Now That's What I Call A Music Poll! Vol. 31 (US)

Britney, Pink and Nickelback have to have set some kind of Now! series record by being included on yet another volume. It's got to be like 10 or 12 each by now.

sad times when kid cudi is the only viable option for me.

Between Beyoncé and Ciara/JT for me. I'm still more used to hearing the "Love Sex Magic" demo from last fall with Ciara on it, though, so whenever I hear the finished product it always catches me off guard.

without Ciara

Pretty solid tracklist, would skip Boom Boom Pow and stop listening at The Ting Tings.

blame it on the goose
gotcha feelin loose

between jamie foxx and soulja boy hmmmm

would rank:

Kid Cudi – "Day 'n' Nite"
Jamie Foxx featuring T-Pain – "Blame It"
Pitbull – "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)"
The Black Eyed Peas – "Boom Boom Pow"
Ciara featuring Justin Timberlake – "Love Sex Magic"
Beyoncé – "Halo"
Ne-Yo – "Mad"
T.I. featuring Justin Timberlake – "Dead and Gone"
3OH!3 – "Don't Trust Me"
The Ting Tings – "That's Not My Name"
Britney Spears – "If U Seek Amy"
Kelly Clarkson – "My Life Would Suck Without You"
Flo Rida featuring Kesha – "Right Round"
Soulja Boy Tell 'Em featuring Sammie – "Kiss Me Thru the Phone"
Lady Gaga – "Poker Face"

Don't know:
Pink – "Please Don't Leave Me"
The Fray – "You Found Me"
Nickelback – "If Today Was Your Last Day"
Lady Antebellum – "I Run to You"
Charice - "Note to God"

can't even rank, love "Blame It" and like the Beyonce and Pink but dislike virtually everything else

kinda surprised to not see "I Love College" on here, that song seems tailor made for Now! comps.

otm

wow this is horrible - "blame it" by 85 million miles

"Dead and Gone."

I get that "Boom Boom Pow" is unpopular around here but I'm really digging it, which is good since it's on the radio all the fucking time. On the other hand, so is "Right Round" which makes me want to kill kittens I hate it so much. But o/w seems like a fine list, I don't even hate "Poker Face".

I get that "Boom Boom Pow" is unpopular around here

I don't think that's hugely true.

yeah I guess I haven't seen anything positive about it, but maybe most people are just indifferent about it. The first n times I heard it I didn't know who it was, and thought it was MIA on the "I'm so 2008" part; maybe "Paper Planes" is having some pop influence already (or else I have donkey ears).

this song has nothing to do with "paper planes"

"boom boom pow" is pretty amazing tho

i kinda got the same impression. never got why the black eyed peas got so much hate from the indie crowd, everybody else loves them - well, i guess that's why actually, but i mean, their dancefloor jams are always pretty quality by pop standards (catchy melodies/hooks, VERY easy to dance to)

though now that i think about it, clearly "my humps" is why everybody likes to hate on the peas. but it's not really fair, cause all their other stuff is great!

yeah I mean I love "Where Is The Love" and "Boom Boom Pow" is great too. "My Humps" was sorta silly but not that bad. For some reason this band is totally off my radar but I guess they shouldn't be.

pretty sure BEP hate originated among rap dudes before eminating outward

I have liked most BEP stuff but Boom Boom Pow is just so meh.

love to jt/ciara, pink and ne-yo, but this is a fight between "Blame It" and "That's Not My Name."

The first n times I heard it I didn't know who it was, and thought it was MIA on the "I'm so 2008" part; maybe "Paper Planes" is having some pop influence already (or else I have donkey ears).

Fergie already sounded like/imitated MIA on "London Bridge".

yeah I figured something like re. "London Bridge" once I realized who the band was, but that's a song I've only read about, never heard (well, I'm going to listen to it now).

"london bridge" has nothing to do with black eyed peas except that it's sung by fergie

eh she is/was in the band so wtf

Boom Boom Pow is not amazing.. it has unconventional song structure and bizarre production in comparison with their previous abysmal output, but that doesn't make it any less full of shit.

^^^

"Boom Boom Pow" isn't even bizarre at all in the context of BEP/Fergie considering it sounds just like "Fergalicious."

i kinda got the same impression. never got why the black eyed peas got so much hate from the indie crowd, everybody else loves them - well, i guess that's why actually, but i mean, their dancefloor jams are always pretty quality by pop standards (catchy melodies/hooks, VERY easy to dance to)

though now that i think about it, clearly "my humps" is why everybody likes to hate on the peas. but it's not really fair, cause all their other stuff is great!

― messiahwannabe, Monday, June 15, 2009 9:49 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

yeah I mean I love "Where Is The Love" and "Boom Boom Pow" is great too. "My Humps" was sorta silly but not that bad. For some reason this band is totally off my radar but I guess they shouldn't be.

― Euler, Monday, June 15, 2009 9:52 PM (2 hours ago)

these posts are so backwards my head hurts. "my humps" is actually an ILM fave if i recall correctly. i've never really read anyone's opinion on "where is the love" but of course it's objectively horrendous. "boom boom pow" obv is garbage too but looks like the fuckin mona lisa next to most of their output

i'm voting for "mad" pretty easily here, but "blame it", "halo", "my life..." and "love sex magic" are good too. rest are varying shades of bad

rest that i've heard, anyway, i should say

"these posts are so backwards my head hurts. "my humps" is actually an ILM fave if i recall correctly. i've never really read anyone's opinion on "where is the love" but of course it's objectively horrendous. "

well i guess it's hard to keep track of what people like on here, it probably depends on which sort of threads you gravitate towards. but i seem to recall reading the humps thread and it seemed like most people on there were slamming it, but thats just my impression i guess. personally i though it was a mildly interesting filler track when i heard it in the context of the album, but i clearly underestimated it's appeal to teenage girls around the world.

"these posts are so backwards my head hurts. "my humps" is actually an ILM fave if i recall correctly. i've never really read anyone's opinion on "where is the love" but of course it's objectively horrendous. "boom boom pow" obv is garbage too but looks like the fuckin mona lisa next to most of their output"

there's that bep hate i was talkin about.

though the reverend is right about the lack of love for the peas in the rap community too, which i also never really got - guess they're just not gangsta enough?

Is "gangsta" a plus or minus now?

"poker face"

though the reverend is right about the lack of love for the peas in the rap community too, which i also never really got - guess they're just not gangsta enough?

― messiahwannabe, Tuesday, June 16, 2009 2:08 AM (Yesterday)

why would people who like rap music be fans of a group that basically trivializes and makes rap music into a little joke?

their songs are horrible and they suck at rapping

will i am can produce alright and he gets props for that from time to time

why would people who like rap music be fans of a group that basically trivializes and makes rap music into a little joke?

― Thanks, Casey Westcott Fleet Foxes (k3vin k.), Tuesday, June 16, 2009 7:52 PM Bookmark

I like a few BEP songs, but damn well said

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Rap music is a little joke.

blame it on the snrub

rev, keep doing these after this one, but make them last only a week

also, it's "mad" like snrub

these aren't my polls, kev (I do the #1 polls is why you're probably confusing my involvement)

Pitbull – "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)"

Any love/hate towards this? It is my favorite new song on the "JAMZ" radio station that my co-worker listens to.

that's not my snrub

snrub boy tell em

these aren't my polls, kev (I do the #1 polls is why you're probably confusing my involvement)

― The Reverend, Monday, June 29, 2009 8:28 PM (1 hour ago)

o lol whoops

i asked my sister to stop listening to boom boom pow the other day, she asked me why and i told her caues it sucks. there is nothing in that song, it's empty and it doesn't go anywhere. it's not even catchy. the black eyed peas do deserve to be hated on, probably more so than they already are, because it's annoying how long that song has been number 1 for.

are you 17?

"why would people who like rap music be fans of a group that basically trivializes and makes rap music into a little joke?"

ok, i get this. also, i saw a link to their numerous commercials on some other thread, and it made me understand completely why people hate on the peas. however:

a) if you've never seen those cheesy-ass commercials, nor been forced to listen to their music on the radio ad naseum, they are actually a very good pop band with catchy hooks, good beats, etc.
b) while their omnipresence and commercialism may turn off music heads like us, obviously from the amount of success they've had (didn't they have the #1 AND #2 hot 100 spots just last week?) the vast majority of people are more like "oh, that band i saw in the target commercial? i lurve them, li think i'll buy their album now" and i can't really blame them for letting their major-label marketing teams maximize their exposure, thus allowing them to laugh all the way to the bank...

"oh, that band i saw in the target commercial?"

uh, they've kind of been racking up hits for the better part of a decade now

I mean, I'm just saying the chain of exposure probably runs more Black Eyed Peas -> products than vice versa.

it's a snowballing thing i suppose. but my point is sorta: they reached a certain level of commercial success, and instead of being all like "oh, we can't do that commercial, people will think we're cheesy and not buy us any more" they instead took the track of "hey, if we do this cheesy-ass commercial no other pop group wants to touch, we'll not only make $300,000 each, but millions upon millions of the great unwashed will see us on tv yet again, thus cementing our name in their handful of brain sells, resulting in more album sales and a few more gazilion bucks each. and now i'm off to the ferrari dealership!"

judging from their current chart placings, it seems to have worked. however, i maintain the hype was backed up by very good pop songs, one after the other.

ting tings deliver the most challop for the buck, so i'll take them. like the kid cudi too. and ne-yo. most of the rest is ho-hummery from people who have either done much better, or never will.

"Mad", which I think is the best track off the album..

(btw my post there should say "either have," not "have either." i didn't mean for my syntax to be challopy.)

Black Eyed Peas #1 songwriting influence is marketing, as well as will.i.am's #1 production influence.. There is good songwriting and even some mild inventiveness going on within Top 40 radio right now, but none of it has ever come from BEP's.

look, i feel kinda weird playing the part of some sorta bep apologist, but some of their stuff is fairly inventive. though i do suspect they have read klf's "the manual - how to have a number one single the easy way"

anyway, enough - i'm tired of defending these guys, it's not like they're my favorite group or something. hate away!

the thing with BEP is that will.i.am is an amazing sell out. like i think "let's get it started" is totally reprehensible on every level, but its pretty clinical in its aim to be a huge, uncompromising hit. he's really good at being really bad, like a serial killer. i love "boom boom pow" unconditionally cuz, like "my humps" (which of course is an accidental hit), it's a song that to me doesn't seem like it was modeled off of some "how to make a hit" checklist. both songs are will letting his two sides - one side being the one where he's a respected rap producer and the second side being the one where he's a megastar - play together i think, and that's why they are the two black eyed peas singles that i like.

see also: "fergalicious"

yeah BEP are a weird case in that they're as likely to be really base-level retarded as they are to be out-there inventive, usually at the same time, and they act like it's totally normal

only listened to the e.n.d. once but if it has a problem it's similar to will.i.am's solo album - lots of cool sounds but weirdly not enough personality - the dutchess + 'my humps' = apotheosis of that aesthetic, which seems to be v much a product of fergie and will, and not so much the other two dudes whose names i don't know.

he's really good at being really bad, like a serial killer.

<3 <3 <3

This thread took off very nicely; some good writing here.

yeah BEP are a weird case in that they're as likely to be really base-level retarded as they are to be out-there inventive, usually at the same time, and they act like it's totally normal

otm

When a BEP song works, it's fantastic. When it doesn't, it's the end of the world. All in all, my favorite single of theirs is still "Weekends" but I like "Boom Boom Pow" just fine.

People are really, really sleeping on the Pink song, probably because it sounds like a nu-New Order pastiche (listen to "Please Don't Leave Me", then listen to "Turn" and you'll hear exactly what I mean).

most of the rest is ho-hummery from people who have either done much better, or never will.

― us_odd_bunny_lady (tipsy mothra), Tuesday, June 30, 2009 2:10 AM (7 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

OTM

voted soulja boy. thought about voting for jamie foxx, even though i really like that song i just can't get into the idea of him as a singer, there's some kind of charisma deficit. the pitbull song is good, the rest is ok but not great

wait, you vote for soulja boy because someone ELSE has a "charisma deficit"?

lol

uh, yeah? come on that song is just CUTE

Baby I kno that u like me
U my future wifey
Souljaboytellem
Yeah u can be my boonie
I can be ya clyde
U can be my wife
Text me, call me
I need u in my life

have had 'Blame It' in my head a lot lately - real grower. also 'Poker Face' (wevs haters).

that's right, the dead-eyed ringtone zombie that suffers from voice immodulation syndrome has more charisma than an Oscar-winning actor

http://img.snlarc.jt.org/caps/characters/WiFe-Jacob%20Silj.jpg

HOP UP OUT THE BEEEEED

hey the world is a funny place, what can i tell you

I have only heard one song on this thing

gonna repeat that people do not know what's up if they are not enjoying the fuck out of that Pink song or if they haven't seen the video

like i said upthread, it's one of maybe 3 songs on here that i like. i still think of it more as a good song on a good album than as a single, though.

I'll admit it has an "album track" kind of sound to it, but that's mostly because I don't expect anything remotely sounding like New Order on the US Top 40 anymore.

Played this actual CD this morning; knew almost all the songs already, except the Fray and Charice. Voting "Poker Face." Would probably give the ones 8 out of 10, and a few more (Pink, Kelly C., Britney) 7's:

The Black Eyed Peas – "Boom Boom Pow"
Pitbull – "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)"
Kid Cudi – "Day 'n' Nite"
Ne-Yo – "Mad"
3OH!3 – "Don't Trust Me"
The Ting Tings – "That's Not My Name"
Lady Antebellum – "I Run to You"

btw if I wasn't riding Pink's jock so hard I'd be voting BEP or Pitbull

Deciding between Kid Cudi, Ciara, and Lady Gaga.

What's the deal with the Charice track at the end, btw? Only peaked at #44 on the Hot 100 (#35 in Canada), off an EP that came out in May, from a teenage Filipina singer who I never even heard of until I saw this album. Is it customary for the Now series to end their comps with songs from alleged up-and-comers that are not actually hits, in hopes that they'll be promoted to kid buyers who won't know the difference? (The actual physical CD, btw, "unlocks Now31's Bonus Track Download Area for FREE Music and Videos from" lots of other presumably Sony artists who aren't anything like big names yet.)

in a word, yes

apparently she's really famous in a way most pop music fans would never know who she was?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charice_Pempengco

ones I can remember off the top of my head:

Lily Allen - Smile
Robbie Williams - Feel
Some Nick Lachey song

and I remember buying some Totally Hits comp around 2002 with Justin Guarini's version of "Ribbon in the Sky" on it. Even at my tender age of 16 I knew something fishy was goin on

from a teenage Filipina singer who I never even heard of until I saw this album.

Not an Oprah viewer, huh, xhukx?

I have only heard one song on this thing

― cool app (uh oh I'm having a fantasy)

Same here, and it's the Tings Tings. Some seriously mucky business.

i think "blame it" is so good because both foxx and t-pain are two of the strongest personalities/most charismatic singers in r&b

I think Jamie Foxx on albums comes across very personality-free; his live appearances are almost uniformly in a completely different league.

"Blame It" is on the radio right now...it's so great because every single line is ridiculously hooky.

"though the reverend is right about the lack of love for the peas in the rap community too, which i also never really got - guess they're just not gangsta enough?"

It's because they put out, like, three pretty decent "conscious" hip hop albums (think Jurassic 5) before being like, fuck it, let's get retarded and get huge. So for a lot of hip hop heads, they're the ultimate "I liked 'em back in the day before they sold out." The only thing I can think of that's similar is only being a fan of Peter Green era Fleetwood Mac or something.

I get a big kick out of the Boom Boom Pow song because it's hilariously promoting itself as somehow cutting edge or futuristic, when it sounds like wil.i.am heard Kanye sample Daft Punk and thought, I can do that! So in a weird way, the futurism is really dated. It's like seeing the ironic streamlining of a '60s parody design. It's kitch and forgettable and I think maybe I enjoy it more remembering it than actually listening to it—it goes on too long, and it doesn't really go with that vocoder/autotune hook. But once it's over, I think back to that "two thousand and late" line and enjoy the residual fun of awkward goofy pop.

i remember when "Where Is The Love" came out and they went on Rap City, it was like the only time Big Tigger ever dropped the pleasantries and practically asked a guest whether they were sellouts

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

decent results, kinda perplexed by the "poker face" love but the songs that didnt get a vote that i've heard are completely dire so that's cool. "mad" did well but i may have voted for it about 4 times

hey as long as the right song won

i voted for "mad" one time

im okay with these results

kind of pleasantly surprised by the low showing for "Boom Boom Pow"