Can't Hold This Chart Topper Chat

You loyal bloggers may recall me name dropping Billboard magazine in a number of my previous posts. Me and Billboard go way back. During the early '80s I listened to Casey Kasem's American Top 40 on what was then K-98 radio here in Austin. As part of what I hope is both a zestful change-up to what I've offered you in the past I'd like to make the on again off again foray into the online "pages" of this legendary publication to talk a bit about certain songs that are either riding high on those charts or making considerable headway. For starters I'll begin with a return visit to Macklemore & Ryan Lewis who made secondhand thrift goodies trendy again with "Thrift Shop". Teaming up with Ray Dalton they've been riding high at #1 with "Can't Hold Us". I give this hip hop group credit for not using misogyny as its calling card. What "Thrift Shop" and "Can't Hold Us" have in their corner is an easygoing sense of humor that is a refreshing palate cleanser from booty calls and bling bragging. For my money, any song, regardless of genre, that pays tribute to Bob Barker's suits and Plinko, the game he presided over countless times as venerable host of The Price Is Right is okay in my book. Ray Dalton's vocal touches make it heard not to raise fists in approval for the notion of living life, dancing if you will, as if nobody was watching. As aerobic workouts go you'll not be disappointed. You won't feel let down by the spirit of variety that goes into fill after fill of instruments. For openers you get the winning barnstorming affectations of piano. At the back end those are certainly some well polished horns, or at least its synthesizer bastard cousin. The neat part about "Can't Hold Us" is it's one of those tracks where, even if you have somewhat of a reputation, deserved or otherwise, as being a wallflower, the longer you sink into the song's rhythm, the more likely you are to demand a license to loosen up. I do have to ask what exactly is "somewhere between Rocky and Cosby". Fun nod to all those sweaters Cliff Huxtable wore. He and Mr. Rogers really had that boyish couture thing down pat. "Can't Hold Us" manages to be playful without going to demonstrative extreme like the made for TV stage attention grabber from Pitbull and Christina Aguilera "Feel This Moment". I'm not saying I loathe that song. It's just that sometimes your life needs a vacation from high intensity, supercharged shout up, over, around, and through the heavens styles of singing. Besides which I'm primed and ready to push the hate button after one listen to Kendrick Lamar's "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe". That's the sort of crude trash the music landscape needs less of. There's enough lowbrow behavior amongst the celebs and the ordinary alike. We don't need new "talent" encouraging us to boil the female of the species down to that one derogatory remark. The rap community, while understandably super serious about its importance in the cultural realm, needs to be reminded how to lighten up a hair. With AutoTune patterned sound processing the order of the day, it's appreciated when one hears a low maintenance effort like "Can't Hold Us" that's simply life affirming, not vomit inspiring. Being that the music industry and art in general is a fickle world to live in who knows if Macklemore and Ryan Lewis will be relevant in five years In the here and now I tip my hat to their continued demonstration of a fully functioning funny bone.