Embarrasing Songs That Get Stuck In My Head #12

When Lionel and Shania (Shanionel, the musical matchup the world has been waiting on for years) come together for this endlessly cheesy remake, it can't help but stick in your head a little bit.

I have to say, this duet works better than it sounds like it would.

Music I Actually Liked in 2011

Writing the last post got me to thinking: I wrote so much about music that I don't like or that just annoys me ... but what new music did I actually like this year? There just aren't that many artists making music that I would bother to download right now, but there were still some sweet droplets in the current musical drought.

2011 seemed to be the Year of Adele, and I enjoyed her singles from 21: "Rolling In The Deep," "Someone Like You," and "Rumour Has It" (as well as her cover of The Cure's "Lovesong").

The band of the moment seems to be Foster the People, thanks in large part to "Pumped Up Kicks," which contains the year's most addictive chorus (you probably know how it goes so I won't link it), and that bassline is no slouch either.

Fleet Foxes is one of the few new bands that I've gotten into in the last five years. They're real musicians, and generally live up to their hype. I recommend the title track from their second album Helplessness Blues, and "Grown Ocean," "The Plains/Bitter Dancer," and "Sim Sala Bim." (This song has the best lyrics I heard all year: I was raised up believing/I was somehow unique/A snowflake distinct among snowflakes)

Speaking of artists I've gotten into recently, Ryan Adams put out a new album, Ashes & Fire. I really like "Lucky Now" and "Do I Wait."

"The Fellowship" is not a great Smashing Pumpkins track and it kind of sounds like it's trying to imitate Muse, but I'll be danged if I can get it out of my head.

Radiohead put out a good (mini-) album, The King of Limbs. There was not much surprising or innovative about this album compared to their previous ones, but they put you into a pleasant trance with songs like "Codex," "Give Up The Ghost," and "Separator."

R.E.M. put out their most listenable album in many years and then, a few months later, broke up. (I wrote more about them here.)

On the country side of things, I liked "You Lie" by The Band Perry; I think the album came out in 2010 but the single was released this year.

Get More: You Lie, The Band Perry, The Band Perry Videos

And while it's not "new" music, the Beach Boys officially released their legendary, long-lost Smile Sessions. It's a complex album that should be heard in full, but I'm particularly enjoying "Cabin Essence" and the "Backing Vocals Montage" tracks. Of course, other classics like "Good Vibrations," "Heroes & Villains," and "Surf's Up" are also on it. Anyone who appreciates sophisticated pop should explore Smile.



These bright spots aside, I hope 2012 is a better year for rock and pop music ... Beck, I hope you're listening!

Embarrasing Songs That Get Stuck In My Head #11 (w/ bonus list)

I know I'm not alone in finding that the catchy-ness of Miley Cyrus' "Party In The U.S.A." greatly exceeds its quality. You already know how the song goes, so I figured I'd post Weird Al's very funny parody version instead of the original.

And, for good end-of-the-year-list-making measure, here be the other embarrassing songs that got stuck in my head this year:

Bananarama, "I Heard A Rumour"
Kenny Rogers, "You Decorated My Life"
Barry Manilow, "Let Me Be Your Wings"
Paul Davis, "Cool Night"
Weezer, "The Sweater Song"
Mark Wills, "Don't Laugh At Me"
Jesse McCartney, "How Do You Sleep" (feat. Ludacris)
Colbie Caillat, "Brighter Than the Sun"
Bryan Adams, "Can't Stop This Thing We Started"
Badly Drawn Boy, "All Possibilities"

Embarrasing Songs That Get Stuck In My Head #10

When you do an upbeat song with horns and strings, you really need a strong singer who can hold their own against the backing instruments (unless you're Cake, maybe). Instead, this song has a slacker, stoner type of dude with a weak voice.

Apparently this song came out in the early 00s but for some reason I've just now been hearing it on the sound systems at stores. "All Possibilities"? I'll take "All Apologies" instead, thanks.

Embarrasing Songs That Get Stuck In My Head #9

Have you noticed how much of the World Wide Web is devoted to Chuck Norris jokes? I read one lately that said: Chuck Norris stopped that thing Bryan Adams started but couldn't stop.

Even when this song came out in 1991, I, like many people, could only like Adams ironically (which is kind of how a lot of people feel about Chuck Norris; they like him in a removed, joking sense). You can tell he's trying to prove how rockin' he is because everyone knew him as the "Everything I Do (I Do It For You)" guy.

I have to admit that I can rock out to Bryan Adams songs once in a while but will always be annoyed that I did afterwards. That's why he's on this list.

Bonus Chuck Norris Facts:
Chuck Norris can touch MC Hammer.

Chuck Norris does not use spell check. If he happens to misspell a word, Oxford will simply change the actual spelling of it.

Chuck Norris ordered a Big Mac at Burger King, and got one.

The chief export of Chuck Norris is pain.

(Credit: www.thechucknorrisfacts.com)

(Mildly) Embarrasing Songs That Get Stuck In My Head #8

Colbie's jacking up my train of thought. Her latest sunny little tune has been replaying in my mind relentlessly.

This one's not embarrassing because it's bad, but because I suspect, as a 30-something family-guy dude, I'm not really in Colbie Caillat's target demographic. It's not the kind of thing I usually like, or should like.

But it's hard not to like her style of pleasant pop music: her sound is sweet but not too sweet, light but not too light, slick but not too slick, falling somewhere between the worlds of mainstream radio pop and acoustic-based singer-songwriters.

Sure, the fact that she's the daughter of a successful record producer has something to do with her stardom, but she's talented in her own right. And someone who puts an SNL comedian in one of her videos doesn't take herself overly seriously (who knows whether that was her idea or not), which makes her even more likable.

Colbie has a light touch, in a good way. But can she make her songs a little less unerasable?

Random note: The lyric "goes off like a gun" doesn't fit. Guns are too un-Colbie.

Embarrasing Songs That Get Stuck In My Head #7

The most embarrasing thing about this is that I actually like this song. I mean, if you put a gun to my noggin and made me listen to this or Bieber, it's a no-brainer choice. The synths sound cool, too.