Okay, welcome to Facemelt Friday everybody! Yes, it's another stupid alliterative title, just learn to deal with it. So in this column, I'll be discussing what's making it big on the rock charts. Today we've got Fall Out Boy's "Uma Thurman".
This one's kind of interesting. It's essentially a song dedicated to Uma Thurman nd her characters, notably in Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction. Whatever the concept, I gotta say, it definitely packs more of a punch than "Centuries" ever did. Fall Out Boy sounds like they're having fun with their music again, and I love that. To take a concept song so out of left field and make it work so well is definitely a tough feat, but it helps when you enjoy what you're doing. And as far as I can tell, the band, especially Patrick Stump, is enjoying every minute of this song. Just listen to this guy's vocal performance. He is giving it his all to make this song as over-the-top as he can. And I gotta say, this video's pretty funny too. Again, a return to form for the goofy band, and I definitely hope to hear and see more stuff like this from them.
Finally, an artist on here that is actually gaining popularity! I was starting to think this part of the blog was useless... or at least more useless than the rest. Anyway, X Ambassadors!
Now I've actually heard of this song before today; it gets a fair amount of airplay on the rock stations around here. It's pretty much your basic "we are rebels and will not succumb to the norms of society" song, which, ironically, is starting to align with the norms of society. Go figure. The song calls out to the Kubricks and the Spielbergs, which is at least a somewhat interesting turn for the song to take. I have to say, name-dropping is not usually something I hear in these types of songs. It also works to the song's advantage, citing brilliant minds that thought differently from the norm, and actually became successful as a result. That was a smart idea. But most of it is honestly just paint-by-numbers and I feel like I've heard this song a million times before, and better. There's definitely artists from this column that I would have chosen over these guys. But to be fair, they're not terrible. They're just nothing special.
Jocelyn & Lisa are a Canadian indie soul pop duo from Calgary. Jocelyn Alice, the main singer, released a single this year called "Jackpot". It's... okay.
Honestly, I listened to a little bit of Jocelyn & Lisa's stuff, and I gotta say, I prefer that vastly over this. This song still has some stuff going for it. Jocelyn Alice is a great vocalist, and she works with the song enough to make it slightly interesting. But there just isn't enough for me here to keep me coming back. I think a lot of the problem in the beat. This beat is just too limp for me to invest anything in this song. I sort of see something coming through here, but it's not enough to make for a fulfilling song. Jocelyn's voice carries the song, and unfortunately her voice isn't that good. It's good, just not good enough to carry a song on her own. It's not a terrible song, it just doesn't do much for me. Jocelyn Alice is a good artist, but this just didn't interest me. No jackpot here.
So, Skrillex has come back in a big way this year, and he's bringing Justin Bieber with him! http://www.tubechop.com/watch/6406303
We'll get to that beat in a second. For now, let's focus on Skrillex's career to date.
Skrillex's solo career began in 2008 when he started producing music in Los Angeles. He released his debut EP in 2010, and continued to build up buzz until he became a household name. However, this newest single that he has out now has been his first Top 10 hit, collaborating with electronic music producer Diplo. I remember singing the praises of their collaboration with Kiesza earlier this year. So what do I think of this? Oh... oh, god, do I hate this.
Yeah, okay, so let's start off with that beat. The beat in "Take U There" used both Skrillex and Diplo's markings to their advantage, with Diplo's buildup and Skrillex's breakdown. But this beat is... limp and unfinished. We have a not-so-interesting buildup leading to a not-so-interesting breakdown, and I can't hear Skrillex at all in this. Secondly, how dare you swap out Kiesza for Justin Bieber. He has never sounded more uninterested in his entire career, and he's definitely not the fireball of energy Kiesza is. It's like after the first single, everyone felt they could suddenly get boring again. And since this is doing better than their last single together, I suppose they can! *sigh* I really wish "Take U There" had gotten popular and this tanked. Because I thought "Take U There" was the perfect melding of both Skrillex and Diplo's strengths. But this song doesn't use either of them well, and the lackluster vocalist they got definitely doesn't help. Stick to celebrity roasts of yourself, Justin Bieber. I'm really disappointed with this follow-up single. It sounds weak and uninspired. I hope Skrillex and Diplo release better stuff than this from their album, because I'm not a fan of where they're heading. Where am I now? I'm off listening to the first single. Seeya!
I know that early Billboard hits had a lot of silly stuff with them, but this seems like a little... much. Right from the title, I can tell that this is probably not going to be worth my time. And I was pretty much right. It offers nothing except forgettable cheese. Sorry, that's gravy and mashed potatoes. Okay, a little history: The "mashed potato" is actually a dance move popularized in the early 60's by James Brown. And that's really all you need to know, because this song is actually about ex. Gross, gross sex. "Gravy for my mashed potatoes"... doesn't that just sound wrong? There's nothing too abstract about it, but I don't want to hear about sex being called that. I'd actually prefer it if I had to think about it a little. I'd still probably be disgusted, but at least I'd feel accomplished. Nah, I don't want to talk about this. Instead, I'd like to tell you all that starting next Friday, Flashback Friday will be replaced with a more... contemporary segment. You'll find out soon enough! Seeya next time.
We've recently had a whole whack of throwbacks in pop music, from Bruno Mars to Meghan Trainor. But amongst those, I can't remember a single throwback to straightforward 50's-style soul. Thankfully, Leon Bridges is here to remind us how it all began.
It's honestly super-refreshing to hear such a great throwback coming out in 2015. It sounds authentic, rather than an artist just trying on the genre for size. I could actually see this song being played in the 1950's. It's kind of an odd experience, truth be told. You don't hear throwbacks quite this authentic every day, and I'm not sure what it means for the world of pop. Are we really so desperate for something new that we have to reach back to something so old? Well, I suppose that can only be determined by how well this song does. Like I said, I don't think I've heard a throwback as authentic as this one since "I Believe in a Thing Called Love". (And if you think that song is anything but awesome, your opinion is wrong.) So I guess ultimately we'll just wait the year out and see if this song does anything on the charts. Then we'll see if it starts to become a trend. For now, Leon Bridges made a solid soul song. 50's music isn't really my thing, but regardless it's nice to be blessed with a throwback such as this one every once in a while.
There's a barometer to pop music that goes beyond whether a song is any good or not. It also determines whether or not the artist has any star quality. And I don't know, I just don't see it in Mia Martina. (Sounds like a character on a defunct kid's TV show.)
We can start from the beginning to assess why this song has no star power: it stars Waka Flocka freakin Flame. And that was just entirely, entirely the wrong choice for a song like this. I mean, you could have chosen... wait. http://www.tubechop.com/watch/6368930 That's how low we've sunk, people. JUICY J would have been a better choice for this song! I mean, sure he's slimy, and like, 40 years old, but at least he can hold up his own half of a song! Waka Flocka, not knowing much vocabulary outside of "Waka", "Flocka", and "flame", utterly fails to match the tone of this song and throws everything off. Not that Mia Martina's doing much justice for the song either, mind you.
This whole Mia Martina thing is honestly weird for me to articulate. Is she a bad artist in any way? No, I suppose not. But there's nothing in her for me that screams "star". She's like one of those contestants on American Idol that didn't create enough drama so she was voted off the show. Sorry, Canadian Idol. And that's been a pervasive problem in all of her music. Something about it just seems half-assed or uncommitted. And you simply can't have that in a full-fledged pop star. Like, what's this song about? 'Cause when the stars align, you might bring the beast out It's about sex. So why does she sound so unsexy here? This is almost the same problem I had with Selena Gomez's "Good for You", except here it's just boring. She's not a bad singer, but she's not portraying the right kind of tone in her song. It all reads like an EDM track without the EDM music. And that's honestly all I can say about it. It's a song that feels like there wasn't much effort put into it. And I can only assume that's why Mia Martina hasn't caught on in the States.
Selena's never been one of my favourite artists, but she's slowly finding her way, I think. After the stunning failure that was "Come & Get It", Selena's been struggling to find an identity for her adult years as a pop singer. "The Heart Wants What it Wants", a hit she had late last year kind of helped her along that path, showing that she can play the part of "lover with unhealthy attachments to bad boys" or something like that. And now, roughly seven months later, we have this song on our repertoire, "Good for You". How do I feel about it? Um...
It's... good in a creepy sort of way? I'm a little torn on this one, so bear with me. You have Selena Gomez, basically making the most submissive pop hit of 2015. http://www.tubechop.com/watch/6358328 Okay... second most. No, you know what, I take that back. As weirdly anti-feminist as Nicki Minaj's lyrics seem, at least she seems totally on board with them. She sounds very enthusiastic about cooking and cleaning. Hey, you know what? More power to her. But Selena? I just wanna look good for ya, good for ya Oh, oh This doesn't sound like she really wants to look good for her man. It just sounds like she's scared that she won't look good enough for her man. It sounds really uncomfortable. And yet... I don't think that necessarily makes me dislike the song. I mean, if Selena Gomez released more stuff like this, I might actually be for it. Let me explain: If Selena Gomez continued down this path, I think it would carve out an interesting persona for her. Sort of like a dark, sexy persona. Hey, some people could be into it. But if this is just a misguided attempt to make a straight-up sexy song... well, I can't really support it. So it really all depends on what this means for Selena's future to me. If she continues down this path, great! I think it could be a really interesting journey with her music. If she doesn't... well then this song is more like a blip on the radar to me, and an uncomfortable blip at that. Oh yeah, and A$AP Rocky is on this too. His presence makes the song a little better, I think. It makes it a little more tolerable, as we can be reassured that the guy isn't an abusive asshole. Honestly, his verse is kinda sweet. So it's definitely a good addition to the song. But I still can't quite write it off as a song I particularly love. We'll just see where Selena's career goes after this, and see if this song will be good for her.
Okay, so I'm hearing this great song by The Miracles called "The Tracks of My Tears"...
Great song about heartache and putting on a fake smile to cover up your true emotions. But then I learn that this version actually became more popular:
And while it's not bad, it's just... wow, that first version was so good! No need for a second-rate cover. Nothing really too much against the cover, but it almost sounds like it's going back a decade in terms of music. And not really in the good sort of way like a throwback, more like in the bad sort of way, like dated. All I'm saying is if you're going to make a cover, you should add something to the original to justify its existence. I think that this cover takes away from what made the original good. I don't hate it, but there's no reason to listen to this over the original.
There's a certain rapper this year who I know is out there making music and releasing singles, but is strangely and sadly absent from the Hot 100.
Yeah, Kendrick just released his album To Pimp a Butterfly this year and yet I've been missing him from the charts. Which is a damn shame, because what I've heard from this album is amaaaazing. Like, some of the best of 2015. And art of what is making this album so great is producer Thundercat.
This is his song "Them Changes", and god damn, the beat on it is just masterful. It's dark, it's brooding, it's cool, it's calm. This I think is what DJ Mustard tries to do, but fails badly. This is how you do it. I would normally be excited for a Kendrick album all on its own, but Thundercat's inclusion definitely makes the prize even sweeter. I hope that he gets his breakthrough single soon.
