The Billy Awards: 2009 Year End Superlatives - Music

Greetings, readers. We've been gone for a while, but when we awoke from our long winter's nap, we heard your anguished cries for more, and now here we are, back from the void to grace your screens and minds with our wisdom and insights. And now, we start off 2010 by looking back at the best (and worst) of 2009 with the Billy Awards for Music:

Best Music Video

Weezer - (If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To

2009 wasn't the greatest year for music videos (in fact, it was pretty crappy), but this video is far and away better than all the rest I've seen in the past year. Weezer usually puts out clever music videos, and this one is a good example of their flair for originality. The town populated solely by members of the band is interesting, and the children with adult heads are amusing. What makes this video particularly good, however, aside from the band's signature brand of infectiously catchy pop rock, is the sequence that plays over the final chorus, wherein Rivers Cuomo, in a play on the words of the song, tells the girl to take all her wily charms and get lost after seeing what she's done to his buddies.

This video was directed by Marc Webb (who I consider to be the best in the business, having directed several music videos in my Top 10) and features Odette Yustman, who you may remember from her younger days in Kindergarten Cop, or, more recently, as the main character's love interest in Cloverfield.

Honorable Mention:

Taylor Swift - You Belong With Me

Best Song Lyric

I'll always be just who you want me to be
And keep my tongue in my cheek
A hopeless romantic, you'll never see
Cuz you're not in on the joke

-Cobra Starship - You're Not In on the Joke

This category was a little tougher, because there were many good lyrics to choose from ("21 Guns" by Green Day, "Beautiful" by Eminem, even "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus, just to name a few). This line, however, from a song you most likely haven't heard (it's not and likely won't be a single), resonates with me for the light in which it portrays the way we present ourselves, particularly with regards to romantic relationships. It suggests (rightly so) that we harbor personalities deeper than the ones we present to the world at large, and this particular line is rife with disdain for the games we have to play in order to be successful in our romantic pursuits. The title of the song belies a more serious tone and subject matter, which is in a way representative of the message of the song - we sometimes hide who we really are, not necessarily because it's bad, but because it may not be exactly what you're accustomed to seeing.

Worst Song Lyric

Now super bad chicks givin' me McLovin
You would think I ran the world like Michelle's husband

-Kanye West (as featured in "Forever" by Drake)

This wasn't nearly as hard. You've got an overall good song bookended by good performances by Drake and Eminem, a not-great-but-not-bad third verse from Lil Wayne, and... Kanye West, in typical fashion, babbling like a moron. Listening to the rest of the song, you wonder how this imbecile wandered into this group of reasonably talented rappers. His entire crude verse is mundane rhymery at best, and the Superbad pun is pitiful, but then he follows it up with the piece de resistance. Michelle's husband... what was that guy's name again? Frick, I can't remember. I know he's married to Michelle though, so that's a pretty noteworthy accomplishment, I guess. Way to go, Kanye, now I know why Entertainment Weekly named you Artist of the Decade.

Best Song You Haven't Heard

Manic Bloom - Running From The Scene

Okay, so maybe you have heard it. Maybe you, like me, discovered this incredible song after watching the first Dude Perfect video, and considering how big that video got, that wouldn't surprise me at all. Still, this song didn't get any radio play (that I know of), so I'm willing to bet the vast majority of the public hasn't heard it. The chord progression (particularly in the chorus) is matched beautifully with the vocals, the steady driving beat and main riff give it a good edge without venturing too far into hard rock territory, and the lyrics are potently desperate yet ambiguous enough to be relatable to virtually anyone. If you haven't heard it yet, I think the best way to experience the song for the first time is with the very video I mentioned earlier:




Honorable Mention:
Honor Society - Where Are You Now

Best Cover

Seether - Careless Whisper

In a nutshell: Wham! gave the world this unremarkable song, and Seether turned it awesome. After the wailing guitar hook (which was, in the original, an elevator muzak style saxophone solo) sucks you in, the raw, pained emotion of Shaun Morgan's voice carries this track through to the finish. This heavy song now has an appropriate tone, and this is a darker, grittier update which, rather than marring it, actually improves upon the original.



Honorable Mentions:
My Chemical Romance - Desolation Row
Selena Gomez - Magic

Best Song That Doesn't Get As Much Play As It Should

The Black Eyed Peas - Meet Me Halfway

This boggles my mind. The comparatively melodic "Meet Me Halfway" is easily the BEP's best song ever, yet it doesn't get anywhere near as much radio play as nonsense like "Boom Boom Pow." Sure, the main riff is a Cyndi Lauper rip-off, but it fits the song beautifully, and Fergie's Madonna-inspired vocals are the best she's ever given us. Throw in some lyrics that are actually meaningful for a change (despite Will.I.Am's insistence on repeating words and syllables to fill up beats) and you've got a recipe for a rare gem from this group. Apparently, though, the only thing radio stations deem worthy of playing by the Black Eyed Peas are thumping bass beatfests featuring laughably ludicrous words. Or maybe that's just what America wants to hear. Either way, we don't hear nearly enough of this song.

Best Featured Performance

Eminem in "Forever" by Drake

Did I say earlier that Eminem's performance in this song was good? I'm sorry, what I should have said was "mind-blowingly amazing." Even as a standalone rap sample, it's quite good, but the fact that it's laid down alongside three other rappers really puts it in perspective. The first three verses are good enough (barring Kanye's insipid sexual allusions and horrible choice of similes), but then Eminem not only impressively amps up the speed of his flow, but also drops a lyrical bomb and blows away everything that's already been done. And the best part - he acknowledges that he's doing just that that within the first few lines. Eminem makes Drake, Kanye, and Lil Wayne look like third graders struggling to plod their way through their first poem; they saved the best for last, and the result is nothing short of epic.

Honorable Mentions:
Ludacris in "How Do You Sleep" by Jesse McCartney
Kanye West (ironically) in "Knock You Down" by Keri Hilson

Best Female Vocalist

Demi Lovato

What can I say; she's got some pipes. She can lay down something soft and pretty, and then turn right around and belt out something loud and forceful. If you don't believe me, have a listen to "Don't Forget," the title track off her debut album:





Honorable Mentions:
Lady Gaga
Miley Cyrus

Best Male Vocalist

Brent Smith of Shinedown

Brent Smith does a very good job singing on "Second Chance," and "The Sound of Madness" isn't a bad demonstration of his vocal talents either, but it's his performance on "If You Only Knew" that really stands out. A good demonstration of his range and power (and a great song to boot), this song solidifies his position as Best Male Vocalist:

Honorable Mentions:

Matthew Bellamy of Muse

Shaun Morgan of Seether


And that's all for now, folks. Part two (featuring Artist of the Year, Worst Song, and the Top 3 Songs of the Year) will be posted soon.

-Billy

The First Annual "Latin" Awards

Best Music Video

This category came down to three choices. Billy picked the excellent "If You're Wondering if I Want You To (I want you to)" by Weezer. Also considered was Eminem's "Beautiful", his tribute to his fallen hometown of Detroit. Ultimately, I decided to go with "21 Guns" by Green Day. "21 Guns" is another Marc Webb creation which displays an excellent song along with an artistic and intense video. Overall a very solid video.

Best Lyric

From "Resistance" by Muse

The title track from Muse's newest CD is arguably their best on the CD, their traditional sound stays intact while expressing a slightly more upbeat sound than the preceding track "Uprising". Also, the lyrics continue to tell the CD's story of oppression and revolution, in a very intense way.


"If we live a life in fear
I'll wait a thousand years
Just to see you smile again

Kill your prayers for love and peace
You'll wake the thought police
We can't hide the truth inside"

Worst Lyric

There were many questionable decisions in Music in 2009. Many songs left people scratching their heads and wondering how fireflies can give hugs. However, perhaps the stupidest decision of the year was Mariah Carey's idea to go after Eminem in her song "Obsessed". Not only is the song a muscial low point for Mariah, reinforcing the crazy diva image that has hurt her in the past, but it also opened her up to a firestorm from Eminem, that resulted in the brutal diss track "The Warning". Mariah decided the best way to get at Eminem was with this lyric.

"You're delusional, you're delusional
Boy you're losing your mind
It's confusing yo, you're confused you know
Why you wasting your time
Got you all fired up with y our napoleon complex
Seeing right through you like you're bathing in Windex"

Apparently, bathing in Windex makes a person invisible. The guess here is that it would also sting like a bee's bottom.

For his part, Eminem's track is largely unprintable, albeit ridiculously good, rap. One line that is surprisingly quotable, and also intriguingly prophetical is this.

"Like I’ve been goin off on you all this time for no reason.
Girl you out ya alcholic mind.
Check ya wine cellar.
Look at the amounts of all the wine."

Sometimes the truth hurts Mariah.

Best Song Nobody Has Heard

Well, honestly, it's tough to beat Bill's nomination of Manic Bloom, and if it came down to it, I would probably have to go with that one myself. However, Breaking Benjamin's "Dear Agony" is an excellent song which received 1/10th of the fanfare that "I Will Not Bow" received.

Song That Deserved More Play

K'naan- "Waving Flag"

It hit 99 on the Billboard, but that was it. It's doubtful you heard it much on the radio, which is a shame cause it's quite a good song.

Best Cover Song

While Bill went a little ways back to pick his best cover song of the year, which admittedly was the excellent cover of "Careless Whisper" by Seether, we are going to stay much more recent for our discussion of the year's best cover.

Two different covers were in consideration for this spot. The first was Hayley Williams and Paramore covering "Use Somebody" by the Kings of Leon. I personally enjoy Hayley's cover more than the original, but that's a debate for a different day.

Ultimately, I decided to go with The Fray's cover of "Heartless" by Kanye West. "Heartless" is in my opinion one of Kanye's best songs in a while, and the Fray deliver an excellent version which is far superior to the auto-tuned version of the original. Excellent version.

Best Featured Performance in a Song

Well, 2009 sure seemed like a year for featured performances. They pervaded rap as they usually do, but also spread more than ever to the pop rock genres and further.

In terms of straight up skill, Eminem's featured stanza on Drake's "Forever" is possibly one of the most impressive stanzas of rap ever written. He moves ridiculously fast. By the time he is done, he has single handedly stolen the spotlight from the biggest names in rap, and reasserted himself as the king of true rap. It's truly something to see. I'm not crazy about the song, but Em's part is darn impressive.

On a more fun-minded note, the combo of Cobra Starship and Leighton Meester gives a very fun performance in "Good Girls go Bad".

Best Female Vocalist of 2009

Not the best artist, we'll get there in a second, this one goes out to the best pure vocal talent of 2009.

The girls have really brought out the heavy hitters vocally recently. Carrie Underwood continues to flash her pipes on the pop-country circuit. Kelly Clarkson usually shows off a song or two that reveals her vocal range. Hayley Williams has a surprisingly powerful voice which hits some the raspier powerful ranges that few really hit. Even Pink's grunge voice displays strength in certain songs. Katy Perry is another wild card in a group of good singers.

Bill's picks were Demi Lovato and Lady Gaga, neither really do it for me. I'll give you my top 3.

3. Katy Perry- Good voice, not great.

2. Hayley Williams- Has some real power, less traditional voice may hurt her with the mainstream pop crowd.

1. Kelly Clarkson



Clarkson has the happy medium of a strong voice and a good feel for pop music. Almost every song she releases will keep your radio dial on the same station, and at the same time she has the vocal chops to back it up. "My life would suck without you" shows her fun side to music, at the same time "Already Gone" shows off her range, its a pretty nice combination.

Best Male Vocalist

Not quite as strong as the girls, but not devoid of some powerhouses either.

John Mayer's "Battle Studies" was a slightly disappointing follow up to "Where the Light is", but he still found a few songs on the album. Notably, "Perfectly Lonely", "Heartbreak Warfare", "Assassin" are excellent.



I also find Chad Wolf to be an underrated vocalist as the lead singer of Carolina Liar, but he couldn't quite finagle his way onto the top spot.

For the second time today, I'm going to agree with Bill. Brent Smith displays a powerful vocal range and has been a favorite of mine since Shinedown released "45" a few years back. "Sound of Madness" is a raucous track which beckons back to "45", where as "Second Chance" and "If You Only Knew" display a slightly softer side, great performances all.