Taio Cruz - "Hangover" featuring Flo Rida

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Hmmm...Taio Cruz and co-conspirator Dr.Luke take pop party music to a low I didn't even really expect. "Pour me some more...so I can go until I blow up, and I can drink until I throw up..." I am certain that both Taio Cruz and Dr. Luke see dollar signs in their eyes as they put together such a crass and humorless piece of "music," but here is hoping the same pop fans that celebrate the artistry of Adele and laugh along with the inspired humor of Ke$ha and LMFAO will recognize this for what it is and save their cash for something else.

The lyrics such as they are on "Hangover" seem to have been generated by a computer programmed to produce the lowest common denominator party song. Since computers are unlikely to be skilled at producing something as sophisticated as humor, "Hangover" is missing that element which makes much of the best recent party music stand out. Instead we have simplistic words celebrating drinking too much and throwing up with none of the wordplay of something as masterful as "Like a G6." The lyrics for Taio Cruz' massive hit "Dynamite" were insipid. Here the words become offensive.

Musically the song copies the most dull elements of the past three years of hits produced by Dr.Luke. The song builds into a climax of a drunken singalong, but compare this with Rihanna's warm and friendly crowd on "Cheers (Drink To That)." Unless my only goal is to pass out and forget everything that happened, I am steering clear of the Taio Cruz and Dr. Luke party. Flo Rida seems to have wandered into the room, delivered a few rhymes, and then headed to the bank to cash the check.

Will this be a hit? It is difficult to tell. Even though it may take some time, pop audiences do seem to eventually catch on to when they are being pandered to by overpaid producers and artists simply looking for the next buck. Let's bury this as quickly as possible and insist on real pop music from our top pop artists and producers.