iTunes chart full of mediocrity

I can’t remember a time when I had no desire to buy any song in the iTunes Top 20. Unfortunately, that’s been the case for the past few weeks. With the boring Halo, Battlefield (which I’ve already discussed ad nauseam) and the unoriginal Waking Up in Vegas rounding out the top 20, you can only hope to find a better crop of songs in the top 15. Well, you’re in for a disappointment. Here are the songs that have plagued the charts for far too long:

I Know You Want Me by Pit Bull really comes up short. It had so much potential…the opening of the song sets the stage for a feet thumping, heart pounding, Latin dance mix. But the fast rap in the verses doesn’t meld with the slower, salsa-like chorus. It’s been around for a few weeks now, but not worth a download.

Keri Hilson’s Knock You Down is the epitome of mediocre. I’m surprised it was ever released as a single. Her monotone voice drones on and on in a song that would be better fitted for a funeral than the radio.

Sean Kingston’s Fire Burning was a let down for me. His past songs were really catchy and creative (Take You There, Beautiful Girls and maybe even Me Love). While the idea of calling 911 because a girl’s dancing is so hot she ignites is an interesting idea for a song, it just missed the mark in terms of sound and beat. I like when Sean Kingston’s voice fluctuates in his songs to show his characteristic and endearing Jamaican accent. In Fire Burning, his voice is loud and he sings at almost the same pitch throughout the song.

None of these songs stand out to me. They might be good enough singles to occupy a spot in the iTunes Top 20 for a week or two (simply because they’re new), but not this long. They only remain in the Top 20 because of the lack of good new releases lately.  

Some people wonder why the Black Eyed Peas Boom Boom Pow has stayed at the top this long. Well, here’s the answer. 1. It’s really good. 2. Look at all the others on the list.

iTunes song-buying philosophy

I’ve purchased about 200 songs on iTunes in the past 4 years. That’s about 50 songs per year, and one song per week. The thing is, sometimes I go for weeks without buying a song and sometimes I buy six songs at once. Upcoming long distance car rides are a major factor in my  song-buying. I usually buy at least one song in these cases, but sometimes I get a little carried away. 

I’d say that after uploading all my old albums and after 4 years of access to iTunes, I own about 60% of the songs (non-new releases) I want. But I can’t just spend hundreds of dollars in a day trying to perfect my library. I wait for a sign. A good friend of mine is getting married soon and she’s trying to decide what song she and her father should dance to. Then I started thinking, if I could sum up mine and my dad’s relationship with a song, what would I choose? I came up with three:

Paul Simon’s Father and Daughter because it’s beautiful and it reminds me of sitting in his stereo room.

Gene Chandler’s Groovy Situation because he played it almost every day when he was taking me to school. I used to think it said “jigsaw” somewhere in the lyrics, but it’s really, “I’m gonna make her mine if it takes all night, can you dig it, can you dig it, can you dig it, can you dig it?”

Herman’s Hermits’ No Milk Today because it puts me back at the soccer field, riding in my dad’s old black Mercedes with it’s loud engine, no air conditioning and the smell of warm, clean leather.

I own the first two songs already, so I bought No Milk Today. There are so many great songs out there still, I just need a reason to buy them. So whenever I’m feeling nostalgic or I do finally get that sign to buy a particular song, I go ahead and buy an oldie.

But on a day-to-day basis, I predominantly peruse the iTunes top 100 list. I love to find a great song at the bottom of the list, buy it, and then watch it rise through the ranks and start being played on the radio. This happened most recently with Matt Nathanson’s Come on Get Higher, which took 6 months to hit radio stations, and Kevin Rudolf’s Let it Rock. Unlike some people, I don’t mind if I find a hidden gem of a song and it becomes the next best thing. Some people feel ownership of the song because they found it first and hate to hear other people singing it. But I find peace in the fact that I’ve had it for X more months (iTunes Purchased records can prove it) and that the radio doesn’t choose my playlist for me. Plus, if it truly is a great song, I want the artist to reap the benefits. 

It takes a great deal of thought to buy a song. Songs aren’t cheap and I don’t want them to taint my Purchased folder. I generally listen to them a few times, determine if they’re timeless enough, think about in which situation I would listen to them (car, working out, at home, etc.), and then make the final decision. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t–but that’s for another post.