Amy vs. My Childhood Part 1

So during this "gap year" of mine, my main purpose in life has been to torment my freshly minted teenage sister (her 13th birthday was on the 16th) with my existence and general weirdness. However, I do like to subject her to some good things as well. Mainly, the music of the late '90s and early '00s that I hold near and dear to my heart. Though I obviously enjoy a lot of pop music today, there is just something about the music of my late elementary through middle school (and maybe early high school) years that spoke to me and many of my friends at that age. Naturally, we couldn't actually relate to it when I really thought about it (unless we were really thrown about our chick on the side telling us she had one on the way. At 14. Try explaining that one to mom and dad), and a lot of it doesn't really age well, but for what it was and for who (whom? help!) I was at the time, it was mostly perfect. So I wanted to see how it all stood up to today's tween generation's standards, represented somewhat begrudgingly by my sister, Amy (who is actually much cooler and smarter than I ever was at that age). I basically forced her to  listen to and watch a bunch of videos (while I watched them like my 8-13 year old self would have) and watched the generational gap reveal itself. So here we go! Below is a muddled transcript of our evening plus some more commentary on each song and video.

Me and Amy being casual.

Amy vs. My Childhood 

Ghetto Supastar (its really painful for me to spell it like that)

Abena: Okay, so the first video we are going to watch is Ghetto Superstar by Pras, Mya and ODB. Do you know who ODB was?
Amy: No...
Abena: Do you know what ODB stands for?
Amy: No...
Abena: Good.
Amy: (not really listening)...
Abena: You don't like this???
Amy: Why is this song in a movie about Presidents?
Abena: Why is Rick Ross's music in Django Unchained???

Revisiting this song with my 22 year old mind: I distinctly remember this as THE jam in the second grade.

how I dance when it comes on.

 The best part of watching this now is seeing David Rosen of ABC's 'Scandal' fame in the background. Oh and Mya's perfection. According to Amy's reaction, this song might not translate very well today's musical standards. I maintain that today's musical standards aren't all that high, so I reject her reaction. But to be fair, 90s rappers are of a different breed than today's rappers that tweens are exposed to. It's just a different sound that people Amy's age are growing up today with the Drakes, the J Coles, and the Big Seans. But for the most part, the song is all about Mya and the chorus. I feel like that stands the test of time, and we have Kenny Rogers' original melody for that. Islands in the Jam was a jam (don't lie, you loved it. Kenny and Dolly killed it).

M2M - Mirror mirror

Abena: This song is so epic!!
Amy: (shrugs)
Abena: Amy, when I was like, 8 or 9, this song was EVERYTHING.
Amy: (starts laughing)
Abena: WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING??
Amy: ...is that really her voice?
Abena: YES. It's like Britney. kind of. UGH. So good. (singing along as Amy just stares at me). Ten year old me had so many emotions
Amy: Why is she just lying in the grass by herself?
Abena: You don't do that?

Revisiting this song with my 22 year old mind: Okay, so Amy's dislike of this song is somewhat understandable. Today's top female singers all have really powerful voices (except for Taylor Swift). I stand by my Britney Spears comparison. And honestly, there's something about somewhat thin vocals that convey emotions strangely well...at least for me. Like, I can't imagine Christina Aguilera singing a song like "Everytime" and making it sound as sad. Maybe its because you focus more on the words and their meanings when the singer isn't all that. But then again, I'm pretty sure I listened to 'Someone Like You' (Adele) at least 80 times in a row when I first heard and and felt the pain of watching my imaginary boyfriend get married EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

never mind i'll find....

Whatever, back to M2M, the Norwegian beauties behind this song (I maintain that Scandanavians are the best producers of pop music). As far as I knew, they only had two songs: this one and "Don't Say You Love Me" from the Pokemon Movie. Listening to "Mirror, Mirror" now though, I'm still all about it (my biases are strong, i'm not sorry about it). 2:24 where the instruments drop out briefly and then come back in is a perfect pop moment. I guess their voices are somewhat annoying though.

Play - Whole Again

Abena: Okay, all you need to know is that the ginger is the best one.
Amy: That one girls dress looks like Lady Gaga's meat dress
Abena: Do you like this song though?
Amy: Yeah
Abena: Why do you like it
Amy: I dont know
Abena: See, Faye is the only one that sings. There was an uneven distribution of solos.
(we get to the spoken middle 8 of the song)
Amy: Why is she doing that?
Abena: This is an important part of the song. and then Faye kills it. get 'em Faye. Get 'em!!
Amy: This is the first song that I've liked so far

Revisiting this song with my 22 year old mind: Clearly we see now that Amy has fabulous pop music taste. This song was pop at at sugary-sweetest. This song was actually originally by Atomic Kitten, but redone by these four ladies (they changed the line "you still turn me on" to "you can do no wrong"). Also of note is that Play is basically Sweden's version of the Sugababes (reference only some will get) and Destiny's Child. Members just coming and going like nothing. But this version of Play is the definite version (most because I've never bothered with the other ones). Faye (the ginger) really was the best one, and I love that they didn't try to hide it. She basically had the Nicole role in the Pussy Cat Dolls. My favorite thing about this video is how dated the "hot guys" look already...until I realize this came out ten years ago. This is my exact reaction to their appearances/faces:

 One guy is wearing a pooka shell necklace,  one has a gross goatee and spiked hair, and another looks like Kris Humphries (and they didn't even reserve the only good looking guy for Faye like they should have because she is the best). And that poor white girl with the braids (aka meat dress girl).
 I dont know who she thinks she is (oh wait, yes I do), but that's just really unfortunate. Fast forward a couple of years and she's the only one whose solo music I actively still listen to (I would have listen to queen Faye's stuff, but I dont know where it is/I think she's rejoined the like 7th line-up of Play or something like that). Seriously, Anais (dark haired one) was always my fave when I was younger, but Faye is flawless.

3LW - No More

Abena: Oh wait. oh my gosh 3LW! do you know them??
Amy: 3LW?
Abena: Yes! 3 little women?
Amy: Oh, i thought it meant like, length and width.
Abena: ...No, sadly that's not what it is. Anyway, you'll recognize maybe two out of three of them
Amy: (starts laughing) Cheetah girls! They had their own group without Raven or Sabrina?
Abena: Yeah! 3LW. And then they didn't let that one girl in the cheetah girls
(song starts. 10 seconds in)
Amy: ...What is she saying?
Abena: You can't understand her?
Amy: No, it sounds like gibberish. What is she saying? Can you put closed captions on?
(Adrienne Bailon starts singing)
Abena: You understand her right?
Amy: Yeah. not the other one. Aqua, right?
Abena: Thats not her real name. Kiely Williams is her name. I dont know what the third one's name is
Amy: She's a good singer too. So they didn't let her do anything?
Abena: Nope, do you like the skirt over her jeans?
Amy: Was that a trend?
Abena: Nope, thats probably why she got kicked out of the group
Amy: Abena, be nice.

Revisiting this song with my 22 year old mind: Yeah everything about this song screams year 2000. THE FASHION OH DEAR LORD.

you think it's cute...but it's not.

 There's literally not much to say about this, except that Adrienne Bailon is now famous for being Rob Kardashian's ex girlfriend, and Kiely Williams...went on to make really really really REALLY poor choices. The whereabouts of whatsherface are still unknown (I can't be bothered to google her. Also, what is her name still).

BBMak - Back Here

Abena: You know BBMak right?
Amy: No
Abena: (tears) Amy, dont do this to me. They were on Even Stevens one time.
Amy: Wow they're really good
Abena: AMY DO YOU THINK I LISTEN TO PEOPLE WHO DONT SING WELL??

Revisiting this song with my 22 year old mind: MARRY ME CHRISTIAN I STILL LOVE YOU.

This has been more music nostalgia, brought to you by the sisters Brown.

Beans

There can only be one

 I can't just use this blog to review one direction CDs...jk, I totally could. But I won't. But since I am dangerously bored with my life, I've decided to start this up again and do what I love (other than eating, watching NCIS and SVU, and applying to medical school): over-analyzing pop music!!

Do you ever get super defensive over a song when a new song comes out with the same title? Like, without even hearing the actual new song, you decide in your mind that the 'original' song is a masterpiece that will forever be second to none? Maybe I'm alone in this, but irrational mind did this when Justin Bieber's 'As long As You Love Me.' Especially since I am disturbingly territorial about the Backstreet Boys, I don't think I went out of my way to listen to Bieber's song for the longest time, just on principle. But realistically, they were two different songs. And despite sharing 6 words, they don't even sound remotely alike. But there always has to be a winner and a loser in these things ya know. So in my free-time (lunch break), I have decided to figure all that out for all of those people out there that wanted the answers (so, no one). Here's a first batch!

Song Title Wars part 1

Song: As Long As You Love Me

The Incumbent: Backstreet Boys

Key Points: Considering this is one of my top 5 favorite BSB songs, it's just gonna be pretty hard to beat from the get go. It is written by the greatest pop lyrical genius of all time, Max Martin. Yeah upon further inspection as a non-8 year old, the lyrics are a bit suspect. Manti Te'o probably listened to this song every night after getting off the phone with Lennay Kukua. But there's just something quite magical about them at the same time. The song is heavy on 2/3 of the Nick-Brian-AJ vocal trio of greatness, with AJ being the odd-man out this time. Big shout out to Kev and Howie, though. This song wouldn't be nearly as good without all the harmonies, and they lay it on thick like butter on Paula Deen's buiscuits. The bridge into the last chorus and the descant of sorts on top of it is just lovely. Also, Nick's "Yeah-ah-ah" wins. every. time. 

Video Bonus: Oh man, so many things. Nick's visual peak/bowl cut, and the fact that this video was filmed during that weirdly short window where his voice matched his face perfectly (He still sounds like he is 17 when he sings even though he's like thirty, but I dont even care). Kevin's eyebrows, THE FANTASTIC CHAIR DANCING, jeans and black (always a good look), and of course, the stunning ethnic diversity of the women in the video. As usual, I pretended I was the black girl.

The Challenger: Justin Bieber

Key Points: So despite my initial resistance when it first came out, I do really like this song. Justin sounds good, and it fit perfectly into the mainstream pop that was big when it came out out, especially with the dub-steppy beat. I've enjoyed Bieber's voice even when he sounded like a little girl all of two years ago, so hearing this was pretty cool. And the falsetto bit where he sings "lo-lo...-love me" is actually a great pop moment, mostly because you're not expecting it. The lyrics aren't on the 'Liquid Dreams' (Shout out to O-town letting me drop my name in that song every once in a while. "I dream about a girl who's a mix of Destiny's Child, just a little pinch of ABENA's wild style, and Janet Jackson's smile...") end of the wackness scale, but they aren't all that great either. But like, Big Sean, what the hell? Every time I hear the rap, this is how I feel:

just...WHY? I'm pretty sure Aaron Carter would have done a better job with those 45 seconds. smh.

Video Bonus: wait, I've never watched this before. What the hell is going on? I'll give a bonus for Justin Bieber's music career, because clearly acting shouldn't be his thing. Also, I'm uncomfortable with justin bieber's fetus looking self getting cozy with a girl. Okay, I do like the dancing. So that's good.

Verdict: Backstreet wins. Though the BSB song sounds ever so slightly dated compared to Justin's attempt to stay with the current pop standards, never underestimate the value of 3-part harmony and chair dancing.

Song: Sober

The Incumbent: Pink

Key Points: Can we just talk for a minute about how great Pink's voice is? Even though she can get kind of annoying when she's in her niche of "tough girl' power pop (a la So What, Raise Your Glass etc.), when she's a bit more stripped down the rocky quality of her voice really shines through and you realize how emotive her voice can be. This song is a classic case of that. And the lyrics are pretty interesting. It might be about love, relationships,or alcohol, or an abstract entity that I haven't even thought of, but it can be taken so many ways, which is kind of cool.
Video Bonus: Okay, never seen this one before either. Props for Pink looking pretty...while helping herself throw up? wait, what??? Op, and now we've entered some clean white room and she's got a dramatic haircut. I don't know. Props for looking like Sia before Sia was a thing I guess...Aaaaaand she's making ot with herself. Bonus for just weirding everyone out, but owning it. You do you, Pink. You do you.

The Challenger: Jade Alston

Key Points: This song is so simplistic in its structure, but it still manages to be great. Just when you think Lil Mama's crazy eyes are going to pop out and start singing about Lip Gloss, Jade Alston's vocals come in and its like a refreshing wave. I love this because she clearly knows her voice and just doesn't sound like she's trying to do too much. It makes for a really enjoyable listening experience. And the vocal overlay is great. The background is drum-heavy, but still kind of sparce, and builds to chorus. And I love the lyrics and how relatable they feel. Basically I'm in love with Jade Alston and want to be her.
Video Bonus: all the bonus points because this video is the premise of all my elementary school birthday parties, making videos and dances with my friends to Destiny's Child songs. It was clearly made on a budget of the 5 dollars of gas money it took her friends to show up at her house, but its great.

Verdict: By the slimmest of margins, Jade wins. I love Pink and she really does kill it vocally on Sober, but the freshness of Jade's song just hits the spot.


Song: Stutter
The Incumbent: Joe

Key Points: OH MY WORD DOES ANYONE REMEMBER THIS JAM? This song was all sorts of perfect in 2000. The intro is amazing. He makes no effort to rhyme except for like twice (you with you, naturally), he's just like, talking haha. But it doesn't even matter. Its was like the younger version of 'Busted' by the Isley Brothers (epic song in the continuum of "I caught you cheating" tracks), the male version of 'Say My Name' and the accidental prelude to 'Cry Me A River' (from the content and the camcorder work in the video) all rolled into one. And he actually stutters when he says stutter.  Also, the Mystikal Remix is the only acceptable version of this song. Mostly because he screams "WATCH YOURSELF" (a la 'shake it fast'. haha i always like the censored title better) and name checks Wafflehouse. And he says, "YOU BETTA RESPECT MA FLOW' (Mystikal only speaks in all caps). Mad Respec, Mystikal. There's a video going around where the kid asks a generation "What will be your Space Jam?" But what I really want to know is who will be their Mystikal?
Video Bonus: I'm still super confused as to what is even going on in the video, but I guess that's a good thing.  Also, Fubu is alive and well.

The Challenger: Maroon 5

Key Points: Haha well this song couldn't be more different. If I get I understand the lyrics correctly, The stuttering here is due to being so in love with someone that it just kind of leaves you speechless? Alrighty then. This song is pretty great either way. You honestly can't go wrong with heavy piano (its in there under all the guitars). And as hot and cold as I am with Adam Levine's aesthetic qualities (he flips between slimy looking and genuinely attractive so easily to me), I'm almost always down with his voice. The melody chorus chorus just makes you wanna two step and smile. Oh and most importantly, he does stutter when he says "stutter," which is again crucial.
Video Bonus: no official video, which is quite annoying. But thank the Lord for live videos. You can hear the piano, which to me is the most important. And there's often a third harmony on the "be with you/you and me always" line
Verdict: Joe wins. As much as I love it, Maroon 5 never really stood a chance.

There's loads more multiple-offender song titles, so I'm going to have fun with this over the next (however long my attention span will allow it)! Suggestions are always welcome!

Beans