Tag: Katy Perry

Oscar Watch: Teen Spirit

Last fall, the musical drama Teen Spirit premiered at the Toronto Film Festival to some acclaim that especially focused on its lead Elle Fanning. The film casts her as a shy teen who dreams of pop stardom. The soundtrack finds her covering tunes by the likes of Katy Perry, Ariana Grande, and Annie Lennox. It marks the directorial debut of Max Minghella, whose late father Anthony earned a gold trophy 23 years ago for making The English Patient. Zlatko Buric and Rebecca Hall are in the supporting cast.

With a Rotten Tomatoes score of 70%, Spirit is in no contention for a Best Picture nod. Yet some critics have made a point to single out Fanning, who’s had well received supporting roles lately in The Beguiled and 20th Century Women.

A little box office attention could’ve helped but Spirit completely stalled in its limited release over the weekend. Some reviewers may call Fanning a dark horse candidate months from now, but I expect this to end up like last year’s Vox Lux with Natalie Portman. While different in tone, that picture also centered on a pop singer and had its supporters. They did not include Academy voters. My Oscar Watch posts will continue…

Top Ten Summer Hits of 2008: A Look Back

As I do each summer on the blog, I’m giving you the top 10 seasonal ditties from 10, 20, and 30 years ago as tabulated by Billboard. I’ve already covered 1988 and 1998 and if you missed them, here ya go:

Top Ten Summer Hits of 1988: A Look Back

Top Ten Summer Hits of 1998: A Look Back

We now move to one decade ago. As with past posts, I’m ranking each song on a scale of 1 (summer bummer) to 10 (summer classic) and letting you know whether or not said track is on my Apple Music. Let’s get to it…

10. “Dangerous” by Kardinal Offishall feat. Akon

This reggae tinged hip hop effort represents the biggest hit for Canada’s Offishall with an assist from Akon. It’s adequate though not particularly memorable.

My Rating: 6

Is It On My Apple Music? No

9. “Leavin'” by Jesse McCartney

This is the biggest hit from the second most famous McCartney in pop music. It gives exposure to G5 planes and is rather disposable, but pleasant enough.

My Rating: 6

Is It On My Apple Music?: No

8. “Disturbia” by Rihanna

Now we’re talking. She’s got tons of hits, but I find the dance groove of “Disturbia” to be among Rihanna’s very best.

My Rating: 9 and a half

Is It On My Apple Music?: Yes

7. “Pocketful of Sunshine” by Natasha Bedingfield

The Emma Stone pic Easy A had a whole sequence about how she couldn’t stand this pop confection by English artist Bedingfield and then found herself loving it and listening to it incessantly. I wouldn’t go that far, but it is annoyingly catchy.

My Rating: 6

Is It On My Apple Music?: No

6. “Forever” by Chris Brown

These were better times for Mr. Brown as this techno sounding dance smash serves as one of his musical highlights.

My Rating: 7

Is It On My Apple Music?: No

5. “Bleeding Love” by Leona Lewis

This one was pretty inescapable in summer 2008 with solid vocals from Brit singer Lewis. It’s co-produced by none other than Jesse McCartney.

My Rating: 7 and a half

Is It On My Apple Music?: No

4. “Viva La Vida” by Coldplay

Sorry Coldplay haters, but I find this string heavy work to be pretty darn terrific. It earns its place as one of their signature tunes.

My Rating: 9 and a half

Is It On My Apple Music?: Yes

3. “Lollipop” by Lil Wayne feat. Static Major

Lil Wayne was all the rage ten years ago yet I actually find this auto-tune monster hit to have lost some luster. Still, it’s his biggest selling single.

My Rating: 6 and a half

Is It On My Apple Music?: Yes

2. “Take a Bow” by Rihanna

How about a round of applause for more fine work from Rihanna. This ballad stands as one of her best. Co-produced by Ne-Yo.

My Rating: 9

Is It On My Apple Music?: Yes

1. “I Kissed a Girl” by Katy Perry

The song that turned Perry into a superstar, the lyrics certainly caught the attention of many. It’s a well-crafted pop track for sure. It’s not her greatest song, but it serves as an impressive breakout point for a career still roaring.

My Rating: 8

Is It On My Apple Music?: No

And there you have it! The summers of 1988, 1998, and 2008 are covered! I look forward to next summer when 1989, 1999, and 2009 are on deck…

Top Ten Summer Music Hits of 1997: A Look Back

Today, we continue on with the summer songs were filling our ears two decades ago. Last week, I brought you the top 10 seasonal ditties of 1987. If you missed that post, you can find it here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2017/07/07/top-ten-summer-music-hits-of-1987-a-look-back/

As I’ve done with these posts previously, I’m personally rating each of them on a scale of 1 (summer bummer) to 10 (summer fire). I’m also answering the important question as to whether each track is located in my Apple Music catalog.

Before we delve into the top 10, I must say that when I looked up Billboard’s chart I expected to see Will Smith’s “Men in Black”, the theme song to 1997’s highest grossing picture. Surprisingly, it was nowhere to be found but in case you wanted to put on your nostalgia goggles and watch the Fresh Prince groovin’ with an alien, here you are:

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s get to the songs that were constantly playing on our radios and CD players 20 years ago:

10. “Look Into My Eyes” by Bone-Thugs-n-Harmony

While I expected Mr. Smith’s movie hit to be in this list, I had plain forgotten about Cleveland rap group Bone’s track that appeared on the Batman and Robin soundtrack. I guess the movie itself isn’t the only forgettable thing about the fourth Caped Crusader flick. While Bone has had some classics (“Tha Crossroads”, “1st of tha Month”), this isn’t one of them.

My Rating: 5 and a half

Is It On My Apple Music? No

9. “Do You Know (What It Takes)” by Robyn

Swedish pop star Robyn scored her first of two top 10 singles stateside with this uptempo dance hit (her second was “Show Me Love”). The fact that I had to look it up to remind myself of it means it’s a bit of a throwaway, but my head was nodding along to it and it’s got a little Britney Spears vibe pre-Britney. This makes sense because it was co-produced by Max Martin, who went on to make massive hits for Britney, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, and many many others.

My Rating: 6 and a half

Is It On My Apple Music?: No

8. “Mo Money Mo Problems” by The Notorious B.I.G. featuring Puff Daddy and Mase

The second single from Biggie’s Life After Death album (released just weeks after his murder), “Mo Money” is a Puff Daddy confection that samples the Diana Ross classic “I’m Coming Out”. It would have sounded perfectly at home on Puff’s hit album from that summer, but it hits a high note when Christopher Wallace’s fierce rap closes it out.

My Rating: 8 and a half

Is It On My Apple Music?: Yes

7. “Say You’ll Be There” by Spice Girls

For those who didn’t live through the Spice revolution, the British girl group were a massive sensation and this is on the higher end of their pop hits. They even went the movie route six months after this topped the charts with Spice World, which performed well worldwide despite mostly scathing reviews.

My Rating: 7 and a half

Is It On My Apple Music? No

6. “Semi-Charmed Life” by Third Eye Blind

This cut from San Francisco rockers Third Eye Blind was inescapable two decades ago. It may be a perfectly sounding pop concoction, but it’s actually about crystal meth addiction. Woo hoo! Truthfully, I found this song rather grating back then and still do. It was featured prominently in American Pie two summers later.

My Rating: 5

It Is On My Apple Music? No

5. “Return of the Mack” by Mark Morrison

British hip hop artist Morrison had his one hit wonder with this anthem and it’s a darn catchy one that still resonates today. It was even recently featured in a Burger King commercial!

My Rating: 9

It Is On My Apple Music?: Yes

4. “Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)” by Backstreet Boys

Also produced by the aforementioned Max Martin, this is Backstreet’s first chart topper in the United States. Is it their best? No, that easily belongs to “I Want It That Way”, but it’s a good pop tune.

My Rating: 7

Is It On My Apple Music?: No

3. “MMMBop” by Hanson

The Oklahoma brothers had an absolute smash with the ubiquitous “MMMBop”. It received critical raves as well. I’ll fully admit this a song I would turn off today, but I liked it too back in the day.

My Rating: 7 and a half

Is It On My Apple Music? No

2. “Bitch” by Meredith Brooks

This female empowerment track by Oregon songstress Brooks was inescapable as well. It doesn’t touch top tier Alanis as far as I’m concerned, but it’s easy to belt out the chorus. It would be prominently featured three years later in the Mel Gibson rom com What Women Want.

My Rating: 6 and a half

Is It On My Apple Music? No

1. “I’ll Be Missing You” by Puff Daddy and Faith Evans featuring 112

Puff Daddy’s tribute to the Notorious B.I.G. with an assist from his widow and Bad Boy label mates 112 was an absolute juggernaut that spent 11 weeks at #1. Sampling The Police’s “Every Breath You Take”, it was a powerful track coming so soon after Biggie’s demise. Truth be told, it’s also rather mawkish and doesn’t hold up nearly as well today but I sure dug it then.

My Rating: 7

Is It On My Apple Music?: No

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mM0-ZU8njdo

And there you have it, folks! I’ll be bringing you the 2007 list very soon…