Freedom, truth, love, beauty.
Timbalada
Trying to wind down after a stressful week and the big exam tomorrow, I spent ~$20 on impulse last night on Amazon’s mp3 store. I bought all of the Billboard Hot 100 #1s from 2007 and 2008 so far.
The store is way too easy. The first purchase they ask if you’re really sure you want to spend your money and if you want to install and run their little app that manages the download and puts the song in iTunes. I said yes and no. The second purchase they ask if you’re really sure and default to not asking you again. The third purchase you start downloading immediately after clicking “Buy”.
CDs are definitely my preferred way to buy music. It’s lossless quality and a physical backup even if I usually just immediately rip it and put it on the shelf. But these mp3s were definitely a junk food impulse buy I don’t really care if I lose. It is nice that there isn’t any shitty digital restrictions management (DRM) software wrapping these tracks. I have downloaded a few tracks and a couple full albums from iTunes but now I’m worried about what happens when I finally upgrade my ancient PowerBook. The DRM is also a pain-in-the-ass since it’s not easy to share the tracks among the several other computers and iPods in my house.
I don’t often listen to pop music. My personal collection is filled with jazz, classical, and critics’ top picks. My radio rarely turns from Prairie Public, which plays a really great, eclectic mix of tunes, from roots to indie rock, in Fargo. By contrast this new #1s playlist is almost all hip-hop, rap, or R&B. It’s a fun change, but most of it is terribly over-produced with a shitty mix that sounds really bad after listening to my jazz or classical mp3s. (Why yes, I am a bit of an arrogant nerd god with expensive taste. Thanks for noticing!)
Worst song I bought today: MIMS’s “This Is Why I’m Hot”. Inane lyrics with derivative music and beats make me wonder who got paid how much to make this #1.
Favorite song: anything Timbaland touched. I bought the album Welcome to Our World by him and Magoo (currently out of print) back in ‘97 when his creative beats and tight production first blew me away. Albums released under his name have been pretty mediocre since then, though peppered with some fun tracks. But he is a phenomenal producer that constantly innovates, never looks back, and gets great work out of everyone else involved with recording a song. I really like what he did with Nelly Furtado on her album Loose; “Say it Right” and “Promiscuous” are great tracks.
Speaking of Timbaland, do not confuse him with Timbalada: NSFW album cover!
Song(s) I was surprised not to hate: “Glamorous” and “Big Girls Don’t Cry” by Fergie. Her song “My Humps” and fake tits really disgust me. But these two were relatively unoffensive. For the first 43 seconds of “Big Girls…” she really sounds like Ingrid Michaelson. That’s a complement to Fergie, by the way; Michaelson’s Girls and Boys was my favorite album of 2007.
Song I discovered is surprisingly better than the original: “Stronger” by Kanye West. Daft Punk’s “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” is just OK, listening to it now, almost 8 years after it was released. The original feels stretched to breaking at almost four minutes long. “Stronger” is more than five minutes, but has huge sound and rocks all five minutes. West’s lyrics are just passable, but what he did to the song as a whole is definitely Grammy-worthy. Please Note: also touched by Timbaland.
Song that is worse than the original: “Beautiful Girls” by Sean Kingston. Sampling Ben King’s “Stand by Me” for the background is completely inappropriate to the lyrics, displays a complete lack of creativity, and took this otherwise mediocre track to #1.
Overall I have to say it was $20 well spent. Between the tunes, icy-cold vodka, and a good night’s sleep I’m ready to face the trip to The Cities today and the exam tomorrow.
