Ragin
6x Platinum Member
Everybody Wants a Piece of the Action!!!
Joined: September 2003
Posts: 6,487
|
Post by Ragin on Mar 4, 2015 8:05:43 GMT -5
You guys bring up the two important aspects of any song. Lyrical connection, and music. If you are missing one, you better have the other. Good points. So what about this one? Does it have both? One? Neither?
|
|
onebuffalo
Diamond Member
#LiteralLegender
I am One Buffalo.
Joined: June 2009
Posts: 26,517
|
Post by onebuffalo on Mar 4, 2015 9:57:31 GMT -5
Maybe Arista is serious in getting a #1 here. #39 to #27 on the airplay chart. Can you say great movement? Little Toy Guns should get a #1 placing.
|
|
sabre14
Diamond Member
Vince Gill & the Muppets make everything better
Joined: October 2013
Posts: 26,914
|
Post by sabre14 on Mar 4, 2015 10:54:10 GMT -5
Maybe Arista is serious in getting a #1 here. #39 to #27 on the airplay chart. Can you say great movement? Little Toy Guns should get a #1 placing. They're always serious about trying to get to #1. They misplayed their cards with "Something In The Water" as it ended up being horrendous timing when it peaked. There's also not much credit to be given to the label when a big time artist like Carrie releases a song to radio - they'll jump all over it regardless. "Little Toy Guns" is moving up fast because she's Carrie Underwood. The fact it's one of her best songs (IMO), makes that much sweeter to see it moving rapidly.
|
|
bornfearless2000
4x Platinum Member
SOMETHING IN THE WATER
Joined: November 2011
Posts: 4,000
|
Post by bornfearless2000 on Mar 4, 2015 23:15:35 GMT -5
Maybe Arista is serious in getting a #1 here. #39 to #27 on the airplay chart. Can you say great movement? Little Toy Guns should get a #1 placing. They're always serious about trying to get to #1. They misplayed their cards with "Something In The Water" as it ended up being horrendous timing when it peaked. There's also not much credit to be given to the label when a big time artist like Carrie releases a song to radio - they'll jump all over it regardless. "Little Toy Guns" is moving up fast because she's Carrie Underwood. The fact it's one of her best songs (IMO), makes that much sweeter to see it moving rapidly. Wait until it's about to crack top ten, then Arista will slow it down , as usual
|
|
matty005
3x Platinum Member
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 3,402
|
Post by matty005 on Mar 4, 2015 23:17:58 GMT -5
They're always serious about trying to get to #1. They misplayed their cards with "Something In The Water" as it ended up being horrendous timing when it peaked. There's also not much credit to be given to the label when a big time artist like Carrie releases a song to radio - they'll jump all over it regardless. "Little Toy Guns" is moving up fast because she's Carrie Underwood. The fact it's one of her best songs (IMO), makes that much sweeter to see it moving rapidly. Wait until it's about to crack top ten, then Arista will slow it down , as usual Or it will go to #1, like the majority of her songs, as usual.
|
|
|
Post by 43dudleyvillas on Mar 4, 2015 23:28:31 GMT -5
Wait until it's about to crack top ten, then Arista will slow it down , as usual Or it will go to #1, like the majority of her songs, as usual. These two outcomes (as quoted) are not mutually exclusive, though they were in the case of "Something in the Water." Perhaps I take for granted that a single from Carrie will move fairly quickly out of the gate. But the speed with which a superstar's single, particularly a superstar female's single, moves up after it hits the top-twenty won't necessarily match the speed with which it reaches the top-twenty, and it's the former that will bear much more significantly on the single's eventual chart peak. But sure, nothing to complain about with respect to "Little Toy Guns"' run so far. It seems to be moving up steadily at iTunes as well -- nothing spectacular, but it is at #24 on the iTunes Country chart, which would place it slightly ahead of its current Billboard Country Airplay rank and a little further ahead of its current Mediabase rank.
|
|
jptexas
3x Platinum Member
Joined: October 2007
Posts: 3,700
|
Post by jptexas on Mar 10, 2015 22:35:39 GMT -5
Brad is at 25 on mediabase while Carrie's LTG is at 26. I say that cause SITW was fighting for the top spot last time with Brad and Kenny and guess who ended up losing the race. We all know what happened with Sony so I'm hoping the chart debacle doesn't repeat itself. Obviously it's still early so I'll be watching to see if history repeats itself.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: January 1970
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2015 23:47:48 GMT -5
Kenny Chesney's song will go up way ahead of Carrie's this time and Carrie's will go up way ahead of Brad's (which in my opinion isn't even looking like a top 10), so we definitely won't see the exact same scenario as last time. There are really no Sony songs around Carrie on the chart right now that are looking like top 10 peaks, so I don't think we'll have another situation where Carrie's label screws her out of a #1 to help other artists on their roster, but we could always see another situation like "Two Black Cadillacs" or "See You Again" where Carrie just has trouble competing for airplay with male artists from other labels.
|
|
pnobelysk
Diamond Member
Joined: November 2009
Posts: 10,088
|
Post by pnobelysk on Mar 19, 2015 8:29:27 GMT -5
Debuts at 99 on the hot 100 this week .
|
|
Zazie
5x Platinum Member
Joined: September 2003
Posts: 5,144
|
Post by Zazie on Mar 19, 2015 9:09:22 GMT -5
I took a look at the songs above LTG and tried to imagine a sequence for Underwood's song to progress up the chart if she were an A-list male artist facing no discrimination from country radio. In other words, I'm trying to imagine the chart run of "Jason Aldean sings LTG." And I would expect the song, if sung by Aldean, to take 12 to 14 weeks from where it is right now to reach #1. I won't say "13 weeks" because it's better to have a range, so I'll go with a 12-14 week run (on Billboard, but the two charts usually have the same #1 song so I'm not worrying too much about BB vs. MB issues).
And I'm not always right about chart projections, I concede that, but I'm not a newcomer. Underwood would need to gain 2.5 mill a week, msybe a little more, maybe a little less, sustaining those gains over the remaining positive weeks of her song's chart run. It would be simpler if Luke Bryan waits at least a month to release a lead single, just to avoid muddying the waters -- other than that, I'm comfortable with these numbers no matter what radio cooks up. I don't think Blake Shelton's new single will get in the way; I think Underwood can outrace him.
I post this because (a) I am aware of the struggles of women singers generally at country radio and (b) I don't think Underwood is as subject to those effects as most of the posters in her threads think and (c) I'm curious about whether her own label is going to slow her down. It seems better (to me) to post this months in advance rather than to react to the developments later, on a daily basis, or even a weekly basis. I think she'll have a chart run that's pretty much indistinguishable from a big male star's run, and I'm more than willing to admit it if I'm way off. The comparison isn't intended to be perfect, just in the neighborhood of reality. Aldean's a slightly bigger A-lister than Underwood, I guess you could say, but there's no such person as "the average of Aldean and Chesney" so I'll live with the comparison I chose.
|
|
Ten Pound Hammer
9x Platinum Member
Banned
I watched it all on my radio
Joined: August 2006
Posts: 9,595
|
Post by Ten Pound Hammer on Mar 22, 2015 11:55:39 GMT -5
Ugh, Carrie, you're really losing me. Third preachy belter in a row? Pass.
|
|
jptexas
3x Platinum Member
Joined: October 2007
Posts: 3,700
|
Post by jptexas on Mar 22, 2015 22:54:03 GMT -5
Ugh, Carrie, you're really losing me. Third preachy belter in a row? Pass. See You Again, yea kind of preachy. SITW preachy, LTG, uh not so much. The song is from a child's perspective about the hope she has that the distinction and fighting in her family were more like in Little Toy Guns, no damage done. Just "bang bang" , no bulllets, etc. It's not really preaching from a religious theme just a child's hope of a fairy tale being the reality she lives. But, 2 out of 3, right on.
|
|
Ten Pound Hammer
9x Platinum Member
Banned
I watched it all on my radio
Joined: August 2006
Posts: 9,595
|
Post by Ten Pound Hammer on Mar 23, 2015 0:22:49 GMT -5
^ Preachy isn't so much the right word I guess. Just that she's falling into the Martina-esque "issue song" trap so often. I was fine with it on "Blown Away" since I found the song so well-constructed overall (minimalist lyrics, great production, great use of dynamics, etc.). I also thought "Two Black Cadillacs" was excellent.
But counting those two, all of her last five releases have been belt-y "issue songs" of some sort, and it's really getting tiresome to me that she's gone so long without a more lighthearted release, or even a softer song minus the belting, for variety. She's starting to run on autopilot, and I really don't want her to turn into Martina McBride 2.0.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: January 1970
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 23, 2015 5:07:21 GMT -5
Then wouldn't any true country song be an "issue song". They should all have some story or issue in them. Unless, it's bro-country they don't have issues, except when their keg runs out. So, Carrie keep cranking out your amazing songs.
|
|
sbp17
8x Platinum Member
Joined: July 2005
Posts: 8,480
|
Post by sbp17 on Mar 23, 2015 5:17:15 GMT -5
^ Preachy isn't so much the right word I guess. Just that she's falling into the Martina-esque "issue song" trap so often. I was fine with it on "Blown Away" since I found the song so well-constructed overall (minimalist lyrics, great production, great use of dynamics, etc.). I also thought "Two Black Cadillacs" was excellent. But counting those two, all of her last five releases have been belt-y "issue songs" of some sort, and it's really getting tiresome to me that she's gone so long without a more lighthearted release, or even a softer song minus the belting, for variety. She's starting to run on autopilot, and I really don't want her to turn into Martina McBride 2.0. Yeah, I kind of see where you're coming from and is a concern I have though I really like the two GH singles. One difference is that Blown Away and Little Toy Guns have had an edge to them sonically that doesn't make them feel as melodramatic as some of Martina's "issues" songs. However, I do wish they would have sprinkled in singles like Do You Think About Me and Wine After Whiskey.
|
|
|
Post by 43dudleyvillas on Mar 23, 2015 8:11:56 GMT -5
I post this because (a) I am aware of the struggles of women singers generally at country radio and (b) I don't think Underwood is as subject to those effects as most of the posters in her threads think and (c) I'm curious about whether her own label is going to slow her down. It seems better (to me) to post this months in advance rather than to react to the developments later, on a daily basis, or even a weekly basis. I think she'll have a chart run that's pretty much indistinguishable from a big male star's run, and I'm more than willing to admit it if I'm way off. The comparison isn't intended to be perfect, just in the neighborhood of reality. Aldean's a slightly bigger A-lister than Underwood, I guess you could say, but there's no such person as "the average of Aldean and Chesney" so I'll live with the comparison I chose. I'm glad that you posted all this -- it's good to have some reasonable metrics against which to gauge "Little Toy Guns"' progress up the airplay chart. On the point of whether Carrie's label is going to slow her down, I think that the coming two weeks would be ones to watch. There are three, maybe four songs competing right now for top-20 conversions: Carrie's "Little Toy Guns," Brad's "Crushin' It," Florida-Georgia Line's "Sippin' On Fire," and Kelsea Ballerini's "Love Me Like You Mean It." The two youngest of those four are the singles from Carrie and Florida-Georgia Line. Florida-Georgia Line probably moved to the front of this pack at Billboard this week, and Carrie leads at Mediabase. I would guess that Florida-Georgia Line would be the favorite to gain the most conversions to top-20 rotation across the board. The question is whether Carrie or Brad is next. The chart and sales momentum is with Carrie, but if Arista Nashville wants to do as it has done before, it could push for "Crushin' It" to get the top-20 conversions next over "Little Toy Guns." ^ Preachy isn't so much the right word I guess. Just that she's falling into the Martina-esque "issue song" trap so often. I was fine with it on "Blown Away" since I found the song so well-constructed overall (minimalist lyrics, great production, great use of dynamics, etc.). I also thought "Two Black Cadillacs" was excellent. But counting those two, all of her last five releases have been belt-y "issue songs" of some sort... I don't see how one can characterize "Two Black Cadillacs" as an "issue song." It's a murder ballad. I don't think the fact that the song depicts a wife and a mistress conspiring to kill the man that they unknowingly shared qualifies as an "issue." Sure, it was noteworthy that in a 2013 country single, two women were shown outsmarting a man and that a man overindulging his libido actually paid the price, but that had more to do with the embarrassingly monotonous climate at country radio than "Two Black Cadillacs" as a song. I quite like "Two Black Cadillacs" on its own merits, and admit that I enjoyed the song and its success even more because of the way it pushed against the tide at country radio at the time. But I still wouldn't consider it an "issue song." and it's really getting tiresome to me that she's gone so long without a more lighthearted release, or even a softer song minus the belting, for variety. She's starting to run on autopilot, and I really don't want her to turn into Martina McBride 2.0. I can sympathize with your desire for a softer release from Carrie -- she has them on her albums, but it's been a while since one has been a single. I'm with sbp17 in wishing that Arista Nashville had released "Do You Think About Me" or "Wine After Whiskey" as Blown Away's fourth single over "See You Again." But I object to your "auto-pilot" comment, because I think that four of Carrie's five most recent singles releases have pushed the envelope, both for her and for country radio. I enjoy that Carrie isn't relaxing or resting on her laurels, that she keeps searching for interesting things to sing about, and tries to present them in different sonic (though always powerful) ways. I also agree with sbp17 that both "Blown Away" and "Little Toy Guns" have a dark musical edge that many of Martina's latter-day "issue songs" lacked. In any event, I think that Carrie excels at story songs, and I especially think that "Little Toy Guns" marks an important step up for Carrie in lyrical descriptiveness and in the way the lyrics pack a rhythmic punch to go with their emotional weight. Moreover, until Miranda releases "Babies Making Babies" (which is not likely to happen), Lee Ann Womack returns to core format artist status (I can dream, right?) and until Brandy, Kacey, Angaleena Presley, Holly Williams and more become country radio staples (yes, I know), I'm glad that there is still one country radio staple staking a claim for the importance of narrative and the importance of stepping outside of our own little worlds to sympathize with struggles that may not be our own. "Little Toy Guns" is working its way toward the top of my favorite Carrie songs ever, and it's definitely one of my favorite singles on country radio right now.
|
|
Ten Pound Hammer
9x Platinum Member
Banned
I watched it all on my radio
Joined: August 2006
Posts: 9,595
|
Post by Ten Pound Hammer on Mar 23, 2015 11:28:32 GMT -5
^ I don't think that "See You Again" was pushing the envelope even slightly. To me it sounded like the Céline Dion CD my mom wore out 20 years ago mixed with Cry-era Faith Hill, and the lyrics were gratingly cliché. It had by far the shortest "story behind the song" column I had ever seen in Country Weekly, which to me is a solid indicator of how blatantly uninspired it was. And I honestly see very little difference musically among it, "Something in the Water", or this song. They all sound pretty much the same to me even if they're about 3 different things: slickly produced belters. Again, at least "Blown Away" mixed it up by making use of dynamics, creating a "stormy" atmosphere with the cellos and pizzicato, and the Eurythmics-like vocal production.
Maybe I am stretching to call TBC an "issue" song, but it's still not a "light" song (even though I thought it was excellent). I know some people around her don't like Carrie's lighter stuff, but I still think she's burning out on me fast by releasing an endless barrage of heavier material. In my opinion, "heavier" songs lose their impact if a.) you release so many in a row, and b.) they all sound very similar.
|
|
|
Post by 43dudleyvillas on Mar 23, 2015 15:11:55 GMT -5
^ I don't think that "See You Again" was pushing the envelope even slightly. I said that four out of Carrie's most recent five singles pushed the envelope. "See You Again" was/is the (obvious) exception as far as I'm concerned. I found that song engaging melodically and I enjoyed Carrie's voice on that one well enough, but it did very little for me as a song. And I honestly see very little difference musically among it, "Something in the Water", or this song. "Something in the Water" is structurally completely different from anything Carrie has sung and anything on country radio that I can remember, for one thing, so I can't agree that there's "very little difference" musically between it and "See You Again" and "Little Toy Guns." I do think, though, that the "volume" aspect of Carrie's recent singles is completely legitimate grounds for complaint. And to the extent the volume of her singles makes some people tune out and miss interesting elements and/or differences in her singles, that's perhaps something Carrie should consider and work on. I certainly would not mind one bit. But I still don't believe that the volume erases, for example, the tension driven by the bass' countermelody during "Little Toy Guns" versus the piano/string-driven nature of "See You Again", and I don't think it's reason to ignore the way "Something in the Water" harnesses country's early gospel influence (made explicit by the interpolation of "Amazing Grace," of course), which is absent in the other songs mentioned. Both "Something in the Water" and "Little Toy Guns" feature prominent percussive elements, but they are of a pulsing variety in the former, whereas they are used in the latter to simulate a battlefield/gunfire-type feel. There is a slight melodic similarity between the first lines of the choruses of "See You Again" and "Little Toy Guns," but the melodies in the respective choruses diverge significantly after that. The bridges of the three songs are completely different melodically, vocally and stylistically ("See You Again"'s is the song's quietest moment, and delivered largely in Carrie's head voice, "Something in the Water"'s is practically a third verse with a slight melodic variation, but longer, and "Little Toy Guns"' is a more traditional bridge that escalates the drama). Lyrically, I agree that "See You Again" is vague and platitude-driven, whereas "Something in the Water" offers a simple narrative progression built around a clever turn of the titular phrase, and "Little Toy Guns," after its first verse, is all about the images connecting back to its central metaphor. Again, the approaches to and imagery in the three songs are quite different. As a side note, one of the reasons that I think "Two Black Cadillacs" was neat was the "fire & brimstone" feel to the lines "And the preacher said he was a good man, and his brother said he was a good friend, but the women in the two black veils didn't bother to cry." It felt like a real twist on Carrie's church roots to apply them to a Southern Gothic tale of vengeance, and that made the song especially dark and especially fun. In my opinion, "heavier" songs lose their impact if a.) you release so many in a row, and b.) they all sound very similar. As noted above, I don't think that Carrie's heavier songs are all that similar, and I'm not necessarily on board with wanting Carrie to take a break from "heavier" material because I think her orientation has been a much needed counterbalance at country radio. But I can see your point in general, and perhaps the need for counterbalance is diminishing slightly as some country singles are getting a touch more serious. Still, look at the radio environment over the past few years and replace "heavier" in your comment with "lighter"/"bromantic" songs, and I couldn't agree with your point more. Moreover, videos like this one actually establish the melodic, structural and lyrical similarities of those songs!
|
|
Ten Pound Hammer
9x Platinum Member
Banned
I watched it all on my radio
Joined: August 2006
Posts: 9,595
|
Post by Ten Pound Hammer on Mar 23, 2015 16:14:15 GMT -5
"Something in the Water" harnesses country's early gospel influence (made explicit by the interpolation of "Amazing Grace," of course), which is absent in the other songs mentioned. Whereas I feel that the inclusion of "Amazing Grace" in any religious context usually means "this is the only hymn we know". Maybe it's just because I'm a church organist, but I find the use of "Amazing Grace" in religious contexts so played out. Even Craig Morgan name-dropped it. Twice. Both "Something in the Water" and "Little Toy Guns" feature prominent percussive elements, but they are of a pulsing variety in the former, whereas they are used in the latter to simulate a battlefield/gunfire-type feel. There is a slight melodic similarity between the first lines of the choruses of "See You Again" and "Little Toy Guns," but the melodies in the respective choruses diverge significantly after that. The bridges of the three songs are completely different melodically, vocally and stylistically ("See You Again"'s is the song's quietest moment, and delivered largely in Carrie's head voice, "Something in the Water"'s is practically a third verse with a slight melodic variation, but longer, and "Little Toy Guns"' is a more traditional bridge that escalates the drama). Lyrically, I agree that "See You Again" is vague and platitude-driven, whereas "Something in the Water" offers a simple narrative progression built around a clever turn of the titular phrase, and "Little Toy Guns," after its first verse, is all about the images connecting back to its central metaphor. Again, the approaches to and imagery in the three songs are quite different. Maybe that's part of it though. The rampant overuse of belting on the songs just makes them sound so same-y that I don't even notice the legitimate differences that you've pointed out. Maybe it's because I find the songs so unengaging that I haven't been listening to them more fully. Still, this is her third single in a row that's left me cold (admittedly, SitW did grow on me marginally over time), and for that to happen with an artist whose material I've largely been on board with in the past is something that gives me pause.
|
|
.indulgecountry
Diamond Member
Best Country Poster 2011, 2017, & 2018
Even Tiger Woods couldn't swing it this good; I'm actin' up
|
Post by .indulgecountry on Mar 23, 2015 16:37:53 GMT -5
I don't see how someone who says this about the new FGL song: This one feels a little less "bro" to me than some of their other releases. I'm cool with it. I like Moi's production; I like FGL's hooks (except "This Is How We Roll", which just seemed flat to me); and overall, FGL has just never bothered me. I should hate FGL for poisoning the well by almost singlehandedly making "bro country" a thing, but I just don't. ...can condemn Carrie's last few singles as all sounding the same? Sometimes Ten Pound Hammer, you remind of that typical male country radio listener of today who is "put-off" by female voices on the radio. I'm not sure what it is really, but you always make statements about how same-y Martina, Carrie, Gretchen, etc. are in their material, but when you post about bro-country songs i.e., it seems like you are always trying to find silver linings (like with "Ready Set Roll" ). It's fine to like male artists more than female artists if that's your taste (I know the opposite is true of me), but I'm not following your approach. Martina and Carrie sing less about 'issues' than FGL, for instance, sing about their bro-country topics. Maybe they aren't your cup of tea, but I'd hardly find fault with Carrie trying to find meaningful things to sing about when I'm sure it'd be just as easy for her to just release fluff.
|
|
Ten Pound Hammer
9x Platinum Member
Banned
I watched it all on my radio
Joined: August 2006
Posts: 9,595
|
Post by Ten Pound Hammer on Mar 23, 2015 19:13:35 GMT -5
Maybe some of it is gender bias. I admit I was looking for fault in Carrie's last few songs and ignoring what they did right. My mind compartmentalizes a lot without looking for in-betweens, so that sometimes leads to unintentional self-contradiction.
I should admit that while this song doesn't grab me at all on the first three or four listens, I dislike it less than SITW or SYA. Currently, I don't think the production fits the song style very well — it sounds a bit too Shania-level "slick catchy pop" to my ears given the subject matter — and the melody is a bit monotone. Going "Ew, issue song" may have been a bit of a snap judgment.
|
|
14887fan
Diamond Member
Joined: November 2013
Posts: 11,250
|
Post by 14887fan on Mar 24, 2015 2:53:51 GMT -5
Yeah, I can't really understand an opinion to its fullest extent when it involves saying that Carrie Underwood is running on "autopilot" at the moment. She is, unarguably and indubitably, the only artist on Country radio any genre of radio today releasing the most eclectic, wordy, melodic, and impactful singles today.
Dudley cleared everything up beautifully. How's this song doing? I know it's excelling callout-wise above the rest of the females on radio (all 2 of 'em, or whatever).
|
|
sbp17
8x Platinum Member
Joined: July 2005
Posts: 8,480
|
Post by sbp17 on Mar 24, 2015 4:18:45 GMT -5
The problem is that perception sometimes is more important than reality. If casual listeners or fans start to form an opinion on an artist and their material, that could start to have an effect even if the diehards know better. Martina stans argued that her material was impactful as others started to observe that she was going overboard with the melodramatic, self-help, belting ballads.
I personally think Carrie's singles have been diverse enough and none of them sound alike to me though, as I mentioned earlier, I wish she would have mixed in a different single or two. And it's a strawman argument to suggest that Ten Pound Hammer thinks she should release shallow material. Bro-country or child abuse PSAs are not the only options.
Again, I think she's okay now. I do think her material is refreshing compared against the subject matter dominating country radio. She's had a good ear with giving fans more of what they like in small doses (JTTW/SS, BHC/LN, CC/GG, and now BA/LTG) before transitioning to something different.
|
|
jptexas
3x Platinum Member
Joined: October 2007
Posts: 3,700
|
Post by jptexas on Mar 24, 2015 9:37:50 GMT -5
Yea, I think Carrie,s music follows a winding road which is different from the current right down the middle, truck driving, bottoms up, drunk anywhere, girl chasing themes on country radio. I'm looking forward to Carrie's "new sound" album. I'm thinking her road will curve again and the scenery will be something we haven't seen before.
|
|
desertfloods
2x Platinum Member
Joined: July 2007
Posts: 2,430
|
Post by desertfloods on Mar 24, 2015 10:39:52 GMT -5
The problem is that perception sometimes is more important than reality. If casual listeners or fans start to form an opinion on an artist and their material, that could start to have an effect even if the diehards know better. Martina stans argued that her material was impactful as others started to observe that she was going overboard with the melodramatic, self-help, belting ballads. I personally think Carrie's singles have been diverse enough and none of them sound alike to me though, as I mentioned earlier, I wish she would have mixed in a different single or two. And it's a strawman argument to suggest that Ten Pound Hammer thinks she should release shallow material. Bro-country or child abuse PSAs are not the only options. Again, I think she's okay now. I do think her material is refreshing compared against the subject matter dominating country radio. She's had a good ear with giving fans more of what they like in small doses (JTTW/SS, BHC/LN, CC/GG, and now BA/LTG) before transitioning to something different. I agree with this post, especially the part about perception vs reality. In terms of issues/themes, I think Carrie has got a great, diverse list of singles as well. My small concern right now though, is perhaps the perception from casual listeners that all she does is belt. For me, not releasing softer songs like DYTAM will always be a mistake. When was the last time Carrie had a good single as catchy and as easy to sing along to (ie no belting) as DYTAM? That would have been as far back as DFTRM, which is 3 albums ago. MS is not counted lol.
|
|
Ten Pound Hammer
9x Platinum Member
Banned
I watched it all on my radio
Joined: August 2006
Posts: 9,595
|
Post by Ten Pound Hammer on Mar 24, 2015 11:23:39 GMT -5
Okay, to specify a little more: I think the melody of this song is flat (the first "wish words were like little toy guns" in the chorus is almost all the same note), I think the production is a little too chipper for the kind of song it is, and I don't like how the narrative completely disappears in the second verse in favor of over-extending the simile almost to the breaking point. (Since when do kids playing with little toy guns keep scorecards?)
Saying that she's on autopilot may have been an overstatement. Still, that's three singles in a row that have done nothing for me, and there are enough superficial similarities among her last three hits for me to be concerned. I was just having a hard time articulating it clearly. Again, I dislike this less than her last two, but I still find it subpar for me. Hopefully this post will elucidate why it's not grabbing me.
|
|
dm2081
7x Platinum Member
Joined: April 2014
Posts: 7,025
|
Post by dm2081 on Mar 24, 2015 12:21:20 GMT -5
Okay, to specify a little more: I think the melody of this song is flat (the first "wish words were like little toy guns" in the chorus is almost all the same note), I think the production is a little too chipper for the kind of song it is, and I don't like how the narrative completely disappears in the second verse in favor of over-extending the simile almost to the breaking point. (Since when do kids playing with little toy guns keep scorecards?) Saying that she's on autopilot may have been an overstatement. Still, that's three singles in a row that have done nothing for me, and there are enough superficial similarities among her last three hits for me to be concerned. I was just having a hard time articulating it clearly. Again, I dislike this less than her last two, but I still find it subpar for me. Hopefully this post will elucidate why it's not grabbing me. You're not alone, although I did enjoy "See You Again" (it's actually one of my favorite Carrie singles). SITW was okay, and I could tolerate it. But on this song, the vocals just give me a headache due to the belting and even the production. This doesn't sound country one bit to me, it belongs on Hot AC stations. To be honest, she sounds like Sia singing on this one, the Pop singer. I agree that she needs to tone it done for her next single, sing a little softer and sing about something more upbeat and happy. That's just my opinion, as I understand some may want her to keep singing these message songs, but I've grown a little tired of them. There should be a fine balance of meaning songs and fun songs for every artist IMO.
|
|
bboat11
Moderator
Pulse's Resident Martina McBride Expert
Joined: February 2013
Posts: 27,237
Pronouns: He/Him/His
Staff
|
Post by bboat11 on Mar 24, 2015 16:48:14 GMT -5
(Since when do kids playing with little toy guns keep scorecards?) Actually, that's the point of that line. There are no scorecards when you're just playing around with toy guns. When the parents are fighting, it is like they are constantly keeping score, and the little girl wants them to stop keeping score so the family can be happy again. Ie, play with toy guns where you DON'T have to keep score and the actions are just for fun, rather than brandishing real guns at each other and exacerbating the blame cycle. I will definitely agree with you though that the first verse is much stronger than the second. The first one just evokes such strong imagery and sets the scene for an extremely strong narrative, and then the second completely seems to drop that for the sake of extending the metaphor of wishing words were like little toy guns. The writing is definitely still not bad, I just think the first verse sets an impossibly high standard for the rest of the song!
|
|
|
Post by countrygirl918 on Mar 29, 2015 11:22:00 GMT -5
Is there some reason to be concerned about this song's chart trajectory? People on twitter seem to be concerned about the rate it's moving up the charts.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: January 1970
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2015 11:36:28 GMT -5
This is doing fine so far, up 382 spins and 3.5 million audience on Mediabase over the past seven days. Yes, I have seen a lot of people already reading too much into literally one flat update, but right now there's absolutely no reason to be concerned about this song's long-term chart run.
|
|