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Another Year In America September 10, 2009
Busy day so I'm pasting in what I wrote elsewhere about the Keith and the Sasha. Strange that so far I own nothing of Beyoncé solo, even though I think she's showing a lot more cracks and accessibility than when she was the cold confident kid in Destiny's Child. You guys got any thoughts about her career post DC? I'm thinking that she's actually starting to get underrated.
Toby Keith "American Ride": His depiction of what's been happening here in the USA is lunkheaded but the message is complicated and confused enough for me not to figure it out; I like at least some of what it's getting at: not only "My country right or wrong, even when it's predominantly going wrong" but "there's something about my country's combination of right and wrong that is especially compelling, makes for quite a ride." This latter differs from Stephen Decatur's famous "My country right or wrong" quotable, which I'd originally seen as, "My country, may she ever be right, but my country right or wrong," though the Wiki entry on the subject gives the toast as "Our Country! In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right; but right or wrong, our country!" The Keith song maybe implies that if you get rid of the wrong you risk eliminating something crucial, though presumably he'd be in favor of getting rid of some of the wrong, as who wouldn't. Relevant here would be LeAnn Rimes' "Family," a better and much smarter song, about how her family's ongoing catastrophe was a living, bubbling-over priceless thing. Makes sense that both the Keith song and the Rimes song rock out. TICK.
Beyoncé "Sweet Dreams": Setting up a song and then having the arrangement chip at and challenge the song it's supposed to be supporting is something she was doing back in the Destiny's Child days, but if anything she gets more challenging and edgy and confused as she gets older, constantly assertive but uneasily so, never sure where to direct that assertion. TICK.
Breaking Benjamin "I Will Not Bow": Pretty tune growled and thrashed up, so I guess one could say the arrangement challenges and chips away at this song too, like the Beyoncé, except unfortunately the hardcore chug-a-chugs don't propel away from the rest of the rhythm enough. Really, this just wants to have its cake and hc-metal frosting too - which isn't necessarily bad, 'cept the growls don't cover up what's a basic lameness in song and singing. NO TICK.
Toby Keith "American Ride": His depiction of what's been happening here in the USA is lunkheaded but the message is complicated and confused enough for me not to figure it out; I like at least some of what it's getting at: not only "My country right or wrong, even when it's predominantly going wrong" but "there's something about my country's combination of right and wrong that is especially compelling, makes for quite a ride." This latter differs from Stephen Decatur's famous "My country right or wrong" quotable, which I'd originally seen as, "My country, may she ever be right, but my country right or wrong," though the Wiki entry on the subject gives the toast as "Our Country! In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right; but right or wrong, our country!" The Keith song maybe implies that if you get rid of the wrong you risk eliminating something crucial, though presumably he'd be in favor of getting rid of some of the wrong, as who wouldn't. Relevant here would be LeAnn Rimes' "Family," a better and much smarter song, about how her family's ongoing catastrophe was a living, bubbling-over priceless thing. Makes sense that both the Keith song and the Rimes song rock out. TICK.
Beyoncé "Sweet Dreams": Setting up a song and then having the arrangement chip at and challenge the song it's supposed to be supporting is something she was doing back in the Destiny's Child days, but if anything she gets more challenging and edgy and confused as she gets older, constantly assertive but uneasily so, never sure where to direct that assertion. TICK.
Breaking Benjamin "I Will Not Bow": Pretty tune growled and thrashed up, so I guess one could say the arrangement challenges and chips away at this song too, like the Beyoncé, except unfortunately the hardcore chug-a-chugs don't propel away from the rest of the rhythm enough. Really, this just wants to have its cake and hc-metal frosting too - which isn't necessarily bad, 'cept the growls don't cover up what's a basic lameness in song and singing. NO TICK.
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Her interaction with Jay-Z on 'Upgrade U' is fascinating - obv we NEVER hear or see about their real life so have to get all the gossip from their duets, and on B Day it sounded like they were pretty fed up with each other, challenging each other to do better, calling each other out on their faults, not giving each other a spare second to catch their breath. And 'Deja Vu', where J's meant to be bigging up his girlfriend but instead spends the intro bigging HIMSELF up then telling us all to watch out as B has a sting in her tail. Compare it to his 'Umbrella' intro ('little miss sunshine') and it's like AND YOU STILL GOT MARRIED AFTER ALL THAT????
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