BY MIKEY MIGO
I'm an old man now at 26. ˜Back in my day" we didn't have ipods and only a few people in my school actually had their own cell phones. Sarcasm aside, times were different but not by THAT much. I mean I'm only 26. Life as we know is hasn't changed a whole lot in a ten year span, but it certainly feels that way at times. We've been blessed with high speed internet, cell phones that can do anything, and tons of technology upgrades. At the same time we see styles and certain areas of pop culture recycled. I mean would anyone expect 3D movies to be a huge hit in 2010 ten years ago? I doubt it. I'm starting to gain a perspective that as much as things change, they also stay the same.
I always felt that music, at least lately, has been on the down side. I love music and I do feel I'm pretty open-minded to it. I'm not one to hate on a pop song if it has some substance or originality. Same goes for just about anything. There are plenty of newer artists out there that are on their way to becoming Hall of Famers and that have become part of pop culture. Just as a whole, music isn't as impactful as it once was. Music, like everything else, works in cycles. Right now there just isn't a definitive "era" for us. I'm sure out of nowhere, the next big thing will come and sweep us all off our feet but until then things just feel stagnant.
So I'm wondering, was music ten years ago any better than what we have today? To figure it out, I'm going to take a look at the Billboard charts for this week and compare them to the charts of ten years ago. It's 2000 vs. 2010. Granted, I full acknowledge that the charts mean shit. Just because a pop album sells a trillion albums doesn't make it better than anything else, but it's a good test of strength of where things are. The judgment is based not so much on success, but what I personally like. I enjoy music of substance, creativity, and heart. I'm not a fan of watered down teen pop or anything that feels commercial just to be commercial. That's just me. Music preference is subjective and we're all free to enjoy what we like. None the less, my theory is that music ten years ago was better than today. Call me an 'old timer' or whatever, but as we've covered, not much has changed... or has it?
Chart Position: 10
2000: ...And Then There Was X by DMX
2010: Glee: The Music, The Power of Madonna by The Cast of Glee
Before DMX wasn't allowed on "Celebrity Rehab" he was one of the biggest rap stars in the world. Release six months before this time period, …And Then There Was X was pretty huge. It's five times platinum and had some monster hits on it. "What's My Name?", "Party Up In Here", and "What These Bitches Want" all got a lot of airplay. "Up In Here" specifically was played A LOT. It became almost like a club/summer anthem at the time. It was a huge success for the Ruff Ryder and his biggest album to date. Then to compare the growl and bark of DMX to "Glee" is pretty damn odd, but hilarious. The television show "Glee" is like the sitcom equivalent of "American Idol", or at least that's how I (unfairly?) perceive it. It just seems lame to me despite my love for Jane Lynch. I checked out some of these Madonna covers and it's all in good fun. It's not bad, but it's nothing revolutionary. "Glee" keeps pumping out albums based on their television show's episodes like they're "The Monkees" or something. I can't in good faith give this one to "Glee" when DMX is crazy enough to drown my goldfish in it's sleep.
Chart Position: 9
2000: The Chronic 2001 by Dr. Dre
2010: NOW 33 by Various Artists
Isn't it crazy that we're STILL waiting for the follow up to The Chronic 2001? It was a great album. "Still D.R.E.", "Forgot About Dre", and "The Next Episode" are hip hop classics in my book. The whole album was solid though. Those three singles made it go over six times platinum, but the majority of the album was just good stuff. Do I even have to talk about NOW 33? These NOW albums serve as "hey you casual music fan, want some hit songs you heard on the radio". I don't see how these albums do so well. Yeah, there's an assload of singles on there but if someone really likes a musician on it why not just get their whole album and show proper support? I must go with Dre over this infomercial on all that's wrong with music.
Chart Position: 8
2000: Human Clay by Creed
2010: Sparks Fly (EP) by Miranda Cosgrove
If this were Creed's 1997 My Own Prison then we'd be having a different conversation. I'm as much a anti-fan of Creed as the next red blooded American, but that first album was good stuff. On Human Clay, the band pretty much peaked. "Higher", "With Arms Wide Open", and "What If" were all pretty big hits at the time. A tag team from local indy wrestling at the time used "What If", which probably because of that made it my favorite track on this album. I'm not going to lie, I've seen more than a handful of episodes of iCarly. I miss the days of silly family sitcoms and that's what the show basically is. It's not cheesy like a Disney show, but still on the childish side. If I had a kid, be thankful I don't, I'd have no problem with Cosgrove being a role model for her, or him I suppose. What can I say? Don't let children use the remote if you don't want to get sucked into their world. I looked up the album information for this EP and checked out the single. It is what it is. It's fluffy pop and really something I wish I'd never of heard. Based purely on the fact that my favorite local tag team at the time used Creed's "What If" is why I have to go with them. If not for that, this would be a tie of blah.
Chart Position: 7
2000: The Writing's On The Wall by Destiny's Child
2010: Fearless Love by Melissa Etheridge
Remember when Destiny's Child had four women in it and Beyonce looked like a completely different person? If you listened to music in 2000, you should. The Writing's On The Wall ended up becoming one of the most successful and high selling R&B albums of ALL TIME. "Bills, Bills, Bills", "Bug a Boo", and "Say My Name" tore up the charts, radio, and television. In 2010, it's great to see Melissa Etheridge chart so high. Not since 95 has she been this high. The lead single and title track, "Fearless Love" is a pretty decent song. I've never been a huge fan of hers, but I appreciate the work and emotion put in. I took a listen to the album out of the blue and curiosity a short while after it came out. It's a very personal album and you can tell she put A LOT of herself into it. While not my cup of tea, I can respect that side of it more than I can respect a hit pop song called "Say My Name" no matter how big it was. 13.5 million copies sold or not, for my tastes Etheridge wins here purely based on substance.
Chart Position: 6
2000: Supernatural by Santana
2010: Raymond V Raymond by Usher
I got so tired of hearing Santana and Rob Thomas's "Smooth" that I tried to block out this entire album. Then I kind of felt the same way about "Put Your Lights On" featuring Everlast. But in retrospect, it's almost like a who's who from music at the time. You have the hit singles and then Lauryn Hill, Dave Matthews, Cee-Lo, Eagle-Eye Cherry, and the awesome Eric Clapton all lending their voices. It's Carlos Santana so it's obviously a worthwhile album and full of awesomeness, but it was just overplayed to the point of my submission. Now on the other hand, I love me some Usher. By that I mean, I love being drunk when "Yeah!" comes on. It's a great track and amongst other hits proves that Usher Raymond is smoother than hot butter. I just can't get into the new album. It's not Usher's best work so I go with Mr. Santana here. Usher, please forgive me.
Chart Position: 5
2000: Skull & Bones by Cypress Hill
2010: Iron Man 2 Soundtrack by AC/DC
I recall "Rock Superstar" being a huge hit in the summer of 2000. "Rap Superstar" was nothing to sneeze at either, but other than that this album had nothing to offer my ears. It was a solid album, but didn't have the oomph or impact as even their most recent release. Iron Man 2 was a decent movie(see review below), but it didn't hit me until working on this column that the entire soundtrack is made up of virtually AC/DC's greatest hits. Every song but one, "War Machine", was written and recorded before Cypress Hill's 2000 release. That's kind of weird and a bit unfair, but its how the cookie crumbles. "Rock Superstar" is a 2000's prerequisite, but you can't argue with "Back in Black", "Shoot to Thrill", "Thunderstruck", "T.N.T", and the abundance of hit AC/DC tracks. Still, I gotta go with Cypress Hill here. My reasoning is that it was an album of original material and did in fact give us one of the band's biggest singles.
Chart Position: 4
2000: Unleash The Dragon by Sisqo
2010: My World 2.0 by Justin Bieber
All there is to speak of with Sisqo is the fact that this album contained the track, "Thong Song". I support and respect the power of the all mighty thong in the right hands, or shall I say cheeks. There's not much else about this album that's even worth nothing. This single song was enough to get the album over four million sales. It's a one hit wonder if I've ever heard one. I try not to speak of Justin Bieber. The kid's eyes are daunting and there's just something/everything about him that rubs me the wrong way. He's already proven to be more successful and have more longevity than Sisqo's solo work, but this Bieber kid has done nothing as pop iconic as the mother f*ckin' "Thong Song".
Chart Position: 3
2000: My Name is Joe by Joe
2010: Fever by Bullet For My Valentine
All I remembered about Joe is that he was on a track with Mariah Carrey. I had to youtube some tracks and the singles to recall his work. "I Wanna Know" is one of those classic R&B songs that I can picture in my head from movies and tons of radio play. Also on the album and Mariah's "Rainbows" album is the monster hit "Thank God I Found You". That thing was played A LOT. The album seems like it was strong, but from there I couldn't tell you anything about the dude's career or success. Unless I was forced under a rock, one would think he fell off. Of course I'm going to like Bullet for My Valentine better. I'm a rock guy before any other genre. That said, I don't get the love for the band. They're okay, but to chart at number three? While not on this chart ten years ago, Slipknot and/or System of a Down were much better at this point in their careers. I can't get into "Your Betrayal" at all. "The Last Fight" is a little better, but not by much. They went from throwing impactful, hard hitting terrors at us to a radio metal version of Nickelback. I can accept if this was their first or second album, but they've devolved into something that just feels artificial to me. Its hard rock/metal, but it's still commercial and on the bland side. Nothing about it makes me interested and it's a huge step back from their Scream Aim Fire album from two years ago. I CANNOT believe I'm saying this, but the Joe album is better in terms of what these albums are.
Chart Position: 2
2000: The Heat by Toni Braxton
2010: Need You Now by Lady Antebellum
I don't remember Mrs. Braxton's album at all, but with some research I've been hearing some tracks that sound very familiar. "He Wasn't Man Enough" was a huge hit on the R&B stations and the single won the Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. Tack on three more singles and the fact that the album had collaborations with Dr. Dre and Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes this was a pretty successful piece of work. On the flip side, I am not a fan of modern country at all. Lady Antebellum, no matter the success or fandom, is music that's not made for me. I can accept that. They are talented at what they do and if you haven't heard, even on accident, "Need You Now" then you're living under a rock. The lady's voice is nice, but from what I've heard (sadly, a lot without choice) it's nothing new at all. No innovation at all. It's pop country, which makes it easy to say Toni Braxton is my pick here.
Chart Position: 1
2000: No Strings Attached by N Sync
2010: B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray by B.o.B
No Strings Attached has sold ten million albums, the most of any album of the first decade of this century. The singles were huge in "Bye Bye Bye", "It's Gonna Be Me", and "This I Promise You". This album is as teen pop as you can get. I remember many girls being ga-ga over the whole thing. This was hell for me. I hated N Sync and had no respect for their work until the "Gone" single, but that was about it. B.o.B on the other hand has some edge and a bit more substance than N Sync. He's got an old school/new school vibe in hip hop. B.o.B is talented and could carry on with success, but I just couldn't get into him as much as his friend/mentor Lupe Fiasco. "Nothin' on You" is a huge hit single and is platinum itself. Then he did work with Hayley Williams of Paramore and on "Part II" he works with her and Eminem. The Em connection instantly gives him a little bit more cred and then the Paramore tie in makes it have huge potential for crossover success. I think if he has some staying power and evolves as an artist he could be huge and not as I'd fear, a one and done performer like so many before him. Neither number one is something I'd listen to without a little force and really isn't my cup(s) of tea. I gotta go with the new guy here, B.o.B's album is much more enjoyable and of much much more substance.
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