OK, it's time for my latest grumblings about pop music. A new #1 song took over the Billboard Hot 100 yesterday, a little ditty called "Beautiful Girls" performed by a youngster named Sean Kingston. The tune jumped all the way up from #23 - apparently he has caught the fancy of MySpace users and his Jamaican-influenced sound is now considered pretty hot. I hadn't heard the song until after I'd downloaded it, and I have to admit that I was at first incredulous that this song managed to catch on so strong. His voice is just kind of awkward and child-like, and he himself is such an ordinary-looking, chubby teenager that I didn't get what set him apart. However, a closer listen makes it clear - the music is a pretty clear sample from Ben E. King's classic "Stand By Me" ensuring instant familiarity to millions, and once the vocals have settled into your brain, the sing-songy lines feel quickly and easily comfortable. But the part that really gets me is how he uses the word "suicidal" ("SOOO-i-SYD-ul! SOOO-i-SYD-ul!") as the main hook in the lyric. I don't think that's ever been done before, at least, not in a #1 hit!
So that got me thinking about how commonplace and casual the idea of "feeling suicidal" has become among our young people these days, to the point that it becomes the lyrical centerpiece to a little snippet of pop fluff on the summertime airwaves. My perspective on teenage suicide and other emotionally dramatic behavior is highly skewed because of where I work, but I'm not at all interested in censoring or shaming the boy for his choice of words. (Apparently, MTV has deleted "suicidal" from the video, leaving a silent gap in the vocal track, while a radio version of the song uses "in denial" in place of "suicidal." How silly!) How odd that he's apparently generated a bit of backlash from some quarters, since he apparently made the decision that he would not curse on his records (he is only 17, let's see if that pledge makes it to his next album - I'd be happy if it did. I'm really getting tired of obligatory F-bombs by such non-aggro artists as Avril Lavigne, Maroon 5, Justin Timberlake, etc., each of whom tossed in pointless swearing on their recent #1 hits over the past several months...)
Anyway, "Beautiful Girls" replaced "Hey There Delilah" by the Plain White T's, a Chicago-based pop-punk band, at the top of the Hot 100. That song was originally released in 2005 but perseverance, strategic marketing and constant touring over the past couple of years have resulted in the current success. I saw the video for this song just before I left for work today. It got me thinking of Simon & Garfunkel's "Homeward Bound" for some reason - a gentle, sentimental, slightly weepy number that doesn't sound like much at first but has its charms with increased familiarity. I don't quite expect the Plain White T's to go on to have the kind of career that S&G had, but go ahead, let 'em try and see what they can come up with!
5 comments:
No one examines music with as much affection and skill as you do, Dave. I love reading your reviews. That song (#1 Beautiful Girls) is a surprise to me too. I find it kind og boring, but I suppose it is that catchy hook that has made it leap forward. My kids love it, so there you go. And how odd that the word "suicidal" is taken out while songs about drugs and sex still get airplay... I think we don't really know how to make decisions about offensive content.
I own the Plain White T's CD. I love it! They are totally refreshing. They sound nothing like S&G in the overall tone of the album - more like an innovative Indie band... fresh. I went running to the CD and every single track was pumped up, except "Hey There Delilah" which is the last song on the CD. I love that song too.
I think you'd get a kick out of this group. They make me feel young.
Glad that my grumblings have brought you some enjoyment, Julie! I do enjoy pondering the deeper meanings of pop ephemera so expect to see more of it here!
MTV's apparent decision to delete "suicidal" is really strange (I haven't seen the video on TV yet though.) It's not like people don't know what he's saying, and I don't think the FCC is quite to the point of levying out fines for the use of that particular word. I would love to know if the use of "suicidal" was calculated in any way or if it was just the lyric that came to Sean Kingston's mind. It gratifies and encourages me to think that this song is a true "grass roots" composition that made it to the top. The Plain White T's too - both of those songs seem to be genuine phenomena that weren't cranked out by a team of professional hit-makers (though I'm not idealistic or naive enough to think that the hit-makers didn't have a lot to do with positioning these songs to where they even had a chance.) These tracks feel less "corporate" than most of the other #1's of this year.
So which Plain White T's CD do you have? "Every Second Counts" had "Delilah" added to it in later pressings - the song originally came out on an earlier disc, titled "All That We Needed" and the band also released a "Hey There Delilah" EP, so they have been really pushing that song for awhile now! I imagine that the singer/songwriter realized he had something special there but it took a long time to get past the obstacles to where the mass public could hear it and connect.
There's an interesting story behind the song. Apparently, the singer, Tom Higgenson, wrote it for a girl named Delilah DiCrescenzo, that he had just met and found attractive, but she never fell for him. She's now training to be a runner in the 2008 Olympics and is feeling kind of haunted by the song, hearing it all over the place and knowing she inspired it, though she has other priorities and never sought this kind of fame!
I think my Simon & Garfunkel association came from recently viewing the Monterey Pop DVD. They performed at that show, and of course they were very quiet and subdued compared to the likes of The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin or Country Joe and the Fish. I know that this song is very untypical of the PWT sound. It kind of reminds me of Green Day and their "Good Riddance/Time of Your Life" song that came out 10 YEARS AGO!!! (I just looked it up and was astounded to realize it's been that long...)
Wow, after reading this I am going to make a playlist for my ipod with Plain White T's and S&G music. Homeward Bound is one of my faves. I wore that piece of vinyl out back in the day!
Hi Barbara, nice to see you drop by and leave a comment!
As Julie says, *most of the time,* Plain White T's won't sound a lot like Simon & Garfunkel :o) but I like random diversity in my playlist so don't let me dissuade you!
I have "All That We Needed." :) You know everything. I didn't even know there were other options. I just looked it up on iTunes and clicked "buy." That's how deep I go.
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