#42: Maroon 5 - Misery

I've never admitted it, but I haven't actually heard Hands All Over in its entirety. Well, now I have. Even so, I really do think that Misery is a very hard song to top.


After being barraged by ballads care of my beloved DBSK, I'm now leaning towards more upbeat American/Western pop - I like my pop nice and lively nowadays. Misery is just that - isn't it ironic? I love it for that.

The song's got very strong production, and every little detail has been put together, taken apart and then put back together at least a few times. Everything has a purpose and everything's done so simply, but when you throw it all together you get brilliance. It sounds very American pop, but it sounds so Maroon 5 at the same time. The arrangement's like that too - everything's so manic but when it's time to lay low they really lay low - perfection. I love the middle 8, not for the melody, but for the instrumental and the arrangement and how it transitions to and from.

Melody-wise the song's effortlessly catchy - it doesn't hit you over the head with the hook and sometimes you don't even notice it, but it's there and it will forever will be. That and I find myself humming the chorus after I listen to the song.

Weekly Dumptruck

Yes, this is an attempt to find a catchy name for these kinds of posts I'll be doing from now on. I'll be experimenting, but do keep in mind that I suck at making names. Every week, depending on whether or not I have the time, I'll be writing up some short reviews for new singles - kinda like the 'new music' posts I used to do, pre-kpop. The ones I write full reviews for are the ones I have a lot to say about, otherwise, they go here. AND! I realize how bad I've been to indie artists, not featuring them and all, so I'll try and squeeze in one or two every week. Sounds good? It better! ;D

You know what to do. I hope you do. hahah!


What's this I hear about a new Maroon 5 single? Give A Little More? I like it. It's not as in-your-face and probably mainstream as Misery, but it's got it's own character. I LOVE the drums at the beginning and how everything builds on top of that - that's basically what a song should be. Not as literal as what they did for this, but the concept of the entire band depending on the percussion. ANYWAY. From the little I know about these types of things, it comes off as very Disco to me, 70's maybe? If I called it wrong, feel free to correct me. And of course, I adore the middle 8, and how the transition back to the chorus is just so natural. The hook sticks, but it's neither too laid-back nor too annoying. I WANT THIS ALBUM NOW.

2PM have a new track out, "dedicated" to their fanclub and it's called.. wait for it... Thank You. Fantastic title. Reminds me of those "goodbye" singles out in the mid-2000's, when all the late 90's bands were splitting up left and right. Not implying that 2PM are splitting though, because they're not. At least for the next few albums, no one knows. It's got the stereotypical JYP singing, but I do like the epic-ness of it towards the end - it's there but it doesn't hit you over the head. It's.. pretty. Not gorgeous or stunning or anything, but pretty nevertheless.

This isn't exactly super new, but I haven't said anything about Madonna, the new Secret single, and I kinda like Secret. When it came out, a lot of people were saying it sounds like Magic, but if it did I would've noticed it before I even found out they were comparing the two. The song could possibly sound cheap and crap if done the wrong way, but Secret pulled it off nicely. They've improved a heck of a lot since Magic, and they weren't half-bad back then - I'm starting to think they could possibly succeed because they've already got the variety show market cornered, and they have actual talent. For now, Madonna's pretty good.

In my attempt to update myself with American music, I found this new Taylor Swift number - Permanent Marker. Is this a single or just some random buzz track for Speak Now? (See, I know she's bringing out an album!) I did some digging, and apparently she recorded this, then sold the rights to someone else. Whosever it is, it's a pretty song - very Taylor Swift. The distinct country instruments and treatment, her country twang, and the pretty melody made that bit more mainstream - you know it's a Taylor Swift song the second you hear it, you just don't know which one it is.

K. Now for the indie part I was talking about. On BOOMerang, CJ Baran has a rather smooth voice, reminds me a bit of Simon Curtis, or someone in his league. Very much like the pop I used to blog about, but still love. The song's got these trance-y elements, and the instrumental sounds like something my dad would blast out of his custom-made stereo, and he doesn't blast a lot of stuff out of that. It's got a nice melody and it's well-produced - I'll be following how this guy's career goes.

A truckload of new(ish) singles

I thought of the title before I actually got down to writing the post, and now that it's done I don't think this is that big a truckload. Oh well.

So I guess this means I'm back in full swing, right? Hmm. I'm trying to get myself out of kpop land, so this post has a mix of English and Korean singles. International, much? I'm trying, OK?! You know the drill, click "Read On".


Do I look like a Maroon 5 fan? I don't know, even if they don't really fit majority of the music I like (I think?), they pretty much defined my early pop experience or whatever you call it. I was on a concert tour for the very first time when Songs About Jane became a hit in the Philippines, and then I was a freshman when It Won't Be Soon Before Long came out, so the albums and the singles carry sentimental value. It's like every time I hear a Maroon 5 song, regardless if it was a single or not, I feel sentimental. So now we get Misery - I'm in love with this damn song. I love the irony of it - the song's called Misery but the chords are so cheery and it's got a certain groove only Maroon 5 can pull off. Ugh, here I go again sounding like a press release - it's all that news writing. Anyway. I love everything about the song, and Adam's voice is somehow soothing - it's all the memories it carries.

OK, so JYP has a new girl group out under one of his gazillion sub-labels (that don't really earn him that much money when you put them together, compared to the other 2 major agencies) and they're called Miss A. They've got two token foreigners, Chinese girls now, and two Koreans - yeah, 4-piece. One of them has pink hair, random. When I first saw the video for Bad Girl, Good Girl I didn't like them. At all. But if you read my music show recaps, I said last Friday that they're not half bad when you watch them live. The song is bearable now, and surprisingly they all have actual voices plus the fact that they dance like any other JYP group - tight choreography and slick performances. They make SISTAR look lazy. I mean, what does SISTAR have - two backup dancers, a pseudo-rapper and one girl who sings everything. Lazy. Their material is well-produced but too gimmick-y and still a bit boring for me.

I'm afraid Paul might clobber me if I don't say anything about the new Same Difference single, so I better do it now before he thinks of it. I like it - it reminds me of the S Club era and I get all tingly just thinking about it. After all, that was kinda where I made my mark. Before kpop. The chorus is all inspirational and the gimmick about the photo frame makes me cringe a bit, but all is well. I do like the irony (again with the irony) of the verses and the chorus - the verses are all serious and sound like something straight out of some German/Swedish popstar's gazillionth album but then you get the chorus and you go "right, this fits in an SD album."

I've never been a Taeyang fan, but for the sake of it I tried listening to SOLAR when it came out last Thursday. I did like one song - Superstar. It's your standard "I have arrived so back off" song, and I like it. I'll have to admit, I Need A Girl sounds better recorded than performed live - I realize that now. I actually kinda like the recording, everything's snappy and the good production shows. One common trait I noticed on the rest of the album was that all the songs go on and on and on and on - they don't go anywhere and once you've heard the first verse and the first part of the chorus you've heard it all. There are songs like that that don't drag, but it's like the tracks don't have anything that keeps me interested. Oh well.

Let's go back a few weeks, because I never bothered writing about The Saturdays' Missing You. I don't know, the autotune bothers me a bit. But then again, everyone's doing it, and besides, they haven't had that many autotuned songs since they started so what the heck. Missing You is trying to be big and epic and all that, but I think in trying too hard they lost the effortlessness of an epic song. I mean, everything up 'till the end of the first chorus is OK - nice and fresh and stuff - but after that it just gets boring and the only thing keeping my attention is Vanessa's solo. I appreciate the dance routine at the chorus, but after watching idol groups in Korea, they're no match. Music-wise most of the Koreans are no match though, so it's even.