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Monday, December 6, 2010

I Hate You! What Does the Billboard Hot 100 Indicate Anymore?

Posted by Dave Bow on Mon, Dec 6, 2010 at 12:19 PM

There was a piece in NPR's Morning Edition today about Billboard's new "Social 50" chart that tracks music sales and popularity through social networks like Facebook and Twitter. At the end of the story there was a tag about what song is currently topping Billboard's Ye Old Hot 100 chart, a supposed indicator of what Mainstream America is listening to. That song is this song:

I'm not going to waste your time listing the innumerable ways this song and video are stupid, pandering and unworthy of the faintest praise because I am taking it on assumption that you also have two eyes and ears. I'm also going to assume that you, like me, are shocked that Pink - excuse me, P!nk - exists and is still raking in money by pooping the same "Let's be individuals together" dreck out of her mouth hole.

But am I being unfair? A look further down the Hot 100 makes me wonder several things: Am I the outlier and everyone I know is secretly listening to Bruno Mars and Ke$ha? Or maybe, are we the outliers and is the majority of the country doing that?

If so, who are these people? Is it strictly preteens or is the Billboard Hot 100 really indicative of median musical taste across age, location and socioeconomic identity? If not, what does this list even represent anymore in America (or maybe, what has it ever really represented)?

Hit the jump for more videos from the Hot 100's current top ten.

Number 2 - Katy Perry's boobs catch on fire to give hope to children with cancer


Number 6 - Ke$ha takes a rusty knife and fucks your ear with it

Number 8 - Forget P!nk, Nelly is still putting out singles? I kinda like this song, though...

Number 9 - Will.I.Am licks the blood off that knife Ke$ha had.

 

Comments (2) RSS

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1
Most people like crappy music. This is ... not a new thing.

It's not just preteens. Most adults like crappy music, too.

Most of my (mid-30s) friends are really cool folks, totally liberal, into supporting the arts, buying local, etc., etc., etc. But when I try to talk to them about music, I get blank looks.

Animal Collective ... Best Coast ... Kylesa ... Superchunk ... Curren$y ... Budos Band ... hell, even M.I.A. ... you name the band you love, and the fact of the matter is that if you spend much time on the internet and music blogs, you get a sort of inflated view of how big these bands are. I mean ... you think, like, Animal Collective is a pretty big, successful act, right?

It is, among the community in which you live, read, listen, whatever. But in the real world, 98 percent of people haven't heard of Animal Collective.
Posted by Garbage Monster on December 6, 2010 at 10:33 PM · Report
2
Any of us who call ourselves music fans know that what becomes hits do not "become", they already are. I grew up buying albums where the sticker on the front would say "including the hit single". With luck, the album would have three, four, maybe five more in a year's time. Most artists do not have that kind of shelf life, possibly because most people do not buy music off fo shelves. Arguably, most people don't buy music, but that's another story.

Hits become what they are months before they are released. Hits are part of the promotional campaign. What radio station actually has a request line? If there is one, what DJ's actually answers? When Black Eyed Peas comes out with new music, we know for 18 months we'll hear half of the album released as "singles", but two songs that dominate. We know with Katy Perry, who is a "diva" in some circles these days, it will be force fed. Then again, after watching last night's episode of The Simpsons, I'd be willing to be force fed by her. Better her than the singer for Quarterflash.

In a better world, the "other" music we all love would be praised. it would then become not the "other" music, but "everyone else's". It may very well be elitism, but most of us also have a choice in not listening to crap. Yes, the world loves crap in heaps. Big business loves crap, because it helps them make more money to make and sell crap. Ignore it. Maybe two to three songs will surface out of the crap heap and shine. For the rest of my true music needs, I'm searching blogs and cruising Bandcamp.
Posted by Dah Seven on December 6, 2010 at 11:48 PM · Report

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