Todd, I never saw any of your videos until about a month ago when I marathonned them all. I have really, really enjoyed this exposure to current popular music, a genre I have almost completely ignored for the past three years. You've inspired me to turn on the pop stations in my car while I'm driving now. I find the current state of popular music to be horrendous in a completely fascinating way. Thanks for giving me something to think about.
Ep 31: 5 o'clock
Written by Todd In The Shadows Wednesday, 14 December 2011 10:56
Image art by Krin
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Comments (77)
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12.14.2011 - 11:22 | okaypineapple
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12.14.2011 - 11:44 | Nixkoenner
awesome as always
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12.14.2011 - 12:07 | theangryscot
Great video. As it's nearly the new year i'm really looking forward to the 2011 top 10's, hope LMFAO'S crap is on there.
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12.14.2011 - 12:38 | SlowkingI think you know this, Todd and just neglected it for the sake of the narrative in this review, but I would like to point out for the viewers, that Lily Allen's "Fuck you" isn't her being an asshole. It is a response to the argument many convervatives use all the time "you are a liberal so you have to tolerate my views!".
No we don't! If you are hating people for being gay or black etc. then fuck you, fuck you very very much! We will not tolerate it! That is what the song is about.
But I am kind of disappointed in her, how she sold out with this song. She didn't even make a new crappy song, to get attention in the US, but ruined one of her sweet old ones. And as you pointed out she doesn't have that many sweet songs to begin with (though if sweet or not, all of them awesome).
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12.14.2011 - 14:25 | Divide By Zero
'Lily Allen's "Fuck you" isn't her being an asshole. It is a response to the argument many convervatives use all the time "you are a liberal so you have to tolerate my views!"'
Yes, and "Not Fair" is less about shaming a guy for sucking in bed than it is about expressing extreme sexual frustration at never getting to the punch-line of the cosmic joke, so to speak. But the bit's still funny, so it's all good =)
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When I heard those first few words of Lily Allen's song on the radio, I jumped. I LOVE Lily's music, and then T-Pain started talking-er-singing. I was like: "No! You did NOT just shit all over my favorite british pop artist!" My faves of her osngs are probably Smile, and LDN.
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11.06.2012 - 18:26 | Fantagonist
You said it all, otakuchick45, that was exactly my reaction when I heard this song for the first time. I couldn't even listen to this review for a really really long time because I was so traumatized by the experience. Who'd have known is one of my favorite songs from Lily, and this... I have no words. Good thing Todd does (especially with the comparison to Imogen Heap's hit, except this is even worse if not the worst of all.)
To show Lily's so called smugness Todd could have chosen better examples though (like Not Big instead of Not Fair) and left out Smile and Fuck You since they're obviously about something else that he thinks. Otherwise a great review.
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12.14.2011 - 20:17 | TheBookGeek
And Smile is about her laughing in the face of a guy who cheated on her and then wanted her back.
Either way, all her music is faaar too intelligent for T-Pain to try to comprehend and use.
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12.14.2011 - 21:27 | JetstreamGW
What? Sold out? She licensed the use of about thirty seconds of an old song. This is selling out? Saying "yes you may use my clip?"
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06.24.2012 - 20:56 | Steve the Pocket
Not only that, but it might not have even been her decision to make. Even leaving aside how much of it is up to whatever record label she's on and whether they're greedy corporate bastards or not, US law actually requires recording companies to license songs to whoever wants to use them provided the appropriate royalties are paid. I don't know if foreign artists are exempt from that or not, but I'm just putting that out there.
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12.15.2011 - 07:30 | Zachary Amaranth
I very much love the notion of "You have to tolerate us, but we don't have to tolerate you." Isn't it grand what double standards have done?
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12.16.2011 - 00:34 | mrrubino
Yeah, they use that argument a lot too. =P
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12.16.2011 - 04:36 | MissAshley
If we're talking about something that is either right or wrong, then there is only ever a right and many wrongs. People tend to get lost within varying degrees of specification, but ultimately there is a right and a wrong in matters where such a dichotomy must exist.
I see no double standard in confiscating the stick of a person who beats another without justification. To do so isn't being intolerant; it's being humane. To condemn those that condemn others not for actions but for simply existing isn't an expression of intolerance; it's an expression of love for humanity.
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12.16.2011 - 07:57 | mrrubinoWell that's the whole idea behind the statement, isn't it? The implication is "You have to accept everything I say and never tell me I'm wrong just because I might not have logic or facts on my side! That would be intolerant. Ha! Gotcha, you stoopid librull moral-relativist!"
As much as we hear complaints about "gotcha questions" when a reporter asks such tough questions as "What newspapers do you read?", silly rhetorical games designed to make others looks like hypocrites (based on ridiculously simple and inaccurate representations of the "other side's" beliefs) instead of something that can be discussed rationally seem to be becoming the default, around the Inter-nets at least.
It's a tactic used by people who honestly can't make an argument, because their beliefs aren't actually based on logic or fact, but emotion and entrenched, unchallenged belief. Nothing more, nothing less. You'd want to kill discussion at its outset too.
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12.16.2011 - 17:23 | Matthew G"No we don't! If you are hating people for being gay or black etc. then fuck you, fuck you very very much! We will not tolerate it! That is what the song is about."
You can tell this is the opinion of an intelligent person by how this is about intolerance and bullying instead of arguments.
Classic.
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12.14.2011 - 12:16 | secretsheikWhat a painful song... It almost makes me glad that I work Fridays and can't go to the skating rink and see all the kids around me singing all of the words to these crappy songs. Seriously, what's going to become of these kids if this kind of junk is all they listen to? I often hear a bare minimum of 5 songs you've reviewed on here at the rink, sometimes in freaking sequence. On a bad day I'll hear a good 10 of them or so. Please, someone get this music out of my head!
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12.14.2011 - 12:55 | WarxePB
Todd autotuning himself is extremely amusing. A++++ would want to see that again.
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12.14.2011 - 13:06 | FullofQuestions
I like Lily Allen too, and I now want to listen to that sampled song.
And the autotuning was hilarious!
By the way, I hear some people saw his face out of the shadows for a second in the video of this that he very quickly took down. Any truth to the rumors?
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12.14.2011 - 16:18 | Futago
It is true. I saw the video when he put it up and you could see his face in some shots pretty clearly.
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wow, I had the reaction of "WTF? Lily Allen?" EXACTELY 1 second before Todd edited his one in. it is amazing that this dickwad (that T-Pain guy, not Todd) had the balls to take the work of this woman and use it for his utter shite. Lily Allen is among the smartest female Pop Artists in the current mainstream and she has a beautiful voice that doesn't require any god damn auto tuning. for T-Pain to use this is a complete disgrace. it is as if Pit Bull sampeled a Song by Zaz (a French singer, her music is good, check it out). it's almost offensive it's so unholy.
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12.14.2011 - 23:19 | littleliliPit Bull sampling Zaz... the fuck that thought is going to haunt my nightmares now... Pit Bull is probably the rapper I hate the second most. And Zaz is just all kinds of fabulous I've been listening to her like crazy for the last two weeks since I discovered her music.
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12.14.2011 - 13:37 | Betawolf
Well this just goes to show you that sometimes two good things put together can be very bad. Like chocolate and bubble gum.
Also, nice Okami reference. Really didn't expect that.
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12.14.2011 - 13:52 | DragonDandelion
Huh, I think I need to listen to more Lily Allen music. She does sound pretty good.
Anyway, this seems like a bland & confusing song but your review was memorable as always, Todd!
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12.14.2011 - 13:55 | charlYou know what is the most confusing aspect of this to me? Why does the music video take place on the streets of Amsterdam?
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12.14.2011 - 14:16 | LarieHey, a shoutout to Robyn! Nice! . I'm sure everyone thinks it's a great place for T-Paine to be, as he loves partying so much.
...yeah, Amsterdam is really a pretty normal town, just with a lot of tourists going there solely for the weed/prostitutes. Very tiring for Dutch people, I can tell you...
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12.14.2011 - 23:23 | littleliliNaw trust me getting hookers and weed in the states isn't as hard as people think it is. And its pretty easy not to get caught doing it (as long as your smart about it/have enough money. That being said I am convinced that it was for convenience sake, like he was over there for a show and then they were like "We need a video for this song... and this city looks cool with these channels and houses and junk, let's do it here. And if anyone calls us out on it it's a shout out to the Dutch fans."
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12.14.2011 - 14:17 | Slowking[quote]You know what is the most confusing aspect of this to me? Why does the music video take place on the streets of Amsterdam?[/quote]
Well Lily Allen is based in the UK, which is right next to the netherlands and T-Pain is probably in Amsterdam all the time to sample new weed strains. So I'm going with convenience here. :D
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12.14.2011 - 14:46 | WhitestShadow
Good god I cant stand autotune!
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12.14.2011 - 14:57 | nyaoreWas that Okami I saw you playing? :D
Great review as always Todd.
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12.14.2011 - 15:15 | Yoshemo
My thoughts exactly when I first heard this song...
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12.14.2011 - 15:27 | Tabbi-Katt
Was that Okami I saw there? I approve.
Excellent review, as always. Hearing you autotuned was hilarious.
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12.14.2011 - 15:33 | MusicNinja
I have never heard this song before, and I didn´t found it to be particularly bad. Yes, the music is kind of boring and the lyrics doesn´t work, but I can listen to it (Which is pretty unusual when it comes to radio music!)
Btw, nice that you mentioned Robyn, she is actully pretty good. I think there is a lot of good music here in Sweden, but we only export crapmusic to the other european countries. Artists from Swedish Idol and similar programs, you americans should be happy that you do not have to hear it!
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12.14.2011 - 16:09 | motormind
Thank you, Todd, for confirming my decision not to watch TV and listen to the radio anymore. I haven't for several years, and I am not planning to start anytime soon.
By the way: has that been filmed in Amsterdam? That's cool. I'm in The Netherlands, see.
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12.14.2011 - 16:04 | CronoT
You know what, Todd? Besides the fact that we have the same first name, every time I watch and USUALLY enjoy your reviews, (Sometimes you can rise about your material, and sometimes you can't.) it makes me appreciate that the Contemporary Christian music I normally listen to at least PRETENDS to have standards.
How about that? Your reviews help me enjoy more a music genre you've never been afraid to admit you loath. Ain't irony fun?
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12.14.2011 - 16:11 | Divide By ZeroUrge to troll... rising...
Seriously, my passionate, PASSIONATE hatred of Christian "rock" urges me to make some sarcastic and cutting remark... buuuuut I find my inner troll quelled in this regard by an overruling respect for anyone willing to champion their particular style of music in spite of the horrible, awful, soul-crushing... gah... sorry had to wrestle the troll back in its box... in spite of how others perceive it.
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12.14.2011 - 18:33 | CronoT@Divide by Zero
Yeah, I can appreciate how ANY group looks from the outside. Other than 2 or 3 old standy's and s handful of new artists, most of the people in the Contemporary Christian music genre are either 'Paycheck Artists' or come and go like the wind.
A perfect example of that is Katy Perry. She used to be a Contemporary Christian artist before she went into 'other means of income...'
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12.14.2011 - 16:59 | Fuegan88@motormind
Yeah its in the red light district of Amsterdam ;)
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12.14.2011 - 17:33 | camyskaze
Oh, dude, please, not Lily Allen.
This song is so so sooooo bad Lily Allen didn´t even dignified its video with her presence. And man, how the hell do they come up with these sample ideas? I doubt T-Pain listens to Lily Allen. Do they just take the Billboard´s 100 chart and point randomly at a song?
I really like Todd´s autotuned voice, though. You should try a career change and release an R&B album.
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12.16.2011 - 04:51 | MissAshley"I doubt T-Pain listens to Lily Allen."
Just for the sake of removing the false dichotomy of "if he does it justice he listened to it" and "if he doesn't do it justice he hasn't listened to it," I offer another possibility:
T-Pain cannot think critically.
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12.14.2011 - 17:58 | TragicGuineaPig
Autotune? I still remember vocoders. To me, vocoders will always be the definitive Robot Voice.
Also, T-Pain likes boats, too.
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12.14.2011 - 18:12 | TheObserver
Lily Allen. The only reason I know her name is that her brother (Alfie Allen) plays Theon Greyjoy on Game of Thrones. That's all I got.
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12.14.2011 - 18:52 | sprezzatura
really? nice! still need to check out both Lily Allen and GoT, but that sounds promising...
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12.14.2011 - 20:10 | TheBookGeekYou know, she has a song about Alfie actually...
Does not put him in a positive light though.
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12.15.2011 - 13:32 | SlowkingWell it mostly says that he smokes weed and masturbates a lot. But really which teenage boy doesn't do that?
(when the album dropped he was older but I'm rather sure that she wrote the song much earlier or remembered back)
That being said he is really hot now. I would totaly hit that!
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12.14.2011 - 18:38 | DanceNerd
When I first heard the first 20 seconds of this song, I was thinking, "Oh, this is going to be a sweet lovely-love song." And then T-Pain happened...
I hate it when artists take songs COMPLETELY out of their original context. Blargh!
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12.14.2011 - 18:51 | sprezzaturaEurgh- I just heard this on the radio the other day and went in a despairing funk back to my iPod playlist! I spent one half of the song disgusted at T-Pain's chauvinistic douchiness, and the other futilely trying to reconcile the "conversation got boring" and "coming home from the club" parts of the song, much like you did, Todd. Glad this song made it on here, it particularly makes me want to pull my hair out!
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12.14.2011 - 20:07 | TheBookGeekAt least it's better than the song 50 Cent made sampling a indie band.
The song sampled is called Monster by Meg&Dia. He turned it into a song about being a pimp.
The original topic of the song? Rape.
He turned a song about rape and how horrible it is, into a song about how great of a rapper/pimp/slut he is. It made me want to vomit.
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12.21.2011 - 23:15 | rosella500...50 Cent did WHAT?
Ok, it's one thing to miss the point of a song, or to ignore everything but the chorus, or to take the lyrics at face value when that doesn't make sense, but are you serious?
...I just found the song on YouTube and I'm speechless. Not only is that technically terrible sampling (it sounds like he just pressed the back button after he got to the end of what he wanted to sample), but just...why? Why would you take a song about child abuse, rape, and suicide and put it in a song about you having kinky sex? Why would you want that connotation in your music?
...I know I said I was speechless and then elaborated on my point, but I still just don't understand.
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12.14.2011 - 20:35 | Dr.Jazz
I really like Lily Allen. My jaw dropped when I heard the start of this song, was not expecting that! She does not belong here with T-Pain. No. Just no. Leave my Lily Allen alone!
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12.14.2011 - 21:04 | crackmonster99I really hate this song. The best thing about it is the chorus and t-pain pretty much ruins it.
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12.14.2011 - 21:25 | JetstreamGWTo hell with the T-Pain song, I'm curious about Lilly Allen. One of those clips was GODDAMN familiar. Did she have a hit here? Even one? I swear I've heard her before.
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12.15.2011 - 04:15 | TheRandomestOne
"Smile" was covered by Glee, I'm pretty sure. People really do like doing stupid stuff with her work, don't they?
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