BROLLEY GENSTER SAYS LISTEN TO…Viral video remakes!

Brolley, 20, is a music obsessed student at American University in Washington, DC. He tends to know *just* a little bit more than the average post-teen about pop music. He would greatly appreciate it if you listened to viral video remakes. And here’s why:

Unless you’ve been out of the loop or under a rock for the past month, you’ve probably come across the biggest viral video superstar of the year, Mr. Antoine Dodson. Mr. Dodson was interviewed by a local Huntsville, Alabama television station after a man broke into his house and tried to assault his sister while she was in bed. The video went viral because of Antoine’s very emotional response to the “rapist” as directed to the camera.

“Hide yo kids, hide yo wives, hide yo husbands…” became the signature line of video and became a perfect punch line to just about anything in the days and weeks that followed.

The video inspired the Gregory Brothers, a group of musicians from Brooklyn who are better known as the “Auto-Tune the News Guys.” You may have seen the hit videos on YouTube before, which takes clips from 24 hour cable news shows, and auto-tunes them into a song. They took their famous auto-tuning ways, and genius-ly applied them to the “rapist” video featuring Mr. Dodson. It’s fun, it’s silly, it’s addictive. It became “The Bed Intruder Song”, and it’s a hit.

No, seriously.

From the New York Times:

“The resulting track, “Bed Intruder Song,” has sold more than 91,000 copies on iTunes, and last week it was at No. 39 on the iTunes singles chart. Its video has been viewed more than 16 million times on YouTube. And to top it off, the song was No. 89 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart for the week of Aug. 20, ranked among singles by Katy Perry and Usher. The chart takes into account sales and radio play as well as online streaming.”

http://www.youtube.com/v/hMtZfW2z9dw?fs=1&hl=en_US

Has the culture of viral video remakes and covers emerged into the mainstream? It certainly has the potential.

We live in the times of musicians getting their big starts from being found on Youtube. Justin Bieber himself is a product of being found on Youtube. Justin Bieber’s backup singers for his world tour were found by his manager, Scooter Braun, on Youtube as well. People are always turning to online video to listen to their favorite songs if they can’t find it anywhere else, so it makes sense that people have become comfortable with their music coming from Youtube. And it makes sense that popular music will come out of such commonplace.

While doing my research, I came across the newest Gregory Brothers gem, “BACKIN UP SONG”, which, very similarly to the “Bed Intruder Song,” auto-tunes a hilarious local television news story and makes it into a great novelty song that I promise will be stuck in your head for days.

First, for context, you have to watch the original video:

http://www.youtube.com/v/qrOhupqEQkA?fs=1&hl=en_US

Then:

http://www.youtube.com/v/qIoG4PlEPtY?fs=1&hl=en_US

It’s going to be interesting to see if remix culture can find its place in popular music. Yes, we all know that there are remixes upon remixes in popular music, but can taking media that are not music, and not made to be music become normal, outside of sampling? (Honestly, I know there’s a more academic study of this out there, and I’d love to know what to read, and who to study, so if you have any ideas, please let me know!)

BROLLEY GENSTER SAYS LISTEN TO…Cee-Lo Green!

Brolley, 20, is a music obsessed student at American University in Washington, DC. He tends to know *just* a little bit more than the average post-teen about pop music. He would greatly appreciate it if you gave Cee-Lo Green a listen. And here’s why:

http://www.youtube.com/v/CAV0XrbEwNc?fs=1&hl=en_US

This weekend was the greatest weekend for single releases in 2010. Hands down. No question.

I’m always cautious to call any song the “Best Of The Year” preemptively, but I am so sure about this one. Guys, “Fuck You” by Cee-Lo Green is the BEST POP SONG OF THE YEAR. It’s certainly my favorite song of 2010. And with “Fuck You” being released online just hours after the release of the game-changing remix to Kanye West’s “Power”, I’d say that this is quite an impressive feat. And don’t get me wrong, the “Power” remix is gonna be on my top 10 songs of my year as well.

I was sitting there on Friday morning with my mind blown while listening to the “Power” remix for the 11th time in an hour, when I came across “Fuck You” and right when I thought my day couldn’t get any better, it did. Times one hundred thousand trillion. I couldn’t stop listening.

It’s an amazingly well-written song from the song writing master that is Cee-Lo Green, who brought you “Crazy”, who many, including myself, argue was the best song of last decade. The song harkens to the Motown era, when songs with as harsh a message as “Fuck You” could be fun and lighthearted. Ok, maybe not THAT harsh, but you know what I mean. It’s fun, you can sing along to it, you can dance along to it. It’s the kind of song you want to play for everyone because it makes you that happy. Everyone, except for maybe Mom…

Which brings up an interesting discussion that needs to be had with the release of “Fuck You”. Can a song that is so explicitly titled, but so perfectly pop, ever experience commercial success? If the word “fuck” wasn’t in the title and featured in the song’s chorus so frequently, I argue that the song could potentially become the top song on the Billboard Hot 100 within weeks. Cee-Lo Green could have another song become a massive success and a ubiquitous classic, if only the song wasn’t so expletive-laden (approx 16 “fuck”s, 8 “shit”s).

In 2003, an unknown singer named Eamon who hailed from Staten Island, New York, released the controversial, yet commercially successful “Fuck It (I Don’t Want You Back)”, another “angry-at-ex-girlfriend” expletive-laden track. The song charted at number one in 8 countries, including the UK, Australia, the Netherlands, Ireland, and Italy. In Germany, it was the number 4 selling song of 2004. The song holds a place in the Guinness Book of World Records as the “Most Expletives in a #1 song” with 33. In the United States, the song made it to 16. And the song wasn’t even that good, if you ask me. Honestly, it was pretty terrible.

All this is proof that a song with a central theme, containing an expletive, has some hope, somewhere. But, I doubt that “Fuck You” will ever reach commercial omnipresence. And I have a feeling that Cee-Lo wanted it that way. Who says that a great pop song needs to be commercially successful for all to enjoy? And the Internet has allowed millions of people to enjoy the song whether it’s on the radio or not, without the censors of the FCC getting in the way

It has been said that the Internet has killed the radio, making it irrelevant and no longer a source of revenue for artists or record companies. “Fuck You” is a perfect example as to why this is true. And it’s not just another Internet meme. It’s a new classic. You may have just witnessed one of the first true Internet music hits that may never get touched by radio. Take some time, put some headphones on, and enjoy it.

BROLLEY GENSTER SAYS LISTEN TO…Taio Cruz!

Brolley, 20, is a music obsessed student at American University in Washington, DC. He tends to know *just* a little bit more than the average post-teen about pop music. He would greatly appreciate it if you giving Taio Cruz a listen. And here’s why:

http://www.youtube.com/v/VUjdiDeJ0xg&hl=en_US&fs=1

The genius of Dr. Luke strikes your radio once again. After taking over the airwaves this summer with Katy Perry’s “California Gurls”, he’s back with a new hit to make sure you don’t forget that he is the king of the perfect summer song. Teaming up with British import Taio Cruz for “Dynamite”, Dr. Luke ensures his dominance as the song climbs up the Billboard charts.

Taio Cruz broke out in the United States earlier this year with his song “Break Your Heart” which featured Ludacris, but he has been successful in England for a few years and has been a songwriter for the likes of Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Usher, and the Pussycat Dolls. The new style of dance pop that has emerged over the past year has a leader, and his name is Taio Cruz.

The song is purely about having a good time. There’s no real depth, other than wanting to wanting to live it up. But, Taio and his crew came to the club to move and groove, and he’s pretty successful with this song. This is a great song to get pumped up to for a night out on the town. Or to blast in your car with the windows down.

So, add this to your summer playlist, and live it up. Give yourself some space for both of your hand, and dance.

BROLLEY GENSTER SAYS LISTEN TO… Enrique Iglesias!

Brolley, 20, is a music obsessed student at American University in Washington, DC. He tends to know *just* a little bit more than the average post-teen about pop music. He would greatly appreciate it if you giving Enrique Iglesias a listen. And here’s why:

http://www.youtube.com/v/X9_n8jakvWU&hl=en_US&fs=1

Having spent many extended periods of time in the car this past weekend, It seems that all of the newest pop music has become ‘Jersey-fied’. Yep, that’s right kids, along with your television (see: Jersey Shore, Jerseylicious), your fashion (see: Ed Hardy, trucker hats), and your hairstyles (see: the Bump-it), the music on the radio has now become ready made for a night at a sleazy bar in Seaside Heights, New Jersey. Hopefully it’s the radio just gearing up for next week’s season two premiere of Jersey Shore on MTV, but this trend looks like it’s here to stay, just like that horrible smell that enters your car as soon as your drive into Newark on I-95.

Enrique Iglesias tries (again) to make a comeback this summer with “I Like It” which features the king of rapping over international dance music, Pitbull. The song was released as a single from the official Jersey Shore season 2 soundtrack (yes, that happened), so its tailor-made to fit the “Jersey-meets-South Beach” theme the show is going for this season.

Taking two of Miami’s famous residents really works out as the two make a fun song to fist-pump to after you’ve downed three Jägerbombs. Enrique’s newest ode to loving the way a woman moves on the dance floor is sung in a crazy Auto-Tuned computer voice, so he kinda sounds like a Latin Lover robot, which surprisingly, some women might be into.

Pitbull’s verse alludes to the fact that the party should be moved to DC, more specifically the White House lawn, and that we should, “Wake up Barack and Michelle and let ’em know that it’s on.” Looks like he’s been doing his research and knows that DC is the place to be.

BROLLEY GENSTER SAYS LISTEN TO… T.I.!

Brolley, 20, is a music obsessed student at American University in Washington, DC. He tends to know *just* a little bit more than the average post-teen about pop music. He would greatly appreciate it if you giving T.I. a listen. And here’s why:

Never having ever been to jail myself, I cannot speak from experience, but I can imagine that it’s a great place to get your creative juices flowing. There’s no reports to write, business meetings to attend, or groceries to buy to interfere with your creativity. Surely you got to have a great amount of time to think about all of the things you want to do once your out of the big house. It seems like the perfect place to plan a new album, if you ask me. This is why I am expecting big things from T.I. newest album King Uncaged, which will be released later this year.

I’m sure that having a special someone waiting for you to get out of jail would make the whole experience a little more hopeful. You can count down the days until you are back with the one you love and who has supported you throughout the way. In the magical world of “Got Your Back”, T.I.’s lucky to have the lovely Keri Hilson as his emotional support. She’s got his back, no matter what.

http://www.youtube.com/v/ZOI7ISiJZUw&hl=en_US&fs=1

Taking a clue from his 2008 hit “Whatever You Like”, T.I. has made a Top 40 radio-friendly part rapping, mostly singing hit with “Got Your Back”. Honestly, upon first listen, I was pretty sure that this was a 2010 version of “Whatever You Like”. But that doesn’t make it a bad thing, because it’s a great song. In true Tip fashion, he promises to show his women the finer things in life as long as she’s got his back. Heck, he’ll buy her anything as he quite bluntly puts it – “My mission’s to purchase Earth for her.” Seems reasonable.

As long as he remembers to register all of his guns.

BROLLEY GENSTER SAYS LISTEN TO…Cee-Lo Green!

Brolley, 20, is a music obsessed student at American University in Washington, DC. He tends to know *just* a little bit more than the average post-teen about pop music. He would greatly appreciate it if you giving Cee-Lo Green a listen. And here’s why:

 

http://www.youtube.com/v/T1FVajWzX2o&hl=en_US&fs=1

Last week, Cee-Lo Green, of Goodie Mob and Gnarls Barkley, released a video for his cover of Band of Horses’ “No One’s Gonna Love You” which had all of the indie music blogs buzzing. When I came across the video, which is NSFW, I instantly became hooked on the song, and I have been listening to it on repeat ever since. It’s a beautifully written song which Cee-Lo took to the next level with his unique and emotional voice that appeals to a large audience after his Gnarls Barkley fame. And the new mix of the song, which at points sounds oddly like Coolio’s “Gangster’s Paradise”, is big and must sound great on a great set of speakers.The song is like the sun coming out after a storm as it gets brighter and bigger from a slowly and dark beginning. This is one of those videos that enhances the song and I’ve been watching it over and over for the past week. I’m definitely going to be listening to this song for months to come.

What are YOU listening to?

BROLLEY GENSTER SAYS LISTEN TO…Gyptian!

Brolley, 20, is a music obsessed student at American University in Washington, DC. He tends to know *just* a little bit more than the average post-teen about pop music. He would greatly appreciate it if you giving Gyptian a listen. And here’s why:

http://www.youtube.com/v/jVn-OzgTAig&hl=en_US&fs=1&

Who knew that a few piano keys, some drums, and a bass line could take you so far?

If you’re one of those people who likes to discover songs before they blow up, you should be paying attention to “Hold Yuh” by Gyptian, because if this song hasn’t found you yet, it will very soon. This is going to be one of those songs that you will hear all summer long at BBQs, concerts, and when cars drive by you on the street.

“Hold Yuh”, which was recorded over 2 years ago, has come from complete obscurity and within the past few weeks has been slowly climbing up the Billboard charts, thanks to two people – Nicki Minaj and Major Lazer. Minaj released a remix of the Ricky Blaze produced track in the spring and it has quickly become a fan favorite. Major Lazer remixed the song and included it on their recently released “Lazerproof” mixtape collaboration with La Roux. With the help of these two major players, Gyptian is quickly becoming a recognizable name within the scene. Whatever the version, the song seems to have caught people’s ears, and they’re playing it. Almost everywhere.

Hold Yuh (Major Lazer Remix)
Hold Yuh (Nicki Minaj Remix)

BROLLEY GENSTER SAYS LISTEN TO…The Sounds of the World Cup!

Brolley, 20, is a music obsessed student at American University in Washington, DC. He tends to know *just* a little bit more than the average post-teen about pop music. He would greatly appreciate it if you giving the sounds of the World Cup a listen. And here’s why:

I, like everyone else in your Twitter timeline, have gone World Cup mad. Every four years for as long as I can remember, I have woken up at crazy hours in the morning to catch every game of the tournament that I could. I live for the beautiful goals, fancy footwork, and exciting upsets.

There’s something uniquely musical about this year’s World Cup in South Africa – the vuvuzela. Certainly the most controversial musical instrument of the 21st Century (seriously, can anyone debate me on this?), the orchestra of buzzing horns have provided an interesting soundtrack to the games thus far. It’s become an amazing phenomenon all around the world. Many broadcasters, viewers, and even players have complained about the horns, but FIFA (the governing body of the games) has stood by the South African fans who blow their vuvuzelas in celebration of the beautiful. In my opinion, the vuvuzelas and their locust swarm-like sound have made this year’s World Cup unique and celebrate of the culture of the hosts. Truthfully, what I am looking forward to most is seeing which American hip-hop artist will include the word “vuvuzela” in a verse first. Lots of possibilities. Any guesses?

Keeping with the theme of the World Cup, this week’s installment of Brolley Says Listen To… features 2 pop songs beings used as anthems for this year’s competition.

http://www.youtube.com/v/pRpeEdMmmQ0&hl=en_US&fs=1&

The song chosen by FIFA as the official anthem of the 2010 World Cup is “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” performed by Shakira and South African group Freshly Ground. The song is danceable, multilingual, and uplifting and makes you want to celebrate the world, most especially Africa, while holding everyone’s hand and singing together. It’s a perfectly formulaic song for any world event that gives you pride to be a citizen of the world. It’s beautifully, and sometimes painfully cheesy, but what is wrong with a little global unity every now and then, right?

http://www.youtube.com/v/WTJSt4wP2ME&hl=en_US&fs=1&

And what’s a global sporting event without large corporate sponsors lending a hand to throw their logo on every surface possible for the world to see? One of those sponsors this year is Coca-Cola, and they have used “Wavin’ Flag” by K’naan as their promotional anthem this summer. The version I’m talking about (“Wavin’ Flag (Coca-Cola Celebration Mix)”) is all about “celebration, it’s around us, every nation all around us”. Another song that inspires sing-a-longs and declares global unity, “Wavin’ Flag” was also re-recorded earlier this year in Canada and used to raise funds in the wake of the Haiti earthquake.

So, if you have World Cup fever, if you’re inspired by the whole world coming together to watch “The Beautiful Game”, or if you just feel like blowing your vuvuzela all through the night no matter who complains, these songs are for you. They aim to change the world with a smile, some hope, and universal dance moves. Sounds good to me.

BROLLEY GENSTER SAYS LISTEN TO…Mike Posner!

Brolley, nearly 20, is a music obsessed student at American University in Washington, DC. He tends to know *just* a little bit more than the average post-teen about pop music. He would greatly appreciate it if you giving Mike Posner a listen. And here’s why:

http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:uma:video:mtv.com:520383

Mike Posner – New Music – More Music Videos

Remember how easy it was to figure out where you fit in on the social ladder in middle school? It was all determined in the lunch room. All of the band kids sat together and the comic book kids didn’t sit too far from each other. The goths and the punks sat at different ends of the same table to show that they were different, but also kind of the same. All the boys who kicked ass in gym class ended up at the same table and by the time lunch was almost they usually had created a strange mixture of ketchup, syrup, milk, mashed potatoes, peas, and apple sauce together in a cup and were inevitably daring one another to drink it. There were the girls who liked to read teenage romance novels from the school library at one table and boys who spent the entire lunch period playing games on their calculators and drawing pictures of weird dinosaurs in their notebooks at another.

But, on the OTHER side of the lunch room, sat the popular girls. Looking back, who knew what made these girls “popular” or what deemed them this classification? Certainly not me. But, they were always the prettiest girls and usually the first ones to start becoming women. And they were the hottest and always seemed to have a new boyfriend every two weeks. And if you were like myself, you could never get near them. They never noticed you, and they were definitely too cool for you.

Flash forward to now, where this still happens, but it’s certainly not as easy to determine where you stand compared to the next guy. But, there is still that elusive girl looking real good in her designer shades.

Enter Mike Posner with his song “Cooler Than Me”. Posner, who created buzz for himself by creating hit mixtapes while he was a student at Duke University. In the song, Posner sings about how easy it could be to make a girl fall in love with him, but she thinks she is cooler than him, so she won’t give him a chance. The girl keeps her nose up, and ignores him, no matter how good he might be for her. It’s an emotional struggle that we’ve all gone through.

The song is currently number 40 on the Billboard Top 100, and I have a feeling that Mr. Posner isn’t going to have to worry about the ladies being cooler than him for too much longer.

BROLLEY GENSTER SAYS LISTEN TO… Robyn!

Brolley, nearly 20, is a music obsessed student at American University in Washington, DC. He tends to know *just* a little bit more than the average post-teen about pop music. He would greatly appreciate it if you giving Robyn a listen. And here’s why:

http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/video/xcqrli

School’s out. The weather is getting warmer. And though the calendar doesn’t say that the seasons have changed yet, everyone’s in that summer state of mind. For me, that mindset begins my annual search for the perfect summer pop song. The one that you will hear 5 years from now and will take you back to who you were and how your felt during that summer; how old you were, what you were doing with your friends, what your outlook on life was.

One of my favorite pop artists to turn to for a great summer song is Robyn. If you don’t know who Robyn is, you should, and consider this your introduction. Hailing from the beautifully musical land of Sweden, Robyn has been making music for over 15 years. She is constantly reinventing ways to approach dance-pop music and has worked with everyone from Britney Spears to Royksopp to Snoop Dogg and Basement Jaxx. In 1997, she released one of my favorite songs of my childhood, “Show Me Love”, which they used to play on the local radio station frequently. If you’re looking for what I consider to be an almost perfect pop song, you should definitely take a listen.

A great kick-off track to this summer’s soundtrack is Robyn’s “Dance Hall Queen” an awesome pop music hybrid produced by the hottest producer of the moment, Diplo. Caribbean sounds that will get you thinking of sunny beach days on the islands get mixed with some dubstep, and they go together like peanut butter and jelly. This isn’t an all-out dance song or a song to get the party started, but rather, a nice mid-tempo song to keep the party going. The song is about going out and dancing by yourself because it’s fun and there is no need for any other worries in the world. Robyn’s line puts it perfectly; “I came to dance, not to socialize.” It’s about the music and having a good time, nothing else.

And Robyn is confident about being the best on the floor, and she’s got some attitude about it. In the chorus, she reminds you that she “still run this thing like a dance hall queen.” It’s a fun cockiness that everyone has when they take the dancefloor. You have got to be the best one out there, right? Robyn thinks so.

You could totally say that this song is too trendy, and I would definitely agree with you, but that’s what makes it so good! With dubstep currently infiltrating the mainstream music scene, and Caribbean sounds becoming more and more popular with acts like Major Lazer, “Dance Hall Queen” captures the essence of what is now, 2010, and what we will look back and remember it as. Trends may seem superfluous and annoying, but we must embrace them and make them our own because they are what is now, what is innovative, and the legacy of the moment. And that is what the perfect summer pop song is all about.

“Dance Hall Queen” is a leaked single off of Robyn’s newest album set to release sometime in June. Keep an eye out!