Tag Archives: Pure Heroine

Music

Okay, I Was Right…Sort of…

So, do you guys remember the copious posts I wrote about Lorde and how her single should and would be “Glory & Gore” from Pure Heroine? (If not, you can read them here and here)  Well, okay, apparently it is…just not here in America….yet.

At the time I wrote those posts, I read that “Glory & Gore” would be impacting radio March 11th.  And I told everyone (including myself) to “keep your ears peeled,” because I was sure I would hear “Glory & Gore” burning up radio just as “Royals” and “Team” had.
The only problem was that “Team” blew up into an even bigger hit (i.e. it received even more radio airplay).  I mean, that’s not technically a problem…not complaining.  But I have yet to hear “Glory & Gore” on the radio, and I listen to the radio a lot (i.e. whenever I was driving to school, which was every day for the past four months).

Following the success of “Team,” it was speculated that “Tennis Court,” the first track of Pure Heroine, would become Lorde’s third single in the States.  In fact, it already was her second single in New Zealand (and I think the rest of the world) where it enjoyed being her second number one single, following “Royals.”  Just to clarify, “Tennis Court” was/is a single around the world, but not in America.  However, I read that Lava/Republic records decided to postpone releasing “Tennis Court” in America given the unexpected fan rush towards “Glory & Gore;” it was used during the Olympics and a commercial for the History Channel show Vikings (read more here).

However, I just read a Billboard article confirming “Tennis Court” to be Lorde’s American followup to “Team:”

Billboard Article

I’m not complaining, “Tennis Court” happened to be #PhillipsSongOfTheDay twice, not an easy feat.   You can read all about that here.  In fact, I think “Tennis Court” may fare better than “Glory & Gore” as “Tennis Court” has such a swirling, infectious chorus.  Also, “Glory & Gore” tends to be more on the nose for the fact that it’s condemning society and media’s obsession with, you guest it, glory and gore.  Which song do you think should be Lorde’s next U.S. single?  Take a listen to both songs below and let us know in the comments!

Listen to “Glory and Gore” by Lorde:

 

“Tennis Court” by Lorde:

Keep your ears peeled for “Tennis Court” on your local radio station!

#PhillipsSongOfTheDay, Music

Tennis Court

The song stuck in my head and on repeat today? “Tennis Court” by Lorde, from Pure Heroine.  As such, this song is, for it’s second time, #PhillipsSongOfTheDay.

This song, like many of Lorde’s other songs, stood out to me upon first listen, but I’m still not entirely sure what it’s about.  I did find this interview with Lorde with VH1 describing the song:

 

Based on this video and further reflection of the lyrics, I personally take the song as being about growing up and trying to find your path in life.  For Lorde, she’s gained a lot of fame and attention for her music, so she has to factor that into her life plan.  For me, I’m not entirely sure what the heck I’m doing next week, let alone in life.  I know what I want to do, but who knows if that will work out.  I think this songs has resonated with me so much because of lyrics like:

“Don’t you think that it’s boring how people talk
Making smart with their words again, well I’m bored
Because I’m doing this for the thrill of it, killin’ it
Never not chasing a million things I want
And I am only as young as the minute is full of it
Getting pumped up on the little bright things I bought
But I know they’ll never own me”

“Baby be the class clown
I’ll be the beauty queen in tears
It’s a new art form showing people how little we care
We’re so happy, even when we’re smilin’ out of fear
Let’s go down to the tennis court, and talk it up like yeah (yeah)”

“I fall apart with all my heart”

“Tennis Court” also has been stuck in my head because, yet again, Joel Little has done a phenomenal job producing the song.  Strong points include the modified “yeah” throughout out the song (e.g. the “yeah” after the lyric “let’s go down to the tennis court and talk it up like yeah”), the swirling synths and beats during the chorus, and Lorde’s overall vocal delivery.  My one criticism of the song would weird/random synth that goes off around 0:05, and continues throughout the song, take a listen:

The best way I can describe the sound is that it’s kind of like that sound the scanner makes at the checkout counter at the grocery store (right?!).  Like I said, I first thought it was random and weird, it stood out like a sour thumb.  But, now, I think it adds to the beat and rhythm of the song, especially after the second chorus around the bridge (2:07-2:33).  I personally would not have thought to have added that to the production of the song, but it’s not horrible.

Random fact, my iTunes is playing the song "Paper Aeroplane" by KT Tunstall after "Tennis Court," it makes a kind of delightful transition…the accordion of "Paper Aeroplane" contrasts nicely from the synths of "Tennis Court"

Music, Phillip's Opinion, StoryTime

I KNEW IT!!!!!

In my last post I argued that “Glory and Gore” should be Lorde’s new single from Pure Heroine and I have two important updates.

First, the song, when I wrote about it, was number 40 on iTunes, now it’s number 23!:

"Glory and Gore" at number 23, as of 2/27/14

“Glory and Gore” at number 23, as of 2/27/14

 

Second, “Glory and Gore” is actually going to be the next single from Pure Heroine!!!  Not to gloat, but I KNEW IT!!!

"Glory and Gore" will impact radio March 11th (keep your ears peeled).

“Glory and Gore” will impact radio March 11th (keep your ears peeled).

 

Perhaps when I was writing about this, Republic and Lava Records knew/was keeping track of the success of “Glory and Gore,” just as I was.  

When I was driving home from school today, I was actually planning on writing a post entitled “The Real Reason for the Failure of the Music Industry,” in which I would shame Republic and Lava Records for not taking “Glory and Gore”‘s recent success and growing it.  In all fairness, I read in multiple sources that Lorde’s next single was intended to be “No Better,” a left over track that is on the extended version of Pure Heroine.  

Listen to “No Better” here (could be her next single for the summer…it’s totally a summer song):

While I adore “No Better” and certainly believe it will be a #PhillipsSongOfTheDay in the near future and should be a single eventually, I was going to write that it doesn’t make sense to undercut the success of “Glory and Gore,” success which was garnered from the fans and the promotional use (see my post Lorde’s New Single for more details).  Like, there would be no ROMI (Return On Marketing Investment…learned about that today in class…) by choosing a different single that had less promotion than “Glory and Gore.”

What I’m suggesting may seem like common sense, and rather foolish that a record company would pull such a stunt of releasing a song as a single when a different song had more attention.  BUT IT HAS HAPPENED.  Let’s not forget Taylor Swift’s album Speak Now and her song “Sparks Fly.”  This song happened to be a huge fan favorite.  Swift played this song at one or two of her shows (apparently she wrote it for Fearless and played it at the live show to test it with an audience, but decided to scrap it for a different song), and a very rough live version could be downloaded online or listened to on youtube, such as:

Really rough quality, probably because it was recorded from a cellphone or cheap camera.  Regardless, us Swifties found this and loved it.  After much demand, Swift obliged her fans and put the studio version on Speak Now (insert tears of joy…our hard work paid off).  Once Speak Now was released, “Sparks Fly” rocketed to #1 on the iTunes Top Singles.  And what song did Big Machine Records release as her next single? “Back to December.”  I mean, it wasn’t a bad decision, given the fact the song was released as a promotional single weeks before as part of the “Count Down to Speak Now” campaign and had some exposure.  But still, I personally felt that anticipation grew for the release of “Sparks Fly,” and such anticipation could have be used to impact radio.  And I think Big Machine did know of this anticipation and knew it was radio friendly, given the fact that they released it practically a year later as a single. While “Sparks Fly” did manage to hit #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs, it only went to #17 on the Billboard Hot 100.  I fear if it was released in the first week of November 2010 like “Back to December” was, it could have broken through the top 10 (it would have also made for a better pop radio version than “Back to December”); the fact that they waited so long to release as a single I think hurt it’s chart and commercial performance.  And let’s not forget “Back to December” only went to #3 on the Hot Country Songs and #18 on the Hot 100…so, there…

But, back to Lorde and “Glory and Gore:”  Republic and Lava Records are off the hook…for now…

 

P.S. I admire Big Machine Records for the fact that their business model puts music before business; they work with their artists and see their artists as partners, not employees (cough, cough….why they are one of the most successful independent labels…cough, cough….).


 

	

	
	




	
	

				

			Music, Phillip's Opinion
		

		
Lorde’s New Single.

		

			 		

	


		

		
“Glory and Gore” should be next single from Pure Heroine.  While “Team” is currently burning up radio here in the US, it is starting to fall on the iTunes top selling singles and the Billboard Hot 100, an indication that the single’s life is coming to an end.  While it is still in the bottom of the top ten in both iTunes and Billboard, it is time to think ahead.


“Glory and Gore,” while being a fan favorite, has started to gain traction with a wider audience.  I think perhaps it’s because it was used in a promotional campaign for the History Channel’s show Vikings:




I’m not entirely sure if that’s the only reason for it’s popularity (I don’t know if “Glory and Gore” was used in any other ads or promotions…I’m good, but not that good), but it has gone to number 40 on the iTunes Top 100:


"Glory and Gore" is currently #40 on iTunes, as of 2/25/14
“Glory and Gore” is currently #40 on iTunes, as of 2/25/14


The only other Lorde songs on the iTunes Top 100 are “Team” and “Royals,” her two hit singles.  Yesterday “Glory and Gore” was at number 41, so it’s position has been rising on it’s own accord (i.e. without any radio airplay or live performance promotion).  Given the fact that the History Channel, while a brilliant network, probably doesn’t serve a lot of viewers within Lorde’s target market (i.e. teens and college kids (although I know a lot of kids my age love the History Channel, so maybe it’s wrong to assume only older men watch the History Channel…)), if “Glory and Gore” is given the promotions within the given target then Lorde may have herself another Top 10 hit.


I also base this on the fact the song is one of the catchiest and more listened to songs on Pure Heroine.  With her usual dark and mystical vocals, “Glory and Gore” charms the listener within the first five seconds.  More specifically, during the chorus, Lorde and producer Joel Little added a background vocalized “oh, oh” which really draws the listener in.  Even her imagery within her lyrics of “gladiators,” “battles,” and “saviors” evokes this kind of brave fighter attitude that my generation espouses.  Don’t believe me this song is worth a listen?  Just listen to the clip in the Vikings commercial in the above YouTube clip and you’ll be listening to “Glory and Gore” on repeat!


***UPDATE***


“Glory and Gore” is now #28 on iTunes (cough, cough):


"Glory and Gore" is now #28 on iTunes Top 200, 2/26/14
“Glory and Gore” is now #28 on iTunes Top 200, 2/26/14


 


 


Quick poll for my fellow Lorde-ites:










 

	

	
	




	
	

				

			#PhillipsSongOfTheDay, Music
		

		
Rihanna’s Russian Roulette

		

			 		

	


		

		
It’s creepy.  It’s dark, perhaps even sinister. But “Russian Roulette” by Rihanna is #PhillipsSongOfTheDay.


This song is incredible and awful at the same time.  I say that because while the songwriting and performance is phenomenal, the overall theme of the song is just too dark for my taste.  I first want to commend songwriters Shaffer Smith and Charles Harmon for their ability of telling such an in-depth story.  While it is simply a story of a person (or persons) playing a game of russian roulette, it captures the terrified emotion of the narrator, and it brings in the ideas of the meaning of life  and how one’s actions have consequences.  For example, the character in this song starts to realize while they are playing this game that they may actually die, the ultimate loss:




“I’m wondering, will I ever see another sunrise?


So many won’t get the chance to say good-bye


But its too late to think of the value of my life.”




The fact that this song has so many layers that are so intricately woven in themselves is just incredible, and I really admire that as a songwriter.  I personally find when I write songs that my songs need to convey the specific emotion or feeling while, if possible, telling a story, which “Russian Roulette” does.  I find poorly written songs tend to be so broad that it’s impossible to connect with or understand what the song is conveying.  On the opposite side of the spectrum, if a song is too detailed or has too much in it, it may deter listeners as it may be overly complicated or suggest a behavior that is not desirable.  “Russian Roulette” may possibly do this.


At the very last second of this song, a gun shot is fired off, suggesting that the character pulled the gun and died (sad face).  That, to me, is an example of how this song is inspiring and disgusting.  The gun shot furthers the story and causes the listener to paint their own mental image, but at the same time it’s not really a delicious image to envision.  This may be how Smith and Harmon put too much info into the song; like, we get it, Rihanna’s character is freaked out…does she really need to die?


I also want to commend Rihanna’s vocal ability of evoking such dark emotion.  Specifically, at the parts where she sings:




“And you can see my heart beating


You can see it through my chest.


Said I’m terrified but I’m not leaving


I know that I must pass this test


So, just pull the trigger”




It’s at moments like these where Rihanna’s vibrato is prominent and sheds the almost perplexed fear of the narrator.  I honestly think the song would not work if Rihanna’s vocal performance was not as strong as it is here.


Check out this lyric video of “Russian Roulette,” listen for Rihanna’s incredible vibrato/vocal delivery:



	

	
	




	
	

				

			#PhillipsSongOfTheDay, Music
		

		
“The Love Club” by Lorde

		

			 		

	


		

		
“The Love Club” by Lorde is #PhillipsSongOfTheDay 


It’s been on repeat for the past hour.  Why?  Because Lorde is an incredible musician/artist, and I’ve been kind of obsessed with her music for the past month.  My sister and I were going to splurge and see her in concert, even though I’m a #brokecollegestudent, but we couldn’t get tickets!  It sold out too fast!


Seriously, though, “The Love Club” has this incredible pulsating/swelling background vocals (I don’t really know how to explain it…you just got to listen to it) that really makes the song.  The producer, I’m assuming Joel Little (he produced/co-produced all or Lorde’s music…I believe), did this thing where he added a crescendo to the fourth beat (I think) when Lorde’s background vocal goes up that makes the note change stand out….pure genius.  This will make more sense if you just listen to the song:




I also want to commend Lorde for the way she sings the chorus, especially the line “Be a part of the love club;” her phrasing is perfect.  The way a person sings just one word really can change my opinion of a song (e.g. the way Lorde sings the word “ruins” in her song “Team” is perfection…part of the reason it’s one of my favorite songs…not kidding).


I read an interpretation of “The Love Club” that said the song is about how if you want to be cool and to be “in the club,” by society’s/the media’s standards, you have to be dating someone or be in a relationship.  Basically, this is Lorde being her usual self of denouncing the media for telling people, particularly youths, how to live their lives.  I kind of admire that about Lorde and her music.  I generally don’t like songs that preach to people and tell people how to run their lives, but I think Lorde knows how to straddle that line.  Her songs stop right before telling people how they should live; she’s telling us how she chooses to live.  I find “The Love Club” to be refreshing, and, at this moment, relatable.