Mariah Law part 1752387629

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

No unicorns this time but plenty of dog action:

Something bothers me about this track - I think Mariah builds up the vocal intensity very nicely towards the end, but the music doesn't quite follow the same upward curve. And the way she rhymes 'brothers' with 'grandmothers' kind of sounds like she's taking the p1ss.

Saying that, the blatant sentimentality isn't too bad at all, mainly thanks to the piano verse vs electrofuzz chorus FITE going on in the background.

Comments

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I love the grandmothers line! It does sound like she's taking the piss slightly, it undercuts the sentimentality just enough for the tinkly gloopiness not to matter; it's hilarious, you imagine grandmothers who've fallen down the back of the sofa, but it's also still really sweetly sincere - the line about her dad never getting to see her comeback is a true and real "awwww" moment. I like that it's about grieving, but is serene and accepting rather than distressed and abject; it's more like the farewells when you leave school than at a funeral.

There are about 10 better choices of single on E=MC2 though (unless this kind of sentimentality makes it a shoe-in for another No 1 in the US?) - on the one hand this is further evidence of what an amazing hitmaking pop album it is, on the other FFS Mariah release 'Migrate' or 'I'm That Chick' or 'Side Effects' or 'OOC' or 'Cruise Control' already.

[weasel-seeker.livejournal.com]

RE: 'I'm That Chick'. Specifically around the chorus (And you know you need this mayn), the song starts hitting my "this really sound like a Janet Jackson song" button and I can't place which one. It's been bugging me for a week now. Am I crazy?

That said, she gots that levity.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Oh god it does too - it's one of Janet's mid-90s numbers isn't it. It might be 'All For You'?

[weasel-seeker.livejournal.com]

On further listening, it might be the pre-chorus melody/vocal phrasing from Somebody to Call My Lover (which incidentally rocks a great Ventura Highway sample, although America are kind of guys with guitars, so never mind). Or maybe Doesn't Really Matter? Argh.

I feel like they're all kind of close since they work off a similar (awesome) template, but I'm positive there's a much closer Janet match. Either that or a Platonic ideal of all these songs that doesn't actually exist.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah you're right about 'Someone To Call My Lover'! I always loved the guitar line, but never knew it was a sample. Also I don't know why I assumed that and 'All For You' were mid-90s...they were 2001, and I was aware of them then, but I guess r&b was all about being hyper-futuristic Timba/Neps stuff, so I didn't pay as much attention to Janet's gorgeously undemonstrative lightness as I should have.

I think 'I'm That Chick' itself might be the Platonic ideal of the breezy summer bliss r&b number! If only because that's what it wants to be so much.