http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45182000/jpg/_45182049_bf5ceb9d-5cdd-4893-be05-785da4c84e64.jpg
i am a bard. mock me not.
― Daniel, Esq., Monday, 15 March 2010 03:14 (fourteen years ago) link
Sting can put together some nice chord progressions and melody, but the guy took all of the balls out of the rhythm section during his solo career (maybe the first album excepted). Being a kid that loved the Police, it was weird being a fan that slowly became repulsed. I suppose people that dug the Faces and the Jeff Beck Group probably had a similar feeling with Rod Stewart (but at least the change was blatent and he was fun).
― earlnash, Monday, 15 March 2010 03:31 (fourteen years ago) link
Ok Soto, now you're taking this love of the well-made 1980s studio pop-rock song waaay too far. Next poll: Best Sounding Espresso Machine.
Also, is this true?:
college students listened to El Stingo through '94 at least
I think there was some bleed over from the Adult Contemporary chart. Or Adult Album Alternative. Which is what he was from the solo git, no?
― Kevin John Bozelka, Monday, 15 March 2010 03:58 (fourteen years ago) link
"They Dance Alone". His best ever solo moment.
― Tied Up In Geir (Geir Hongro), Monday, 15 March 2010 10:09 (fourteen years ago) link
Englishman In New York is pretty much the only solo Sting I like.
― dog latin, Monday, 15 March 2010 10:19 (fourteen years ago) link
Ok Soto, now you're taking this love of the well-made 1980s studio pop-rock song waaay too far.
I don't love it -- I wanted to poll El Stingo.
― The Magnificent Colin Firth (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 15 March 2010 12:06 (fourteen years ago) link
I suppose people that dug the Faces and the Jeff Beck Group probably had a similar feeling with Rod Stewart (but at least the change was blatent and he was fun).
OTM
― the mighty the mighty BOHANNON (m coleman), Monday, 15 March 2010 12:07 (fourteen years ago) link
I guess "All This Time", though I remember being surprised by how much play it got on my local "alt rock" station at the time. But I shouldn't have been: they heavily promoted Peter Gabriel's Us at the time, and Sarah McLaughlin, both in a similar adult-y neighborhood I think.
― Most important performer of our generation: (Euler), Monday, 15 March 2010 12:08 (fourteen years ago) link
Being a kid that loved the Police, it was weird being a fan that slowly became repulsed.
otm.
i was kinda glad when he did the three amigos thing with bryan adams and rod stewart, because i felt like i'd been contractually released from ever paying attention to him again.
― hellzapoppa (tipsy mothra), Monday, 15 March 2010 13:09 (fourteen years ago) link
^^^^^truest thing ever spoken on ILX
― Sean Carruthers, Monday, 15 March 2010 21:54 (fourteen years ago) link
oh c'mon -- they did it all for love.
― The Magnificent Colin Firth (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 15 March 2010 21:57 (fourteen years ago) link
i'd ask what "thing" you're referring to, but i think i'm happier and more content not knowing about it.
― Daniel, Esq., Monday, 15 March 2010 22:37 (fourteen years ago) link
happier, more productive, comfortable, not drinking too much, * * * *getting on better with your associate employee contemporaries , at ease, * * * * (no bad dreams)
― Daniel, Esq., Monday, 15 March 2010 22:38 (fourteen years ago) link
somewhere post-Dream of the Blue Turtles (ie, high school) I realized what horrible music this guy makes and I just can't abide him. So much so that my wife has to listen to her Police box set when I'm not home.
― Get the Flaps Out (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 15 March 2010 22:41 (fourteen years ago) link
Let's make it aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall for one and all for loooooooooove
― We should have called Suzie and Bobby (NickB), Monday, 15 March 2010 22:41 (fourteen years ago) link
my wife has to listen to her Police box set when I'm not home
yeah, i have that box-set. i like a lot of the songs, but i can't bring myself to listen to it.
― Daniel, Esq., Monday, 15 March 2010 22:56 (fourteen years ago) link
goin for "be still my beating heart"
― hobbes, Monday, 15 March 2010 23:09 (fourteen years ago) link
Sue me, but I still like "Fortress Around Your Heart"
― Alex in NYC, Monday, 15 March 2010 23:52 (fourteen years ago) link
That the Police were better than solo Sting is a fact too obvious to restate but in this case it instructs us, reliably, to vote for the one song on here that sounds like a good Police single, "Fortress Around Your Heart."
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Tuesday, 16 March 2010 02:16 (fourteen years ago) link
Suggest Ban Permalinkdr. seuss is a better lyricist than sting.― Daniel, Esq., Sunday, March 14, 2010 9:54 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark
dr. seuss is a better lyricist than sting.
― Daniel, Esq., Sunday, March 14, 2010 9:54 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark
There might not be a rock lyricist better than Dr. Seuss. For sure at most 5.
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Tuesday, 16 March 2010 02:17 (fourteen years ago) link
i don't think FAYH sounds anything like the police, but i (reluctantly) admit it's a good song.
― Daniel, Esq., Tuesday, 16 March 2010 02:19 (fourteen years ago) link
Fortress Around your Heart still would have been better with Andy Summers putting some of that creamy chorus guitar around it. He would have eaten that chord progression for breakfast.
― earlnash, Tuesday, 16 March 2010 02:27 (fourteen years ago) link
agreed.
― Daniel, Esq., Tuesday, 16 March 2010 02:29 (fourteen years ago) link
Ha! Is it the modern lot of wives, listening to the Police box set only when their husband is away? I qualify! It must be how he feels when he watches pornography when I'm not around, kind of dirty but also relieved.
― How to Make an American Quit (Abbott), Tuesday, 16 March 2010 02:32 (fourteen years ago) link
sting is much more sorid than pornography.
― Daniel, Esq., Tuesday, 16 March 2010 02:35 (fourteen years ago) link
sting is horrible.
Sting pornography would be the worst.
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 16 March 2010 02:38 (fourteen years ago) link
It probably would last a long time.
― earlnash, Tuesday, 16 March 2010 02:43 (fourteen years ago) link
http://imgsrv.nightswithalicecooper.com/image/nwac/UserFiles/Image/sting.jpg
― The Magnificent Colin Firth (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 16 March 2010 02:44 (fourteen years ago) link
I would watch a Sting pornography if, in it, he had intercourse with younger guys who looked sort of like him, like Neil Patrick Harris and Christopher Masterson.
― How to Make an American Quit (Abbott), Tuesday, 16 March 2010 02:44 (fourteen years ago) link
only if you include dinner and a movie in calculating the time.
― Daniel, Esq., Tuesday, 16 March 2010 02:46 (fourteen years ago) link
lol. TS: Sting (professional bard) v. Sting (professional wrestler)
I'm abstaining, though I'd vote for "Desert Rose" (w/ Cheb Mami) if it was on here.
― xhuxk, Tuesday, 16 March 2010 03:09 (fourteen years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyf4KDbnrP0
― The Magnificent Colin Firth (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 16 March 2010 03:11 (fourteen years ago) link
I still reckon his first three solo albums were indeed quite good. Even "Ten Summoner Tales" contained a couple of nice singles, but by then he was completely on his way into ZZZ-land.
― Tied Up In Geir (Geir Hongro), Tuesday, 16 March 2010 10:19 (fourteen years ago) link
Had to stop reading Daniel Levitin's The World in Six Songs after he went on at length about the genius of Russians and referred to "my friend Sting".
― gotanynewsstory? (Dorianlynskey), Tuesday, 16 March 2010 11:25 (fourteen years ago) link
Really hate that Mr Kruschev/Mr Pinochet mister-thing that Sting does.
― We should have called Suzie and Bobby (NickB), Tuesday, 16 March 2010 11:27 (fourteen years ago) link
No Love Is The Seventh Wave, no credibility.
― kornrulez6969, Tuesday, 16 March 2010 13:24 (fourteen years ago) link
oh lord, "Russians" is the most embarrassing song in the world that isn't "They Dance Alone"
― smoking cigarette shades? it doesn't even make any sense. (HI DERE), Tuesday, 16 March 2010 13:28 (fourteen years ago) link
Love is a big fat river in flood
btw this is very very gross
― smoking cigarette shades? it doesn't even make any sense. (HI DERE), Tuesday, 16 March 2010 13:29 (fourteen years ago) link
You really should read the rest of those lyrics I linked. Feel the revulsion!
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 16 March 2010 13:30 (fourteen years ago) link
"love is stronger than justice" is pretty cool music-wise; all that shit about burritos, bandidos and "ethical stuff" needs to die, though
― hobbes, Friday, 19 March 2010 05:11 (fourteen years ago) link
gah nevermind, just listened to it for the first time in like 10 years and it's totally unredeemable. need to wash my ears out w/some bizcuit now
― hobbes, Friday, 19 March 2010 05:22 (fourteen years ago) link
Maybe because it's embarrassing, I voted for "Russians" -- a gorgeous (cribbed) melody, the clunkiest of lyrics, that new dad feeling along with all its attendant earnestness, all those "misters"... what's not to love?
― Lostandfound, Friday, 19 March 2010 06:40 (fourteen years ago) link
cribbed from what?
― take me to your lemur (ledge), Friday, 19 March 2010 09:46 (fourteen years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wf5w-PP6UQo
― Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Farting in Space (NickB), Friday, 19 March 2010 11:44 (fourteen years ago) link
ok now i'm less guilty about my secret fondness for 'russians'. see, i didn't even confess it till now. lostandfound otm iow.
― take me to your lemur (ledge), Friday, 19 March 2010 11:47 (fourteen years ago) link
How would history had differed if he'd used the Trololo melody.
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 19 March 2010 12:18 (fourteen years ago) link
How can I save my little boy from Oppenheimer's deadly trololololo?
― Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Farting in Space (NickB), Friday, 19 March 2010 12:24 (fourteen years ago) link
I like my toast done on one side.
Eh? Is this considered an English affectation?
― The Oort Locker (Tom D.), Friday, 19 March 2010 12:25 (fourteen years ago) link
Doogie Does Stingus
― "...And the Gods Socially Distanced" (C. Grisso/McCain), Wednesday, 17 June 2020 18:05 (three years ago) link
― Daniel, Esq., Sunday, March 14, 2010 10:14 PM (thirteen years ago)
LMAO
I was surprised to find out that Ten Summoner's Tales was Down Beat's album of the year - don't know if that was typical of them back then, but I gave them the benefit of the doubt and gave it a good listen as I only knew the two hit singles. As jazz or pop, it couldn't have been a more ludicrous pick. The only unfamiliar tracks that had some appeal were "Seven Days" (I can see this being a fun song for a jazz singer to cover - rhythmically it's pretty engaging) and "Shape of My Heart" (appropriately shapely acoustic guitar part - that may have been his guitarist/co-writer's doing). The rest was like getting through a visit to the dentist.
― birdistheword, Wednesday, 3 May 2023 18:34 (one year ago) link
My dentist plays Bad Bunny and Sheryl Crow, as I learned last week, so we may have to retire that trope.
"Shape of My Heart" has been a staple of hip-hop producers looking for a pretty sample.
― the dreaded dependent claus (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 3 May 2023 18:38 (one year ago) link
LOL - mine actually plays a lot of '50s and '60s jazz (big Miles Davis fan). Whenever I go, he does a thorough job of cleaning, which means cleaning below every bit of my gumline and setting off every nerve - so if you can picture what that's like, sitting there and gripping the armrest, waiting for the process to run its course and be over, that's what I had in mind.
― birdistheword, Wednesday, 3 May 2023 18:58 (one year ago) link
Still digging for these, but here's the opening track on Nas's second album (I should probably give that another try):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3CGu0ezd68
Also the Roots's "Break You Off" - sounds like they re-recorded it as a keyboard part, but I guess it could be buried in there as a guide.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPcwUu_gcqo
A blog post from 2018 with more:
https://hypebeast.com/2018/6/sting-shape-of-my-heart-sad-rap-20-years-nas-the-message-juice-wrld-lucid-dreams
― birdistheword, Wednesday, 3 May 2023 19:08 (one year ago) link
It Was Written? Most of it is marvelous.
― the dreaded dependent claus (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 3 May 2023 19:18 (one year ago) link
"Seven Days" is indeed very intrguiging, I just hate the lyrics so much I can't listen to it. the chorus is fine at least.
I think I posted this in another thread but one really nice deep cut is "The Lazarus Heart" from Nothing like the Sun. I guess it's not a deep cut when it's the first track on the album, but still it's not a tune I've ever really heard anyone talk about. Sounds like something people would be crazy for...if it was done by Peter Gabriel
― frogbs, Wednesday, 3 May 2023 23:35 (one year ago) link
That whole album is great, peak adult contemporary. Yes, even the song Soto hates.
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 3 May 2023 23:41 (one year ago) link
Has Sting ever written great lyrics? I want to say no, even with the Police, and I love their singles (as well as a good portion of their catalog - Zenyatta Mondatta especially). I kind of wish he was paired with a gifted lyricist because whenever he does anything with the written word, whether it's lyrics or liner notes, it can be pretty awful. I probably pay far less attention to the words of his songs than the actual music for that reason. Jon Pareles argued that "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free" is a terrible song on the basis of its lyrics: "a postgrammatical, T-shirt sentiment and a denunciation of possessiveness that would be a lot more convincing issued by someone other than a millionaire." Maybe, but musically it's pretty engaging and would have sounded right at home with the Police.
― birdistheword, Thursday, 4 May 2023 02:56 (one year ago) link
I think he's written some great lines
― frogbs, Thursday, 4 May 2023 03:04 (one year ago) link
to me the thing he's most guilty of is using a lot of dumb filler words and nonsense phrases which makes his lyrics come off like shitty childrens books. "so they danced for his pleasure/with a joy you could not measure". like what does that even mean? congrats on making the rhyme though
― frogbs, Thursday, 4 May 2023 03:10 (one year ago) link
a denunciation of possessiveness that would be a lot more convincing issued by someone other than a millionaireIt’s about “possessiveness” in a relationship (not in a material sense), right? Not sure why a millionaire can’t express that sentiment…
― Are You There God? It's a-Me, Mario (morrisp), Thursday, 4 May 2023 03:12 (one year ago) link
xp LOL
One exception (at least for me): I know "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" got trashed in the Police thread, but lyrically it's kind of the perfect Police song for me. On some level, it's acknowledging his deficiencies as a lyricist and having a laugh on him.
― birdistheword, Thursday, 4 May 2023 03:13 (one year ago) link
Re. Ten Summoners Tales, I think the fact that it was a warm, unpretentious record (for Sting anyway) with two very big singles led a lot of people to overrate it at the time and overlook that a lot of the writing was pretty lightweight (tho I’d argue “It’s Probably Me” is a cut above a lot of the material here). Jazzers really loved the playing, particularly Vinnie Colaiuta’s. So the combo explains why Downbeat rated it so highly.
― Naive Teen Idol, Friday, 5 May 2023 01:31 (one year ago) link
I hear ya, but you'd think there was a better consensus pick in the jazz world. Joshua Redman's debut came out the same year - maybe they didn't want to pile on the hype for someone who just got established as a big name star, but I think it would've held up as a much better mainstream pick.
― birdistheword, Friday, 5 May 2023 01:44 (one year ago) link
(same month actually - just a few weeks later)