Bruno Mars/Smeezingtons singles poll

I do not think that that is my observation, but thanks as always for the condescension!

just saying, "women like [male pop singer] a lot more than men do" is not a truth bomb in and of itself, especially if you're not actually going to share your promised ideas about it.

In an unstable world some dude's enduring hatred of Fuck You is something I can rely on.

i'm kind of indifferent to it, really, i just think it's hilarious that it's such an acclaimed song and love to troll people about it

lots of ilx posters basically dislike it, i think

also, america (and britain) love a lot of shitty songs

5.87: Rate Cee-Lo's "F**k You" out of ten

I loved it the first time I heard it, and so did America.
I loved it the first time I heard it, and so did America.
I loved it the first time I heard it, and so did America.
I loved it the first time I heard it, and so did America.
I loved it the first time I heard it, and so did America.
I loved it the first time I heard it, and so did America.
I loved it the first time I heard it, and so did America.
I loved it the first time I heard it, and so did America.
I loved it the first time I heard it, and so did America.
I loved it the first time I heard it, and so did America.

Why do you hate America, some dude?

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g-HfIkCzJ7c/TeOQ_z-s0eI/AAAAAAAAFfc/_wJzb8DS-zo/s1600/statue-of-liberty-crying.jpg

not that we need to keep re-visiting this but to clarify my earlier statements in a brief and only semi-trolling way:

1 Several female people I know focus on Bruno Mars' doo-wop voice and old-school trappings (vocal harmonies, dancing, hair) and see him as more original than, say, the average person on ILX or this thread

2 I have seen people actively angry at him for these things here, don't know what's different between the way he does this and say the retro thing of Raphael Saadiq / Janelle Monae / etc.

3 People also seem hurt that he is a very successful singer and songwriter and producer; I don't care if people don't like his songs -- I obv don't mind a few of them and actively like others -- but are we really going back to days of "fuck that guy he's a sellout" or "authenticity check" or the like?

4 I would hope people (and esp that tall drink of water some dude) wd know the minor facetiousness of my earlier comment about America but I still don't know if this is actively not liking the song or passively being pissed about success of said song

5 Repeat point 4 except substitute "Bruno Mars" for "the song"

how do you focus on his retro aesthetic AND see him as original? idgi

also i don't think what people dislike about him or his songs, here or elsewhere, has much to do with the old school aesthetic. the songs that get the most hate ("The Lazy Song," "Billionaire," etc.) aren't particularly old fashioned.

also where is the sellout/authenticity thing even coming from? strawmen galore over here. i think people are in general agreement that dude is talented, has a nice voice and can write a catchy tune, the dischord mainly has to do with what he actually does with that talent.

XP In re: "originality": because instead of doing what most other people are doing (hard-ass Chris Brown aggressive dancing etc) he's doing something different and not seen as much(James Brown / Sam Cooke influence) etc. Not everyone has to be Bjork to seem original yknow.

That's a fair point about "Lazy Song" and "Billionaire" (the crappiness of which is as much about Travis McCoy's basic unlikability), but doesn't address what I think is the main think people (except you!) like about "Fuck You": it sounds like an old kind of song, but it has profanities in the chorus (Lily Allen callback) AND the bridge where Cee-Lo gets E-mo in an Old-schoo way

I have also just reached the limit of me caring about all this

BUT AMERICA WILL CARRY THE TORCH FOR ME

fair enough. i don't even see where any of those bullet points even ties into the thing about women liking him more than men, but i'm not gonna drag it out if your interest in this is even more quickly evaporating than mine.

point #1 was the relevant one here. to WAY overgeneralize (like I have already done so why not continue down that path) I don't hear/see/read any women in the real world talking about "I hate that guy's guts" or "he's shitting all over his own talent" or "Grenade? more like Lemonade haha am I right?" instead, they buy the records, they actually enjoy his performances on TV, etc.

funny thing is i WANT to like him more than i do, he reminds me of a lot of people i'm a fan of, like he could be a less R&B ne-yo or a more pop patrick stump, and he seems likable enough, but his music just has very low hit rate for me.

Well, he's pretty young, right? Plenty of time for him.

yeah he could improve with time. i guess there's a bit of a suspicion that people who are THAT successful that early in their career tend not to mess with the formula from there, whether or not that's really true.

man i really dislike this bruno mars person

I mostly like him, except "The Lazy Song" make me want to watch him die a slow, incredibly painful and brutal death, preferably in front of all of his loved ones

"yound wild & free" is ok, and yes it is more than superficially similar to "toot it & boot it."

otherwise i really can't stand all of these.

I love Grenade because it is so ridiculous and floridly melodramatic, but that's because it is funny to me.

He's the thinking-man's Jason DeRulo.

"Fuck You" - This is just a fun, bitter song. It hits all the same buttons as "Hey Ya!" so I understand why so many people here hate it.

"Right Round" - This song is pretty much wholly indefensible but the chorus cracks me up like a mug so I like it more than I normally would.

"It Will Rain" - This is slightly melodramatic but a good enough song.

"Grenade" - I unreservedly love this song. It's so ridiculously wounded and earnest.

"Just The Way You Are" - This song describes perfectly how I feel about my wife. I pretty much pity anyone who can't share in the sunny joy shooting out of this song; life is too short to not appreciate someone else's uncomplicated happiness.

"Nothin' On You" - see "Just The Way You Are"

"Rocketeer" - I've heard this song maybe three times. It has a nice melody but beyond that I have zero opinion on it.

"Billionaire" - I am not sure how a song that says "if I had a shit-ton of money, I would feed a bunch of people, try to help disaster victims, then split the rest with family and friends after I bought myself a couple of cars" is worthy of criticism on a socio-economic level; are you maybe overthinking this?

"Young Wild & Free" - I have heard this song three times. I don't remember how it goes at all but I remember that I loved it every time I heard it.

"The Lazy Song" - This song is Bieber-level irritating. Fucking pustulent unforgivable bullshit raghr fuck everyone for listening to this kill you in yr sleep

I have not heard any of the other songs.

otm about "Just The Way" and "Nothin'," i never really got the hate for those songs because they're so effectively sunny and sweet

well i for one am perfectly okay with hating bruno mars and janelle monae the same amount

"Fuck You" -- done to death on these boards but i'm just sick of it and the sentiment is nasty

"Right Round" -- you'd think a shuffley beat would be up my alley. the bright jokey trancey kind of aesthetic that runs through a lot of pop right now is just not for me. what are we europe? the fuck is with this stuff. (incidentally i think there's a youtube troll meme going on this song where there are dozens of videos with different or deliberately garbage audio)

"It Will Rain" -- smarmy, treacly, plodding, can't stand it

"Grenade" -- see above

"Just The Way You Are" -- see above

"Nothin' On You" -- this has some light charm but in the context of already hating mars it's not enough of a lift i guess. BOB is chattering and grating.

"Wavin' Flag" -- didn't know he was behind this tbh. really bad.

"Mirror" -- i kind of like the beat on this

"Marry You" -- really cheap and cynical

"Lighters" -- just no

"The Lazy Song" -- i'm getting a really heavy private college talent show vibe from this. like i can already hear a million bad covers contained in the original, kind of a thing

"Bow Chicka Wow Wow" -- ha the one bit of fake neal schon almost saves this for a second

"Rocketeer" -- at this point these are like http://www.theonion.com/articles/taco-bells-five-ingredients-combined-in-totally-ne,3781/

"Billionaire" -- see above

"Get Sexy" -- really forced and weak.

"Young, Wild & Free" -- i like this!

the bright jokey trancey kind of aesthetic that runs through a lot of pop right now is just not for me. what are we europe? the fuck is with this stuff.

this is probably overstated considering how much i've liked plenty of gaga, k8y perry and kesha singles. it's the 'jokey' part that gets on my nerves instantly.

well i for one am perfectly okay with hating bruno mars and janelle monae the same amount

― pre-tennis ball head-era chris brown (J0rdan S.), Thursday, February 23, 2012 2:31 PM (9 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

her pompadour alone makes me hate her so much more than bruno and his pompadour

you leave my spiritual little sister alone, dicks

"young, wild & free" would be either no 1 or 2 on my list

does bruno mars sing the hook on this?? can barely tell it's him, thank god

I've heard "Count on You" a few times in the past 48 hours and I'm wondering why it's missing from this list. Unmistakably Mars.

"Fuck You" - This is just a fun, bitter song. It hits all the same buttons as "Hey Ya!" so I understand why so many people here hate it.

Which buttons are those? "Hey Ya" was fresh-sounding the first time I heard it, and despite that it was so hugely overplayed, I never ended up actively hating it.. "Fuck You" made me angry the first time, and every time since.

I loved it the first time I heard it, and so did America. Define "America" please.

"Hey Ya" also isn't bitter.

"Fuck You" - This is just a fun, bitter song. It hits all the same buttons as "Hey Ya!" so I understand why so many people here hate it.

Which buttons are those? "Hey Ya" was fresh-sounding the first time I heard it, and despite that it was so hugely overplayed, I never ended up actively hating it.. "Fuck You" made me angry the first time, and every time since.

I loved it the first time I heard it, and so did America. Define "America" please.

― billstevejim

I guess it just means it was a big hit in Amur'rica. It's not the same thing as being a pop hit elsewhere, if America loves your song it features heavily on all sorts of ads and parodies through the year.

I actually have no idea what he meant, just guessing.

http://militaryresourcedirectory.com/resources/american-flag-heart-clip-art.png

FYI while we're doing the anecdote-as-data thing i knew PLENTY of women who hate bruno mars and think he's pretty much irredeemable

Include me in the list of women who hate him but I don't even see why gender should be a matter of discussion in here tho. The statement could hold true for all pop artists since the beginning of times. Women are generally more open in their love for dumb pop music and rarely hold guilty pleasures.

I've heard "Count on You" a few times in the past 48 hours and I'm wondering why it's missing from this list. Unmistakably Mars.

― Fonz Hour (Eazy), Thursday, February 23, 2012 11:54 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

sorry i limited it to songs that were singles in the US ::shrugs::

Which buttons are those?

Bright, cheery sounding retropop with angry lyrics about a breakup.

"Hey Ya" also isn't bitter.

Have you never listened to the lyrics?

"y'all don't hear me you just wanna dance" is the only genuinely bitter lyric in "Hey Ya"

No prob some dude--maybe it's a new single this week.

Don't y'all think his reggae-ish songs (Lazy included) are more irritating than the R&B ones?

they're pretty cheesy, although i don't know if they're any cheesier than the retro R&B songs (and i'm fine with most of the contemporary R&B-sounding songs)

Bet a lot of dorm action has been underscored with "Just The Way You Are."

that seems like his most housewife-y song imo

this guy is completely indefensible and horrible and I don't know how you can think differently

this isn't the Bieber thread, dude