter what. Also hearing Adam Levine comparing his sex life to animals is pretty weird too. This song is just really creepy and offputting, to say the least. The only reason a song like this could be popular has to be because of how attractive Adam Levine is because anyone else trying to sing this song would probably be put in prison. This is still one of the worst Maroon 5 songs out there and it's gotta be the worst Adam Levine has ever sounded on a song. The way he squeals the falsetto in the chorus is just horrendous. Never again.

BEST?: The Neighborhood "Sweater Weather

Honestly, I only put this song here because I'm certain it's what I'm supposed to do. I mean this is a great song, right? 

I've never loved this song much, even though I felt like I should have because of the genre and similarities to other bands/songs I really like.  I still like it though, it's better than a lot of other pop songs from 2014 and it's also different in an interesting way. I just find it a bit too boring and a song I find myself not want to come back to very often it at all. This was the band's only big hit back in December of 2013 and a good chunk of early 2014. They have some decent songs in their catalog, but nothing I've ever felt strongly about. This is a decent song, good enough to put it in the list here.

*UPDATE: Okay I think I totally get it now. It's got a really cool chill vibe that fits in with a specific kind of mood. It probably works better as a song you might listen to with a specific someone, probably someone you're in a relationship with. 

WORST: Iggy Azalea/Rita Ora "Black Widow"

What. A. Mess. Iggy didn't take very long to show that her big hit "Fancy" was just a big fluke with this awful song. Terrible music, bad lyrics, and Rita Ora are all a recipe for a really bad song. All the charm that Iggy showed in "Fancy" is completely gone here, instead, we get the clunky Iggy who isn't very convincing as a rapper. This was her last song to reach the top 10, peaking at number three in October of 2014. It's been pretty downhill for Iggy ever since this song, not getting any songs past the top 20 since this song. Her last big single in 2019 peaked at 62 back in March. 

DA BEST: Bastille "Pompeii"

Every year at least one song from a relatively unknown band randomly jumps up the charts and starts playing everywhere. In 2014 one of those bands was Bastille with their huge breakout hit "Pompeii". It took a while for me to fully appreciate this song, but over time this song has become one of my favorites and this band has really grown on me. I enjoy pretty much all their music starting from this first album. Technically this was Bastille's only hit as a band, though they had another big hit recently tied to big-name producer Marshmello called "Happier". "Pompeii" quickly begs for attention as soon as it starts with its unique choir intro. The rest of the song is going back to the city of Pompeii before and during the disaster that befell it all those years ago. It's a really cool idea for a song and the choir makes sense alongside it, something that maybe you would've heard in ancient Rome. Over the years this song has held up and I still like going back to it pretty often. 

DA WORST: Rich Gang/Young Thug "Lifestyle"

This is one of the most unintentional hilarious songs I've probably ever heard. It's like the movie "The Room" where all the actors are trying their best and it's so bad you can't help but laugh at them. The beat is pretty bad and all of the rappers make absolutely no sense at all. Half the song sounds like gibberish because nobody knows how to correctly pronounce words or sound like a human. I do admit I put this song on pretty often when I just need a good laugh. Congralaturations on great being song, a winner is you! 

AND that is 2014! A year where lots of artists found their first big success and would continue to make hits over the next five years. Overall a decent year for pop music. Now all that's left for me to cover is 2015 before the end of the year where I can talk about 2019 and the entire decade as a whole. I'm working on a playlist with 200 great songs from this decade, a mix of mainstream and indie songs from the 2010s because 100 wasn't nearly enough as I found out. I'm basically already done with it, but there might be some good songs in the next two months that could be added. 

Special thanks to you, the person who is reading this! These posts take a decent amount of time to make and I appreciate you taking the time to read my amateur thoughts on music and movies. You da numba one. 

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Trying to Understand Modern Music

With 2019 only a few months away from being over and the decade coming to a close, I thought maybe it would be a good idea to catch up on what's going on with the music scene right now. No better way to do that than by listening to the Billboard Hot 100 and seeing what's popular in the USA right now. I normally try to keep up with what's happening in the mainstream, but this year I really lost interest in mainstream music. It just seemed like it was going nowhere new, even heading into a brand new decade it doesn't seem like any interesting trends are coming out. Popular music is still very drab for the most part it seems, with some more upbeat songs sprinkled around here and there. There doesn't seem to be many new artists making interesting moves in the mainstream scene either with maybe a few exceptions like Billie Eilish, Lil Nas X, and Lizzo. As good as the songs those said artists made this year, everything around those songs is still the same old pop sound we've been hearing for the past few years. A sound that I feel desperately needs more energy. When the new Jonas Brothers song is probably the hardest/energetic song of the year, you know there's something missing.

So I listened to all the number one songs of the year so far. There are eleven songs so far this year to reach the number one spot on the charts and there's a lot of similarities in some of them. This is me trying to better understand popular music and see how I really feel about it. What I like and what I don't like and how I think it fits into the bigger picture. 

January 1-11: Ariane Grande "thank u, next"

Ariana dropped two back-to-back albums in 2018 and 2019 and this one was the first single of that second album. It was only officially a number one song for the first week of 2019 before moving down. It's actually a pretty decent song from Ariana. It's got some interesting music behind Ariana's great vocals and the lyrics are good too. The song is all about Ariana's past relationships and how she's learned a little something from all of them and thanks them as she moves on to her new relationship. It works well since it doesn't come across as bitter in any way, but genuinely thankful to her past relationships and hopeful for her future ones. I'd give this one a solid 3.5 Mean Girls out of 5, it's catchy and upbeat in a chill way and the lyrics are actually meaningful and personal. (3.5/5)

January 12-18 / January 26 - Feb 1: Halsey "Without Me"

Halsey's first number one hit was also the first new hit of 2019. Much like the last song, this one focuses on Halsey's personal life and her real-life relationship. The song is directly aimed at artist G-Eazy, who Halsey had a relationship with for a long period of time. Unlike the last song by Ariana though, this one is a much more negative view of her past relationship. It's clear Halsey was hurt and she's putting it out there in this song, while also dissing her ex. I'm not really sure how to feel about this song honestly. On one hand, I appreciate the honest lyrics and how open she seems to be. On the other hand, it feels like it's lacking something musically and maybe even in the vocals. There's also a Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me a River" reference which feels a little out of place with the rest of the song and a bit distracting (maybe a little TOO on the nose). While there was some potential here, overall I'd give this 3/5 stars. Bringing up "Cry Me a River" just reminds me of how a good break-up song like this could be. (3/5)

January 19-25: Post Malone / Swae Lee "Sunflower"

Originally from the Into the Spider-Verse soundtrack released in 2018, this song finally reached the number one spot for one week in January. This song replaced Halsey for a week and then was replaced by Halsey again the next week. Besides that, it managed to stay in the top 10 for 45 whole weeks. I really like the flow of this song, continuing with the chill vibe of the first song but this one feels happier. Swae Lee really kills it in this song with the catchy verses and great hook. Post Malone has always been hit-or-miss with me, but this is definitely one of his better showings. The song focuses on their relationships and how they have girls who stick by their side even when they're not always there. This song easily gets 4 Uncle Bens out of 5, always a good listen. (4/5)

Feb 2-Mar 2, Mar 23-April 6: Ariana Grande "7 Rings"

The first song of the year to stay number one consistently for longer than one week. Also, probably the second biggest song of the year so far. This was the second big single from her 2019 album "thank u, next". This one far less interesting than her last single, actually a pretty boring song that feels like it's missing something. The most interesting thing about this song is its verses, which are taken from the musical "The Sound of Music", specifically the famous song "My Favorite Things". It's not a terrible idea since both songs are naming off things that the singer loves, but the execution of it feels lacking. This song is just a brag song that comes across more fake than genuine since Ariana just can't quite pull it off. This is something that you see often from artists like Cardi B or Beyonce who can actually do it while being believable. When artists like Ariana, Taylor Swift or Katy Perry do it, it often feels fake or forced. This one gets 2 wigs out of 5, a boring song with boring music and lyrics that Ariana can't really pull off at the moment, maybe cause she doesn't sound too excited about all the things she has in this song. (2/5)

March 9-15: Lady Gaga / Bradley Cooper "Shallow"

Another number one song from a movie soundtrack? I like this trend. This one was only number one for a week, getting a big boost from its Oscar win the previous week no doubt. The song has the two main characters in the movie singing to each other. It's about diving into the deep end of the pool and staying away from the shallows. I think it's about going all-in in whatever you're doing in life or your passions, not half-assing it or being afraid to give your all to it. A message we hear a lot of these days, but still a good one that's always worth hearing. Bradley Cooper does a good job of blending his vocals with Gaga's. Of course, once Gaga gets going the song really picks up around her. In the movie, it's a great moment that the audience has been waiting for and I think the song still works really well on its own. This will probably be my favorite out of all of these songs with a score of 4 drunk Bradley Coopers out of 5. (4/5)

March 16-22: Jonas Brothers "Sucker"

The big comeback single for the Jonas Brothers was also their first number-one single as a band. They took the world by surprise by announcing their reunion and dropping this first single from their new album "Happiness Begins". The song is all about how the Jonas Brothers are a sucker for you. The song goes into small details about the lengths they go for the person that they are smitten with. The song is a bit of fresh air on the higher end of the charts with its poppy upbeat sound at a time where a lot of music is more chill/sad. The lyrics aren't much to talk about, pretty generic pop song lyrics that aren't really talking about anything specific enough to further dissect. The vocals are smooth along with the nice bass line that holds the song together. Besides that, there isn't too much special about this song, it's not really too memorable. "Sucker" from me gets 3 lovebugs out of 5, a decent song that I don't think I'll be returning to very often. (3/5)

April 13-August 23: Lil Nas X "Old Town Road" w/ Billy Ray Cyrus

This is it, the BIG one. No doubt the best selling song of the entire year, an artist that came out of nowhere to dominate the year with his rap/country mix. The song that made Lil Nas a household name is all about ridin' down the old town road. To me, the road signifies being yourself and not letting others stop you from doing what you like to do. It's a chill song (as most songs are these days on the charts) but this one has a lot more charm than a lot of the other ones out there. It mixes two genres really well and the music and vocals really match the theme of the song. Even better adding Billy Ray Cyrus who does a great job at changing things up a bit for his part. It's nice, short, and a good time all the way through. This song gets 4 whiskey bottles out of 5. (4/5)

August 24-30: Billie Eilish "Bad Guy"

It was only a matter of time before Billie Eilish would get a number one hit, she's really been the breakout star of 2019 with multiple hits on the charts throughout the entire year. The song starts right away with the heavy bass and Billie's signature soft vocals, and it is so G O O D. it's got a slightly creepy vibe to it which is cool and different. In the song, Billie is talking to a guy and kind of poking fun at him while also showing off own her "dark" side. This song just works on pretty much every level and it's so much fun to listen to. My only knock against it is the last 40 seconds where the song goes into this strange breakdown that felt unnecessary to me. This song clearly deserves 4.5 Lordes out of five. (4.5/5)

August 31-September 6: Shawn Mendes / Camila Cabello "Señorita"  

Stealing a number one spot for one week before quickly being dethroned comes "Señorita". This song is a big collab between real life "couple" Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello. I don't think I need to explain what this song is about and I also just don't want to. This song is just kinda... boring. For a song that features two people who are attracted to each other, it certainly feels pretty tame and passionless. It's got a sort of Latin vibe that a lot of Camila Cabello songs seem to have because she's like a Latina or something... I don't know. Camila still doesn't impress me with her vocals. She doesn't have a unique enough voice to really stand out and it still sounds like it's got a lot of effects on top of it to try to give it some flavor. I will say Sean Mendes has improved over the years from being a boring white guy with a guitar to being a very attractive boring white guy with a guitar. Also, he's made a few decent songs now, but this is not one of them. This song gets 2 fake relationships created to promote a new single out of 5. (2/5)

September 7-October 18, October 26-TBD: Lizzo "Truth Hurts"

Lizzo's first number one hit is also the current number one song in the country. Lizzo's rise to popularity this year has been really impressive. She released her third full album "Cuz I Love You" earlier this year and it's been a great success. It's actually a really fun album I recommend listening to. Actually "Truth Hurts" is probably one of my least favorite songs on the album, so of course, it was destined to become her most popular song to date. Actually, this song wasn't featured on the original release but was added to the album as a new single recently. The original recording of the song was released back in 2017 so that probably explains why it feels different than the rest of the album. Anyway, it's still a decent song. The beat is fine and of course, Lizzo's personality really comes through her vocals and makes what is an average song slightly above average. This one gets 3.5 DNA tests out of 5. (3.5/5)

October 19-25: Travis Scott "Highest in the Room"

Just as a was finishing this up, this song decided to reach number one for a week. Not sure how it managed to do it, but it's already dropped 5 spots since it's number one week. Probably cause it's not a good song and it lost all its momentum after its debut. Just another boring song that doesn't really have anything worth talking about. It's songs like this that make me feel old and out of touch, cause I just don't really get it. But maybe I'm not alone here because the fact that this song is dropping in chart position so fast maybe shows that even fans of this style of music didn't like this track. This song gets a 2 terrible Superbowl half-time shows out of 5. The fact that this song was number one for a week shows that this style of music is still very popular and probably won't be going away soon. It's not the kind of hip-hop/rap I'm really into, but I know it's what's most popular at the moment. (2/5)

Final Thoughts

The average score for this year would be 3.2 out of 5. Which means this year is just very slightly above average and I think that's about right. 

I think I'd say I liked most of these songs and the rest I didn't hate, which I think is an improvement from the last few years. I will say that I also don't love any of these songs. None of them really blew me away with their quality, probably the closest was Billie Eilish, but it definitely lost some of its charm with multiple listens. I'm still not really picking up on any new trends here with these massive singles, nothing to point the way to something new in the musical landscape. I think this decade might have seen the least amount of change in musical trends in recent memory. I'm still very interested to see where things go in the next few years and what artists are gonna come in and create a change in the landscape. 

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A Look Back: 2 0 1 3

Going back through 2012 last time was pretty enjoyable. There were a surprising amount of fun songs from that year and the bad songs weren't as bad as I thought they might have been. 2013 has its share of good pop songs, but the bad songs really stood out this year. It was actually kind of hard to even narrow it down to ten bad songs, forcing me to leave out some songs I really can't stand. Among those songs were:

Luke Bryan - That's My Kinda Night 
A super lame country song about trucks, fishin', beers, and sleeping with tanned blonde girls.

Lil Wayne - Love Me (ft. Drake and Future)
I can't even listen to this song cause I know how gross it is, probably the worst song of the year honestly.

Selena Gomez - Come and Get It
Selena tries her best to make a song about sex, but it still sounds like a little girl who's not really sure what sex is. Breaking out of the Disney image is tough, which is why it seems a lot of the ex-Disney stars tried very hard as soon as they were out of the system to shed that image. Selena just doesn't have enough charisma to pull it off, at least in her early pop music career.

Miley Cyrus - We Can't Stop
Just a boring song with not much going on. The vocals are pretty bad and it just feels like it's missing something.

So here are my top ten favorite and least favorite charting songs of 2013:

Worst: Passenger - Let Her Go

Following last year's trend of indie/folk artists getting random hits out of nowhere comes Passenger with his big song "Let Her Go". I'm not sure what it is about this song that makes me dislike it so much. I think I'm just not a fan of his vocal style, which I can't really explain without sounding mean. It's just not my cup of tea I suppose. It just doesn't have the same charm as other similar artists that broke out on the charts around this time like The Lumineers, Vance Joy or Of Monsters and Men. This genre seemed to be at its peak popularity around these years, which always leads to a lot of artists trying to capitalize on that. Not that it's a bad thing, but it usually leads to lots of weaker singles like this one making it on the charts which I think eventually leads to the genre's popularity decreasing like what's happened to many genres over time. The market gets flooded with all the artists trying to ride that wave before it crashes. So far though there have been at least one of these style songs every year so maybe I'm just wrong about this one. I'm probably just being too hard on this song and it's probably not that bad, I just don't get enjoyment from listening to it.

Best: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - Thrift Shop

Macklemore destroyed the charts with this song and instantly became a huge star. This was the most popular song of 2013 and it's pretty easy to see why. It's different than anything else on the charts and it just oozes charm and has that music by Ryan Lewis that gets stuck in your head. Thrift Shop is a comedic song that's poking fun at hip-hop culture and all the expensive brands that rappers are always bragging about. Instead, Macklemore is saying how he shops at thrift stores and makes that shit work instead of paying for overpriced t-shirts from designer brands. It works for the most part, though there are some outdated jokes that don't really land (like an R. Kelly reference). This is a fun song overall and it deserved all the attention. Sadly, Macklemore didn't really stick around like I thought he was going to. After a few more big hits from this album, he hasn't really made a huge splash in the charts. Maybe one day Macklemore and Lewis will make a big comeback, but for now, it looks like they're taking a step back. 

Worst: Florida Georgia Line - Cruise (Remix W/ Nelly)

A country song with auto-tune that's about trucks and girls, how original... Actually, maybe it was original in 2013? The chorus doesn't really make any sense saying "Baby you a song, you make me wanna roll my windows down and cruise". So his pickup line is saying that the girl reminds him of a song that makes him want to drive? How Flattering? 

Oh and Nelly attempts to do a rap verse in this song to give it some kind of cross-over appeal. Of course, it's probably the worst verse Nelly has ever done and it sounds like something he wrote on the way to the recording studio because he forgot to do it earlier. Plus by the time this song was a hit, Nelly wasn't the big pop megastar he was back in the 2000s. The idea of country and hip-hop working together isn't a bad one though, especially since a lot of pop-country hits already borrow a lot from hip-hop and rap. It wasn't really until this year that we got "Old Town Road" which proved that there was a way to do it right and that it ended up being one of the biggest songs of the decade.

Best: Daft Punk - Get Lucky 

Put simply, this song is awesome. It's got a nice funky groove and bass mixed with a modern style. Pharrell is a perfect fit for the vocals, a pretty simple and repetitive melody that works well with the music. The only problem I might have with this song is that it's a bit on the long side and it gets repetitive with the vocals. Maybe cut like thirty seconds and it's close to perfect, but that's just a nitpick. This song is great, but I must admit that coming back to it after all these years it has lost a lot of its magic from 2013. It felt special at the time, especially those first few listens, but I just don't feel the same way listening to this now than how I did back then. Daft Punk haven't really made a follow up to this album yet, but they've helped produce some songs like The Weeknd's last album had a few songs with their print on them.

Worse: Fall Out Boy - My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark

Such a long title for such a terrible song. Fall Out Boy had been on a hiatus since 2008 and had announced their big comeback in 2013. The band was more known for its pop-punk style in the mid-2000s and they were one of the bands that really helped keep that genre popular after bands like Blink-182, Simple Plan and Good Charlotte started to fall off the map a bit. Their 2013 album "Save Rock and Roll" was a step in a whole new direction for them, going for a more pop sound. The song "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark" was the biggest hit from this album and it's not a good song. They took all the bad parts of their music and amplified them. The lyrics are bad and the music feels passionless. The songs ends up being pretty annoying after a few listens. The band would go on to release even worse songs over the next few years all leading to one of the worst pop-rock albums of recent memory "Mania" in 2018. I guess you can't fault them for finding even more success than their original run in the 2000s, but for me, it was a step in the wrong direction. At least I can always go back and enjoy those older albums I guess. I know it's necessary for bands to evolve to stay relevant in the scene, but this felt more like several steps backward.

Best: Paramore - Still Into You

Another hit song from one of my favorite bands around. I have to admit this is probably the weakest song out of all their big hits, but I still enjoy it a lot. It has a really interesting music arrangement and the bass and guitar are doing a really unique and catchy riff/line. The lyrics aren't anything special, but it gets the job done at being a sappy, but catchy love song. The weakest part might just be the vocals during the verses, it just feels a bit too much at times with the way she emphasizes certain words while singing. Just some minor flaws, but still a fun song overall.

Worst: Katy Perry - Roar

Katy Perry tries her best to make another big self-empowerment song like "Firework" with this 2013 hit "Roar". This song just doesn't come anywhere near to measuring up to "Firework". "Roar" is a pretty dull song that's missing all of the fun energy of "Firework" and just feels pretty empty overall. The music is very forgettable and basic alongside a bunch of cliche lyrics that somehow took 5 people to write. It feels like an unused song from a Frosted Flakes commercial that was passed on to Katy Perry. The idea behind the song is good, but the execution is just severely lacking. It was with this album that I really started to lose interest in Katy Perry as an artist. The rest of the world would lose interest in her big failure of an album "Witness" in 2017. It does look like she's trying for a comeback soon though, hopefully, that works out better for her.

Best: OneRepublic - Counting Stars

OneRepublic had a good amount of hits before this song. They were a popular Adult Alternative band, but they always felt like they were lacking something. Lead singer Ryan Tedder is a pretty big songwriter in the music world. He's written some big songs for artists like Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Adele, and Ellie Goulding. His band OneRepublic though, never really had a hit that I could fully get behind, that is until "Counting Stars". This song had a different energy than anything the band had ever really done. It felt like they took everything they had been missing and changed it all with one song. The song was catchy, energetic, and stood out in the charts/radio at the time as something really different. The thing about making a song this good is that it's really hard to follow up. They probably won't make another song like this one, but there's always a chance. At least it took the band in a good direction and brought in tons of new fans. 

Oh and that bridge is so damn good.

Worst: Drake - Started From the Bottom

U G H. Drake is back with another huge hit (sadly) about the struggles he faced on his way to becoming famous. Struggles like working a job, driving in traffic and sometimes arguing with his mother. Things that NO ONE ELSE in the world goes through on a daily basis. This song is just a huge waste of time with no real impact or story. Drake has no energy at all as the song drags on for the three longest minutes EVER. He barely explains any of his struggles to get to his current position as a big pop star and it feels more like he's just complaining about nothing. It's still shocking how someone who makes music this lifeless and boring can be the biggest pop star in the world right now. 

Best: Lorde - Royals

Lorde was a real game-changer in the early 2010s and it started here with "Royals". A song that feels like it came out of nowhere and it was so different. It felt like it was going against everything that was trendy at the time, in a very Punk Rock sort of way, except with way less energy I guess. "Royals" or Lorde in general, really seemed to start a shift in what was accepted in the pop music scene. Lots of artists have had success following Lorde's style and presentation of her music. While I like Lorde and her music a lot, some of the trend-following artists aren't as entertaining or talented. Still, this is what always happens in pop music, a big new artist drops a game-changing album and lots of other artists try to follow that trend. Can't really blame them either for it, it's just smart business. Much like the '90s saw the rise of euro-club hits or the early '00s brought the rise of crunk hits. All this to say that "Royals" is a cool song that holds up still and Lorde is a great artist, one worthy of starting a trend. While I'm not a big fan of other artists with similar styles like Halsey and Kiiara, I don't hate the trend that's still going pretty strong to this day. Who knows, maybe without this shift we would have never gotten Billie Eilish. 

Worst: Maroon 5 - Daylight

A very boring Maroon 5 song with a very weak chorus. I don't know what else to say about Maroon 5 anymore, I think I've pretty much said all I could at this point (since they seem to show up on these lists pretty much every time). This is the kind of lifeless single that feels like it was written using algorithms and computers to gauge what the general audience is looking for in a song.

Best: Justin Timberlake / JAY Z - Suit & Tie

While Macklemore is wearing his best thrift store finds, JT and JAY Z are wearing their suit and ties for a nice evening at their local Applebees. Before Justin put his career on hold with a mediocre Super Bowl show and badly received album in 2018, he released this pretty big double album "The 20/20 Experience".  The first single was the huge hit "Suit & Tie" which was all about style and class with a lot of charm. Justin always had great charisma (until 2018 apparently) and a song like this works so well thanks to his talent and said charisma. But you know what's better than getting all dressed up in a suit to go to a lame fancy party? Going to the thrift store. 

Worst: Pitbull / Christina Aguilera - Feel This Moment

What did you do Pitbull? WHAT DID YOU DO?!? How do you ruin one of the best '80s songs ever made? How do you consistently make terrible song after terrible song and still find such huge success? Christina sounds pretty awful on this song too as she shouts her "woahs" into the microphone. I don't know, this song is just a mess. Stop trying to ruin the '80s.

Best: Icona Pop - I LOVE IT

This song is a loud mess and I DON'T CARE, I LOVE IT! Seriously though, this song is so much fun. It's short, it's loud, it's energetic and most importantly, it's fun. Did I mention this song is fun? Probably the only big hit we'll get here in the USA from Swedish pop duo Icona Pop, which is probably okay since this is by far their best song. Charli XCX also makes an appearance here before she had her own big hit next year (which may or may not be on my list for 2014 *wink wink*). It seems this song is about moving on from your previous relationship by crashing cars into bridges, which is completely healthy and recommended by most therapists... the good ones anyway. It's one of those songs where the lyrics actually match the chaotic music that's alongside it, which I really appreciate. 

Worst: Black Eyed Peas guy - Scream & Shout (with Britney Spears)

What's all this then? This song is so dull and lifeless and it's supposed to be a club hit. Like, what do you do when the DJ puts this song on in the club? I imagine this song sucks all the energy out of the room and makes everyone go home and think about their life choices, or at least club choices. Will.i.am just makes some really boring music and his vocals along with Britney's are so dull and bring no energy to a song that desperately needs it. I hate Pitbull, but at least his club songs are full of fun and energy that can get some people pumped up and dancing. The chorus literally says "I want to scream and shout and let it all out" in the most unenergetic dead-pan delivery possible. 

Best: Capital Cities - Safe and Sound

Ah yes, my favorite car commercial song of 2013. No seriously, this is a really good song and it's aged pretty well over the years. The horns are still pretty iconic and memorable and the music has a fun modern energy that was pretty fresh at the time. Although Capital Cities haven't really had any other hits after this song, which is pretty disappointing since they had a lot of potential and they do have some decent songs outside of this one. It's a bit repetitive, even for a three-minute song, but it's got enough variations and changes in the music to keep it from getting boring. The vocals are OK, good enough to fit this style of music, but not too impressive. Overall just a good song with some memorable music that's held up pretty well these years.

Worst: Will.i.am - #ThatPower (with Justin Bieber)

Yeah, another one of HIS songs. Pretty much copy and paste everything from his last song onto here. 

Will.i.am has some terrible bars in these two songs, complete with bad rhyming and lazy metaphors/similes and rhyming words with themselves. Then there's Justing Bieber singing about how ALIVE he feels with zero energy. As if Will.i.am knows what that feels like.

Best: Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks

Another hit for the indie-folk genre here. Also another big hit with horns in it, I guess 2013 was the year that horns made a huge come-back. This is one of those songs I really like, but for some reason never really listen to. I guess maybe that means that maybe I really don't like it? It's still a good song anyway and it's got dual male/female vocals which I always enjoy in a song (when done right). Of course, this was the only hit song they ever had, but they've had good success outside of that and they seem to be going strong to this day. I'd kill to have a song like this on the charts right now in 2019 though, cause it's not looking very good right now.

THE WORST SONG: Lil' Wayne - Love Me (With Drake and Future)

I couldn't leave this one out as much as I wanted to. I hate this song so much I HAD to put it as the worse song of the year 2013. Everything about this song is awful, gross and frustrating. Lil' Wayne and his "friends" spend the four longest minutes ever bragging about how much sex they have and how that's pretty much all they need from women. The beat is not too bad, but it doesn't take away from the awful lyrics and the lifeless delivery of said lyrics, especially from Drake and Future. I'm gonna go cry in the shower now : ) 

THE BEST SONG: Bruno Mars: Treasure / Locked Out of Heaven 

I couldn't really decide which of these to put as first, so I put them both! Bruno Mars is an interesting artist and his first few hits were pretty underwhelming in my opinion. He started off as a more clean-cut pop artist making simple love songs without much personality. It wasn't until this year (2013) with his second album that he really found his personality (as an artist) and started putting it into his music. Bruno Mars really showed off a lot of charm and talent with these two songs, taking inspiration from other genres like funk, R&B, '80s rock while inserting his own style into it. The music is just as good as Bruno Mars' vocals and everything comes together so well in both songs, but most importantly it actually sounds like he's having fun and it's infectious. Bruno Mars was already an established hitmaker at this point, but I really think these two songs sent him into superstardom. In just a few years came "Uptown Funk" which sent Bruno Mars into a whole new level of style and like-ability. Then his album "24K Magic" won a Grammy for best album, so I'd say he's doing pretty well. 

And that's a wrap on 2013. A decent year for pop music, but again, not as good as 2012 overall. I'm gonna be finishing up this retrospective thing with 2014 and 2015 since I've already done a list for 2016-2018 previously. Then after this year is over I'll do a 2019 list and possibly an overall review for the entire decade of music (the 2010s). 

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Ad Astra

I've been craving a good sci-fi film for a while, feels like it's been a while since there's been a good space focused movie like this one. Ad Astra is a movie that promises to be the same caliber as great space movies like "Gravity" and "Interstellar". The movie stars Brad Pitt and is directed by James Gray (Who made that good movie "Lost City of Z"). The story centers around Brad Pitt's character, an astronaut who is named Roy McBride, as he gets a special mission relating to his father. McBride's father has been missing for decades and was presumed to be dead after a failed project in Neptune. That presumption comes into question after strange activity coming directly from Neptune starts affecting the Earth and surrounding planets in catastrophic ways. Roy's father could still be alive and he could be the reason this is happening, which is why Roy is used to possibly find him as his only living family member.

Ad Astra is an interesting movie, to say the least. The thing about this movie is that it wasn't quite what I was expecting, but that's not a bad thing really. Brad Pitt's performance is a very quiet one, where his character actually doesn't say much in the movie. Instead, we get most of the story through his own thoughts narrating his feelings throughout the story. Through his thoughts, the movie shows you what kind of person he is and how he feels about the world around him, which is important to know as the story progresses and you see his change. The ultimate message of the movie/moral is one that I think is important, but perhaps a bit disappointing to me. The reason why it's disappointing is that throughout the movie, there's a lot of mystery about what exactly is going on in Neptune. I don't want to go into much detail about it because I don't want to spoil the movie, but I was kind of disappointed in the final act of the movie. It wasn't bad, but I guess I just wanted it to be something different, maybe a little more epic perhaps.

Where this movie truly shines though are it's visuals. This movie is a treat to the eyes and every second was a joy to watch. From the opening minutes, I was hooked by the great visuals and shots of space and the great effects mixed with built sets used for filming. It has a great atmosphere and along with the music really captured my attention throughout its entire runtime. Like I said before, this is a more quiet and slow-moving story, especially towards the latter parts. Though there are still some great action sequences that I thought were really well done. There's a lot of attention to detail used in the sets and of course, outer space looks great. My favorite thing about these kinds of movies is always the use of light in the shots and this movie uses light in a lot of interesting ways for some beautiful moments or intense moments. That alongside the more subtle/quieter performances made for a really interesting experience. Everything feels really grounded and believable in this future world (with small exceptions) and I felt like this could perhaps one day be the future of our world.

Ad Astra was a treat to my eyes on a visual level. The only thing keeping this movie from being great was a slower told story that I feel didn't have the best pay off at the end. It was still a satisfying one though, and I still enjoyed pretty much every minute of this movie. Any fan of Sci-fi or space movies should give this a watch. I think it's a movie that a lot of people might find boring, especially if you're looking for action or a lot of character development. I think it has a good message, fantastic visuals, good acting and a good mysterious tone for the first chunk of the movie. I really enjoyed it overall and I'd gladly watch it again at some point.

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A Look Back: 2 0 1 2

2012 was believed by dozens to be the end of the world, the year that earth would explode and the sun would come crashing into us and end all of life as we know it or something like that. That didn't actually happen obviously (probably), but it did inspire a great year of pop music... or at least that's the only reasonable explanation. 2012 was one of the best years for pop music and the charts in general. So many great songs this year and lots of variety coming in from different genres and new artists. Like always, there were plenty of terrible songs, but it felt like a lot less this year and the good music seemed to stick around more than the bad from what I can remember. So I'll be listing all my favorite songs and my least favorite songs from 2012 here. But before that here's some songs I wasn't really sure about:

Good?: Jessie J - Domino

This song is really weird. I want to like it because of it's pretty catchy and Jessie J's vocals are pretty fantastic. The problem is I have no idea what she's singing about. I assume it's about love or some kind of relationship, but some of the lyrics just don't make much sense. Lines like "You strum me like a guitar", "You're like a shot of pure gold" and "Take me down like I'm a domino" are a few of the lines from this song that really don't make much sense. Besides that, I think it's an alright song... just really weird. 

Ugh?: Toby Keith - Red Solo Cup

I was gonna put this in the bad song list, but that would mean I have to admit that whatever this is, is actually a song. I guess it's supposed to be funny, but I'm certain that after listening to this "song" I'll never laugh again. 

Uhhh?: Psy -  Gangnam Style

THIS SONG WAS EVERYWHERE and honestly, I didn't hate it. It got old after a while, sure, and it's not the kind of song I'm going to be listening to outside of doing things like this list. It's a catchy song and it knows what it's supposed to be. It takes itself as seriously as you'd expect a song like this to, which is not serious at all. It's fun and dumb and had a very memorable music video with an insane amount of views on YouTube. For that, it will always be remembered but as a song... it's OKAY. 

Meh?: One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful

This was around the start of the One Direction craze of the 2010s. This song was a massive step into getting One Direction into becoming one of the biggest groups in recent memory. This song is okay, not the worst they made or the best. The chorus is insanely catchy and powerful in that pop earworm sort of way. The lyrics are the one thing that keeps this from being good. They are pretty pandering to their younger fanbase and the lyrics aren't specific enough to be talking about anyone in particular so it's easy to put yourself into the song.

alright now here's the actual best/worst list...

Worst: Flo Rida - Whistle

Very clever Mr. Flo Rida, making a song about blowjobs under the "clever" double meaning of blowing whistles. Everyone knows what this song is about, and it was still played everywhere. Flo Rida is the king of commercial pop jingles, cause all his hit songs are featured in commercials. This one I remember being on vacation and cruise ads for families. The funny part is most of the commercials cut out his vocals, probably cause they aren't TV appropriate and also kinda suck. This song is pretty standard Flo Rida. A catchy chorus that gets played everywhere with meaningless verses you can barely understand. The music isn't terrible I guess, but Flo Rida sucks all the joy out of this song with his anti-talent non-personality. 

Best: Gotye - Somebody That I Used to Know

This was the number one song of 2012 and it still doesn't really make sense to me. Not because it's a bad song, because I really like this song. The reason it doesn't make sense is the fact that Gotye kind of came out of nowhere and then disappeared along with his massive hit. It didn't fit in with any of the trends of the year, nor is it a genre you usually expect to get hits from. Still, this song was HUGE and it was everywhere in 2012. It's really interesting musically, with a nice buildup to the chorus. The verses are almost whispered until the chorus where they really take off. The second part features Kimbra, an artist who didn't take off as much as I thought she would, considering how talented she is. Both artists are still around making music, though will probably never find the same success as they found with this song. Gotye still plays for his band The Basics, who might be worth checking out if you were a Gotye fan. 

Worst: Train - Drive By

I think I might have liked this song at one point in my life, which is pretty scary to think about. I'll always love Train's "Drops of Jupiter" despite all its weirdness, it still has enough charm to keep it fun. This song though has all the weirdness of "Drops of Jupiter" with none of the charm. The lyrics somehow make even less sense than a lot of their other songs. The chorus includes the lines "Just a shy guy looking for a two-ply, Hefty bag to hold my love". Pat Monahan's vocals are pretty grating too, not making it any easier to listen to this garbage. This song belongs in a Hefty bag.

Best: Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me Maybe

My feelings on Carly Rae Jepsen have changed a lot since this song came out. Of course, my feelings on music, in general, have changed a lot these last few years. This song was a joke when it first came out. It's one of those songs that I felt like I wasn't supposed to like because of it's super poppy and cheesy sound. Carly Rae has shown a lot of growth as an artist since this song came out and has some really good songs in her catalog. Coming back to "Call Me Maybe" I can appreciate the fact that she's moved on from this and made a lot of improvements. Still, this song is fun despite all its flaws like the weak lyrics and repetitive music.

Worst: Justin Bieber - Boyfriend

Just a really boring Justin Bieber song. I feel like Justin was trying way too hard to be "Sexyback" era Justin Timberlake in this song and it doesn't work at all. This whole song just feels wrong. Like a little kid trying his best to be the "sexy bad boy", but you know he's way too young to pull it off. The music is also pretty much crap with some weak beats and some light acoustic guitar and whistling noises in the background. 

Best: Imagine Dragons - It's Time

Imagine Dragon's first album was a pretty decent one that showed lots of potential for this group. "It's Time" has some good music behind it and a simple message that can resonate with most people. Imagine Dragons always kind of felt like a rock band for people who are trying to get into rock music. It's easy to listen and get into these early Imagine Dragons songs and maybe it's something for people who aren't into rock music to ease their way into other bands. Sadly, this was the peak for Imagine Dragons in my opinion. With every new release, they have gotten worse and worse musically. Even a decent song like "It's Time" is hard to find in their new albums.

Worst: Tyga - Rack City

Probably the most boring song ever made by the most boring human-like creature that goes by the name Tyga. Here he doesn't even pretend to sound remotely human with all his emotionless babble about having sex with your grandma alongside the usual garbage DJ Mustard production. Tyga's career is one of the saddest parts of modern music charts. How a boring repetitive song like this ever got popular is so baffling and confusing to me. Further proof that it doesn't take talent to be famous.

Best: fun. - We Are Young

Much like Gotye, fun was a band that came and went within a year after their big hit. The difference here is that fun had two pretty big hits before going away (Some Nights being the other one). Just like Gotye, this song felt like it was an outsider in the pop charts because it didn't really sound like a lot of the music on it. This song has was definitely used as every high school graduation song in the year 2012 unless you went to an art school. The song has a nice epic feel while somehow being a pretty chill song at the same time. The lyrics (specifically the chorus) are a bit cliche, but the music gives it a unique feel. It has a nice buildup, gradually increasing in intensity with every verse and chorus. Then the song finally explodes after the second chorus until the final slowdown chorus. It's very catchy and really gets me pumped up to go day drinking and do some stupid shit. Well, I guess I wouldn't go that far. The band Fun is around anymore and this was their last album. The lead singer Nate Ruess went on to find his own fame outside of the group, while Jack went on to focus on his project "Bleachers" and make more great music. 

Worst: Nicki Minaj - Starships

Nicki tried her hand at going full pop singer with her song "Starships". It sort of sounds like a mix of Ke$ha and Flo Rida style pop music and it kinda works at first but doesn't hold up throughout its runtime. The chorus isn't terrible, it has a certain charm to it and it's incredibly catchy in a way that's not too annoying. What is annoying though is when Nicki uses her weird voices during the verses and the really loud music after the chorus is pretty bad too. Nicki tries her best to be relatable to "normal" people in the lyrics, but it's not very convincing. This song could have worked if Nicki stayed away from her weird quirks she was doing back then and the music chilled out a bit. 

Best: Ellie Goulding - Lights

I talked about this song recently so here's what I thought about it to not repeat myself again:

 I've always found Ellie Goulding to be a pretty dull artist, but there was always one song that I enjoyed by her, and that song is Lights. The soft background music backed with the heavy bass works really well, in my opinion, and the build to the louder and stronger chorus is pretty great. The song is about a simple subject, the fear of sleeping in the dark. I find it really cool that Ellie was open enough to write a song about this and be open about this fear, which a lot of people could be embarrassed by. The lights give her comfort and make her feel at home, being surrounded by loved ones. As a pop song, it works really well because it's catchy and the music does a good job at supporting the vocals, lyrics and the theme of the song. 

Special thanks for whoever wrote this gem of a song description on the Genius site. Brilliant. (still funny a few months later).

Worst: Selena Gomez - Love You Like A Love Song (barf)

One of the worst choruses of the decade and it still sounds as stupid as it did back then. "I love you like a love song" might be the dumbest/laziest simile in any pop song ever made. well, I guess Train comparing a one night stand to a drive-by shooting is up there too. Besides that though, this is a really boring song with no redeeming qualities : )

Best: Neon Trees - Everybody Talks (except me, I write)

I suppose this song is about how much people love to gossip about other people. Yet another song indie rock that came out of nowhere and hit pretty big. It's pretty easy to see why though, it's extremely catchy. A poppy beat with a simple, but effective bass to back it up. There's a way to make simplicity in music work well and this is a great example of how to do that. 

Worst: Cher Lloyd - Want U Back (UGH!!!!)

Man, this song really sucks and I kind of like it for some strange reason. Maybe it's the random "UGH!" sounds every 30 seconds, maybe it's just so bad it's good? I really don't know. Either way, this song is obviously about Cher wanting to get back with her ex after seeing him with a new girlfriend even though she's the one who broke up with him. Basically, she only wants him back because he's moved on from her. The vocals aren't good and can actually be pretty annoying at times with all the grunts and the weird delivery of some lines. It's like she's trying really hard to give it some personality, but takes it a little too far. I'd still rather listen to this mess 100 times over listening to "Rack City" once though. It has a strange charm to it that's hypnotizing me and I can't seem to move on. Someone come rescue me, my address is-

Best: Owl City/Carly Rae Jepsen - Good Time

Yes, I have Carly Rae Jepson twice on this list and you know what, I really like her. It's also nice to have Owl City back from last year's charts proving to everyone that he's not a one-hit-wonder. I actually quite like the album this song is from, it's a solid one by Owl City. This is definitely the most pop song on the album, kind feels designed to be a hit. It's another catchy song in the same vane as "We Are Young" by Fun. This one has a lot more energy though and I love the pairing of Owl City and Carly Rae. It's a pop song where the singers actually sound like they are having fun, strangely hard to find sometimes. It has that great Owl City music, with lots of great synths and bass sounds. This song is indeed... a good time. *puts on sunglasses while explosion goes off*

Worst: Rihanna - Birthday Cake

I wanted to include the really awkward/gross version that had Chris Brown as a feature, which was their first collab after the assault. The only one I could find on Spotify was a heavily edited version that pretty much cuts out all of Chris Brown's parts, which is good. This song is still bad on its own, but having that Chris Brown presence while they sing to each other about dirty sex is just really bad. I don't really want to say anything else about this song.

Best: Adele - Set Fire to the Rain

Look it's Adele, we all know how good she is. This song is no different, she kills it. The end?

Worst: Pitbull - Back in Time

How to make a bad song in two steps:

1. Hire Pitbull

2. Refer to number one

This was the main theme to the third Men in Black movie, the last one with Will Smith. It's already disappointing enough that Will Smith himself didn't make the song, but did his replacement have to be Pitbull?! Men in Black 3 was a decent movie that I forget exists, nowhere near as good as the first but definitely better than the second. Compared to Will Smith's kids; Men in Black one is Willow, Men in Black 2 is Jaden and Men in Black 3 is... the other one. 

ANYWAY, this song sucks is what I'm trying to say. It has a really bad dubstep breakdown in the middle that sounds so out of place. The only good thing about this song is hearing Pitbull screaming "NUMBER TWOOOO!".  Yeah, it's a pretty low bar.

Best: Gavin Degraw - Not Over You

Probably one of the best mainstream breakup songs of the decade. It's so honest and relatable and Gavin Degraw really knows how to sell it perfectly. It's all about trying to save face during a hard breakup and trying to play it cool when in reality you are hurting inside trying and haven't moved on yet. The idea that there's still this sliver of hope that things might work out and you could get back together, even though it's probably not ideal or likely. The kind of hope that ends up leaving you with disappointment usually because the feelings aren't being reciprocated anymore. There's a hopeful tone to the song that really works well with the lyrics. This song is just great and it really captures the feelings that its lyrics are about.

THE WORST SONG OF 2012: Maroon 5 - Payphone

I think this was the song where I realized that Maroon 5 was going full pop and were going to stick to trying to write easy hit songs instead of just making good music. Not that hit songs can't be good, cause that's obviously not true. It's just that ever since this song, Maroon 5 have only made lazy pop songs that feature famous rappers. In this one, they feature the mediocre Wiz Khalifa who immediately goes against the theme of the song and just starts bragging about how rich and awesome he is. Not that it really matters cause the song has a dumb theme anyway. Focusing on payphones in an era where payphones aren't really a thing anymore is pretty dumb. It's also not like this song takes place in the past, cause Wiz mentions having a cell phone in his verse. The beginning of the end. 

THE BEST SONG OF 2012: The Lumineers - Ho Hey

I love The Lumineers and honestly forgot how big this song really was. 2012 really was the year of indie music coming out of nowhere into the charts. This song is fantastic though, it's about unrequited love or possibly a failed relationship. The singer is thinking about the love that could have been and the moments they could have shared but ultimately didn't. The song feels simple but has a lot of nice details in the music. The guitar alongside banjo and Tamborine make a nice sound, that folksy quality the Lumineers are known for. It was a great introduction to the band and I've grown to love their music over the years. An easy choice for my favorite charting song of  2012.

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