‘Tis the season to determine the song that will blare from car radios the world over, and whether it’s Kid Rock’s new sample-fiesta “All Summer Long” or The Ting Tings’ “That’s Not My Name” or something more random entirely, the internet seems to be clueless as to what this song will ultimately be —?which is where you come in. Can we critics stand under your um-ba-rell-a, ella, ella?
Approaches on how to go about the polling process are varying. Idolator are putting songs head-to-head, asking people to vote on jams as diverse as Kardinal Offishall’s Akon-assisted “Dangerous” and Snoop Dogg’s cornpone Johnny Cash tribute, “My Medicine.” As of this issue’s deadline, “I’ll Be Lovin U Long Time” by Mariah Carey (pictured) was leading, but given the blog-reading audience, the hipster vote may be disproportionately represented.
The Poptimists LiveJournal community is a dark horse to pick the winner, but given how much actual popular music these Brits listen to, they‘ve got a good chance —?nowhere else outside of a middle school will you read Ashlee Simpson being taken seriously. They’re also Mariah-centric, but Wiley’s throbbing house cut “Wearing My Rolex” will be a contender if it ever makes it across the pond.
New Yorker critic Sasha Frere-Jones has solicited the advice of DJs, and predictably, they aren’t looking outside their personal fiefdoms; Ghislain Poirier suggests Pitbull, Lil Jon and Machel Montano’s “Defense (The Anthem Soca remix)” and Phillip Sherburne proposes Osborne’s “Outta Sight.”
Only time, and radio play, will decide the contest in the end. I have only one request: please, for god’s sake, don’t let it be Kid Rock. (Idolator: http://tinyurl.com/5qhx4g; Poptimists: http://tinyurl.com/5f9qjq; Frere-Jones: http://tinyurl.com/6dmkrc)
MP3 OF THE WEEK
Mugison, “Jesus Is A Good Name To Moan”: This guy’s Euro (Icelandic, specifically) which explains the general air of blasphemy, but Black Keys-style bloozy stomps have never sounded this tempting when sung in reverence. (http://tinyurl.com/4t2vbn)