Robyn - Dancing On My Own

[straightorbroken]

Which is fair enough, I'm not exactly saying these really lovely songs are bad, but I just don't hear much variation from her.

Don't Stop The Music remains my favourite Robyn song. Or Who's That Girl. Both these songs stick out from what I think is her 'usual' shtick.

 

[VoR]

Which is fair enough, I'm not exactly saying these really lovely songs are bad, but I just don't hear much variation from her.

Not being funny, but you have MARIAH CAREY in your avatar.

 

[straightorbroken]

And the woman who gave us Club Banger Nayshun is any better?

 

[lolly]

I can see entirely why people think a lot of her stuff is samey. Her choice of singles on the whole has been pretty formulaic, musically and lyrically. Yes, there is a whole lot more variation on the albums, but people put off by the sameyness of her singles are hardly going to bite for an album, are they?

Anyway, just another excuse to post this. Quite possibly my favourite remix EVER

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cSBrPfndRuk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[lolly]

It's Who's That Girl all the way for my favourite single though. What a stonker of a song that is.

 

[Jark]

It really is

I remember Jo Whiley (or possibly that awful Edith creature) carping on about how suspiciously similar it sounded to that song by The Knife... obviously OBLIVIOUS to the fact that THE KNIFE PRODUCED IT.

 

[straightorbroken]

Maybe Jo was on her 4th bottle of Blossom Hill.

The only song that I can think of that rips off The Knife, without actually being them, was Margaret Berger's In A Box (even down to the video).

 

[TurnerPrize]

Going back a bit, it's not JUST the similarities in tune, but the way she sings it and also the subject matter that make her a bit one note (imo). Her voice grates after a while, the production can merge into one, and i never ever want another song from her about a boy who doesn't want to fuck her being with someone else.

Other than P!nk (great comparison, sorb. though i say P!nk isn't quite as bad) i can't think of any other artist approaching such levels of stale saminess*, at least on their good songs (i realise that she tends to mix things up a bit on her album filler). And it's a shame because i think she's very talented and i want to like her more than i currently can.


*though another Brandon Flowers solo album might have put him in a similar category, at least when it comes to none singles

 

[Loufoque]

Not being funny, but you have MARIAH CAREY in your avatar.

Yes, Mariah has shown ZERO VARIATION in her career! Someday and We Belong Together sound almost IDENTICAL! Touch My Body is EXACTLY the same as Betcha Gon' Know (The Prologue)!

REALITY CHECK!

 

[Loufoque]

She doesn't have the idiot-on-the-street appeal of Katy Perry and Gaga, true.

The "idiot-on-the-street" appeal is what we're calling POPULAR these days? I thought you were supposed to be the unabashed champion of pop music?

 

[Shirley]

Some POP MUSIC is more EQUAL than OTHER POP MUSIC, I think you'll find

 

[VoR]

The "idiot-on-the-street" appeal is what we're calling POPULAR these days? I thought you were supposed to be the unabashed champion of pop music?

I am, but that doesn't mean there aren't levels of quality to it. It'd be far more reductive to pretend that all pop music is of equal and equivalent worth. Katy Perry songs are good for what they are, but they're fast food pop. Robyn's music has more substance.

 

[VoR]

Some POP MUSIC is more EQUAL than OTHER POP MUSIC, I think you'll find

Well it IS! I'd be a hypocrite if I just said everything with a key change and a catchy chorus was AUTOMATICALLY AMAZING. That's what real music bores do with terrible indie guitar songs.

 

[VoR]

Going back a bit, it's not JUST the similarities in tune, but the way she sings it and also the subject matter that make her a bit one note (imo). Her voice grates after a while, the production can merge into one, and i never ever want another song from her about a boy who doesn't want to fuck her being with someone else.

Other than P!nk (great comparison, sorb. though i say P!nk isn't quite as bad) i can't think of any other artist approaching such levels of stale saminess*, at least on their good songs (i realise that she tends to mix things up a bit on her album filler). And it's a shame because i think she's very talented and i want to like her more than i currently can.


*though another Brandon Flowers solo album might have put him in a similar category, at least when it comes to none singles

So now she's stale because she sings about love a fair bit? Welcome to 99.9% of recorded music TP!

And again I direct you to Who's That Girl, Call Your Girlfriend and Handle Me.

 

[AGinAg (37)]

I am, but that doesn't mean there aren't levels of quality to it. It'd be far more reductive to pretend that all pop music is of equal and equivalent worth. Katy Perry songs are good for what they are, but they're fast food pop. Robyn's music has more substance.

I'm sure some would argue that Kary Perry's recent hit "The One That Got Away" has as much substance and emotion as any Robyn song. Albeit American sadness is probably less appealing to your ears than Swedish sadness.

 

[AGinAg (37)]

It's TRUE. Robyn does have a WOE IS ME lyrical repertoire that I find hard to defend.

 

[TurnerPrize]

I'd be a hypocrite if I just said everything with a key change and a catchy chorus was AUTOMATICALLY AMAZING. That's what real music bores do with terrible indie guitar songs.

(sorry to be another person being mean to vor in this thread) but FUCKING HELL at THIS.

Really? It is, is it? You think that, because they like something different to you, that the 'real music bores' (are there even ENOUGH to justify the FREQUENT NAMECHECKS?) don't have any sort of non-primitive tastes and feelings of their own?! COME OFF IT. They're surely exactly the same as you (a POP BORE?) in their outlook to their chosen genre and ones they don't like. It really is very stupid to think otherwise.

A bit OT now but as someone who probably straddles the musical divide a bit more than most on here thesedays (i.e. i don't care about genre and i'll buy the nme if i have a long journey and there's someone i like on the cover) moopy banging on about REAL MUSIC is generally way, way way more tedious and judgemental/ill-informed/narrowminded than anything i have EVER seen from any 'indie' fans dissing 'pop', barring one awful prick i had a row with about girls aloud in an S.U. bar back in about '06. It really does remind me of the daily mail banging on about the PC BRIGADE, in the way it might take one or two awful opinions from a few dickheads and attribute it to a whole group in order to write them off and have something to moan about .

"Real music bores think all indie guitar songs are AUTOMATICALLY AMAZING"
"The PC Brigade WANT CHRISTMAS BANNED"

etc etc

GROW UP and ENOUGH NOW PLEASE

 

[VoR]

Way to be incredibly patronising yet again TP.

I obviously was not referring to EVERYONE WHO LISTENS TO INDIE MUSIC, but the Zane Lowe's of this world who DO think that a song with a guitar is automatically better than a song with a synth.

 

[Slave]

Robyn's music has more substance.

We've had this debate before and I'm not willing to go there again when everyone else is jumping on you too. But people get wound up when you state this as a fact - when you have an act you truly adore, or even just an album, or one song, it always feels like so much more than those immediately around it. This isn't an "in my opinion" matter - clearly it IS your opinion, it's just that so often on this matter (and whether it's voluntary or you were pushed, I don't know, I'm not THAT engaged with the discussion) you put other people down or pass a blanket judgement on the intelligence of others who don't like the music you do. Personally, if you think Robyn is the best artist ever and writes songs like no other, etc. that is no concern of mine - but you must surely see that people will get riled when you say that "Robyn's music has more substance than X and thus all fans of X are idiots", no?

 

[jivafox]

This thread makes out as if Robyn has released about 207 songs about being heartbroken by a boy who's now with someone else. When really it's only 3.

 

[Jark]

I don't think I will ever understand the arguments about certain acts releasing songs that sound the same or never switching it up. Almost ANY POPULAR ARTIST sticks to one genre of pop and that's that. Robyn is no worse of an offender for this than 90% of other pop bitches out there.

 

[VoR]

We've had this debate before and I'm not willing to go there again when everyone else is jumping on you too. But people get wound up when you state this as a fact - when you have an act you truly adore, or even just an album, or one song, it always feels like so much more than those immediately around it. This isn't an "in my opinion" matter - clearly it IS your opinion, it's just that so often on this matter (and whether it's voluntary or you were pushed, I don't know, I'm not THAT engaged with the discussion) you put other people down or pass a blanket judgement on the intelligence of others who don't like the music you do. Personally, if you think Robyn is the best artist ever and writes songs like no other, etc. that is no concern of mine - but you must surely see that people will get riled when you say that "Robyn's music has more substance than X and thus all fans of X are idiots", no?

I have never, ever said that all X fans are idiots, except maybe in relation to... I dunno, THE FRATELLIS or something.

I said Katy Perry and Gaga have "idiot on the street appeal" which was admittedly quite a glib statement, but I never said everyone who listens to Katy Perry is an idiot. I just meant that they have mass appeal based on the fact that their songs are very straightforward and formulaic and get the shit played out of them on commercial radio so you don't have to really go looking for them.

Look, I like the music that I like and I'm very passionate about it, and perhaps that makes me look a bit blinkered sometimes, but I actually enjoy having a healthy debate about it. I don't expect everyone to like Robyn, but when people criticise her for things I don't understand or think she's guilty of, I'm going to question it. I don't see how that's any different to any of the other fanboys here, whether they're defending Mariah Carey, Madonna or Morissey. I don't think I've been personally insulting to anybody in this thread or anywhere else in one of these discussions.

 

[COB]

but I never said everyone who listens to Katy Perry is an idiot.

They are though

 

[TurnerPrize]

Way to be incredibly patronising yet again TP.

I obviously was not referring to EVERYONE WHO LISTENS TO INDIE MUSIC, but the Zane Lowe's of this world who DO think that a song with a guitar is automatically better than a song with a synth.

This is not quite what you said, and also still a daft thing to say i think. Especially when somebody could easily level the exact opposite at you!

I'll just return the and MOVE ON, though. These things are never fun and it's sunday night.

 

[VoR]

This is not quite what you said, and also still a daft thing to say i think. Especially when somebody could easily level the exact opposite at you!

They might, but they would be wrong. I listen to plenty of guitar-based music.

Please please please stop acting like you are in a state of perpetual disappointment because nobody else on moopy is clever enough to listen to Girls Aloud AND The Killers. It is incredibly offputting.

 

[TurnerPrize]

They might, but they would be wrong. I listen to plenty of guitar-based music.

Exactly. And the only time i listened to Zane Lowe's show he played a Daft Punk album in full. A one off i'm sure but QUITE SYNTH HEAVY

And :daf: the rest. Why would i think that clever? Why would anyone? what is going on in your head? GET HELP IT'S ONLY MUSIC. And quite a few moopy people DO anyway (well Apoca and possibly POP!), so it's another silly silly assumption. And now it's monday morning.

 

[Jark]

quick, somebody throw a couple of handbags into the ring

 

[POP!]

Due to its spot on HBO's Girls last week it's managed to debut at #13 on the Billboard Bubbling Under chart (aka like #113 on the Hot 100).

NOT BAD for a virtually unknown two year old song.

 

[Loufoque]

Amazing song, amazing thread.

 

[Apoca]

It's brilliant.

That radio edit or single version or whatever it was was unnecessarily rubbish though. Album version all the way.

 

[straightorbroken]

My 7 is way off the mark, it's now a firm 10 over he're.

 

[VoR]

Amazing song, amazing thread.

Kinda weird now to read YOU criticising ME for making glib statements about Katy Perry fans.

 

[Loufoque]

When have I ever criticised Katy Perry fans? I don't make derogatory comments about 5 year olds who like cartoon characters.

 

[Loufoque]

See also: Aqua

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/-1jPUB7gRyg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Penelope]

I played this for the first time in a while tonight and I actually felt a bit bored of it. Which is a bit considering how much I loved it at the time. I'd probably rank Call Your Girlfriend and Hang With Me ahead of it now from the overall project (and Time Machine for sheer purposes, but comparing THAT with THIS is a bit apples and oranges)

ASIDE: has there REALLY not been a proper Classics thread for the Robyn album? (apart from a very one about the original Swedish release)

 

[Generic Account]

I was playing this over and over on my walk today. Lovely.

 

[VoR]

Have you had a bad week chlamydia?

 

[Generic Account]

I'm a bit befuddled about everything lately vor but I've been worse.

thanks.

 

[ameraal]

robyn uploaded a live video of this song on youtube a few days ago but it was blocked in every country i tried watching it from. i thought that was quite novel.

 

[Phoenix]

I believe this was played on the Girls season 1 finale a few years ago and got a nice boost.