T/S: Lisa Loeb's "Stay" vs. Luscious Jackson's "Ladyfingers"

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I plucked my copy of LJ's Electric Honey out of obscurity last night and was playing it on the way to work this morning. As soon as I popped the cd out, I heard "Stay" playing on the radio. I guess there's no legitimate reason for comparing these two, but I've been trying to decide all day which song I like more and why.

I think I'm going with "Ladyfingers," though. It's the hit that wasn't.

Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Saturday, 25 March 2006 00:20 (twenty years ago)

"Stay" = insufferably twee crap about wanting to have sex with Ethan Hawke

"Ladyfingers" = grooving and cool.

Alex in NYC (vassifer), Saturday, 25 March 2006 00:28 (twenty years ago)

dom passantino to thread.

"stay" is a gorgeous, meandering song. alanis without all the irritating vocal histrionics and weirdo pronounciations (because alanis had a lot of good stuff underneath all the crap).

weasel diesel (K1l14n), Saturday, 25 March 2006 00:40 (twenty years ago)

"Stay" = insufferably twee crap about wanting to have sex with Ethan Hawke

That's generally my initial reaction upon hearing the song as well (plus, Reality Bites was such an awful film). But it's chipped away at me all day... enough to compel me to kick off such a thread anyway.

Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Saturday, 25 March 2006 00:43 (twenty years ago)

Ten best things about "Stay":

1) The fact the guitar stutters. Lisa can go ahead and be confident vocally, but the guitar pauses, stumbles, and just can't keep its emotion in. It's a nice contrast for a song that's about admitting weakness
2) The chord change on "missed you": it may be coffee shop acoustic, but that's the moment the caffeine kicks in and you realise you're dealing with something important
3) The fake second verse (ending in "I don't pay attention to the distance that you're running"), for such a perfectly put together song its so reckless and thrashing.
4) "No no no no no NAAAAAAHHHHHH"
5) "Lover's in love and the other's run away"
6) Her pronounciation of "hover"
7) The continual galvanizing of the spirit that runs through that "You said that I was naive" bit, before the resignation of "I missed you".
8) Musicians that like to talk-sing should be able to sing-sing as well. When we start the "give away a keeper", you realise what I mean
9) The metronome drumbeat at the end puts every hair in my body on end
10) Songs need to END. Not fade out, not lead to a crescendo, but fork down, extinguish cigarrette, empty wine glass, and leave. This song does all of that.

"Ladyfingers", on the other hand, is a shit song from an even shittier band.

Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Saturday, 25 March 2006 00:53 (twenty years ago)

#4 --> OTM

alex in montreal (alex in montreal), Saturday, 25 March 2006 03:14 (twenty years ago)

"Stay" easily. Now as far as LJ singles go, if you're talking "Under Your Skin" or ESPECIALLY "Here", then it's a much closer-run thing.

edward o (edwardo), Saturday, 25 March 2006 03:22 (twenty years ago)

"Stay" always...It's one of the few songs that I loved when I was 5 or 6 and still love now...

Tape Store (Tape Store), Saturday, 25 March 2006 05:14 (twenty years ago)

First time I heard "Ladyfingers" I heard:
I got laid in Vegas, baby
I got Kid Rock's baby

Eazy (Eazy), Saturday, 25 March 2006 06:12 (twenty years ago)

"Ladyfingers", on the other hand, is a shit song

Mind elaborating slightly, Dom?

I love the structure of it. They use a chord progression that shouldn't work, but does anyway. And the backing vocals are lush but delicate and there's a fucking talkbox/vocoder during the mid-song breakdown. It's really a pretty strange piece of pop the more that I think about it.

"Stay," while nice, is pretty ordinary.

Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Saturday, 25 March 2006 06:34 (twenty years ago)

stay is great.

electric sound of jim (and why not) (electricsound), Sunday, 26 March 2006 10:04 (twenty years ago)

That's Dan from Ida on guitar -- it was a rushed session, and not all of Nine Stories could make it.

Also Lisa's then-boyfriend plays second guitar and is responible for the obvious clam in the middle of the second verse.

Colin Meeder (Mert), Sunday, 26 March 2006 12:44 (twenty years ago)


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