And that actually went a lot smoother than I expected. Nice feeling, that is. Next up... hmm, I've got a country record I really want to cover, but will I have a chance to get to it before a special episode of Billboard BREAKDOWN or something special for this weekend? We'll see, but stay tuned!
So
we’re now at the halfway point of the Billboard Hot 100 year, so let’s take
stock of the situation – and while I wouldn’t quite say it was a
disappointment, it certainly is interesting to see how certain trends have
oscillated. R&B and neo-soul are fighting pop for dominance – with pop
arguably gaining the upper hand – country has mostly stayed quiet to flush the
last dregs of bro-country out of its system, all sorts of off-beat, weird
tracks have fought their way up from both electronica and the indie scene, and
hip-hop continues to marginalize talent and wordplay in favour of the lowest
common denominator. Sure, I might lament the failure of a few promising pop and
country tracks, but the rise of nu-crunk and the prevalence of Vine have driven
more than its fair share of forgettable garbage to the top – and the alarming
thing is that it keeps happening.
