December 22, 2008 | 11:44
am
The past year is one we can fairly divide into "before" and "after" -- the economic crash and Barack Obama's presidential election have both irrevocably changed the flow of American life. Pop & Hiss is going through Billboard's year-end singles, considering how the impact of the most popular songs has changed since 2008's fateful fall (see the previous entry, on Lil Wayne's "Lollipop," here.)
The fifth, and final entry in the series, is after the jump.
December 19, 2008 | 4:37
pm
The last year is one we can fairly divide into "before" and "after" -- the economic crash and Barack Obama's presidential election have both irrevocably changed the flow of American life. Pop & Hiss is going through Billboard's year-end singles, considering how the impact of the most popular songs has changed since 2008's fateful fall (See the previous entry on "No One" by Alicia Keys here).
Number 4 is after the jump. Number 5 will be posted on Monday.
December 18, 2008 | 4:35
pm
The past year is one we can fairly divide into "before" and "after" -- the economic crash and Barack Obama's presidential election have both irrevocably changed the flow of American life. Pop & Hiss is going through Billboard's year-end singles, considering how the impact of the most popular songs has changed since 2008's fateful fall (See the previous entry on Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love" here).
No. 3 is after the jump.
December 17, 2008 | 11:02
am
The past year is one we can fairly divide into "before" and "after" -- the economic crash and Barack Obama's presidential election have both irrevocably changed the flow of American life. Pop & Hiss is going through Billboard's year-end singles, considering how the impact of the most popular songs has changed since 2008's fateful fall (See the previous entry on Flo Rida here).
No. 2 is after the jump.
December 16, 2008 | 7:00
am
Not since the twin towers fell in 2001 has a year had such a split personality as 2008. Two historic events divide the year into "before" and "after." The first, which occurred three months ago, was the Monday Meltdown that sent markets into a global economic panic. The second, which we all witnessed on Nov. 2, was the election of Barack Obama as America's first black president.
The most popular songs of any year contribute to a public conversation about that year; they often reflect and expand upon what's in the air culturally. We at Pop & Hiss thought it might be interesting to look at the first 10 tracks on this year's Billboard Top 100, in light of 2008's cataclysmic shifts. (One thing to note: Billboard's chart "year" ran from approximately Nov. 30, 2007, to Dec. 1 of this year, so as master chart analyst Chris Molanphy noted in Idolator, songs people pack onto their holiday-gift iPods factor heavily as winners.)
Sometimes the relationship between a hit and current events is more whimsical than direct; at other times, the connections become almost poignant. For the next few days, we'll make our way through the top songs and see how they might be reconsidered in light of history's changing tide.
