Category Archives: Music

We Owned The Night (Single Review) – Lady Antebellum

Lady Antebellum’s second single off their upcoming third album, Own The Night, is called We Owned The Night and it was released while I was backpacking across Spain. As I was the middle of a million people in the streets of Madrid, I felt like listening to the song. So I streamed it on YouTube. Five minutes later, I purchased it via iTunes.

Opening with an infectious mandolin rhythm, the song is fun and upbeat from the beginning. “Tell me have you ever wanted someone so much it hurts? Your lips keep trying to speak but you just can’t find the words. Well I had this dream once; I held it in my hands” Charles Kelley warmly and affectionately sings as the song begins.

“She was the purest beauty,” he continues, “But not the common kind. She had a way about her that made you feel alive. And for a moment, you made the world stand still…” as Hillary Scott provides harmonies in the background. And then the song’s chorus kicks in. “Yeah, we owned the night.”

And that’s it. Yes, that’s the whole chorus. And it works marvelously. Why go into more details when it can all be summed up in one line and have that line hit its target perfectly? Yeah, they owned the line – and they make the song’s hook out of it.

We Owned The Night is a song about a one night stand, and not the kind you forget the following night, similarly to Need You Now‘s ultimate meaning. But the two songs are drastically different. Where Need You Now is a song about hurt and longing, this is a song about one last night with a summer flame that the song’s narrator will forever keep in mind. And where Need You Now is a song that is quite mellow in its musical composition and rhythm, We Owned The Night is the total opposite. But they are telling a similarly ending story.

We Owned The Night ends with Charles Kelley, in synchrony with Hillary Scott’s harmonies, asks the girl if she remembers “we woke under a blanket all tangled up in skin not knowing in that moment we’d never speak again. But it was perfect;  I never will forget when we owned the night,” wondering where she is and if she’s “looking at those same stars again” but the most important thing is that they owned the night.

This song’s biggest strength is it’s relatability. Lady Antebellum are telling their listens a story that happened towards the end of one summer, a story that could have taken place with any of those listeners. It’s drastically different in style than their latest offering, Just A Kiss, but there’s no doubt in my mind it will be another big hit for them.

We Owned The Night is very different from most songs you hear on the radio – even country songs. You can’t help but smile when you listen to it. The song is captivating. Why? because it’s very easy to remember when you were a love-stricken teenager, saying goodbye to your summer days when you listen to it. And your heart fills up with joy and you just feel like holding a girl in the streets of Madrid and dancing with her. At least that’s what I did.

Listen to We Owned The Night:

 

 

Mr. Know It All (Single Review) – Kelly Clarkson

The original American Idol is back with the debut single off her upcoming fifth album: Stronger, in the form of a track titled: Mr. Know It All.

The hype for this song has been escalating for the past week or so – ever since Kelly Clarkson revealed she’d be premiering the song via her website on August 30th. Many radio programmers and DJs had heard the song and were giving it rave reviews. So naturally, anyone who has liked Kelly Clarkson’s music would be excited. And I am no exception.

And like everything with the music industry today, leaks are bound to happen – and Kelly Clarkson’s name has become synonymous with leaks. So Mr. Know It All is here.

The song starts with a subtle guitar rhythm that soon fuses with a beat that sticks throughout the whole song, reminiscing of Bruno Mars’ “Just The Way You Are” – you can literally sing the lyrics of that song to Mr. Know It All.

While the song is not angry musically-speaking; thematically and lyrically, it’s full of rage. “Mr. know it all, well you think you know it all. But you don’t know a thing at all. Ain’t it something y’all!”

Apart from the fact that the many shortened words in the lyrics make this sound like something you’d recite at a country rodeo, the lyrics in general are quite bland and cliche. Example? “Can’t nobody tell me how it’s gonna be. Nobody’s gonna make a fool out of me. Babe, you should know that I lead, not follow”

How many times have you heard that “lead not follow” line? thirteen million? Yes, add one more to that.

Mr. Know It All is a pretty straightforward song. It’s so straightforward, in fact, that the title says it all: Kelly Clarkson is telling one of her exes that they don’t know everything about her.

The sound is one that would find solace with songs on Kelly Clarkson’s debut album and it’s a sound that I’m not sure would do very well in today’s pop climate. After all, this is Kelly Clarkson’s comeback single and it needed to deliver. I’m not saying it had to be an electropop brainless song, but this isn’t the song you’d expect someone with her caliber to choose as the song they’ll use to reconnect with audiences.

Kelly Clarkson’s vocals are great on the track – and I mean did anyone expect anything less? While it’s not a powerhouse performance, her voice sounds quite raspy and strong in the delivery. But even that isn’t enough to elevate the song to hit-worthy status. After all, there’s just so much that the singer’s talent can bring.  Mr. Know It All is not a bad song per se. It’s just a song that should have been left on the album – and it’s a song that’s much less enthusiasm-enducing than other leaks that haunted miss Clarkson since July. “Let Me Down” would have been so much better as a lead single!

Mr. Know It All doesn’t really go anywhere. It’s just Kelly Clarkson singing how this guy doesn’t know a “thing about [her]” over and over again. And it gets to a point where you just want to shout: we get it, can you do something about it already? And the fact that after ten listens, no part of the song was stuck in my head isn’t really a good sign.

I’d personally pass on Mr. Know It All. Hopefully this isn’t a sign of what’s on Stronger. If it is, then the only thing I can say is poor Clarkson. As for now, let me go listen to “Already Gone.”

Listen to Mr. Know It All here.

 

 

Carrie Underwood: Voice Of Versatility

Everyone knows by now that I’m a huge fan of country singer Carrie Underwood. I also believe she has one of the best voices I’ve ever heard – and no, I’m not being biased. Even if you dislike her, you can’t but appreciate her talent.

So I was positively surprised when I stumbled on a youtube video that is precisely what this post is about: showing you just how versatile a singer Carrie Underwood truly is.

The fact of the matter is, she has tackled more genres than people have realized – and she has nailed every performance outside the country genre, which is supposed to be her home turf.

Without further ado, just check out the video:

Baggage Claim (Single Review) – Miranda Lambert

Baggage Claim - Single Cover - Miranda Lambert

Miranda Lambert is the current it-female country singer. So naturally, her newest single and upcoming album are both some of the most awaited country music releases this year. Set for a late August release, Baggage Claim, the debut single off Lambert’s upcoming album Four The Record, was rush-released to country radio after leaking.

My approach to Lambert’s music is one where enthusiasm and apprehension are mixed. I haven’t been a fan of all her releases but I’ve come to appreciate them. Her single The House That Built Me remains, to me at least, one of those timeless songs that make you happy about your life when you listen to them. The House That Built Me is also the single that made Lambert who she is today – two time ACM Female Vocalist winner and Entertainer of the Year nominee at the CMAs, regardless of how deserving she is of that.

So it is from that base – and it is such a high base – that you’d expect her to approach the lead single off Four The Record. What did she do? She went the opposite – and totally expected – lead single route.

What is the song about? Yes, you guessed it: guy bashing.

If people had worried her marrying Blake Shelton would soften her up, Baggage Claim is here to prove them all wrong – somewhat. “I have been dragging around your sensitive ego, making sure that your bags arrive on time for the dog and pony show,” she opens up the song after a guitar riff that remains throughout the song.

Baggage Claim is a song, which as the title implies, is about Miranda Lambert’s significant other being moved out of her life and home. And she doesn’t leave anything to the imagination as she angrily sings the chorus: “At the baggage claim, you got a lot of luggage in your name. When you hit the ground, check the lost and found cause it ain’t my problem now. I can’t carry it on, I’ve got a lot of troubles all my own. It’s all over the yard, in the trunk of the car,  I’m packin’ it in so come and get it.”

But it is in the second chorus that the song delivers its highlight – and its only one at that. Lambert is known for her lyrics craftsmanship. And while the baggage metaphor is not degrading to the song, it’s not exactly instant-hit material either. However, there’s one sentence in the whole song that’s lyrically highly intelligent: “If it ain’t obvious what has set me off today, behind every woman scorend is a man who made her that way…” and then Lambert continues explaining about what the man did on his business trip.

Repeat chorus, insert useless bridge, repeat chorus… and that’s your whole song.

The problem with Baggage Claim is that, even for Lambert, it feels quite overdone – both thematically and musically. She’s had many other singles dealing with the same topic and they’ve all been better songs than this. While her vocal delivery is quite on point, as is expected from someone of her caliber, the material she’s dealing with is quite weak – especially for a lead single.

The whole song feels like a paint-by-number guy-done-me-wrong Desperate Housewives-inspired song. It feels like the writers came up with the baggage metaphor and thought long and hard about how to make a radio-friendly song that might break Miranda Lambert’s poor streak with lead singles, instead of delivering a great song that would have definitely gotten airplay on radio, with all the hype Lambert has been getting lately.

You see, the reason why the great Dead Flowers, Miranda’s lead single off her critically acclaimed album Revolution, did not manage to become a radio hit is mostly because of its dark theme as well as Lambert’s weak radio performance at the time. She changed course with White Liar, Revolution‘s second single, which gave Lambert her first chart-topping single (or top 2 on Billboard). But at the end of the day, the song that made Lambert is The House That Built Me. And with that song, Lambert took a risky decision to release a not very radio friendly song, but a deep song with meaning. And it worked for her – as evident by The House That Built Me almost winning every award it got nominated for and spending four weeks atop the country charts.

That’s the route she should have taken. Baggage Claim is not a bad song in itself. After several listens, it catches on. But it’s representing a follow up to a highly critically acclaimed album. Hopefully the rest of Four The Record is better than this.

Listen to Baggage Claim here.

Yoü and I (Single Review) – Lady Gaga


Yoü and I was just announced as the upcoming fourth single off Lady Gaga’s newest album “Born This Way.”

The song continues in the sound departure Lady Gaga has set for herself this era: more Edge of Glory than Judas, if you want – and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

The soulful, piano-driven, 80’s rock-influenced ballad is about going back to see an old love and not wanting to let that love go. It starts: “It’s been a long time since I came around. It’s been a long time but I’m back in town and this time I’m not leaving without you.”

The lyrics leave nothing to the imagination. It is a highly personal song. Lady Gaga’s fans can easily name the person to whom this song is dedicated: her nebraska guy, who has a bar in New York. “Something, something about this place. Something about lonely nights, and my lipstick on your face. Something, something about my cool Nebraska guy.”

The song is the story of a relationship that started with a long chase: “Something, something about the chase
(Six whole years).” And ended with Lady Gaga not wanting to let him go but had to. Now, two years later, she’s back to her hometown and she’s not leaving without him, despite the relationship being tumultuous. However, she can’t get over the small gestures she loved: “On my birthday you sang me a heart of gold with a guitar humming and no clothes.”

Lady Gaga’s vocal performance on this song is one of her best. She injects the lyrics and melody with energy that takes the whole song to another level. The song could have easily been monotonous, but her nuances and injections here and there elevate it into a breathy and easy-to-listen to track.

The interesting thing about the choice of Yoü and I as a single is that, even though the album has other electropop songs that would become faster and surer hits on radio, Lady Gaga chose this “unconventional” song for pop radio. It could be that seeing the runaway success Adele is currently having, Lady Gaga has realized the electropop age is fading and is slowly trying to get listeners to get accustomed to her new intended sound. If that’s the case, I have hope her upcoming music releases would be even better and show true artistry, not just flashy gimmicks to grab attention.

Deviating away from trends is Lady Gaga’s niche. Yoü and I continues this trend and this time, it just works. The song is great. Whether radio embraces it and turns it into a big hit is another matter entirely. But it’s Lady Gaga so you know the hype will be big. And at the end of the day, a true artist knows they have a clear path to self-expression. I’m glad Lady Gaga is not worried about the risks that her path involves. But the fact of the matter is, Yoü and I wasn’t the only song off Born This Way to go top 10 on iTunes without being a single for no reason. There’s a lot of appeal behind it. Hopefully it will translate into a successful single that will continue in steering Lady Gaga in this direction.

Listen to Yoü and I: