POP SONG REVIEW: Cheap Thrills vs. This Is What You Came For

IIRC, Rihanna did get more Caribbean with "Man Down", but that was a while ago and it wasn't a big hit.

Grace

I didn't like Work at first but it's really grown on me. I feel like it's the first time Rhianna's fully embraced the Caribbean dancehall stuff that's always been her edge, instead of just sprinkling a little bit on top of an otherwise standard pop song for white people. The slurry singing sounds lazy when you first hear it but she commits to it and it feels like a legit artistic choice that works for the song. Not so keen on Drake's mediocre rap verse though.

QuailMan420

I loathe pretty much every pop song that gets featured on this show. But AFTER they get featured . . . I smile every time I hear them. Thanks, Todd.

Rish Outfield

Sia has Grave's Disease. It's a really terrible autoimmune disorder that among other things causes swelling in the eyes to the point where the sufferer can no longer blink, sometimes their eyeballs literally fall out and have to be put back in. It often starts later in life, usually around 40 and gets progressively worse. It's seven times more likely to occur in women then men and has no effective treatment. She's got every reason not to want people looking at her eyes. I don't mean to sound accusatory, you may well know. I've just had the looming terror of Grave's Disease lurking in my head ever since I heard that story on Risk about the poor woman whose eyes fell out and I feel the need for other people to experience my fear.

De

"Me, Too" looks like it's dropping out of the Top 20 without even breaking into the Top 10. Guess that means it's already played out. Twenty One Pilots and The Chainsmokers are tearing up the charts more than Meghan Trainor is.

I'm going to be SO HAPPY when you get to Meghan Trainor (and I'm even going to wait for the Top 10 Worst just to see that)

E-Joy

I just can not like Rhianna, her voice just grates on my ears

Thoughts on Gavin Degraw's new song "She sets the city on fire"

I keep telling myself everything will be okay if Adele just releases Water Under the Bridge as a single... Of course, she still hasn't done that...

Brad Riegner

btw review Wind It Up by Gwen Stefani

2016 is incredibly empty in music i feel like. Eh, Lady Gaga is releasing Perfect Illusion soon, maybe it'll change soon.

This year has given us White Iverson and Me Too, plenty bad enough to stand up to Scream and Shout or other bad songs from 2013.

Teddy Haines

Yes, but there's often supposed to be a consistent persona between songs. Not necessarily continuity, or anything that elaborate, but this is what Todd means when he talks so much about personality. Does the persona adopted in song A sound consistent with what we heard before in song B? For Taylor Swift, there's a lack of consistency between songs like Shake it Off and Bad Blood compared to earlier stuff like You Belong With Me or Back to December that makes the former songs (or the latter in hindsight) feel like a pose.

Teddy Haines

This year has been bad, but not like 2013 or 2014 bad. 2013 was bad because it was full of spectacularly bad music, while 2014 just suffered from a lack of new music in general. This year... it's like there's plenty of music out there and most of it is just sort of meh, not really worth caring about.

Brad Riegner

I love "This Is What You Came For"...as a fitness jam. Nice, slow build up while I start my jog in the morning. And that Harris hook is DELICIOUS.

Gillian Daniels

"Okay" in 2016 is, yes, about the best we're going to get.

Josh Spicer

Yeah I never got that whole shit with Taylor and Kanye/Kim. And how now her and Katy are feuding and Taylor is still the bad guy.

Josh Spicer

Can You Please Do A Review on Various Artists Songs, Like The 2001 Version of "What's Going On", "Just Stand Up", "Come Together Now","Everybody Hurts", etc. I Mean Some of Them Songs Were Good. But, Some of Them Are Bad. So, Could You Please Do It for Me?

Michael Jones Jr.

I was more happy to hear vocaloid in a mainstream popsong.

sugarfrosted

Oh shit, good catch

Todd in the Shadows

Heads up Todd, you missed out a black bar at 8:04