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Goapele “Play” Single Review

December 6, 2011 in Music, Singles RealViews

Any fan of Goapele knows she is known for delivering more than memorable grooves that still the soul, including “First Love” and “Closer”. This goes unchanged as once again she opens up this winter season with a sensual hit that leaves your mind exploring the thought of getting intimate with a lover in a dark secretive place. This newest hit ,“Play”, is featured on her new album “Break of Dawn”. If you listen closely, the song faintly opens with the growling of a lion or similar wild cat. At first as this seems illogical, however, once the listener dives into the track, it seems rather fitting.

Goapele successfully brings together an array of deep notes to create an unforgettably unique and erratic beat. Goapele’s vocals penetrate the track with sexuality and depth that leaves you blushing every time she sings. Her personable performance on the track leaves a lasting effect, almost as if she were speaking to you. Her style resembles that of The Weeknd, in nature, just without the Star Trek-inspired sound effects and repetitive background vocals. There’s something electric, yet very natural to this song, with the guitar and electronic thumping mingling so perfectly. This is definitely one for that “special company” playlist on your iPod. In addition, the music video is a bombardment of sexual images. Her definition of “Play” has several meanings represented by poker chips, mascara, fire, and snakes. In song and video, time seems to have no boundaries and often when you “play”, you lose track of time… Her new album “Break of Dawn” is definitely on my “to buy” list.

Report Card

Instruments: 95
Production: 93
Lyrics: 100
Vocals: 95

Overall

97

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She & Him “In The Sun” Single Review

March 14, 2010 in Music, Singles RealViews

Lemme start this off by saying: Zooey Deschanel, I love you. M. Ward, I wish I could be half, just half, as cool as you.

Alright, now that we have that out of the way, it’s time to review their new single, In The Sun. I will type as I react.

Piano is nice, I like the catchy beat. Simple drums, easygoing. OMG ZOOEY! Well, it sounds like a cheap, stripped down Camera Obscura. Hmm. Okay, let’s continue. Nice parallelism in the lyrics, however they seem to be cheap rhymes and a sad attempt at teenage simplicity. Between the genius of M. Ward and Zooey, I would think the lyrics to be much more clever, to be much more upbeat. Okay, bridge. Buildup, drum fill…same thing? This is getting kind of repetitive. It sounds like the guitar is trying to break out. I feel like I’m stuck in an underdeveloped cross between the Cure and Camera Obscura now. Hmm. And it’s over.

Okay, I’m not going to say I hated the song, but there is a little more I disliked than I enjoyed. Most prominently, it seriously sounded like I was listening to a pre-string section, underdeveloped Camera Obscura demo of sorts. While that might not be bad, whenever I think of Twee, I expect to be swept away in drama in a musical tidal wave of depression with an upbeat melody and great voice. She & Him seem to have the upbeat melody and the basic, cutesy lyrics to make it happen, but I’m really just not feeling the simplicity of their sound. While a lot of people crave that folksy, diy sound, it just doesn’t sound right with this song. Don’t get me wrong, I love bands like Good Old War, Noah and the Whale, Planet Earth, and the like, but this just doesn’t do it for me.

All in all, listening to this single was like eating a stick of celery. While I don’t mind it, it doesn’t do anything for me. There is better.

REPORT CARD

Instruments: 93

Production: 84

Lyrics: 65

Vocals: 80

OVERALL

72

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Lady Gaga ft. Beyonce “Telephone” Single Review

March 13, 2010 in Music, Singles RealViews

Who doesn’t know Lady Gaga’s synth-driven style by now? Lady Gaga’s latest, however, ditches her winning formula for a stripped down, acoustic approach – that is, for the first 20 seconds and it’s synth madness all over again! Now, that’s not necessarily a bad thing but the acoustic intro left me wanting to hear a more subtle song instead of the booming beat that it explodes into.

The second verse is very catchy as Lady Gaga delivers in a fast-paced manner and Beyonce’s contribution is forgettable (almost forgot to include her in the review!). “Telephone” is nowhere near as good as Lady Gaga’s best or even her prior single “Bad Romance”. The chorus gets very repetitive before your first listen is even through. It’s serviceable, but nothing that’ll see many repeats from me.

REPORT CARD

Instruments: 60
Production: 80
Lyrics: 50
Vocals: 70

OVERALL

63

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Gorillaz “Stylo” Single Review

March 12, 2010 in Music, Singles RealViews

Ah, it’s so good to see Damon Albarn and his cartoon crew back for another round. “Stylo” is a strange song in that it sounds like a departure from their older stuff, yet it also feels very familiar. On my first listen, I couldn’t help but feel underwhelmed. There’s really no catchy hook to sink your teeth into but, upon further listening, I grew to appreciate the bouncy bass, the vocals from Bobby Womack, and the muted delivery of hip-hop star Mos Def.”Stylo” definitely lacks that instant appeal factor that “Clint Eastwood” and “Feel Good, Inc.” had and if you give it enough listens, you’ll nod your head along to the track sooner or later.

REPORT CARD

Instruments: 70
Production: 90
Lyrics: 78
Vocals: 80

OVERALL

79

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Terrible Tuesday I- “Baby” Justin Beiber ft. Ludacris

March 9, 2010 in Singles RealViews, Thoughts

Terrible Tuesday:

Everything you never need to check out, because it sucks. I’m taking the hit for the team.

Alright let’s start with the facts: Justin Bieber is 16 years of age, Canadian, and has just recently released a single titled, very cleverly, “Baby,” featuring Ludacris.

This track is a recycled pop song that I swear I heard back in the 90′s.  The beat is incredibly simple, with nothing redeeming about it. At least Lil’ Wayne has decent beats to back up his bullshit. Just saying.

And Ludacris? Really? Where the fuck has that guy been? I haven’t heard anything from him since that shitty track from Fast and Furious, or whatever.

What has this world come too? The kid repeats the same fucking phrase seven goddamn times a chorus. And for the record, there are nine sections, not including Ludacris’ part. Out of those nine sections, only four include him singing/saying SHIT. THAT’S THE SAME PHRASE 35 TIMES! As soon as this kid’s balls drop, his agent is gonna kill himself. As soon as his balls drop, I’m throwing a party, because maybe we won’t be subject to this UTTER SHIT.

I really wish I could say this track had any redeeming quality, such as musicianship, clever lyrics, a sexy girl voice in the background, anything, but nothing can save it. I don’t enjoy hating on kids younger than me, but this is what is ruining the music industry. I wasn’t too worried with the Amy Winehouses and Lady Gagas of the world, because at least they were doing something interesting. This kid is attempting to revive the N*SYNC/Backstreet Boys era. We can only hope the world of 14 year old girls goes back to reading Twilight because even that is a step up from Justin Bieber.

If I could grade lower, I would. They need to create an entirely new system for this single.

REPORT CARD

Instruments: 50

Production: 50

Lyrics: 50

Vocals: 50

OVERALL

40

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Blakroc “Ain’t Nothing Like You” Single Review

March 4, 2010 in Singles RealViews

There are many artists who have tried the whole rap-rock formula but not many that succeeded. Either they have lackluster “rock” beats (think Lil Wayne’s “Rebirth” album) to back up the rap, or the rock-age is fine, but the rapping isn’t quite up to snuff(think of Limp Bizkit’s “rapping”). Well, Blakroc hits the balance just right and some. Despite “Ain’t Nothing Like You” having a bluesy guitar dominating the track (thanks to The Black Keys), it still has the swagger and grit that defines the underground scene. Mos Def takes the song to another level with his catchy singing while Jim Jones provides the backbone with a solid delivery in the verses. Jim Jones really isn’t considered a top-tier emcee but he does a great job here. Make sure you listen with the bass on 10.

REPORT CARD

Instruments: 94
Production: 90
Lyrics: 82
Vocals: 90

OVERALL
93

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