As 2012 winds down, the world settles into a time of reflection on the past year. That is, until the radio is turned on and that one inescapable pop song is playing. There is always one song that becomes so overplayed that most people immediately change the station upon the first note. Here is a list of tunes that make The State Press hope the world ends in December, just so they won’t be heard anymore.
Photo courtesy of School Boy/Interscope Records“Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen. This song has been out for an entire year, and people still can’t get away from it. Jepsen’s youthful delivery belies her 27 years, and while the song is ridiculously catchy, enough is enough.
Photo courtesy of School Boy/Universal Republic Records“Gangnam Style” by Psy. The dance was fun, the music video was hilarious and the SNL spoof was unbelievable, but it’s time to put this tune in the archives alongside the likes of “The Macarena” and “The Electric Slide.”
Photo courtesy of Samples 'n' Seconds Records
“Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye feat. Kimbra. It was the passive-aggressive anthem of the summer, but Gotye’s whispery vocals eventually caused listeners to rip their hair out in frustration. The music video did inspire a pretty funny series of parodies though, so it’s safe to say it isn’t a total pop culture loss.
“What Makes You Beautiful" by One Direction. These five wonderfully dressed European gentlemen stole the hearts of teenage girls around the world by telling them that the reason they are beautiful is because they don’t know it. Nice sentiment, but even with a new single and album, this song can still be heard on the radio at least 10 times a day.
“Whistle” by Flo Rida. How this song even made it past the censors is hard to comprehend. It’s not about whistling; let’s just leave it at that.
“Blow Me (One Last Kiss)” by P!nk. Every single time this song comes on the radio, with its poorly bleeped chorus and high-pitched vocals, it instantly causes a station change just out of sheer fury. But unfortunately, it’s on the next station, too.
“Lights” by Ellie Goulding. The European invasion really hit the airwaves hard this year, but none more so than Ellie Goulding. Unfortunately, this song was picked as the banner of said invasion, and one couldn’t go five minutes without hearing it on the airwaves. It’s catchy, danceable and now incredibly annoying.
“Payphone” by Maroon 5 feat. Wiz Khalifa. Adam Levine’s pining for a girl’s love over a payphone was sweet at first. Then people remembered that no one uses payphones anymore. Time to retire this song, along with that outdated concept.
Reach the reporter at okhiel@asu.edu
