Lorde - Melodrama (2017)

This song is neither particularly good nor memorable. I was trying to think how it compared to the new Billie Eilish, but that song was not very good or memorable, either, so I couldn't remember it.

The coda sounds really similar to "At the Holiday Party" from the last St. Vincent record.

I feel like post-Fall Asleep Billie can get across a just-OK song on the strength of her performance alone, in a way that Lorde (despite being an artistic forerunner) can’t.

I agree w/ that

the comparisons to "Freedom '90" are freaking me out, first because "Freedom '90" is one of the most buoyant songs ever written, secondly because it has a pulse.

― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, June 12, 2021 4:55 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

it tries to do the thing that freedom does. it fails.

it starts a little sultry and downtempo and then the "freedom"/"loaded" section is meant to be like a moment of catharsis when it kicks in at the 2:00 mark. i don't think it's really supposed to be joyful all the way through like freedom '90.

honestly, all current music seems to have at least some trace of gloom.

honestly, all current music seems to have at least some trace of gloom.

― treeship., Saturday, June 12, 2021 8:13 PM (three hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

same, or maybe it's me.

i think the intro part (up to “im kinda like a prettier jesus”) is good and tantalizing but it needed to soar into a killer hook, instead everything from then on just falls flat

also, music video is terrible

I def got "Freedom '90" vibes before I read that everyone else did, too. But it sounds so anemic by comparison.

even the quiet part has the same sort of melodic lilt to it

would be a much better song if the quiet part only lasted the first verse at most

IMO, the blissed-out groove part doesn’t know what to do with itself when it hits (other than end with a few bars of obligatory-sounding horns toward the end); so bringing it in earlier wouldn’t solve the problem.

Just checked out the Primal Scream track—and, I mean, yeah (not that it’s a masterpiece either).

Oh, “Loaded” is a remix of an earlier song? How deep does this rabbit hole go, lol

if you've never heard screamadelica before you really should check it out asap

the groove on "solar power" is a little anemic for what it wants to be so yeah it wouldn't fix everything but it'd be a step in the right direction. it's very easy to imagine how this song could have been quite a decent early 90s pastiche thing instead of being only ok.

idk if the cult leader vibes of the lyrics/video are endearingly goofy or completely off-putting though

Yeah, I don’t know anything about Primal Scream (except the ILM “Bullshit Game” thread)—but I just learned on Wikipedia that Mayo Thompson produced their first album(!), so I distract myself with a few tracks from that.

I heard "Sympathy for the Devil" in the descending melody lines, which I guess is the DNA for "Loaded" and "Movin' on Up" anyway.

the cover art of this is an EXACT ripoff of some 70s album cover and it's driving me nuts I can't remember

some band like Free or Traffic etc

Yes thank God for Twitter

Loving Lorde's subtle homage to Free's s/t 1969 album. pic.twitter.com/aFUbcdMido

— Dave Segal (@editaurus) June 11, 2021

some Free cover connection going on here..

🖼

🖼

But seriously looking forward to new Lorde, loved that last album so much.

to be more precise:

some Free cover connection going on here..

https://static.stereogum.com/uploads/2021/06/lorde-solar-power-1623098760-1000x1000.jpeg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bd/Free_albumcover.jpg

But seriously looking forward to new Lorde, loved that last album so much.

― a superficial sheeb of intelligence (jon /via/ chi 2.0), maandag 7 juni 2021 23:51

ok

Free cover connections! Come and get 'em while supplies last.

yikes, i haven't listened to lorde in a long time but this really sucks! 😬

I know this is ILX and all but I find it funny how much thought and theorizing and research/googling is going into a song that barely justifies its running time

the real joke is when it places in the eoy 77

should I listen to this y/n?

it's ok

it's the season of the lorde, you have to listen to it

it pairs well with an summer shandy. look for UFO Big Squeeze on your local market's shelves!

now let's get down to it: how are we all making money today?

should I listen to this y/n?

― trap door to hell opens underneath (rob), Sunday, 13 June 2021 16:43 (one minute ago) bookmarkflaglink

you aren't even part of the cultural discourse until you hear this and offer a take

are any of you WORTH anything? can any of you increase my wealth? if not, i'm going back to the beach, it's lorde season

I listened and here's my take: Lorde looks a lot like a young Michelle Gomez

i listened to it and it is really quite a bit better than i expected. it does truly threaten to cross into some of the same awful territory as some of its comparison points noted above but for me i think it does stay on the acceptable side

I know this is ILX and all but I find it funny how much thought and theorizing and research/googling is going into a song that barely justifies its running time

― self-clowning oven (Murgatroid), Sunday, June 13, 2021 9:12 AM (four hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

the rest of the internet is doing this way more than we are

has this thread even touched on the potential social commentary of the video... ugh...........

doing something that sucks on purpose is subversive man

that's the first set of posts so far to almost tempt me into checking it out tbf

"has this thread even touched on the potential social commentary of the video... ugh..........."

was there social commentary in the video? I barely paid attention to it.

A very clunky, calculated attempt at being an early contender for Song Of The Summer that doesn’t quite land.

“I throw my cellular device in the water” line is really weird. Strong Boomer energy there. Either that, or I’m so out of touch that Gen Z are now calling their phones or iPads or whatever “cellular devices”.

Loaded was also the song I first thought of when hearing it, and then there was one other similar sounding song that had been on the tip of my mind-tongue for a couple of days and I just realised it’s Take Your Mama by Scissor Sisters.

xp maybe that term is meant to highlight a phone’s “cold” artificially, or something?

dropped my cellphone down below
I’m so high it makes my brain whirl

Wasn't there another recent song that nodded to "Loaded?" Vampire Weekend?

finally listened to this.
bit crap isn't it?

xp yeah vampire weekend's "harmony hall"

why has she stopped singing fairly well and adopted the annoying affectations of a thousand much worse singers?

finally watched/listened

it's nicely mixed I guess? her voice is really not suited to this sort of hook at all and the takeoff is completely botched

did not detect any politics whatsoever in the song or video tbh

Simon H, politics detector

when she rejects the golden horn she's obviously eschewing the gold standard in favor of cryptocurrency