The 2003 way of things would've been great for 1997 and 1998 when Limp Bizkit, Kid Rock, and all those people were doing their thing. Actually, no I take that back because that would've kicked out the Backstreet Boys, Nsync...etc and all the latin pop singers that were dominating back then. it does seem like this year more songs are being played over and over and over more than ever before. Either that, or there are more stations playing it in addition to the fact that I've been listening more often so it just seems more repetitive. I think we started getting more creative in melody as early as late 2008, but the whole package of quality lyrics, fully done instrumentation (including hi hats), and creative melodic arrangements on top of it all didn't really pick up as a whole until this year. People actually singing or making groovy hits rather than just trying to be a certain way without putting much effort into melody or lyrics - this is what I like. I also think it's about time that Outkast drops a new album. The only problem is this time they will not sound like outcasts, unless they manage to find a whole new sound that stands out from the variety that's going on already today. "hey ya" or "bombs over baghdad" would not sound out of the ordinary or "far out creative" in top 40 or chr if they were released today. "Ms Jackson" and "So Fresh so clean" would fit right in with today's style of mainstream hip hop hits.
