toddintheshadows

Please vote in the next Song vs. Song poll!

This one is a big one, we are doing "Mr. Brightside" vs. "I Write Sins Not Tragedies." https://www.patreon.com/posts/new-poll-mr-vs-i-73858939

Anyway, if you want to know what I'm doing, I do plan on getting out two videos this month. My output has slowed this year and I'm not thrilled about it and I'm trying to step it back up. The first video is going to be non-musical, extremely stupid and...

RAMBLE ON: "I Feel the Earth Move" by Carole King

One of the major changes in music writing that fascinates me is how, as rock music plummeted in relevance in the 2010s, people stopped using “rock” as a catch-all term for popular music; we call that “pop” now. It isn’t just a name change. Yes, both terms are very broad; “rock history” and “pop history” both happily claimed, say, Otis Redding, even though he was arguably neither. But “rock” and “pop” have different values, and the shift has emphasized different thing...

POP SONG REVIEW: "Unholy" by Sam Smith & Kim Petras

/edit a couple serious errors caught already, the video might be down for a little bit, check back in 30 minutes if it's not working

Well let's see how this goes down! I'm nervous! 

As always, if you see an obvious (or even a non-obvious) screw-up please let me know. 

And on the complete opposite end of the spectrum, please vote in Song vs. Song because this is a special one for me. We have some Boomer-y dad-rock classics, Bob Seger's "Against the Wind" vs. Jackson...

RAMBLE ON: "The House That Built Me" by Miranda Lambert

It’s September 28, 2022, and I’m at a Miranda Lambert concert in Las Vegas. If you asked me why, I’m not sure I’d have an answer; I know and like plenty of her songs but not strongly, and I wouldn’t say I really ever cared much about seeing her live. I’m just here on a whim. I probably shouldn’t be in Vegas at all; this trip isn’t exactly spontaneous but it’s not exactly planned either. I don’t know how long I’m staying.

I haven’t been home in weeks. I marked out...

TRAINWRECKORDS: Motley Crue's "Generation Swine"

EDIT EDIT EDIT: The embed doesn't seem to be working (WOW PATREON, THIS VIMEO PARTNERSHIP IS GOING SO WELL), so here's the direct link. Does this work?: https://vimeo.com/user89788165/thething

EDIT: Okay, I just uploaded it to YouTube, hopefully that link works

This episode kicked my ass. I clearly need a break -- I was planning to take this month off, but then I missed deadline so technically I'm post...

RAMBLE ON: "Dicked Down in Dallas" by Trey Lewis

The drum fill before the second chorus of “Dicked Down in Dallas” is the funniest goddamn thing I’ve ever heard. It knocked me on the floor the first time I heard it and I’ve listened to the song over and over again just for that one moment. Rata-tata-rata-tatat; just amazing, I died laughing. There’s another drum fill right before the second verse that’s also pretty funny, not quite as funny as the other one but still a killer punchline. I wouldn’t call the guitar solo a punchl...

Please vote in the Song vs. Song poll!

Argh, these Trainwreckords videos always take longer than I would like. (I promise you'll like it!) So in any case, please vote in this next poll! We are doing Coldplay's "Fix You" vs. Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars" 

https://www.patreon.com/posts/new-poll-fix-you-70394870

UGH.

WELL GUESS WHO BUSTED HIS ASS TO FINISH THE EPISODE BY DEADLINE LAST NIGHT AND THEN FORGOT TO CHARGE FOR IT

ONE HIT WONDERLAND: "Macarena" by Los Del Rio

It's time.

Please check my work, because I sure did a lot of it. 

Please vote in the Song vs. Song poll. We're doing "We Found Love" vs. "Super Bass." https://www.patreon.com/posts/new-poll-super-69753009

RAMBLE ON: "This Note's for You" by Neil Young

That Michelob looks so goddamn refreshing. Filled up right to the top of the glass, condensation dripping down the side. The venue is a bar that looks like a dive but is upscale enough to attract classy clientele; there’s a lot of neon signs on the wall, and a sharply dressed man and woman are making eyes at each other. They don’t look the type to be drinking Michelob, but maybe the ‘80s were different. The soundtrack is Eric Clapton playing a very ‘80s version of “After Midnight.�...

POP SONG REVIEW: "Break My Soul" vs. "Falling Back"

/edit Reuploading a bunch of things people caught, if it's not working at the moment just give it 15 minutes and it'll be back up

God, finally managed to finish a video. I have been suffering from the most crippling writer's block. I wanted to have this done two weeks ago. Well, at least it's finished. Check my errors, y'all!

And also, hey, please vote in the Song vs. Song Poll, where we are doing "Stupid Girl" vs. "Just a Girl" 2022-07-19 14:41:28 +0000 UTC View Post

RAMBLE ON: "Vegas" by Doja Cat

The first disappointment of Doja Cat’s “Vegas” is that it has nothing to do with Las Vegas; in this song literally titled “Vegas” Doja only manages a stray mention of it. What a waste. Hip-hop in general could stand to be friendlier to Vegas, I say. (I like Vegas. I miss Vegas.) But while we’re talking about Vegas, I went to Vegas this year and you know what I didn’t see? Elvis impersonators. There were ads for Prince tribute shows, Michael tribute shows, even a truly tasteless ...

TRAINWRECKORDS: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's "American Dream"

CSNY's return was one of the most hotly awaited reunions in rock, only for the band to be utterly wrecked by the '80s.

As always, check for my errors! 

ONE HIT WONDERLAND: "This Is Why I'm Hot" by Mims

As always catch my errors.

Oh oh and don't forget to vote in the Song vs. Song poll, we're doing "Fly" by Sugar Ray vs. "What I Got" by Sublime. https://www.patreon.com/posts/new-poll-fly-vs-66941273

RAMBLE ON: "I Hate Everything" by George Strait

One of the odder things about “Trolls: World Tour” (where we learn the titular Trolls live in separate societies defined by different musical genres) was its depiction of the country music Trolls as an society of heartbroken cowboys and cowgirls crying all the time. This is an old, old stereotype – my wife left, my dog died, my truck broke down – that hasn’t really felt relevant in some twenty or thirty years, certainly not since the bro-country era. At some point the music of sad b...

ONE HIT WONDERLAND: "Don't Worry, Be Happy" by Bobby McFerrin

Well, first off, we've got another Song vs. Song poll. It's a little obscure (one of the bands literally has "Obscura" in the name) It's "Another Sunny Day" by Belle and Sebastian vs. "Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken" by Camera Obscura.  https://www.patreon.com/posts/new-poll-another-66345573

Seriously, if you know those songs, your vote is more precious than ever, so please vote.

Please vote in the Song vs. Song poll!

We're doing "Low" vs. "Get Low"! So vote now between "get low get low get low" and "shawty got low low low low low." https://www.patreon.com/posts/new-poll-low-vs-65726553

Sorry, I don't like posting these links in between videos. I used to be able to count on two episodes a month but this year has been dominated by longer, labor-intensive videos that have really drained me. I'm try...

TRAINWRECKORDS: Will Smith's "Lost and Found"

And here we go.

Anyway, let me know if there's any slip-ups you notice.

And of course please vote in my considerably less controversial Song vs. Song, we're doing "Easy Lover" vs. "Maneater." https://www.patreon.com/posts/new-poll-vs-easy-65149988

POP SONG REVIEW: "Sweetest Pie" by Megan Thee Stallion & Dua Lipa

End of the month, man, exhausting. Let me know if you saw anything wrong with this video! Or if it sucks!

And as always, please vote in the Song vs. Song poll where we are doing "1985" vs" Stacy's Mom": https://www.patreon.com/posts/new-poll-stacys-64218831

RAMBLE ON: "Waking Up in Vegas" by Katy Perry

Fuck it, I went and saw Katy Perry in Vegas. I’ve earned it. I deserve this.

In the late ‘80s, years of increased competition sent Vegas into a sharp downturn, and so began a new chapter for the city in the ‘90s: Family Vegas, the Vegas you could bring your kids to. It didn’t work – gamblers don’t drop $12k a night at a water park – and more importantly it didn’t fit. Vegas in the popular imagination is a place where you do things you can’t do anywhere else – certain...

ONE HIT WONDERLAND: "Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes" by Edison Lighthouse

Going a little small-scale after the last few exhausting videos (but of course this was still exhausting to make anyway). Let me know if you see any screw-ups.

And also, please vote in the next Song vs. Song poll! "Gimme Shelter" vs. "Helter Skelter" https://www.patreon.com/posts/new-poll-gimme-63657482

Please vote in the Song vs. Song poll!

We're discussing Katy Perry again, this time we're doing Katy Perry's "Roar" vs. Sara Bareilles's "Brave" https://www.patreon.com/posts/new-poll-roar-vs-62969793

Anyway, the last three months have been absolutely exhausting. They were so long, I'm wiped! I think we'll be going back to shorter quicker episodes after this, and really, thank God. Who needs to talk that much about anything

RAMBLE ON: "Saints of Los Angeles" by Mötley Crüe

“Mötley Crüe: the band that would not fucking die,” I remember one frustrated hater saying about the band. That line from an early ‘00s Flash cartoon, a perfectly sarcastic parody of Behind the Music: “Before Kid Rock, there was Warrant. Before Warrant there was Poison. Before Poison there was Mötley Crüe. And before Mötley Crüe, there was… good heavy metal music.” That’s a pretty funny burn, but the line about Crüe’s astonishing unkillableness is one ...

TRAINWRECKORDS: "Witness" by Katy Perry

Boom.

As always, please catch my mistakes. And also, if you haven't voted in the Song vs. Song poll this week, please do! We're doing "Get Lucky" vs. "Uptown Funk": https://www.patreon.com/posts/new-poll-get-vs-62388445

EDIT: If the embed isn't working here's the direct link: https://vimeo.com/679582831/e03529f021...

Please vote in the Song vs. Song poll!

As a tribute to the late departed Meat Loaf we're doing his masterpiece "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" vs. the other early '90s megavideo extravaganza, Guns n' Roses' "November Rain." Vote now! https://www.patreon.com/posts/new-poll-rain-vs-61700789

Anyway, I should give you a work update since there's no video attached to this post, and boy this next one's coming along nice...

RAMBLE ON: "Steam" by Peter Gabriel

“Please stop playing my video,” Peter Gabriel once begged MTV, allegedly. I cannot confirm this apocryphal anecdote, but it’s a story that’s kept circulating because it’s just so plausible. This next fact is also unconfirmed, since MTV never released their data, but Peter Gabriel’s landmark video “Sledgehammer” is widely credited as the most played clip in the network’s history. And really, it deserves to be – 36 years later it’s still an absolute joy to watch. By 1986, ...

The Top Ten Best Hit Songs of 2021

It's done.

Vote in the Song vs. Song poll, we're doing "Everywhere" by Michelle Branch vs. "A Thousand Miles" by Vanessa Carlton https://www.patreon.com/posts/new-poll-vs-61173430

Let me know if you caught any errors!

Update + please vote in the Song vs. Song poll

I'm only posting this because we need more votes in the Song vs. Song poll! This week we're doing "One Week" vs. "Semi-Charmed Life": https://www.patreon.com/posts/new-poll-one-vs-60276827

Anyway, I'm still working on the top ten list. I don't think I have any more to say than that, but it's good for Patrons to have some understanding of what's going on in my life, so I'm going to level with y...

RAMBLE ON: "The Monster" by Eminem ft. Rihanna

A fact I read that blew my mind is that Eminem is the top selling rapper of the 2010s. Not the 2000s (though he was the top selling rapper of that decade too, and in fact top selling artist of any genre); the 2010s? Really? Surely it must be someone more relevant, Kanye, Kendrick, Nicki, somebody. I double-checked and different sites count it differently; in 2021-12-30 18:02:21 +0000 UTC View Post

The Top Ten Worst Hit Songs of 2021

...ignore that other post, apparently Adobe decided to fuck me and fill the first render with glitches. This one should be better, but if you see any problem still, let me know