POP SONG REVIEW: "This Is America" by Childish Gambino

Good ol Derrick Comedy days

waywardlaser

I think you dealt with it well - a nicely honest take. Personally I feel the vague/diffuse nature of the message is kinda the point, it's a mish mash of feelings and thoughts and not any one statement, so you have an emotional response to it is almost the same as understanding it from that view.

Andrey Kurenkov

So "This is America" is basically a Foldable Ideas script put to music, right?

Emanuel Alfredsson / Lemanic

Eminem made a few good songs like Mosh

Kirk Mackintosh

You forgot Pink's "Dear Mr President" and System of a Down.

Hey now, Nickelback IS good music. We did some good music out of it, namely the Dixie Chicks album "Taking the Long Road"

LifeIsStrange

Yeah I prefer my hip-hop to be more direct, this vague bullshit just does absolutely nothing for me.

LifeIsStrange

If a song needs a music video to work, that's a failure on the part of the artist. I prefer rap songs to be more direct(I.E. Ice Cube-Good Cop Bad Cop) being vague I feel takes the sting out of it, plus the music itself is so bland that anybody who's listening to the song without the visuals isn't really going to get much out of it. Truth is I don't think it really means much of anything, I think Glover is just being vague to make it sound deeper then it really is.

LifeIsStrange

First of all, YES this song does not work without the jarring effect of the gunshot. I actually appreciate the vagueness of the song. There are a million ways to think about it, but you are so compelled to think. And when Glover was asked what it all meant, he refused to answer. I also think that the song does not work without the video. But I don't think that's a bad thing. We're still talking about it. And if the news cycle didn't explode every day, it might have had a longer impact.

apocalypsethen

I don't think this song would've done so well without the music video, because honestly the song itself is really bland, it sounds like every other trap rap song out there, if this song came up on a playlist I probably wouldn't be able to separate it from say a Migos or a Drake song. It's a damn shame that such a great music video is wasted on such an utterly mediocre and forgettable song. Compare "This is America" to something like say Tupac-Changes, and it falls flatter then a three-week old pancake by comparison. I've heard Changes a few times on my local retro hip-hop/R&B station and I have to say it's still extremely relevant today(well except for the line about not being ready for a black president) it's one of the those songs where I can't help but get emotional every time I hear it, such a powerful song. This is America not so much, the music video makes me feel something, but just hearing the song by itself on the radio or on streaming or wherever, I don't really feel anything, I feel like the song itself is almost irrelevant, you could put anything in the background and it wouldn't really matter.

LifeIsStrange

I just learned Glover will be voicing Simba in that goddamn Lion King remake.

LifeIsStrange

Every time I listen to/watch this all I can think is how much better and clearer the messages and music are in Janelle Monae's new album and how everyone should listen to and watch Dirty Computer

Jade Huggins

00:39 I actually think it's really good that you don't mind marinating on pop song's for a while after their release, like "God's Plan" by Drake. While still being relevant, you don't seem to me all too interested in jumping onto the bandwagon like most Youtubers. Nothing wrong with that; it's a living as any content creator. But it shows that you actually do your best to form your own opinions about the song and bring to the table thoughts that others haven't thought of, rather than aiming specifically for peak periods of the trends. Not only that, but in waiting for a bit for the buzz to die down, you also get a context of a song's staying power and assess the public's reaction to the video and song, not just the video and song themselves. This is why I'm a patron; much respect :)

Backpackers

Owen W

If it makes you feel any better, having not watched the video yet, a lot of people agree it basically became a hit off the meme factor. Past that and the video, the general opinion is that it's alright.

Josh Spicer

9:05 what was the name of that song??

Curtis Charles

Just thinking the same!

I swear it's like clockwork. Every time I find myself thinking, "Hey, it feels like it's been a while since Todd posted a new video," EVERY TIME, the very next day you post one. Your consistency is amazing.

Owen W

Hoo boy, here we go

Pagan Situations