2005-2009: The Pop Renaissance

[Return to INTRODUCTION] [Return to Table Of Contents]

Here we are: the last era of our project. If you've been reading all along, I want to say thanks for tolerating my writing, and I hope you enjoyed the music.

The last few years have been some tough ones. We've been at war; we had some of the most divisive politics in a generation; and we've endured an ugly recession. In times like these, music doesn't always get better, but it usually gets more interesting. Easy times get you great party music. Tough times bring deep, soulful music. Personally, I'm ready for more party music (or at least a party).

Through all that, somehow the Pop sound reigns supreme again. In the previous years, Hip-hop dominated the charts, with some Country, and Hard Rock-Alternative mixed in. Much of Pop music had been relegated to the Disney Channel crowd: the domain of 11-year-olds. Many music fans had stopped really listening to the radio. The irony of this iPod Improvement Project is that it's based on the very Pop charts that iTunes has essentially replaced. Nobody really needs Billboard Charts anymore. We have iTunes, and American Idol and X-Factor and YouTube and now Spotify on Facebook. Our access to music is nearly infinite. Our biggest challenge is sifting through it all.

So how did Pop even survive? It does what it's always done: consumed its competition. You hear blends of Hip-hop, Country, Rock, and so on tossed into the big melting pot, and voilà: a new sound is born!

As always, you have to dig through lots of bad music to find the good. As always, I'm here to get you started:


La Tortura - Shakira Ft. Alejandro Sanz (2005)
Holiday - Green Day (2005)
Hips Don't Lie - Shakira Ft. Wyclef Jean (2006)
Irreplaceable - Beyonce (2007)
Before He Cheats - Carrie Underwood (2007)
Stronger - Kanye West (2007)
Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis (2008)
American Boy - Estelle Ft. Kanye West (2008)
Disturbia - Rihanna (2008)
Viva La Vida - Coldplay (2008)
Just Dance - Lady Gaga (2009)
Dead And Gone - T.I. Ft. Justin Timberlake (2009)

Spotify: ipodimprovement.blogspot.com: 2005-2009

2000s Bonus Tracks

[Return to INTRODUCTION] [Return to Table Of Contents]

Spotify: ipodimprovement.blogspot.com: 2000s Bonus

Jumpin Jumpin' - Destiny's Child  (2000)
Fallin' - Alicia Keys  (2001)
Independent Women Part I - Destiny's Child  (2001)
Butterfly - Crazy Town  (2001)
How You Remind Me - Nickelback  (2002)
Wherever you Will Go - The Calling  (2002)
Without Me - Eminem  (2002)
Whenever, Wherever - Shakira  (2002)
Beautiful - Christina Aguilera  (2003)
Yeah! - Usher Featuring Lil Jon & Ludacris  (2004)
Drop it Like it's Hot - Snoop Dogg Featuring Pharrell  (2004)
Let's get it Started - Black Eyed Peas  (2004)
Let Me Love You - Mario  (2005)
1, 2 Step - Ciara Featuring Missy Elliott  (2005)
Gold Digger - Kanye West Featuring Jamie Foxx  (2005)
Boulevard of Broken Dreams - Green Day  (2005)
Mr. Brightside - The Killers  (2005)
Pon de Replay - Rihanna  (2005)
Hate It or Love It - The Game Featuring 50 Cent  (2005)
Sugar (Gimme Some) - Trick Daddy Featuring Ludacris, Lil' Kim & Cee-Lo  (2005)
Bring em Out - T.I.  (2005)
Crazy - Gnarls Barkley  (2006)
SOS - Rihanna  (2006)
Dance, Dance - Fall Out Boy  (2006)
Stupid Girls - Pink  (2006)
Umbrella - Rihanna Featuring Jay-Z  (2006)
What Goes Around…Comes Around - Justin Timberlake  (2007)
Rehab - Amy Winehouse  (2007)
Snow ((Hey Oh)) - Red Hot Chili Peppers  (2007)
Lovestoned - Justin Timberlake  (2007)
Apologize - Timbaland Featuring OneRepublic  (2008)
I Kissed A Girl - Katy Perry  (2008)
Paper Planes - M.I.A.  (2008)
Shadow Of The Day - Linkin Park  (2008)
Heartless - Kanye West  (2009)
Knock you Down - Keri Hilson Featuring Kanye West & Ne-Yo  (2009)
Let it Rock - Kevin Rudolf Featuring Lil Wayne  (2009)
Empire State of Mind - Jay-Z + Alicia Keys  (2009)
Sweet Dreams - Beyonce  (2009)

Stronger - Kanye West (2007)

[Return to INTRODUCTION][Return to Table Of Contents]
[2005-2009 Best Songs]
Billboard Top 100, 2007: #27                                                                
 

Kanye West takes Daft Punk's Techno track Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger and lays a Hip-hop track on it, and somehow manages to make Rock 'N Roll - how is that even possible? Normally I'm not a big fan of heavy sampling, but this is more like alchemy.

This adrenaline-drenched jam is as good for blasting in the car on the freeway as any Rock 'N Roll I've ever owned. It seems like I should be too old to even play this song. Instead, it actually makes me feel younger when I play it. 

At the peak of your party, when everyone's up and dancing, switch to this. It'll be amazing, until someone gets too excited and knocks over your stereo. 

Sorry about that.

La Tortura - Shakira Ft. Alejandro Sanz (2005)

[Return to INTRODUCTION][Return to Table Of Contents]
[2005-2009 Best Songs]
Billboard Top 100, 2005: #60                                                               

 
Since this is my list, I have to make important decisions, such as whether it's alright for a non-English language song to be included. Shakira being unbelievably hot had no impact on my decision. The ruling is: Spanish language songs are acceptable (especially when the singer is very hot). 

I did take the time to read the lyrics. Translating lyrics is always a tough thing. You lose the context of figures of speech, cadence and rhyme - all the things that make lyrics "work" in the native language. What's magical about this particular song is the sense of understanding you can get without even knowing the language. The two voices are caught up in an exchange that is full of emotion. She's wistful, but bitter; he's aching, pleading. And yeah, "la tortura" translates to torture, so you can take a guess at the meaning of it all. Or, if you really need it, here's a link to the translation.
 
Meanwhile, there's a musical treasure trove backing those vocals. There are hooks better than virtually any American Pop song. The Latin-Caribbean track has tons of energy, driven by that sharp electric guitar. It's also the best sounding accordion you will ever hear: I loathe the sound of an accordion; this one's actually sexy. 

Alejandro Sanz' vocals are even better than Shakira's, which is important because otherwise nobody would have known he was even in the room. It's a sure bet nobody was looking at him.

Just Dance - Lady Gaga (2009)

[Return to INTRODUCTION][Return to Table Of Contents]
[2005-2009 Best Songs]
Billboard Top 100, 2009: #3                                                               


 
Forget Auto-Tune, the biggest thing in modern Pop music is Nano-technology. Rumor has it* that for the song Just Dance, Lady Gaga teamed up with the late Steve Jobs to put tiny Pop-Bots™ to work. They can travel directly from your iPhone through the headphone wires into your brain. Yes, this song LITERALLY gets stuck in your head.

If you can tolerate the brain invasion, this is really a creative dance tune. The chord progressions add an odd melancholy to this feel-good tune about bleary-eyed club-hoppers. On top of that is the homage to that 1980s Techno sound in the interlude. Some of the lyrics are clever, some a little awkward. But the words aren't really the point to this one, are they?



*or I made it up just now.

Dead And Gone - T.I. Ft. Justin Timberlake (2009)

[Return to INTRODUCTION][Return to Table Of Contents]
[2005-2009 Best Songs]
Billboard Top 100, 2009: #12                                                               



Dead and Gone was inspired the death of Philant Johnson, a close friend of T.I., and reflects on the realization that pride and recklessness are a recipe for disaster. A lyric I especially love: 

I won that fight; I lost that war
I can still see my n*** walkin' out that door
Who'da thought I'd never see Philant no more?
Got enough dead homies I don't want no more. 

I love a great song about redemption. It's not clear to me that T.I.'s is genuine enough to keep him out of trouble for good, but the song is inspirational. Justin Timberlake sings a chorus with such soul you could swear he was channeling Sam Cooke, and T.I.'s rap lyric is swift and compelling. It sweeps you up in the chaos, and exposes his fear as much as his regret. Running through all that is a lot of heart, coming straight from a guy on the other side of some dark days.

Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis (2008)

[Return to INTRODUCTION][Return to Table Of Contents]
[2005-2009 Best Songs]
Billboard Top 100, 2008: #2                                                          
 

 
In the 1990s, Celine Dion and Whitney Houston conspired to kill the female-lead love ballad. Between I Will Always Love You and My Heart Will Go On, I never wanted to hear another one (EXCESSIVE radio air play didn't help either).

Leona Lewis' Bleeding Love hits just the right spot. She sings big high notes without hurting the ears of your pets. The chorus soars, but doesn't launch into orbit. The lyrics (written by Jesse McCartney? really?) are sweet but not saccharin, intense, but still accessible. Most of us can relate to the feelings on some level.

Bleeding Love is a beautiful song, sung beautifully. That's all it needs to be.

American Boy - Estelle Ft. Kanye West (2008)

[Return to INTRODUCTION][Return to Table Of Contents]
[2005-2009 Best Songs]
Billboard Top 100, 2008: #39                                                               


 
This one's just fun. Better in your party mix than a box of Chex. (Yeah, I said it...)

Disturbia - Rihanna (2008)

[Return to INTRODUCTION][Return to Table Of Contents]
[2005-2009 Best Songs]
Billboard Top 100, 2008: #16                                                                  



You won't hear a lot songs with this many hooks. Distubia jumps on you from note one, and doesn't let go. Catchy, a little bit creepy, and in a hurry, it'll get stuck in your head for hours. Luckily, it's good enough that you won't mind.

Viva La Vida - Coldplay (2008)

[Return to INTRODUCTION][Return to Table Of Contents]
[2005-2009 Best Songs]
Billboard Top 100, 2008: #13                                                                



I used to rule the world
Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning I sleep alone
Sweep the streets I used to own

I used to roll the dice
Feel the fear in my enemy's eyes
Listen as the crowd would sing
"Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!"

One minute I held the key
Next the walls were closed on me
And I discovered that my castles stand
Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand

I hear Jerusalem bells a ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror, my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field

For some reason I can't explain
Once you go there was never
Never an honest word
And that was when I ruled the world

It was a wicked and wild wind
Blew down the doors to let me in
Shattered windows and the sound of drums
People couldn't believe what I'd become

Revolutionaries wait
For my head on a silver plate
Just a puppet on a lonely string
Oh who would ever want to be king?

I hear Jerusalem bells a ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror, my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field

For some reason I can't explain
I know Saint Peter won't call my name
Never an honest word
But that was when I ruled the world

Hips Don't Lie - Shakira Ft. Wyclef Jean (2006)

[Return to INTRODUCTION][Return to Table Of Contents]
[2005-2009 Best Songs]
Billboard Top 100, 2006: #5                                                               

 

For those of you who are big fans of Dirty Dancing 2: Havana Nights, you're aware that the original version of this song by Wyclef Jean is with Claudette Ortiz a couple years earlier. The rest of us first heard it with Shakira. There's a reason some cuts work and some don't. Sometimes it's just the right hook; sometimes it's right voice (and sometimes it's in the hips).

Shakira adds a richness of sound to this already-solid Latin rhythm, her more powerful voice creating a better balance to Jean's quick (and slick) cadence...
 
HA! Like you're even LISTENING to the music! Right now you have the screen maximized, don't you? You're not even reading this, are you?? HEY!

(yeah, me either)

Holiday - Green Day (2005)

[Return to INTRODUCTION][Return to Table Of Contents]
[2005-2009 Best Songs]
Billboard Top 100, 2005: #39                                                     




Protest music. I had thought it was a thing of the past. Was the 1960s long-hair hippie band really the end of anti-war, anti-establishment music? Someone will surely tell me it was hanging around in Punk Rock all this time. Perhaps, but Holiday made it a long way up the charts. This is a song that clearly resonated with people. In 2005, many in America were coming to terms with the idea that the government campaigned for and entered us into a war (in Iraq) on false pretenses, if not out-right lies. This song tapped into that anger.

You may not agree with Billie Joe Armstrong's politics. Maybe you're the type who hates when musicians or celebrities speak politically at all. It's popular to call protest music Anti-American, especially when your side is in power. The opposite is true. There are few things more American than dissent. It's in our DNA to disagree, to protest, even to fight each other over what we believe in.

What's under-appreciated in America today is how nobody considers a Punk band shouting angry satire at the top of their lungs a threat to our institutions of our government. For the past year in the Middle East, they were arresting people and shooting at people for far less. Whether you support the Tea Party or Occupy or disagree with all of them, never forget that the right to protest is only worth anything when there are people out there passionate enough to exercise it.

Irreplaceable - Beyonce (2007)

[Return to INTRODUCTION][Return to Table Of Contents]
[2005-2009 Best Songs]
Billboard Top 100, 2007: #1                                                                    


Sometimes everyone agrees - the fans, the radio stations, the critics. The number one Pop song of 2007 was also the best.

This is Beyonce's masterpiece. Clever lyrics, fantastic hooks, a great R&B groove, and timeless vocals all rolled up into a sound that's quintessential Beyonce.

The beauty in Irreplaceable is its drama. Beyonce claims "I won't shed a single tear," but the emotion in her voice gives away that she (or her character) already has shed a few. It's brilliant subtlety: she's acting tough, but clearly there's some serious pain she's hiding. She's not weak, or going to change her mind; it's more that she's not going to give him the satisfaction of seeing her suffer.

(A side note: for a "His Side" counterpoint to this song, check out Kanye West's Heartless.)

I guarantee, Irreplaceable will stand the test of time. Fifty years from now, when you hear it on your Oldies station, tell your grandchildren I told you so.