It's one of those weirdly elemental hooks that could easily have been stumbled upon independently by five different people in the same time frame. Which doesn't preclude the possibility of direct imitation, of course, but it wouldn't surprise me if it were merely an amusing coincidence.
I have serious mixed feelings about the song. As Todd and Mark Grondin have pointed out, the framing is weird and it's hard to tell to what degree the assholery is meant to be off-putting, and the voices here are... well, yeah, but the obsessive stream-of-consciousness detail is way more interesting than one tends to expect from this sort of pop song, and the song architecture is simple but effective.
I dunno, maybe it's my exposure to really freaky music and bizarre stylistic about-faces effecting cultural brain damage over here, but an electronic act best known for a lousy novelty single turning into a viable if bland pop act with serious chart clout, while surprising, isn't all that bad to me. I mean, I would much rather be forced to acknowledge that The Chainsmokers are capable of writing actual hits than pretend that Chris Brown deserves my respect or recognition.
Yeah, the Chainsmokers haven't given me any real reason to hate them the way I do Chris Brown.
Perhaps it's easier to separate artist and art in their case because they (usually) leave the spotlight for other artists (Rozes, Halsey, Phoebe Ryan, Waterbed, etc.), but still. I look at them and think "wow, they kinda seem like jerks," but I look at Chris Brown and I actively want to see his career go down the drain despite knowing it won't happen anytime soon.
(also I actually genuinely like their music, enough that I legally own "Roses"; Chris can be pleasant to listen to but his lyrics often perpetuate the worst kind of chauvinism and I can't get into it)
Which is why I kind of feel uncomfortable with that kind of direct comparison. Two entitled douchenozzles who say catty things about other (often more talented) musicians and make creepy dick jokes are certainly highly unpleasant, but beating the crap out of a woman and consistently showing zero remorse for that and any number of violent, mean-spirited and offensive actions and statements in the wake of that is fucking horrifying. This man should not be allowed a career in show business, or really any career that involves regular human contact.
^ His misogyny permeates his work in a really gross way. Even if I weren't aware of his behaviour, it's just so... eugh.
I can't say I'm fond of... really, anything that I've heard from them (which is slim as is), but did find Todd's begrudging respect somewhat mirroring my own confused contentment with it. This is one of those common cases with me where I could theoretically like the final product, but too many of the components don't work with me; from that seemingly omnipresent style of EDM that I struggle to articulate but seems like something you'd find at a mosh, to all of their individual vocals, to just not liking The Chainsmokers as people much (although I find myself separating them from this track here since it's not filled with particularly noxious or virtuous ideas a la "Blurred Lines"), nothing individually resonates. But it's trying for something, and although it comes across as not all there to me, I like that it is at least them seemingly trying, no less when contrasted with other songs of this ilk.
Man I feel so awkward when I try and talk music, because I'm like, so bad at it, but whatever.
You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
That episode led me to look up the Wittenoom asbestos mine referenced in "Blue Sky Mine"
That shit is terrifying and kept me up till 5 AM
The context of "Beds Are Burning" is also pretty fucked up, but not as viscerally scary to me, which I feel bad about
You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
I should mention that the video itself is quite good, and I'm going to watch it a second time
If anything, Midnight Oil seem like genuinely good people
You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
I think part of it is that he seems somewhat out of his element with most recent pop music
Well yeah, I mean it's obvious, to me anyway, that someone who's really focused on traditional musicianship and songwriting like Todd doesn't really understand a lot of the recent trends in pop.
Not as its own episode, obviously, but explaining the provenance of the key sample in "Paper Planes" is actually kind of important given what M.I.A. is going for.
It is genuinely honestly weird to me that people who think Judeo-Bolshevism Cultural Bolshevism Cultural Marxism is a thing hadn't been shaken off of Kyle's Patreon long ago
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I also have to say that I honestly prefer the original version of this song.
I have serious mixed feelings about the song. As Todd and Mark Grondin have pointed out, the framing is weird and it's hard to tell to what degree the assholery is meant to be off-putting, and the voices here are... well, yeah, but the obsessive stream-of-consciousness detail is way more interesting than one tends to expect from this sort of pop song, and the song architecture is simple but effective.
Perhaps it's easier to separate artist and art in their case because they (usually) leave the spotlight for other artists (Rozes, Halsey, Phoebe Ryan, Waterbed, etc.), but still. I look at them and think "wow, they kinda seem like jerks," but I look at Chris Brown and I actively want to see his career go down the drain despite knowing it won't happen anytime soon.
^ His misogyny permeates his work in a really gross way. Even if I weren't aware of his behaviour, it's just so... eugh.
That shit is terrifying and kept me up till 5 AM
The context of "Beds Are Burning" is also pretty fucked up, but not as viscerally scary to me, which I feel bad about
If anything, Midnight Oil seem like genuinely good people
Not as its own episode, obviously, but explaining the provenance of the key sample in "Paper Planes" is actually kind of important given what M.I.A. is going for.
I would pay $100 if it meant that Todd had to review Wonder fucking Wall. It's technically Oasis' only Top 40 hit. It's a WGWAG.
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead