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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
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
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