I listened and here's my take: Lorde looks a lot like a young Michelle Gomez
― trap door to hell opens underneath (rob), Sunday, 13 June 2021 16:49 (two years ago) link
i listened to it and it is really quite a bit better than i expected. it does truly threaten to cross into some of the same awful territory as some of its comparison points noted above but for me i think it does stay on the acceptable side
― dyl, Sunday, 13 June 2021 17:26 (two years ago) link
I know this is ILX and all but I find it funny how much thought and theorizing and research/googling is going into a song that barely justifies its running time
― self-clowning oven (Murgatroid), Sunday, June 13, 2021 9:12 AM (four hours ago) bookmarkflaglink
the rest of the internet is doing this way more than we are
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Sunday, 13 June 2021 20:56 (two years ago) link
has this thread even touched on the potential social commentary of the video... ugh...........
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Sunday, 13 June 2021 20:57 (two years ago) link
doing something that sucks on purpose is subversive man
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Sunday, 13 June 2021 20:58 (two years ago) link
that's the first set of posts so far to almost tempt me into checking it out tbf
― intern at pelican brief consulting (Simon H.), Sunday, 13 June 2021 20:59 (two years ago) link
"has this thread even touched on the potential social commentary of the video... ugh..........."
was there social commentary in the video? I barely paid attention to it.
― akm, Sunday, 13 June 2021 22:07 (two years ago) link
A very clunky, calculated attempt at being an early contender for Song Of The Summer that doesn’t quite land.
“I throw my cellular device in the water” line is really weird. Strong Boomer energy there. Either that, or I’m so out of touch that Gen Z are now calling their phones or iPads or whatever “cellular devices”.
― triggercut, Monday, 14 June 2021 06:13 (two years ago) link
Loaded was also the song I first thought of when hearing it, and then there was one other similar sounding song that had been on the tip of my mind-tongue for a couple of days and I just realised it’s Take Your Mama by Scissor Sisters.
― triggercut, Monday, 14 June 2021 06:21 (two years ago) link
xp maybe that term is meant to highlight a phone’s “cold” artificially, or something?
― like a d4mn sociopath! (morrisp), Monday, 14 June 2021 06:43 (two years ago) link
dropped my cellphone down belowI’m so high it makes my brain whirl
― assert (matttkkkk), Monday, 14 June 2021 07:10 (two years ago) link
Wasn't there another recent song that nodded to "Loaded?" Vampire Weekend?
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 14 June 2021 12:11 (two years ago) link
finally listened to this.bit crap isn't it?
― A viking of frowns, (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Monday, 14 June 2021 12:20 (two years ago) link
xp yeah vampire weekend's "harmony hall"
― ufo, Monday, 14 June 2021 12:31 (two years ago) link
why has she stopped singing fairly well and adopted the annoying affectations of a thousand much worse singers?
― A viking of frowns, (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Monday, 14 June 2021 12:39 (two years ago) link
finally watched/listened
it's nicely mixed I guess? her voice is really not suited to this sort of hook at all and the takeoff is completely botched
did not detect any politics whatsoever in the song or video tbh
― intern at pelican brief consulting (Simon H.), Tuesday, 15 June 2021 18:34 (two years ago) link
Simon H, politics detector
― self-clowning oven (Murgatroid), Tuesday, 15 June 2021 18:37 (two years ago) link
when she rejects the golden horn she's obviously eschewing the gold standard in favor of cryptocurrency
― Muswell Hillbilly Elegy (President Keyes), Tuesday, 15 June 2021 18:47 (two years ago) link
no wonder she's also endorsing solar power
― trap door to hell opens underneath (rob), Tuesday, 15 June 2021 18:54 (two years ago) link
i am curious why this hits some kind of must-hear tipping point that other pop stars dont. Whats with the lorde crossover that didnt happen w like idk ... selena gomez? To me the pop songs doja cat is putting out are much better and she's a much more engaging pop performer on other levels too.
― ILX’s bad boy (D-40), Tuesday, 15 June 2021 19:51 (two years ago) link
and its not like we DONT talk about that stuff. but this lorde song was like a 'broke the internet' type moment everyone was talking about and i dont really get it -- even prior to the song being underwhelming i dont get it
― ILX’s bad boy (D-40), Tuesday, 15 June 2021 19:52 (two years ago) link
i think part of it is that she just doesn't release music that often
― the mai tai quinn (voodoo chili), Tuesday, 15 June 2021 19:53 (two years ago) link
Yeah, she's a major artist and it's been four years since her last thing.
― like a d4mn sociopath! (morrisp), Tuesday, 15 June 2021 19:57 (two years ago) link
riding a wave of goodwill from the last one, New Jersey style
― Mr. Cacciatore (Moodles), Tuesday, 15 June 2021 19:59 (two years ago) link
I also think it was designed to be Zeitgeist-y, and obv pulled it off.
― like a d4mn sociopath! (morrisp), Tuesday, 15 June 2021 20:02 (two years ago) link
(despite being not-great)
cover art playing into that as well
― Mr. Cacciatore (Moodles), Tuesday, 15 June 2021 20:03 (two years ago) link
it's more than that, i get what deej is saying. she appeals to a... certain set of ppl who tweet a lot because she seems cool, approachable, like she could be friends w/ music writers, but is (or was at one point) also an A-list pop star. there is a perception of authenticity (both as a personality and musically) that drives enthusiasm about her w/in a certain discursive bubble. that authenticity used to be matched by the wider world circa "royals," but generally speaking on a global A list level the world has moved on but music writers in the rock critic lineage have hung on. it's funny for lorde to "break the internet" (music writer twitter) at the same time as ppl go thru another round of poptimist handwringing bcuz lorde is in essence a pop star who is flattered by attributes we associate w/ rockism. it's pretty easy to see
― J0rdan S., Tuesday, 15 June 2021 20:11 (two years ago) link
lorde has established some sort of auteur pop cred (probably a little undeservingly she's not that interesting imo) & melodrama was generally really well-received critically and by online pop nerds even if it was a commercial flop
i thought her debut album was pretty bad, but there was the same level of excitement around melodrama and then it at least kind of delivered?
― ufo, Tuesday, 15 June 2021 20:17 (two years ago) link
can we put "less engaging that Doja Cat" on the sticker for the eventual album
― 80's hair metal , and good praise music ! (DJP), Tuesday, 15 June 2021 20:24 (two years ago) link
You guys may v well be right (and are obv plugged into this stuff), tho I also don't think any random comeback single by her would have had the same "impact." There's something specific to this song and (yes) the cover art.
― like a d4mn sociopath! (morrisp), Tuesday, 15 June 2021 20:27 (two years ago) link
It's a Whole Vibe™
― like a d4mn sociopath! (morrisp), Tuesday, 15 June 2021 20:29 (two years ago) link
are you still talking about the cover art or
― 80's hair metal , and good praise music ! (DJP), Tuesday, 15 June 2021 20:30 (two years ago) link
I can tell you that my daughters (15 and 19) revere Lorde as a young auteur with integrity, in the pantheon with Mitski and Billie Eilish. They’ve been waiting for this return for 4 years and are deeply underwhelmed.
― assert (matttkkkk), Tuesday, 15 June 2021 20:34 (two years ago) link
There's something specific to this song
i guess there's very much a feeling of wasted potential to it? that makes it a little more interesting to discuss than if it had just been a bland failure or something. or more of the same in a decent but uninteresting way
― ufo, Tuesday, 15 June 2021 20:37 (two years ago) link
but... it is just a bland failure, the issue is because it's LORDE people are acting confused about her putting out a boring song as a single instead of burying it on the back half of the album
― 80's hair metal , and good praise music ! (DJP), Tuesday, 15 June 2021 20:38 (two years ago) link
xp I agree - we've certainly gotten a lot of mileage here out of discussing how it sort of reaches and fails, its relation to similar & more "successful" tracks, etc.
― like a d4mn sociopath! (morrisp), Tuesday, 15 June 2021 21:07 (two years ago) link
Mitski rules
― brimstead, Tuesday, 15 June 2021 21:33 (two years ago) link
"Stoned at the Nail Salon"
― self-clowning oven (Murgatroid), Monday, 21 June 2021 18:42 (two years ago) link
"secrets from a girl (who's seen it all)"
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Monday, 21 June 2021 18:47 (two years ago) link
Wut
According to a press release, as an alternative to being released on CD, Solar Power will be available as “an eco-conscious Music Box,” which has visual content, handwritten notes, photos, and a download card. “I decided early on in the process of making this album that I also wanted to create an environmentally kind, forward-thinking alternative to the CD,” Lorde said in a statement. “I wanted this Music Box product to be similar in size, shape and price to a CD, to live alongside it in a retail environment, but be something which stands apart and that’s committed to the evolving nature of a modern album.”
― search term: buttrock (morrisp), Monday, 21 June 2021 18:50 (two years ago) link
I mean I wouldn’t buy it anyway, but digital download sucks ass.
― search term: buttrock (morrisp), Monday, 21 June 2021 18:51 (two years ago) link
the download card gives you a link to Mariah's Music Box instead
― self-clowning oven (Murgatroid), Monday, 21 June 2021 18:53 (two years ago) link
theoretically i love this idea and would love for someone to do something interesting with it, but ultimately lol @ $22 for a box full of paper
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Monday, 21 June 2021 18:54 (two years ago) link
Sounds like what Biophilia Records has been doing for several years. (They send out CD-Rs as promos, though, which kinda subverts the point.)
― but also fuck you (unperson), Monday, 21 June 2021 18:56 (two years ago) link
this isn't a bad idea honestly, j-pop and k-pop artists already incentivize their fans to buy their physical media by including collectible items, lorde is just taking it a step further by removing the physical media lol
is $22 a high price for what's essentially a scrapbook, sure, but it does price in the cost of the digital album as well.
― the mai tai quinn (voodoo chili), Monday, 21 June 2021 19:03 (two years ago) link
tbh it has grown on me since i made fun of it
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Monday, 21 June 2021 19:06 (two years ago) link
When an artist big enough to still sell physical media decides only to sell MP3s, I fear it further normalizes/promotes the devaluing of audio quality. But sadly I may be fighting a losing battle there.
― search term: buttrock (morrisp), Monday, 21 June 2021 19:07 (two years ago) link
making out you're ecologically friendly by selling and shipping any sort of physical media is charlatanry of a profound order lmao
― imago, Monday, 21 June 2021 19:09 (two years ago) link
what if it's all made from bamboo
― the mai tai quinn (voodoo chili), Monday, 21 June 2021 19:10 (two years ago) link