United State of Pop 2017 (How We Do It)
December 13, 2017 9:29 AM Subscribe
The Earworm 2017 has landed, as is tradition.
Featuring:
Bruno Mars - That's What I Like
Camila Cabello Featuring Young Thug - Havana
Cardi B - Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)
The Chainsmokers & Coldplay - Something Just Like This
Charlie Puth - Attention
DJ Khaled Featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance The Rapper & Lil Wayne - I'm The One
Ed Sheeran - Perfect
Ed Sheeran - Shape of You
French Montana Featuring Swae Lee - Unforgettable
Future - Mask Off
Imagine Dragons - Believer
Imagine Dragons - Thunder
James Arthur - Say You Won't Let Go
Kendrick Lamar - Humble.
Lil Uzi Vert - XO TOUR Llif3
Logic Featuring Alessia Cara & Khalid - 1-800-273-8255
Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber - Despacito
Migos Featuring Lil Uzi Vert - Bad And Boujee
Portugal. The Man - Feel It Still
Post Malone Featuring 21 Savage - Rockstar
Post Malone Featuring Quavo - Congratulations
Sam Hunt - Body Like A Back Road
Shawn Mendes - There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back
Taylor Swift - Look What You Made Me Do
Zedd & Alessia Cara - Stay
Featuring:
Bruno Mars - That's What I Like
Camila Cabello Featuring Young Thug - Havana
Cardi B - Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)
The Chainsmokers & Coldplay - Something Just Like This
Charlie Puth - Attention
DJ Khaled Featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance The Rapper & Lil Wayne - I'm The One
Ed Sheeran - Perfect
Ed Sheeran - Shape of You
French Montana Featuring Swae Lee - Unforgettable
Future - Mask Off
Imagine Dragons - Believer
Imagine Dragons - Thunder
James Arthur - Say You Won't Let Go
Kendrick Lamar - Humble.
Lil Uzi Vert - XO TOUR Llif3
Logic Featuring Alessia Cara & Khalid - 1-800-273-8255
Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber - Despacito
Migos Featuring Lil Uzi Vert - Bad And Boujee
Portugal. The Man - Feel It Still
Post Malone Featuring 21 Savage - Rockstar
Post Malone Featuring Quavo - Congratulations
Sam Hunt - Body Like A Back Road
Shawn Mendes - There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back
Taylor Swift - Look What You Made Me Do
Zedd & Alessia Cara - Stay
For me 2017 felt like a PERFECT STRUGGLE - AnDyWuMUSICLAND
There are 6 stages of "Perfect Struggle”--posted by the man of twists and turns at 9:42 AM on December 13, 2017
I. Cultivate 0:09
II. Struggle 1:43 ("Heavy": in memory of Chester Bennington)
III. Heal 3:15
IV. Intensify 5:51
V. Relive 7:07
VI. Perfect 8:22
Obligatory 2009 was the best, mostly on the back of "I Gotta Feeling." This one is pretty good too though!
posted by yellowbinder at 9:45 AM on December 13, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by yellowbinder at 9:45 AM on December 13, 2017 [3 favorites]
Nothing will beat '09, but this is up there in the tops.
posted by deezil at 9:47 AM on December 13, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by deezil at 9:47 AM on December 13, 2017 [3 favorites]
As a society, you are fucked if Coldplay merits inclusion on any type of year-end roundup.
posted by Keith Talent at 9:58 AM on December 13, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by Keith Talent at 9:58 AM on December 13, 2017 [3 favorites]
I like it. Upbeat and bumping enough. Cheerful stuff.
posted by Samizdata at 9:59 AM on December 13, 2017
posted by Samizdata at 9:59 AM on December 13, 2017
Is it still the Billboard top 25 of the year? Prior years have called that out, but this year it just says "...the 25 biggest U.S. hits during 2017."
posted by merriment at 10:08 AM on December 13, 2017
posted by merriment at 10:08 AM on December 13, 2017
I don't recognize any of the individual songs, but the mashup is neat. But then I noticed this: Logic Featuring Alessia Cara & Khalid - 1-800-273-8255 in the list and I know that number so I looked it up and watched the video. How did I not know about that one before? That is an amazing song and video. Killing a few minutes listening to the pop mashup that means little to me pointed me to a thing that is very powerful, so I'll call that a non-wasted lunch break.
posted by Clinging to the Wreckage at 10:18 AM on December 13, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by Clinging to the Wreckage at 10:18 AM on December 13, 2017 [7 favorites]
Somehow I am having trouble believing that this is the same year "Despacito" came out.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 10:19 AM on December 13, 2017
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 10:19 AM on December 13, 2017
Somehow I am having trouble believing that this is the same year "Despacito" came out.
Not only that but it was so big that honestly this mashup should have been 75% Despacito.
Next year's biggest hit is going to be Ed Sheeran singing in Spanish.
posted by GuyZero at 10:34 AM on December 13, 2017 [3 favorites]
Not only that but it was so big that honestly this mashup should have been 75% Despacito.
Next year's biggest hit is going to be Ed Sheeran singing in Spanish.
posted by GuyZero at 10:34 AM on December 13, 2017 [3 favorites]
Am I a bad person for thinking Liam Payne's "Strip That Down" (featuring Quavo) is a bop and should've been in this mash-up? I'm no 1D stan by any means, but I heard this at a party recently, and I liked it.
posted by droplet at 10:37 AM on December 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by droplet at 10:37 AM on December 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
Shit, this is good. I gotta say, 2017 was a pretty strong year for pop, from my perspective. I really loved "Humble" and (sue me) "Shape of You."
Liam Payne's "Strip That Down"
That's the Ed Sheeraniest thing that ever Ed Sheeraned. (Actually it sounds like a pretty-good B-side, which is to say, I can see how this didn't end up as a Sheeran record instead.)
posted by uncleozzy at 10:43 AM on December 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
Liam Payne's "Strip That Down"
That's the Ed Sheeraniest thing that ever Ed Sheeraned. (Actually it sounds like a pretty-good B-side, which is to say, I can see how this didn't end up as a Sheeran record instead.)
posted by uncleozzy at 10:43 AM on December 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
Am I a bad person for thinking Liam Payne's "Strip That Down yt " (featuring Quavo) is a bop and should've been in this mash-up? I'm no 1D stan by any means, but I heard this at a party recently, and I liked it.
Honestly, pretty much all of their solo work has been enjoyable with the notable exception of Harry, which makes sense because he's the fucking worst.
posted by Copronymus at 10:44 AM on December 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
Honestly, pretty much all of their solo work has been enjoyable with the notable exception of Harry, which makes sense because he's the fucking worst.
posted by Copronymus at 10:44 AM on December 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
I hear pop music (courtesy of all my kids), but I don't follow it. So how closely does the annual mash-up hew to the overall sound of this year's pop songs -- or is it just the DJ's own style, and doesn't sound like 2017 radio?
(I grab these every year, but to me they are often just a new single that uses a lot of sampling.) (Also, that 2009 mash-up was fantastic because it was well done, but a good pop song on its own merits.)
posted by wenestvedt at 10:59 AM on December 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
(I grab these every year, but to me they are often just a new single that uses a lot of sampling.) (Also, that 2009 mash-up was fantastic because it was well done, but a good pop song on its own merits.)
posted by wenestvedt at 10:59 AM on December 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
This may be a good time to remind people that Sean Michaels (Giller prize winner, amazing music nerd, and MFO) has his Best of 2017 list up at Said the Gramophone. Download while it's fresh!
posted by maudlin at 11:24 AM on December 13, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by maudlin at 11:24 AM on December 13, 2017 [2 favorites]
It's a yearly battle between Earworm and PopDanthology
posted by CheapB at 11:40 AM on December 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by CheapB at 11:40 AM on December 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
God help me, I didn't recognize a single song. I didn't think it would happen so soon after turning 40.
posted by ovenmitt at 11:56 AM on December 13, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by ovenmitt at 11:56 AM on December 13, 2017 [6 favorites]
PopDanthology's is better, but neither of these are particularly great, compared with both of their previous efforts. Earworm has been letting me down for a couple of years now. Earworm's mashups are typically much better conceived as _telling a story_ with the material that's been given. They work well when the story being told lines up with the zeitgeist of the year.
2017's zeitgeist cannot be told with the use of pop music.
Either that, or I'm officially Old(tm) now.
(also, Dan? Fatboy Slim? 17 year old deep cut, that, but not 2017.)
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 12:05 PM on December 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
2017's zeitgeist cannot be told with the use of pop music.
Either that, or I'm officially Old(tm) now.
(also, Dan? Fatboy Slim? 17 year old deep cut, that, but not 2017.)
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 12:05 PM on December 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
Wow, yes, that Alessia Cara/Khalid song was amazing and I managed to miss it. That's my little reminder that the world has good people in it. What a gut punch and how wonderful that they made it.
posted by bowtiesarecool at 1:23 PM on December 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by bowtiesarecool at 1:23 PM on December 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
I've been similarly uninspired by Earworm and Dan Kim the past few years, but digging deeper it seems there may be other contenders out there.
posted by CheapB at 1:25 PM on December 13, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by CheapB at 1:25 PM on December 13, 2017 [2 favorites]
Excuse me, the song by Logic, featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid. There were a lot of people involved in both the song and the video, from what I can tell. Wow.
posted by bowtiesarecool at 1:26 PM on December 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by bowtiesarecool at 1:26 PM on December 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
I'm no 1D stan by any means, but I heard this at a party recently, and I liked it.
I suddenly feel like An Old. What is a 1D Stan??
posted by rabbitrabbit at 1:26 PM on December 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
I suddenly feel like An Old. What is a 1D Stan??
posted by rabbitrabbit at 1:26 PM on December 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
Someone who stans for One Direction.
posted by kenko at 1:34 PM on December 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by kenko at 1:34 PM on December 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
It may also be a tiny breakaway Soviet republic: "Onedeestan"
posted by GuyZero at 1:35 PM on December 13, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by GuyZero at 1:35 PM on December 13, 2017 [4 favorites]
Inventive layout and another nice one from last year from the genius who made this.
posted by CheapB at 1:57 PM on December 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by CheapB at 1:57 PM on December 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
I work in a field where the end of the calendar year is our busiest time. And by busiest time, I mean people lying on the office floor at 1:30 am, trying to get the strength to get back in the chair and keep working. I'm out of the worst of it, but am told that this season is particularly wild, because everybody is trying to get their deal done before the tax bill wreaks WHO THE FUCK KNOWS WHAT kind of havoc.
And I'm usually the last one in the office, working on stuff when everybody else has gone home, so I turn up the music to get me through.
And because the Earworm mashups come out around the same time as the worst-times and are usually upbeat and energetic, I end up looping them for hours. And hours. And hours. And as a result, even though it's been years, I have this PHYSICAL REACTION to hearing certain ones. My heart starts racing. My adrenaline starts going. My palms sweat. Sometimes, I swear to God that can even smell the way the big, couch-size printers smell when you've been running 400+ page documents nonstop all night.
LIKE PROUST BUT WITH MORE BLACKLINING
posted by joyceanmachine at 2:34 PM on December 13, 2017 [5 favorites]
And I'm usually the last one in the office, working on stuff when everybody else has gone home, so I turn up the music to get me through.
And because the Earworm mashups come out around the same time as the worst-times and are usually upbeat and energetic, I end up looping them for hours. And hours. And hours. And as a result, even though it's been years, I have this PHYSICAL REACTION to hearing certain ones. My heart starts racing. My adrenaline starts going. My palms sweat. Sometimes, I swear to God that can even smell the way the big, couch-size printers smell when you've been running 400+ page documents nonstop all night.
LIKE PROUST BUT WITH MORE BLACKLINING
posted by joyceanmachine at 2:34 PM on December 13, 2017 [5 favorites]
That Liam song sounds nothing like Ed Sheeran. It is totally American R&B. I was shocked when I found out who sang it.
posted by k8t at 6:14 PM on December 13, 2017
posted by k8t at 6:14 PM on December 13, 2017
Were there other hit songs this year that weren't Despacito?
Ya know that thing spotify is doing where they show you a card of what you listened to this year? They show you five songs and TWO of them were Despacito because I like both versions. Not even sorry.
posted by lunasol at 6:27 PM on December 13, 2017 [3 favorites]
Ya know that thing spotify is doing where they show you a card of what you listened to this year? They show you five songs and TWO of them were Despacito because I like both versions. Not even sorry.
posted by lunasol at 6:27 PM on December 13, 2017 [3 favorites]
Ugh. Too much AutoTune, mumble (c)rap and Chainsmokers this year.
posted by reiichiroh at 8:35 PM on December 13, 2017
posted by reiichiroh at 8:35 PM on December 13, 2017
Loved this! Got out of touch with pop music the first half of the year, so I'm pleased to recognize most of these. Man, Havana by Camila Cabello w/ Young Thug just absolutely bops. I also nominate Demi Lovato's Sorry Not Sorry as a 2017 gem. I will always stan Demi after she brought Danica Roem to the AMAs as her date.
posted by missmary6 at 8:39 PM on December 13, 2017
posted by missmary6 at 8:39 PM on December 13, 2017
I hear pop music (courtesy of all my kids), but I don't follow it. So how closely does the annual mash-up hew to the overall sound of this year's pop songs -- or is it just the DJ's own style, and doesn't sound like 2017 radio?
It's the DJ's own style. The top songs of 2017 included Kygo and Selena Gomez's It Ain't Me,
Demi Lovato's Sorry, Not Sorry, Let Me Go from Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso and Pink's What About Us?. All four songs still have heavy radio play but are missing from the video. Pink songs in particular usually get short shrift on DJ Earworm videos, so no news there. But that's 4 hits by four female artists (and Kygo and Alesso) that should be included in any wrap up of the year's top sounds. What's more, dance mixes do exist for the Pink and Kygo songs (not sure about the others) so it's not like they're unusable.
Including two songs each from Imagine Dragons, Ed Sheeran and Post Malone makes sense. They all charted well. But when six songs on a list of 25 are from three artists it can homogenize the end result. That might be preferable in a large mashup though, where artistry is required to get everything to flow well.
posted by zarq at 4:38 AM on December 14, 2017 [3 favorites]
It's the DJ's own style. The top songs of 2017 included Kygo and Selena Gomez's It Ain't Me,
Demi Lovato's Sorry, Not Sorry, Let Me Go from Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso and Pink's What About Us?. All four songs still have heavy radio play but are missing from the video. Pink songs in particular usually get short shrift on DJ Earworm videos, so no news there. But that's 4 hits by four female artists (and Kygo and Alesso) that should be included in any wrap up of the year's top sounds. What's more, dance mixes do exist for the Pink and Kygo songs (not sure about the others) so it's not like they're unusable.
Including two songs each from Imagine Dragons, Ed Sheeran and Post Malone makes sense. They all charted well. But when six songs on a list of 25 are from three artists it can homogenize the end result. That might be preferable in a large mashup though, where artistry is required to get everything to flow well.
posted by zarq at 4:38 AM on December 14, 2017 [3 favorites]
It's amazing how much I prefer 2009 pop to 2017 pop.
posted by DrAstroZoom at 9:36 AM on December 14, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by DrAstroZoom at 9:36 AM on December 14, 2017 [2 favorites]
i think i'm getting too old for this. everything sounds like everything else. i think the only top-40 songs that i liked at all this year was Bruno Mars' "That's What I Like", and I even just had to google that title because I could've sworn it was "how I like it".
That said, Earworm has done amazing things with songs that I love.
posted by numaner at 9:49 AM on December 14, 2017 [1 favorite]
That said, Earworm has done amazing things with songs that I love.
posted by numaner at 9:49 AM on December 14, 2017 [1 favorite]
My only exposure to new music is United State of Pop and Best of Bootie.
2009 was undeniably a masterpiece, but the contrarian in me prefers 2010 and 2011.
posted by Tool of the Conspiracy at 7:05 PM on December 14, 2017
2009 was undeniably a masterpiece, but the contrarian in me prefers 2010 and 2011.
posted by Tool of the Conspiracy at 7:05 PM on December 14, 2017
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posted by Talez at 9:35 AM on December 13, 2017 [1 favorite]