Time for something different!

How about I make a few comments about the hottest new pop songs? I've previously mentioned that I have a self-created pop radio program so I can listen to pop songs without those irritating ads, DJs, etc. So I put together the Billboard Hot 100's top 20 songs, along with the Billboard Pop 100 top 20, Billboard Modern Rock top 10, Billboard Hot Adult top 10, featured tracks from Fuse TV's Oven Fresh program, the BBC Radio 1 top 20, and the MTV TRL Top 10. It usually adds up to about 60, maybe 80 tracks that I listen to at home on the computer to simply enjoy the same popular music I've been listening to all my life (OK, the songs and styles have changed since I started).

So, what's new on my Top Hits playlist each week isn't necessarily the "next big thing". It's more like an indicator of what has moved into the spotlight. We'll see if I find this enjoyable...

This week's newest tunes on my Top Hits playlist?

• Rihanna's Don't Stop the Music is the biggest mover. This is her weakest single yet (some previous hits were pretty good, others so-so). Abandoning her usual combination of Caribbean and hip-hop beats, this tune uses an odd, pudgy trance-style beat with her usual peppy choruses. I think this will be bigger in Europe than here in the USA--they like those grooves better over there.
• Avenged Sevenfold returns to my playlist with Almost Easy. This is a band with a reliable, hard-edged rock sound that's pretty conventional, despite their punky appearnce on stage, in video, and in photos. As always, the tempo and energy is high, if a bit pointless.
• The Silversun Pickups, inexplicably popular with critics, debut with Well Thought Out Twinkles. The specialize in layered, luxurious guitars and a singer who clearly isn't comfortable with the job. Why is this band so hyped?
• Teen country-pop sensation Taylor Swift debuts for the second time in three weeks. Our Song is a bit more country than Teardrops On My Guitar and is another one of those country songs that's blandly straightforward and first-person. I mean, country songs like this don't even try for anything beyond self-absorbed insincerity.

CDs listened to today:

• Sandor Veress: Hommage a Paul Klee
• Various Artists: One A.D.
• Ingram Marshall: Hymnodic Delays
• XTC: Oranges and Lemons
• Kenny Wheeler: Music For Large & Small Ensembles
• Kevin Puts: Dark Vigil
• Ludwig van Beethoven: Octet