When the pop history of 2002 is written, there will be some big stories. The POP IDLE winners, Will and Gareth and Kelly. Nelly, whose latest single got a review last week, will be mentioned, as will Ashanti. Perhaps bigger than all these acts, and the unexpected hit of the year, has been Pink. We reviewed her last single, Don't Let Me Get Me
back in May. Now there's a third tune, and it's - somewhat unexpectedly - provided her with a third consecutive #1 single in the UK.
The first track, Get The Party Started
was a simple declaration of intent, and the second the homecoming queen. This is a return to the man-hating venom that powered her 2000 debut, albeit with a huge dose of charm and subtlety.
Open with a quiet, reflective moment. Mumble something about lying on the floor, and how much fun this could be, but isn't. To a generation raised on the Just Say Nein!
poster campaign of the Thatcher-Regan-Bush era, this is a Hidden Indicator of Drugs. Indeed, this language of addiction and partial recovery is a recurring theme throughout the album.
The bridge contains a very interesting melodic motif: rising for the first half of the line, then falling in a minor key for the second half. Couple this with optimistic statements - albeit expressed as a negative - to start, then objections and counterexamples in the second, for a very clever dynamic. This links straight into a more optimistic chorus, still in a minor key, but with upbeat chord progressions. It's more happy, but it's nowhere near happy enough for the singer.
There are those who wonder whether it's wise to exploit the language of substance abuse in this way. Their concerns are reinforced by the video clip for this song, showing Pink in a state of extreme undress, with something of an orgy going on in the background.
Anyway, the "pill" in question is her gentleman friend, who is bad, but not so bad that she can consider leaving. Such a situation is not good.
The record, though, is another compositional masterpiece, certainly more creative than much of the manufactured pap around at present. It certainly wouldn't have been a massive hit in the heyday of grunge, nor in the expansive rock of the mid-90s, nor even the turn of the decade pop. For now, though, it's the best we have, and I somehow think that this tune (or others from Pink) will come to define a year more than Will and Gareth's poor karaoke covers.
The album Mizunderstood
is still in good stores.