Stuck In My Skull 420 -- "Get Lucky" [Pop Week II]

Pop Week II || Song: "Get Lucky" || Artist: Daft Punk feat. Pharell Williams || http://youtu.be/5NV6Rdv1a3I ||

Comments: It is Friday! Congratulations on surviving the week! Just finish out today, and you're in the weekend! To help you through the day, I give you this song. I've seriously been looking forward to today all week just so I could use the song. In fact, this song is the reason I wanted to do Pop Week II in the first place: It reminded me that pop can be good. And seriously, this song is amazing. First, let's talk vocals. Pharell Williams is great. As is my habit when I don't know much about an artist, I go read their Wikipedia page -- he has had quite a career. My first exposure to Pharell Williams was in the track "One (Your Name)" by Swedish House Mafia, in which he provided vocals. Honestly, I wouldn't have recognized him if I hadn't already been aware he was in this track. I know he's got a good vocal range, but he sounds completely different -- he has a completely different style in this track. And what a style it is, flowing perfectly with the funky, guitar-plucking, disco-esque feel of the song. And on that note, this song is something else. Trust Daft Punk to mix it up and go disco. Pharell's vocals dominate most of the song, but Daft Punk's signature vocoder vocals do make an appearance in the last minute. According to the Wikipedia page about the song, "Upon hearing "Get Lucky", Pharrell remarked that the music evoked the sense of being on an exotic island during a "peachy color[ed]" sunrise." I find myself agreeing completely. If you haven't noticed yet, I love this song. Check it out!

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Stuck In My Skull 419 -- "Come and Get It" [Pop Week II]

Pop Week II || Song: "Come and Get It" || Artist: Selena Gomez || http://youtu.be/n-D1EB74Ckg ||

Comments: Happy Thursday, everyone! So, how do you feel about percussion and bass? I love them both, and apparently, so does Selena Gomez. Ms. Gomez is all aboard the 'heavy' bass drops train in this track. I say 'heavy' because it's heavy for pop, mind you. Between and over the synthesized bass line in the background of the track is some very catchy Indian-sounding drums, giving the song an exotic feel to it. It's a little taste of Bollywood, almost. (Apparently I'm not the only one to say this.) Honestly, this song feels like Selena grew up. The fact that the music video has good choreography helps. According to Wikipedia, the music video was directed by Anthony Mandler, who has done quit a bit of work with Rihanna, among others. Oddly enough, the video and choreopgrahy reminds me most strongly of Rihanna's in the video to "Where Have You Been," which Mandler did not work on. While both videos share some Hindu-themed influences, it was honestly the choreography in the shots like the ones at around 1:03 and 4:25 in Selena's video that reminds me most strongly of "Where Have You Been." It's particularly strong at 0:51 or so in Rihanna's video, despite it representing a completely different culture. But enough about the video. The song is great, and there's a reason it's sitting at number 6 on Billboard's Hot 100. Go check it out!

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Stuck In My Skull 418 -- "Heart Attack" [Pop Week II]

Pop Week II || Song: "Heart Attack" || Artist: Demi Lovato || http://youtu.be/AByfaYcOm4A ||

Comments: Hello everyone, and welcome to the midpoint of the week! It's all downhill from here. To ease the beginning of your descent into the weekend, how about a ridiculously catchy song? I hear this song all over the radio, and I never switch stations when it comes on. It's just that catchy. Demi Lovato mixes a heavy bassline and D&B-styled cymbals and drums with acoustic guitar and synthesizer, capping it all off with her considerable vocal abilities. That mixture produces the earworm that is "Heart Attack," and I haven't been able to get it out of my head. Enjoy!

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Stuck In My Skull 417 -- "I Will Wait" [Pop Week II]

Pop Week II || Song: "I Will Wait" || Artist: Mumford & Sons || http://youtu.be/rGKfrgqWcv0 ||

Comments: Hello, everyone! I wasn't originally going to use this song for this week. In fact, I originally thought this song was overrated. When it was performed live on an awards show I was watching (I thin it was the Grammys...), I found myself dissapointed that the show had used this particular artist for the big performance. And yet, here we are. I have to say, this song really, really grew on me. It holds the dubious honor of being the only song with a prominent banjo that I actually enjoy. And on the subject of that banjo... wow. That banjo is ridiculous. If you just listen to the banjo part, you might be surprised that the banjo player's fingers haven't fallen off. This song is impressively arranged, with instrumentation that fits together beautifully and shakes up the norms for pop music. Looking at the music video, I count and acoustic guitar, a banjo, a keyboard, a stringed instrument I'm going to tentatively peg as a cello, and a kick drum. Just a kick drum. Not a drummer with a drum set, just a kick drum. There's a full drum set in the background behind the artists, but it sits unused. Also, I'm no cellist, but I'm fairly sure those are usually played with a bow, not by picking at the strings. (I went poking around the Wikipedia article about them: There might be a mandolin, and I saw no reference of a cello.) Their vocalists blend wonderfully in both the mastered versions we hear on the radio and the live version they recorded for the music video. While I'm the first to defend the artistic use of auto-tune  even I can respect vocal skill in its absence. But I'm getting off topic. Mumford and Sons has managed to make bluegrass and folk into pop and manage to get a song with a prominent banjo stuck in my head. As it's no secret that I generally dislike the sound of banjos, I must doff my hat and say "Well done, Mumford and Sons." Enjoy!

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Stuck In My Skull 416 -- "Live It Up" [Pop Week II]

Pop Week II, Part 1 || Song: "Live It Up" || Artist: Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull || http://youtu.be/BofL1AaiTjo ||

Comments: Good morning, everyone! Today's song opens Pop Week II, where we take a look at the current state of 'pop music.' Don't worry -- I have good taste. (I think...) To open the week, I decided to use this track. Less than a month old, this song confirms my long-held belief that Pitbull is always better as a featured artist. I tend to dislike songs where the canine-inspired rapper is the principle artist is the primary artist, but he sounds great when he is working on another artist's track. Additionally, this song was written by RedOne, that hidden power-behind-the-throne of pop music. As a song, I like it. It's a tad too heavy to be a quintessential 'summer song,' but it works nicely as a dance track, and I foresee this song having a long career in FM radio song rotations. I think its structure is a tad too irregular to be a good club hit -- the several times where the song stops the beat for the Pitbull verses and champagne-popping sound effects really breaks the tempo, in my opinion, which I suspect will prevent it from getting much use on the dance floor. That being said, I'm a fan. I'm not sure that I agree with the Wikipedia entry that calls this a europop or a dance-pop song, but either way it's a good song. I just think more of Cascada or Inna or Edward Maya or Alexandra Stan when someone says europop. The video's not bad either -- a Pitbull song without Pitbull advertising some alcohol? Count me in.

I'm going to be doing five entries this week, so check back every day this week for more!

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