Thread. This Is The Pop Music Thread... The Elusive Chanteuse

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > No Music Discussion > Thread. This Is The Pop Music Thread... The Elusive Chanteuse

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het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
possession

Little Boots released a new track from her upcoming album last week, here's a link to a stream, and it's also available on Spotify: http://music-mix.ew.com/2013/03/18/little-boots-broken-record-new-song/

I'm really psyched for this album, Hands had so many ridiculously good tracks.

# ¿ Mar 25, 2013 16:21

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# ¿ May 2, 2024 12:03

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
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Sprat Sandwich posted:

'Motorway' is also available as a free download from her website. I prefer that to 'Broken Record'.

I am also pretty excited for the album, she seems to have gone for a darker, more subdued atmosphere.

Oh and True Romance the much anticipated first album from Charli XCX will be released on April 15th. Get loving in.

Motorway definitely stuck with me way more than Broken Record but we'll see how I feel over time. I enjoy Motorway but I'm hoping the album is more upbeat as a whole than that track.

# ¿ Mar 25, 2013 18:11

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
possession

Metal Loaf posted:

Since Benne has posted one of his reviews in the thread already, I thought I'd mention that Todd In the Shadows has a review of "Scream and Shout" by will.i.am and Britney ~~Bitch~~ Spears up.

My only exposure to this guy being what little of this video and the previous one that I could stand, does this guy actually like pop music? So far this doesn't sound any different from the average annoying nerd complaining about popular music.

het fucked around with this message at 23:28 on Mar 25, 2013

# ¿ Mar 25, 2013 23:20

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
possession

Metal Loaf posted:

He likes pop music in general. His videos are about songs he thinks are bad.

Wow, that's really unpleasant.

# ¿ Mar 26, 2013 00:38

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
possession

Mischalaniouse posted:

How so?

Making fun of stupid stuff is fine but this just seems forced and less about humor (there's a lot of lazy, weak jokes here) and more about just establishing oneself as better than the artists/material you're looking at. But it sounds like this probably belongs in the PYF thread for this, yes?

edit:

well, poo poo.
vvvvvvvvv

het fucked around with this message at 05:05 on Mar 26, 2013

# ¿ Mar 26, 2013 04:16

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
possession

I'm kinda surprised that Headphones isn't on the record, I liked it as much as I like anything on Nocturnes (though it's arguably higher energy than anything else on the album, maybe it's just that it didn't fit thematically?)

# ¿ May 6, 2013 17:13

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
possession

gandlethorpe posted:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFasFq4GJYM

Heard this for the first time on my local alternative station on my way to work. Listened to it over and over at work. Heard it again on the same station at lunch, and I'm sure I'll hear it again driving home. With the way indie/alternative acts have been blowing up lately, I wouldn't be surprised if this song gets huge in the US.

Girl is talented, only 16, and already hit #1 in her native New Zealand.

It's not bad, but I sort of wonder how much traction that theme will have with the target audience in the US? It kinda sounds less like a major pop song and more like something someone my age or older would point out as an exception to pop star excess.

# ¿ Jun 6, 2013 16:14

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
possession

AnAnonymousIdiot posted:

I like and appreciate the lyrics, all except for the second part of the refrain. It has this anti-materialistic feel in most of the song, then winkingly goes against the lyrics. She pokes fun at the glitz and glamour associated with being famous and thumbs her nose at it. Then we get to, "Let me be your ruler..." and it ruins the song a little for me. Not to the point that it's bad - in fact it's a great song - but I get the same feeling of it that I have for Fun's We Are Young. Interesting bits hidden among some banalities.

Yeah, that part is weird and jarring lyrically. It's a crazy catchy song but I still kind of hate the pseudo-anti-glitz/glamour thing. I think it would rub me the wrong way a lot less if "gold teeth" weren't the first thing she mentioned. It doesn't really fit as well with the rest of the things she lists, and you're sort of left to wonder why it's even there in the first place. Surely she could have come up with some other extravagance.

# ¿ Sep 15, 2013 05:58

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
possession

Ratios and Tendency posted:

Gold teeth is referring to hip-hop grills and makes perfect sense?

If the primary target of derision is rappers rather than celebrities in general, it makes the song kinda distasteful to me. And to make it worse, everything else is an actual trapping of wealth, grills are more a trapping of aspiration to wealth, so it seems more like punching downwards than punching upwards. Like every other thing there isn't necessarily coded, as Maybachs, private jets, Cristal, etc. can be attributed to any wealthy person but that one's pretty explicit.

That addition really turns it from a generic middle class kid's cry for relevance to the sort of complaint about pop music I'd expect from a vaguely racist middle class dad.

Ratios and Tendency posted:

The song is a playful expression of ambivalence towards celebrity. If it were merely polemic it wouldn't be nearly as good.

It seems less like ambivalence towards celebrity than just a poorly-conceived lyric. I mean, I read it more as the blue collar person reclaiming notoriety on a local scale, but even with that interpretation it seems to undermine the rest of the song.

# ¿ Sep 15, 2013 09:48

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
possession

DominoDancing posted:

In her defence, the people who made headlines lately wearing grills (Madonna, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus) are wealthy white girls, so to me that kinda softens the vaguely racist undertones you might detect.

That's a good point but all of those examples happened after the song's release.

Ratios and Tendency posted:

She's a huge rap/Kanye West fan.

That doesn't really contradict anything.

quote:

I'm not a critic so I don't think writing out my musings on Royals would be especially interesting but I do think there is a good amount of depth and nuance there if you approach it more graciously and it certainly isn't just making fun of rappers or celebrities or materialism.

It's a music discussion forum, that's sort of what it's for. Also "I think you're wrong but I'm unwilling to go into any detail or make an actual argument" is not exactly a desirable post.

# ¿ Sep 15, 2013 19:25

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
possession

Ratios and Tendency posted:

It contradicts you're interpretation that Royals is a vaguely racist dig at rappers.

It's like "Some of my best friends are black", that doesn't mean it's impossible for her to say something racist.

edit: to clarify, I really meant precisely what I said, "it sounds like something a vaguely racist dad would say". I'm not saying this is some hugely racist thing or she's horribly bigoted, just that when I hear these sentiments expressed like that, my first thought is that I don't really want to hear that person elaborate on them.

Wandle Cax posted:

It fits in with other things listed, such as Cristal and Maybach which are also heavily associated with hip-hop culture.

Like I said, they're actual things that wealthy people own, even if hip hop has latched onto those in particular as symbols of wealth.

het fucked around with this message at 02:54 on Sep 16, 2013

# ¿ Sep 16, 2013 02:51

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
possession

Wandle Cax posted:

So you agree with me then? They are symbolic of hip hop culture's display of wealth. Just because they are actually things that other wealthy people may own doesn't change that.

I think you're missing the part where I think it's kind of gross to specifically be targeting hip hop, and how she could have just left off "gold teeth" and it would just be about generic celebrity excess. You don't have a problem with targeting rappers, I get it. I think it's unpleasant and a little tonedeaf.

# ¿ Sep 16, 2013 17:12

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
possession

Wandle Cax posted:

I also don't think she is specifically targeting rappers. As I said i haven't seen many wearing ball gowns.

Again, the fundamental issue is punching up versus punching down. I'm saying that citing "gold teeth" is crass because it's not exclusive to rich people and has a specific racial minority component that none of the other aspects mentioned has (post-release White Girl Grills aside). It's a lame dad complaint. For that matter, so is the "I'm tired of being told to put my hands in the air" thing. I'm half-expecting her next song to be complaining about how dubstep is "just noise" and "isn't even music" (NOTE: this is a joke. Also, I strongly advise against googling "lorde dubstep", yikes)

edit: off that topic, Work Bitch is pretty catchy, dang.

het fucked around with this message at 06:19 on Sep 17, 2013

# ¿ Sep 17, 2013 06:16

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
possession

This is the funniest loving thing
http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/9/4820178/samsung-doesnt-understand-lordes-royals
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nwuk90Gc2A

Samsung's description of their Royals ad posted:

Told from a child's perspective, "The Developer" is a musical short film by Samsung featuring Lionel Messi and the hit single "Royals" by Lorde.

A mysterious stranger arrives in a low income neighborhood and captures the imaginations of the children who live there. He is "The Developer" and the children view him with a deep suspicion.

Together with his Samsung GALAXY Note 3 and GALAXY Gear, the Developer effortlessly masterminds a secret construction project. Using the latest in Samsung technology including Action Memo, Pen Window, Scrapbook and hands-free call capability on the Gear, the Developer orchestrates and executes his mysterious mission.

The children watch in awe. They reflect on their current situation by singing Lorde's breakout hit "Royals," a song about overcoming her own humble beginnings.

The spot concludes with a beautiful new pitch that has been constructed in the toughest part of town. The Developer is revealed to be the world's reigning football star, Lionel Messi, fulfilling his personal mission to help under privileged children.

The events in this story are a dramatic retelling of actual projects completed by the Messi Foundation. The film was directed by Adam Hashemi.

The Verge article is a little stupid about the story but Samsung use of this song is really really dumb

# ¿ Oct 9, 2013 18:44

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
possession

Who's actually saying Lorde is ruining pop music? I've seen criticisms here and elsewhere, of course, but nothing close to that kind of histrionics.

# ¿ Nov 11, 2013 19:24

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
possession

Spiteski posted:

E: I swear this isn't a derail

Why would this be a derail? it's discussion of pop music, that's sort of what we're going for here. Thank you and keep contributing!

# ¿ Nov 13, 2013 19:53

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
possession

Rageaholic Monkey posted:

Is it any good? I have it on my hard drive but I haven't actually given it a proper listen yet. I've heard a couple of the singles but that's it.

It's pretty great; I mean it's all of Nickelback's best songs, all on one disc. If you're not familiar with the band, definitely a good introduction.

# ¿ Nov 24, 2013 06:32

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
possession

Lord Krangdar posted:

The allegations are one actual story (from a woman named Jamie Peck) with a bunch of tabloid-level bullshit piled on top.

This is false but let's leave the Terry Richardson poo poo out of this thread, it was bad enough in the goddamn Lady Gaga thread.

# ¿ Dec 18, 2013 07:52

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
possession

That video is unsettling, but the song is a lot better than Friday or its ilk if only because there's fewer words (maybe I'm crazy). It's kinda stomach-turning to give an 11-year-old Ke$ha's gimmick though.

# ¿ Feb 16, 2014 09:54

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
possession

the truth posted:

They look like some kind of hipster wet dream.

They look like young people wearing clothes.

# ¿ Feb 18, 2014 06:08

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
possession

CHVRCHES is great and I'm afraid I may have burned myself out on them, I haven't listened to them in like a week but have been humming various songs ever since then

edit: this idea of "looks like hipsters" as a criticism (esp when the definition doesn't seem much more precise than "young people, who have hairstyles, who wear clothes") is intensely stupid though.

# ¿ Feb 18, 2014 06:16

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
possession

Paperhouse posted:

I'm excited about this because I think she's great but for gently caress's sake, when is she going to do a real album I read her recent update where she said she'd been working day in day out on her album for a year, so why can't I hear it I just feel like I've been listening to her EPs forever with the promise of something bigger always around the everlasting corner

I was thinking this last week but at the same time the EPs feel really solid, I might actually prefer a really great EP to an LP with an EP's worth of great tracks and then a handful of lesser songs

# ¿ Feb 26, 2014 04:40

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
possession

Lord Krangdar posted:

But you can always just delete the ones you don't like, whereas with an EP version you could't "un-delete" the ones that were left on the cutting room floor.

Well, or weren't written to begin with, because they weren't fully-fleshed-out ideas yet. I mean, I totally get the point that more content is better, and one person's "filler" is another person's killer deep cut, but generally I'd prefer quality over quantity

# ¿ Feb 26, 2014 05:41

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
possession

Remember when I said Royals sounded like a middle-aged dad's complaints? :hehe:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6VToqhUd-0

edit: it's a really bad cover, goddamn

# ¿ Mar 2, 2014 09:06

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
possession

bpower posted:

Possibly because Kanye's albums are mastered by a loving idiot. Yes, I just went LOUDNESS WARS in the pop thread.

Ugh.
edit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3P4n7TTXOw

# ¿ Mar 24, 2014 22:22

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
possession

This guy GETS IT

# ¿ Apr 21, 2014 17:23

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
possession

Tezzeract posted:

I think Hello Kitty is jarring for Western audiences because of how familiar we are with these cultural elements that Japan has exported. Japanese culture has lost it's cultural cache in the West considering how dominant it was in media: Hello Kitty and kawaii are the cultural zombies in our landscape of "hipster bullshit" (to quote Avril )

That's a weird take, are you saying that people are reacting poorly because Japanese culture just isn't as popular as it was in the past? I think people's complaints are more that it's a lovely pastiche of Japanese culture.

That said, I have no idea what her popularity is like in Japan and it seems entirely plausible that her Japanese fans have no problem with her doing a lovely pastiche as a nod to them.

# ¿ Apr 26, 2014 09:40

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
possession

That sounds like Jon Wurster named it

# ¿ May 1, 2014 16:11

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
possession

Man, at least link a free stream somewhere

edit:

e.g. http://www.hiphopearly.com/Timbaland-ft-Rachel-Assil-Whoever-We-Are-t23944.html

# ¿ Jun 10, 2014 06:18

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
possession

That's kinda creepy, dude.

# ¿ Jul 23, 2014 22:22

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
possession

PUGGERNAUT posted:

Experimenting With Rugs is Florrie's best song. To The End is a close second.

I've come to realize I like Experiments way more than her other stuff, though it's still good stuff. Experimenting With Rugs is definitely fantastic

# ¿ Jul 25, 2014 05:46

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
possession

Really dig the beat, though i'm not hooked immediately by the chorus; I'm sure I'll come around to an extent just by hearing it more though

# ¿ Aug 19, 2014 05:21

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
possession

DominoDancing posted:

Never heard of her before. Slapper isn't really my thing, but Colours I kinda like. Its verses are clearly nicked from Heart of Glass though.

That seems pretty deliberate, I don't think it's necessarily trying to deceive or anything.

# ¿ Aug 29, 2014 06:44

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
possession

DominoDancing posted:

Pretty cool video, but wasn't there a time when Little Boots would write, like, real melodies that were super catchy? I like the instrumental well enough, but vocally it has nothing to offer.

Yeah, I kinda agree, even with Nocturnes, which I didn't like as much as her first album, still had a number of these. Hoping this isn't representative of the new EP

# ¿ Nov 28, 2014 06:41

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
possession

I thought Taylor specifically made a point to pull her songs from Spotify a month or two ago because she didn't feel like the compensation was fair? I think she did interviews about it. It's an understandable position but only one that's really viable for established artists who get tons of exposure otherwise.

# ¿ Dec 22, 2014 02:31

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
possession

Yoshifan823 posted:

I mean, knowing Ben Folds, I'm pretty sure it's the former. The idea of some white dude at a piano and taking a song and making it more "meaningful" or whatever is absurd on it's face, so he takes it to the logical extreme: softly, sweetly singing lines like "bitches ain't poo poo but hoes and tricks" or "rat-a-tat-tat on your dumb dumb drum, beats so fat gonna make me come" as if it's the most romantic, heartfelt, deep thought he's ever had.

He wasn't satirizing them, he inspired them. Like before that, it was what, Dynamite Hack covering Boyz-n-the-Hood, The Gourds cover of Gin n Juice, maybe a couple others floating around Kazaa (all attributed to Dynamite Hack)?

I mean, it's probably unfair to put the blame entirely on Ben Folds though; acoustic covers of that form becoming popular had less to do with a single influence and more to do with the fact that Youtube launched the same year and made it much easier to host and share user-created videos.

# ¿ Sep 20, 2015 21:10

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
possession

Josh Lyman posted:

CORGI ORGY posted:

Cut it out

# ¿ Nov 25, 2015 18:33

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
possession

krampster2 posted:

They workshopped over 200 tracks, collaborated with heaps of artist's and then boiled it all down to 12 tracks.

Well that seems reasonable to me (aside from "over 200 tracks", which sounds like bullshit, but workshopping lots of tracks that don't make the album and collaborating with lots of artists doesn't seem like a strike against an album)

quote:

This kind of clinical and thought out album producing is messed up, music should be made because an artist had a burst of inspiration and wanted to get it all out, not because people wanted to meet their target goals so they whipped up a bunch of stuff, took it to sample groups, worked on what would have the most pop appeal and then released it for maximum profit.

Where'd you get this from?

# ¿ Dec 26, 2015 10:16

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
possession

CortezFantastic posted:

hit up some CRJ, When I Needed Someone is a pretty drat good album closer

e: also I Didn't Just Come Here to Dance should've been main album and also a pretty good house track

Agreed on both counts, both are great tracks, I was surprised when I found out that the latter wasn't on the non-deluxe release

# ¿ Jan 21, 2016 07:53

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# ¿ May 2, 2024 12:03

het: Nov 14, 2002; A dark black past
is my most valued
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Sprat Sandwich posted:

Not to be outdone Ladyhawke is releasing a new album also on June 3rd.

Hell yeah

# ¿ Mar 11, 2016 07:23

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > No Music Discussion > Thread. This Is The Pop Music Thread... The Elusive Chanteuse

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