What do you think of Bruno Mars' newest single?
- Thread starter ChrisSiuMusic
- Start date
OP
OP
ChrisSiuMusic
Senior Member
No bad vibes at all! Thanks for sharing your impressions.
OP
OP
ChrisSiuMusic
Senior Member
Macrawn
Senior Member
I sadly agree. I was thinking for a minute that the whole thing was a parody.. which would make it brilliant...... but it's not.
But since he's going to sell a gazillion records with it, I get the smiles. Maybe it is a parody after all.
davidanthony
Active Member
Surprisingly not into it. I say surprisingly because I admire almost everyone involved in the project. I've studied the techniques employed by/in Bruno/24k Magic, Anderson Paak, Serban, etc. extensively, and brought a lot of them into my own work.
But I've also done extensive listening and studies of the classics this song rests on, and in comparison, I feel like the soul of this song is missing entirely. I couldn't even make it through the entire thing.
It feels like they started with the idea (kitchen sink an era into a song and give it modern production values) instead of the song.
That said, will probably sell like gangbusters because most of the people this is marketed to don't know any better, and it is way more interesting than a lot of the other stuff on the radio right now.
But I've also done extensive listening and studies of the classics this song rests on, and in comparison, I feel like the soul of this song is missing entirely. I couldn't even make it through the entire thing.
It feels like they started with the idea (kitchen sink an era into a song and give it modern production values) instead of the song.
That said, will probably sell like gangbusters because most of the people this is marketed to don't know any better, and it is way more interesting than a lot of the other stuff on the radio right now.
OP
OP
ChrisSiuMusic
Senior Member
Definitely agree re: more interesting than what's on the radio nowadays. I'm sure the rest of the album will follow in the same vein.
Polkasound
Senior Member
The modern production values are critical to the song's success. If Bruno moved any closer to capturing the soul that you feel in the classics, his core fanbase would not be captured by the song. And I wouldn't say it's because they don't know better; I'd say it's because they do know better. It's just a different kind of better that they know.
PeterN
ⵣ
Nobody can even come near it - its another level from crappy chord progressions, with staccato and depressing choir. It should not be put among amateurs of VI bcs it gets tainted. Like serving Michelin dish in a trailer park. But the guy didnt do that himself, theres probably 100 people pulling strings.
el-bo
When life gives you lemons, swap 'em for mangos
Stringtree
Senior Member
This made my hair and teeth hurt. I understand what's being sought after, but dude, there exists a history of superlative music that surprises. This is a slog. I wanted to like this, but I do not.
It just seems to punish by the second, and I tried. I have to surface. I can't do this challenge. I need air.
It just seems to punish by the second, and I tried. I have to surface. I can't do this challenge. I need air.
Polkasound
Senior Member
One way to help understand the mass appeal of this song is to pretend you're young enough to have no emotional connection to music released before, say, 2008. You grew up listening the "oldies" like Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, and Maroon 5, and it all sounds dated and boring to you. The newer the music is, the better to your ears. Then Bruno Mars comes out with this song, and it's got a totally fresh "2021" sound.
This is why a new pop song can't be full-on vintage, but it can be neo-vintage. It can sound old, but it still has to sound contemporary. Regardless of what I think of the melody or lyrics, I give Bruno and his co-producers a lot of credit for what they've accomplished.
This is why a new pop song can't be full-on vintage, but it can be neo-vintage. It can sound old, but it still has to sound contemporary. Regardless of what I think of the melody or lyrics, I give Bruno and his co-producers a lot of credit for what they've accomplished.
el-bo
When life gives you lemons, swap 'em for mangos
Wait! Am I supposed to be skateboarding before or after being served 'poisson à la merde' in my trailer?
I liked his previous funky music better.. this is quite dull to be honest. (a cheap imitation of the real deal, style/sound wise.. and the videoclip is weirdish imho)
Btw.. how is this a soundtrack (it's in a soundtrack discussion subforum)? it's just a single.. not used for a film or tv show.
Btw.. how is this a soundtrack (it's in a soundtrack discussion subforum)? it's just a single.. not used for a film or tv show.
storyteller
Senior Member
Only to an extent. My daughter is 15 and she has had music at her fingertips with an iPod touch since she was two. With Spotify, she discovered the Beatles by herself and told me all about her discovery. She was so excited. Then she found a cover of the song "Yellow" and loved it. I had to tell her about the original, which she loved even more. She loves Damien Rice and even 80's hairbands like Firehouse. She adores music from past generations and, while she does really like a few modern indie artists, most of her music is from decades past. My point here is that she tells me all about the music she loves and the music her classmates like. Surprisingly, almost no one at her school or church likes the modern stuff. Comically, they are all stuck in their own style and generation of music from the past... meaning no one really connects fully with another person based on music alone. But they each respect that and love that individuality with each person.
I've actually started to believe that the billboard charts are about as fake as the rest of the stuff being shoved in our faces by the media. There is no way that certain songs like this are getting mass appeal when no one listens to the radio anymore, adults don't seem to like modern music, no one has gone out to bars, clubs, and music venues in the past year to have it shoved in their faces, and kids seem to enjoy every other generation of music pre-2010 rather than modern stuff. Again, not knocking Bruno Mars. The production is stellar. He is clearly a talented guy. It is just a continuation of the mud of music we've been stuck in for the past 10 years.
OP
OP
ChrisSiuMusic
Senior Member
Hey Ryan, I'd love to know which modulations you feel are unmotivated? And what would you do to make it feel more natural?
b_elliott
A work in progress.
As far as Bruno Mars music, I must live under a rock since I could not tell you which of the singers was Bruno. At first I thought it was the drummer dude who sorta steals the show here, but then the keyboardist gets the focus. Then I wondered if this was just an Eddie Murphy skit with Eddie playing all the parts--including the dancers. Kudos to the make-up artist if so.
I know my way out. Cheers,
I know my way out. Cheers,
