East Bay View (a blog about several things)

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Friday, July 25, 2008

Hit count: Listen to my works, ye mighty, and despair

Rihanna, "Take a Bow": This Stargate production, which Wikipedia alleges is secretly a Prince song, is safely outside Rihanna's interpretive range. That's for the best: a better singer (like Prince) may have made it too bilious to be palatable. Few besides the irreplaceable Beyonce could've got the balance between sorrow and spite right.

KAT-TUN, "Don't U Ever Stop": From the album KAT-TUN III QUEEN OF PIRATES. I'll repeat that: from the album KAT-TUN III QUEEN OF PIRATES. I love these guys, but every time the glass breaks I'm waiting for Steve Austin to come in and stunner them.

Estelle ft. Kanye West, "American Boy": Brits never have and never will understand the U.S., so don't blame Estelle for not realising how far New York and Los Angeles are from each other. Angelenos never have and never will understand New York, so give will.i.am credit for making the misunderstanding interesting. Kanye, like Chicago, seems extraneous, but this is a era for uniting not dividing, or for hope, or something.

Coldplay, "Viva la Vida"; "Violet Hill": The real plagiarism of "Viva la Vida" was from Alizee (since they've probably never heard that Joe Satriani solo). At least Chris Martin had a good idea for a song: Head of State turned street cleaner reflects on life, prefers former career. Martin doesn't exactly spin this into "Ozymandias", but a concept gets you most of the way in pop: it's just not necessarily a better concept than "teen girl in wetsuit gets wet". Still, "Viva la Vida" cuts "Violet Hill". In the latter, Coldplay prove they're a Serious Band by horribly misconstructing the dirge, with a solo that should be a riff, a one-and-a-half bar chorus, and a fizzling ending. If this is conscientious objection, give me "Onward Christian Soldiers".

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