Coppell Student Media » beyonce

Sidekick predicts winners for 52nd Grammys

2009 - 2010 School Year Archive — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 20:48:56 +0000

By Chris Nguyen
Features Editor

Let’s not get anything confused. The Grammys are by and large the worst

Taylor Swift appears in the interview room at the 43rd Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sunday, May 18, 2008. (Fitzroy Barrett/Landov/MCT)

awards show of the four, otherwise known as the EGOT (Emmys, Grammys, Oscars, Tonys) by “30 Rock” fans. They are long, drawn-out and unlike the Oscars or even Emmys, do not try to even have street cred, going for the big industry singers and bands, like Beyonce.

However, I love awards show and the totally awesome Lady Gaga is a confirmed guest so count me in. Here are my predictions for this year’s ceremony.

Record of the Year
“Halo”
Beyonce

“I Gotta Feeling”
The Black Eyed Peas

“Use Somebody”
Kings of Leon

“Poker Face”
Lady Gaga

“You Belong With Me”
Taylor Swift

Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” is definitely my choice for Record of the Year, but EVERYONE loves Taylor Swift. Your friends, brother and even, grandma. And considering the age of Academy is 150 years old, Taylor Swift has this one for the win.

Song of the Year

“Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)”
Beyonce

“Pretty Wings”
Maxwell

“Use Somebody”
Kings of Leon

“Poker Face”
Lady Gaga

“You Belong With Me”
Taylor Swift

Song of the Year goes to songwriters, which means if they really give to the best songwriting, Radiohead would own this. But Grammy goes for the easiest and most obviously songwriter-y song, so that leaves Taylor Swift again for the win because of the cute couplets and narrative Swift weaves.

Album of the Year

I Am… Sasha Fierce
Beyonce

The E.N.D.
The Black Eyed Peas

The Fame
Lady Gaga

Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King
Dave Matthews Band

Fearless
Taylor Swift

So noticing any trend with the previous predictions? Yeah, the Grammys love Taylor Swift and what better way to reward her for her great year, her songs, her hits (maybe not her vocals). With over five millions in sales, the Grammys will reverse its recent trend of rewarding more obscure albums that lean toward the old bunch and give the big one to a fresh talent.

For the rest of the nominations, go to the Grammy site.

Top songs of decade

2009 - 2010 School Year Archive — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 20:41:09 +0000

By Chris Nguyen

Features Editor

In the current December of The Sidekick, I listed my picks for the top five songs of the decade. Of course, the last ten years has been filled with thousands of songs that it was heartbreaking to narrow down the list to merely five (sorry, Britney!), so I am here to give numbers 6 to 10.

For the best of the best, pick up a copy for The Sidekick.

6. “Last Nite” The Strokes

In retrospect the idea that The Strokes were the saviors of rock seems a bit silly. But I cannot blame MTV or Rolling Stone for fawning over them when listening to “Last Nite.” The song was a breathe of fresh air when rock became cool again. None of that angsty, alienation stuff bogging it down. The bass line melody caught the ear immediately. Lead singer Julian Casablanca’s vocals had a smokiness that recalled the sultriness of Mick Jagger or Lou Reed. The lyrics were simple, nonsensical and catchy.

It just oozed pure rock n’roll. Unfortunately, just as the band members proved to be trust fund babies dressing up as rock stars, the song just had great sense of superficial style with no real substance. But can you blame a person for wanting to jam out for three minutes with no worries?

7. “Crazy in Love” Beyonce

There will never be big music blockbuster superstars slash pop geniuses in the likes of Tina Turner and Janet Jackson. But in 2003, when Beyonce had her coming-out, free from the two deadweights of two of Destiny’s Chliddren, with “Crazy in Love” it seemed that maybe there may just be another one. The horns were unrelenting. Jay-Z’s flow was smooth as ever, with a witty little verse to go along with it.

However, Beyonce owned it all, going “uh-oh” all over the song. Her voice went high and low, mad with the power of love. The song may have been a false premonition of the next true musical genius, but who cared with this sassy little jam.

8. “Rebellion (Lies)” Arcade Fire

Inciting the music blogosphere in 2004, Arcade Fire injected something that was beginning to wane in rock music: pure, unfiltered emotion. No gimmicks. No crazy electronics. No posturing. They played to this strength on their anthem “Rebellion (Lies)” from Funeral. The song was comfort blanket against the hardships and corruption that lines the world (Every time you close your eyes/Lies, lies!). However, what set the song apart were lead singer Winston’s quivering vocals that sounded on the brink of tears and the clashing strings and drumming.

It’s not “Don’t Stop Believin’” but it has hundred times more of the impact and just as much sing-along value.

9. “Try Again” Aaliyah

All hubbub about the “revolutionary” pop between Justin Timberlake and Timbaland seems to ignore that the producer maestro reached even higher peaks earlier in the decade with the late singer Aaliyah, with the song “Try Again” as their crowning achievement.

Aayliah was not a great singer capable of octave jumping like Mariah Carey, but that very fact worked in favor of the song. She needed only to present her cold coo and sultry vocals and let Timbaland’s machine-cold electronic beats take control. It was the beginning of a new age of R&B and pop music that was unfortunately cut short by the sudden death of Aaliyah in a plane crash.

10. “Jesus Walks” Kanye West

With his previous singles, Kanye West established himself as the smartest rapper on the block. He took on social issues, like poverty, elitist education and human connection, topics that peolple talked about in private but no .

On “Jesus Walks” off his debut album The College Dropout, he made everyone fall on their knees and praise Jesus. The song was a chant of the power of accepting spirituality that never felt trite or cheesy. Instead, it was strength-building and soulful, two things people do not associate with rap. He would later make bigger hits and become more ostentatious in his music, but nothing matched the ferocity that he possesses here.

And here’s the rest:

1. “Idioteque” Radiohead (2000)

The year 2000 came and the world did not spiral into a Y2K apocalypse, but then Radiohead planted a bomb in the form of “Idioteque” off its masterpiece Kid A. Guitarist Jonny Greenwood crafted unrelenting electronic beats no other rock band would ever come close to as lead singer Thom Yorke wailed a warning of a vague, impending doom about the rise of oppressive governments, greedy businessmen and hateful terrorists in the coming years. “Idioteque” is prophetic, scary, just plain brilliant.

Radiohead’s track remains a record of a society in which all the worst fears come true and the impossible ways to cope with them.

2. “Hey Ya!” Outkast (2004)

In 2004, “Hey Ya!” was the song. Go anywhere and you were bound to hear it, whether it was from your grandmother’s car or your best friend’s stereo. It was pervasive, but unlike, say, “Boom Boom Pow,” “Hey Ya!” was actually good.

With this song, Outkast broke entirely from the group’s rap roots to walk into an undefined, brave new world of music. It is funk. It is pop. It is New Wave. It is soul. It is hip-hop.

Whatever it is, the song electrifies with the acoustic guitar strumming, jaunty beats and perfectly timed handclaps while Andre 3000 provides an instantly catchy hook with such cool and ease. No other song had the preps, jocks, nerds, hipsters, oldies and toddlers “shaking it like a Polaroid picture.”

3. “Get Ur Freak On” Missy Elliott (2001)

Rather than worry about the future of the new century, Missy Elliott cared about getting her freak on. With her partner in crime, producer Timbaland, Missy Elliott gives the world one heck of a headbanger with “Get Ur Freak On.”

Missy’s playful rhymes (Ain’t no stoppin me/Copywritten so, don’t copy me/Y’all do it, sloppily) and Timbaland’s adventurous hip-hop beats that riff on Middle Eastern sounds combined to form one of those in-the-moment songs that cab never be matched and, as Missy Elliott predicted, those that tried to copy it, did it sloppily.

4. “Paper Planes” M.I.A. (2007)

In the rubble of globalization, pirated music, terrorism and excess materialism, Sri Lankan rapper M.I.A. burst out onto the music scene as a child of the times.

On 2007’s Diplo-produced “Paper Planes,” she loops a classic punk rock song (The Clash’s “Straight to Hell”), adds perfectly timed cash register rings and gun shots and makes a whip-smart indictment about prejudice against immigrants (If you catch me on the border/I got visas on my name/I get one in a second if you wait).

The single redefined world music, not as cheesy strings and flutes, but music, which truly crosses and connects boundaries.

5. “Maps” Yeah Yeah Yeahs (2004)

“Maps” is the precious diamond in the dirty, loud rough of Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ debut album Fever to Tell. At first, it sounds like a mistake on the album. Too cliché. Too tame. But then lead singer Karen O achingly sings “wait/they don’t love you like I love you” and you fall into pieces. The song finishes with an explosion of swirling guitar notes and heavy, heart-pounding drumbeats, which would make any cynic believe in a thing called love.

What could have been cloying turned out to be into the best romantic song of the decade, reaching far beyond the indie-hipster base.

For those of need of even more Best-of lists, check out Rolling Stone and Pitchfork.

How MTV’s VMAs kinda got its groove back

2009 - 2010 School Year Archive — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 04:09:37 +0000

By Chris Nguyen
Features Editor

NEW YORK, NY- SEPTEMBER 13: Taylor Swift and Beyonce on stage during the MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall on September 13, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Brad Barket/PictureGroup)

After several years of pain in Miami and Los Angeles with a listless ceremony in New York in between, last night’s VMAs on MTV rebooted itself back in New York City. MTV kept the stage big, the celebrities camptastic and the performances coming. It’s far from the glory of, say Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” performance, but it did keep my celebrity-hungry brain with a lot of nourishment to keep watching. Here’s a recap of the amazingly awesome, the bad and the excruciatingly painful (I’m looking at you, Kanye!):

The Good
Michael Jackson tribute
Madonna opened up the show with a simple and fitting remembrance of pop icon Michael Jackson. She recounted a date with Jackson and kept the focus on his impact as a human, not a pop star. It was nice and all, but for a man who made others speechless with his voice and moves, words were superfluous to the actual performance that cam after. Dancers reenacted some of Jackson’s best dances, from “Thriller” to “Smooth Criminal.” And then, Janet Jackson made her entrance, performing her only duet with Michael, “Scream.” Fierce and strong, all she had to do was hit those moves for us to know she will always remember him and his memory will live on forever.

MTV Shows

Taylor Swift’s subway ride
Minutes after Kanye West’s slap in the face (see below), Taylor Swift took to the streets. Seriously, she began performing “You Belong to Me” in the New York subway station before jumping into the subway. She ran through to a crowd of people and cars, before jumping on top of a cab. It was a nice moment of defiance for Swift that playfully played to Swift’s fantasy world. In the end, she got the last laugh when she spoke near the end of the ceremony.

Lady Gaga’s “death”
Oh, Lady Gaga. How empty the pop world would be without you! Taking the stage from her “Paparazzi” video, she hit those notes with sass and owned that crutch. But, of course, that’s all in the video already. What she needed to make her mark was to first, pound the piano for a minute and then, have blood splashed all over here before she was taken into heaven. This, my friends, is a performance for the books.

Lady Gaga – New Music – More Music Videos

P!nk gets real high
P!nk was brought into the air and did crazy acrobatics in one awkward costume. What it had to do with her song “Sober” I don’t know, but it was cool to look at. Isn’t that what really matters on MTV?

Jay-Z
Arriving with swagger as he does just minutes before his performance, Jay-Z ended the night with his pop masterpiece from his new album The Blueprint 3 “Empire State of Mind.” Alicia Keys hit all the right notes while Jay-Z proved he is in the king of the city. Finally back in New York, it was a fitting ending to a largely enjoyable awards show.

Beyonce
The baddest diva made “Single Ladies” sound as fresh and cool as it did nearly a year ago with a performance that brought in a lot of single ladies. Beyonce owned and copyrighted those now-infamous moves and kepy the audience engaged. It was plain talent, with not extras needed. What made her really stand out that night was her graciousness after winning Video of the Year. She said a few words before handing the mike back to Taylor Swift to let her finally say her acceptance speech. All the more for me to love Beyonce.

MTV Shows

The Bad
Eminem’s Win
I’ve got nothing against Eminem, but for him to win Best Hip-Hop Video for “We Made You” is just in bad taste. The song was atrocious enough if not for the terrible, tired pop culture-laced video. It’s not 1999 anymore, Em.

Muse’s performance
Maybe I’m just a Muse hater, which I fully am, but the band’s performance felt flat, surprising given the theatrics Muse brought to their new song “The Resistance.”

Lil Mama’s invades the “Empire”
All was well for Jay-Z’s performance until the end when Lil Mama came out of nowhere to jump onto the stage. Jay-Z tried to play it off and act cool, but his look of annoyance was front and center. Maybe Lil Mama doesn’t know the rules of the game, so let me recount them for her. Number one: you do not join Jay-Z and Alicia Keys on stage unless you’re the awesome Beyonce. Number two: you don’t that especially if you’re name is Lil Mama.

Jay-Z – New Music – More Music Videos

The lack of bad
This year’s ceremony flew by pretty breezily in a scant two and a half hours, which is a great accomplishment. But the VMAs are notorious for the awkward, embarrassing and the just plain bad. Host Russell Brand had some naughty jokes, but nothing really that would incite a Parents Television Council protest. Only Kanye West was brave enough-or stupid enough, really- to bring it to the show. Now that the VMAs have some momentum going, here’s hoping for some scandal for next year’s.

The Ugly
Kanye West’s interruption
Kanye West is no stranger to speaking his mind. At times, it can even be endearing-although, it’s usually not. But to take the mike from newly minted “Best Female Video” winner Taylor Swift to announce that Beyonce had the better video. Now, that’s just wrong on so many ways. After West jumped off stage, Swift was left to stand there looking like Bambi witnessing her mother die. Whenever West’s name was ever announced later in the show, a parade of boos was soon followed. Also, rumor has it that he and his date were escorted out shortly after.

MTV Shows

What did you think of the VMAs this year? Will you boycott Kanye’s music? How crazy do you think Lady Gaga is?

Correction: Muse played “Uprising” not “The Resistance.”