A look at pop music

Every once and a while I like to check out what's going on in the pop music scene -- I don't have cable and therefore no MTV, I don't really listen to commercial radio, so I tend to loose touch after a couple of months. However, thanks to sites like Launchcast Video, I can quickly get a sense of what's hot and what's not, at least in my opinion. :)

Usher -- You know, I kind of dig the song Yeah, even though it's really little more than a remake of Lil' John's last effort but with Usher on vocals. I think it's the syncopation in the chorus that does it for me. His other tune, Burn, kind of left me cold, but I was never into the whole modern R&B thing, so it could be that I don't have a taste for it.

Britney Spears -- Everytime is another 'my life's so hard' video from Britney, with the usual somewhat catchy but ultimately forgettable track under it. Will she never go away?

Avril Lavigne -- You know, Don't Tell Me isn't all that bad. It's catchy and ultimately about not having sex, which in a music industry filled with sexual messages is somewhat refreshing.

JoJo -- Leave sounds to me like another music industry constructed pop diva project. There's really nothing of note here, other than an attempt to rehash Britney's lolita schoolgirl image of a couple years ago.

Outkast -- Roses isn't Hey Ya, but it's still interesting and began to grow on me, if for no other reason that it's going against the current music grain.

Eminem -- My Band is sort of funny (and sort of may be stretching it), but is it really more than an attempt to promote his other D12 buddies so they can all make more money?

Christina Milian -- Dip It Low is a prefab tune with a hot chick singing it. Wow, that's never been done before.

Blink 182 -- Are these guys still punk? You can only sell out so much before you lose what made you popular in the first place.

Evanescence -- Everybody's Fool isn't a notable song, but the video does feature a critique of media which is never bad. It's sort of what I thought Jewel's video Intuition was doing until I heard that it was actually a pop repackaging for her.