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by Wayne Herrschaft
"Party Like A Rock Star" by Shop Boyz is another summer hit, instantly hooking you in and following the predictable but enjoyable pattern of "hip pop" in the new century. "Buy U A Drank (Shawty Snappin')" is a team effort by the continually successful T-Pain and Young Joc. The grooves these days are slow and spacey, no real party rave-ups going on at all, and of course, hooks are perfectly positioned for their ring tones value.
(Misspelling song titles is nothing new, by the way, guys; Slade was doing it with great success, in the UK anyway, in the early 70s.)
"Big Girls Don't Cry" is another solo hit for Fergie, who walks the fine line of hip hop, R&B, and pop music. In fact, thanks to artists such as Fergie, that line seems to have become invisible. This is a more mature sound for her compared to her recent "alphabet rock" outings. Do any bands ever make it into the Top 10 anymore? Yes – here we find Maroon 5,riding the wave of their well-received new CD, and another funk infused ditty from them that found an instant home at radio.
Avril Lavigne brings the rock (as it were) with "Girlfriend," a pounding stomper that evokes the glory days of The Go-Gos and Toni Basil's "Mickey" (and there's already a version featuring a rap, of course.) The rock continues with "Home" from "American Idol" refugee Daughtry, proving that rock is now more ball-less than it was in the Pat Boone era. No wonder I never see rock magazines on the newsstands anymore (remember Circus, Hit Parader, Rock Scene, etc?). How would they fill the pages?
Justin Timberlake is on the chart, as he seems to always be, with "Summer Love," which like most of his recent CD is great, pure, contemporary pop, totally reflective of 2007. He's followed by "Pop, Lock & Drop It" by Huey, which is much closer to the real thing than most of what passes for hip hop these days – at least, as far as Top 40 radio is concerned.
Bringing up the rear is an actual country single, "Before He Cheats," by another "Idol" graduate, Carrie Underwood. Getting a country-sounding track on Z100 and WBLI these days is definitely a major accomplishment.
Top 40 radio used to attract listeners by offering the full spectrum of what's happening on the street, but they certainly missed the boat during "Dreamgirls" mania, not playing anything from the soundtrack. They also rapidly abandoned the brilliant "Candy Man" by Christina Aguliera, an homage of sorts to "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" by Bette Midler, which really belongs on Top 40 radio this summer to add some flavor.
In closing, I'm happy to report that Z100 has added "Rehab" by Amy Whitehouse to the chart, easily my favorite single of the year. Amy, to me, evokes the spirit of 70s NY night spot Max's Kansas City in her style and subject matter, and we can definitely do with a bit more of that in the mix.
