This is something that I hate to admit, but I recently bought a Britney “best of” Album and realised that… I actually liked many of her songs, but never realised that she sang them, for example, “Stronger”, “Sometimes”, “Lucky”, “Overprotected”, “Not a Girl, Not yet a Woman”.
and then I bought a Madonna “best of” CD, for old times sake, I thought (the last Madonna album I have is the Immaculate Collection, for reference) and realised that… “Music” is JUST the song which I found strangely addictive, and I never knew it was from Madonna. Same with the cover of “American Pie”.
Coming from a diet of eclecticmusic, it seems bizarre to me that I should be so attracted to a whole lot of music that I never thought I would like… but I do. So, tell me about popular music. What have I missed in the last 10 years or so?
I think you’ll want to listen to Christina Aguilera. She sings in a range of styles- 40s poppiness of Candy Man which always reminds me of Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, and the more overtop balladry of Hurt (no, not that Hurt!) and all sorts in between.
I don’t know if you “missed” No Doubt and Gwen Stefani’s solo work, but you might like that too. Gwen’s solo stuff is especially odd, with her obsession with Harajuku popping up in odd places. Wind It Up is a really weird song, but Sweet Escape is a lot more accessible. With No Doubt, just start with Tragic Kingdom, then work forwards or backwards if you like the sound.
In my opinion, “Since U Been Gone” by Kelly Clarkson is hands down the best Top 40 single of the past decade. That alone makes “Breakaway” worth the price of admission.
Amerie’s album “Touch” is a great guilty pleasure, as well.
A lot of people really like to hate on top 40, and I agree a lot of it gets pretty bad, but there are some great tunes out there.
Also, no one I know - metalheads, indie poppers, hip hoppers - can deny the greatness of Kylie Minogue. The woman is genetically engineered to be catchy.
It’s ok, it’s ok. You only THINK you like this. Come over here where the good music is.
Seriously though, Britney isn’t my bag, but if you do like that sort of dance pop check out Justin Timberlake’s last album produced by Timbaland. It is upsettingly good.
Mostly youtube links follow: Less dance poppy, but still fun upbeat poppy.
I will also throw out the ubiquitous nod to LCDsoundsystem.
Do you want something other than dance pop too? What is it about the dance pop that you like, the sheer fun and simplicity, the dancability, the beep and whirls of the electronic backround music, something else? I am happy to help you find other stuff too. (Sorry the hipster inside of me makes me want to tell you to run, the music lover in me is trying to bash the hipster’s head in. Still the hipster might be winning.)
And throw you a link to www.allmusic.com and www.pitchforkmedia.com so you can start reading some thoughts on what you have already listened to, and who else is doing stuff in that vein that you might like.
You might want to check out some older Rilo Kiely or Death Cab for Cutie. Maybe the Killers, or MIA. You might want to check out the Pippettes. There is a lot out there. A lot of it is very different, but still the same basic idea.
