|
Post by thehitparade on Apr 28, 2013 15:28:50 GMT 1
16TH FEBRUARY- ROCKSTAR- Nickelback (2 wks)perhaps a little distance can cause a re-evaluation here?... Nope. Although I think some of what I've snipped out of your post is quite perceptive, I still hate this record. Knowing why doesn't really help me. Also, though, I think there's an element of wanting to have their cake and eat it. Meanwhile, I sort of agree about 'Chasing Pavements'. Although to be fair, the original release of 'Hometown Glory' wasn't really a failure, there were only about 300 copies of it pressed. I do think it's a good vocal, but it suffers from a rather formulaic Eg White tune; and probably suffered even more at the time because he was writing so many similar songs for everybody in the late 2000s.
|
|
Roo.
Member
Posts: 17,888
|
Post by Roo. on Apr 28, 2013 19:20:06 GMT 1
Ugh, Rockstar. They're a joke in the rock community despite having some decent songs, but that is faaaaarrrrr from being one of them. I remember there being a Kerrang! article back when it was vying for #1 basically saying "what the hell is going on?" because nobody understood how anyone wanted to buy it. It was poor satire considering his lifestyle, and just ended up being embarrassing dad music.
Chasing Pavements is sublime in comparison, despite lacking compared to anything on her second album and not even being the best thing on her first.
|
|
borneoman
Member
love is tough, when enough is not enough
Posts: 34,344
|
Post by borneoman on May 4, 2013 8:34:15 GMT 1
Chasing Pavements is amazing, should have been #1. Although I never liked her voice in the 19 era, if you compare how she sings in 19 vs. 21, it´s like 2 different persons. The lyrics to Rockstar = worst lyrics ever
|
|
Gezza
Member
Posts: 7,846
|
Post by Gezza on May 6, 2013 19:10:37 GMT 1
1ST MARCH- WHAT'S IT GONNA BE?- HtwoO Featuring Platnum (3 wks)No prizes for guessing this isn't going to be a glowing review, I'm no fan of this genre but then I suppose it wasn't aimed at 30 somethings whose clubbing days were in the main behind them. H Two O were a due from Leicester who roped in the trio Platnum to provide vocals for this song which did unfathomably well in the charts of March 2008, I can't really find much positive to say about the track and it is perhaps significant that the group didn't trouble the charts again though of course featuring act Platnum did. I know this will have its fans (and almost everything does) but in the cold hard daylight of 2013 this dosn't come of well in valuation, tinny, hollow and much of what was wrong with the charts of the time.
|
|
Gezza
Member
Posts: 7,846
|
Post by Gezza on May 6, 2013 19:40:17 GMT 1
22ND MARCH- BETTER IN TIME/ FOOTPRINTS IN THE SAND- Leona Lewis (1 wk)I should start by saying that I loved "Bleeding Love" and the whole "Spirit" era Leona. Undoubtedly the greatest "voice" that was found on the programme, it was perhaps one of the greatest ironies that a show focusing on music was trying to find the "X Factor" which, however much you like Lewis as a vocalist, you would have to conceed she doesn't come across well as a personality. Of course not all popstars are good singers but true superstars are exactly about that "X Factor" which in reality doesn't have that much to do with the singing voice, Lewis is talented but only as talented as the vehicles she's given and certainly Simon Cowell got the big guns in for that debut album, top names like Ryan Tedder, Max Martin, Billy Steinberg are all present and everything seems to have been carefully thought about, the killer launch single (I'm ignoring "A Moment Like This" for now) the image crafted of a talent that has to be handled carefully and a voice to be unleashed. Perhaps the problem with the second album was that it felt too much like a retread but I get ahead of myself here. Anyway I love both of these tracks, BIT bops along plaintively with enough sincerity to convince and Lewis manages to escape the traditional ballad (though it's hardly dance music here) to produce something which demonstrates there could be more to her than just becoming a balladeer, though of course FITS is a return to that territory. It perhaps proved a chart point though, namely that double A Sides were now a thing of the past after the split of sales in the digital age cost this the No 1 spot. The problem is just what can do with that voice? and somewhere between album one and two Cowell et al just couldn't answer with anything that conclusive, an inevitable drift lead to increasing public indifference, whilst Lewis may have the vocals of your Dion, Carey and Houston what she lacks is the "attitude" and however a painful point of history it makes we like our diva's to be just that- Sande take note....
|
|
|
Post by Earl Purple on May 6, 2013 19:48:25 GMT 1
Her "winners song" was called "A Moment Like This". You're confusing that one with this one and mixing the titles together.
|
|
Gezza
Member
Posts: 7,846
|
Post by Gezza on May 6, 2013 19:50:32 GMT 1
Oops you're right- altered! thanks
|
|
vya
Member
Posts: 8,776
|
Post by vya on May 6, 2013 20:18:01 GMT 1
Don't recall hearing that H two O track ever before. It's not very distinguished, is it? "Rockstar". Aaaaarrrgh. Played far too many times in too many places. Still dross, though.
"Chasing Pavements" and "Better In Time" though - both high quality contemporary pop songs. I'd expected "Chasing Pavements" to be a much bigger hit than it was, and indeed for Adele to be far more successful commercially than she, initially was....sure that changed later.
|
|
|
Post by Earl Purple on May 6, 2013 22:22:47 GMT 1
I had expected Chasing Pavements to reach #1 - it was rather hyped and I didn't like that this "sound of..." was determining who they would choose to hype whilst ignoring the rest completely.
Still I was rather shocked that Basshunter's "Now You're Gone" kept it out of #1.
I used to hear a lot of the hits played when I was using the gym at work. Don't remember H Two O at all though. I was far more familiar in general though with the number ones during 2008 than I am now.
With regards to Nickelback, I would be polite and just say "not my sort of rock". I recall it had spent a week on my playlist fairly early on, didn't get in, and then I wouldn't add it back again as is my policy even though I'd heard it a lot of times.
|
|
vya
Member
Posts: 8,776
|
Post by vya on May 6, 2013 23:40:57 GMT 1
That said, listening to "Chasing Pavements" again really brings back just how much the song is about that glorious, swooping, intense, dramatic chorus, which sweeps in and just takes over. The verses (and especially the opening section) are really...well, pedestrian, and rather forgettable.
|
|
vastar iner
Member
I am the poster on your wall
Posts: 17,467
|
Post by vastar iner on May 7, 2013 8:17:30 GMT 1
It was poor satire considering his lifestyle, and just ended up being embarrassing dad music. That was probably the main problem I had with it - it came across like Marie Antoinette suggesting the plebs eat cake. These more recent ones are more memorable, I don't recall the T2 one at all. Although given that it is a relentless tidal wave of gashdom I'm not sure I want to remember. Seems to be alternating dance tracks created by a computer with people the BBC and ITV decided ought to be famous.
|
|
borneoman
Member
love is tough, when enough is not enough
Posts: 34,344
|
Post by borneoman on May 7, 2013 11:39:17 GMT 1
Did Leona lose the #1 cos of the split sales? So if the FITS sales would have been added to BIT, it would have been #1? I really like Leone and I think her personality is just ok. It´s the song quality that went down after album 1, their team should have fished for better songs. If she had got Halo instead of Happy for instance. And then also bad decisions like not going for Glassheart as lead single. But not sure if it´s all a personality problem, it´s not like Celine Dion has an amazing incredible personality
|
|
vastar iner
Member
I am the poster on your wall
Posts: 17,467
|
Post by vastar iner on May 7, 2013 13:14:49 GMT 1
It's curious, given that Leona Lewis, uniquely of X Factor winners, was given a platinum-standard build. She never did the ritual humiliation of kids' TV or get shunted off for a contractual obligation album by numbers. The obvious intent was to turn her into as big a star as Mariah or Whitney, but they seem to have given up somewhat and accepted her as a sort of female Buble.
|
|
borneoman
Member
love is tough, when enough is not enough
Posts: 34,344
|
Post by borneoman on May 7, 2013 15:08:08 GMT 1
couldn´t think of 2 artists whose material is so different as Buble and Leona
|
|
Gezza
Member
Posts: 7,846
|
Post by Gezza on May 7, 2013 18:35:09 GMT 1
Did Leona lose the #1 cos of the split sales? So if the FITS sales would have been added to BIT, it would have been #1? I really like Leone and I think her personality is just ok. It´s the song quality that went down after album 1, their team should have fished for better songs. If she had got Halo instead of Happy for instance. And then also bad decisions like not going for Glassheart as lead single. But not sure if it´s all a personality problem, it´s not like Celine Dion has an amazing incredible personality Indeed that's exactly what happened re: split sales. You have a point about Dion, but Dion is seen in a much more "Barbra Streisand" kinda way than Lewis is, perhaps down to age, perhaps to nationality, and as Lewis was "born" on the screen in terms of the X Factor process perhaps more attention is given her perceived "lack" of personality than to others?
|
|
vastar iner
Member
I am the poster on your wall
Posts: 17,467
|
Post by vastar iner on May 7, 2013 22:24:44 GMT 1
couldn´t think of 2 artists whose material is so different as Buble and Leona Not in terms of music but in terms of reach. Put out an album of undemanding tracks and guarantee a profit-making seller. But no attempt to do anything that might be considered memorable.
|
|
Roo.
Member
Posts: 17,888
|
Post by Roo. on May 8, 2013 2:56:29 GMT 1
couldn´t think of 2 artists whose material is so different as Buble and Leona Not in terms of music but in terms of reach. Put out an album of undemanding tracks and guarantee a profit-making seller. But no attempt to do anything that might be considered memorable. I wouldn't say Glassheart was undemanding, if anything she started off as Bublé and moved away from it with that album, but it cost her most of her sales.
|
|
borneoman
Member
love is tough, when enough is not enough
Posts: 34,344
|
Post by borneoman on May 8, 2013 8:28:19 GMT 1
Imagine if Tedder had given Halo to Leona and Happy to Beyonce, things could have been very different. Imagine if Leona had picked We Found Love, etc etc... it´s all about fishing for great songs.
|
|
|
Post by thehitparade on May 8, 2013 20:24:41 GMT 1
Yeah, to be fair to Leona she has on occasion tried slightly different things like 'Collide' but as soon as they underperform at all, Syco press the panic button and go back to the lazy cover versions. I don't think the Buble comparison works anyway, because he's obviously somebody whose music is sold partly on his personality.
|
|
Gezza
Member
Posts: 7,846
|
Post by Gezza on May 15, 2013 21:11:44 GMT 1
5TH APRIL- LOW- Flo Rida Featuring T-Pain (2 wks)So it's April 2008 and onto the pop landscape enter a certain Flo Rida, I must admit that at the time I rather thought he would end up being a one hit wonder, along the lines of Chamillionaire in 2006 but hats off he's proved me wrong. There are, I believe, two schools of thought on Flo Rida, a competant rapper who has a knack of choosing the right sample, or an unoriginal popstar who inexplicable seems to swim whatever pop tide comes over the charts, I have to say that I don't mind a bit of Flo, though a whole album might be pushing it! "Low" isn't his finest moment though, it's true that it all depends on the sample for me, he's got a lot in common with the likes of Pitbull in that respect, this is catchy I don't deny that, but it's the injection of a bit of "machismo" that makes "Low" slightly mindless rap music. It panders slightly too much to the stereotypes of the genre to be anything other than commercial rap by numbers, that's sad as in his poppier moments are infinitely better- unpopular opinion alert- I quite like "Club Can't Handle Me" and "Wild Ones". I doubt his mark on popular music will be a large one, but equally "Low" wasn't really an indication of where he was heading, thankfully.....
|
|