I'll be honest right from the start. I've never been a fan of Katy Perry. Her career was built on a foundation of weak controversy and titillation of underage boys. The record label of a lady whose first two singles were called Ur So Gay and I Kissed A Girl obviously weren't planning on her wonderful vocal skills to make her breakthrough. Then this happened...
It's taken me a long time to admit this, but I bloody love Firework. After a slow start, from 48 seconds in, this is one of the catchiest, best written pop songs of the last few years. The strings are captivating, the beat is basic and non-intrusive, and after half a listen, you'll be humming it for days. Everything a pop song should be. Yet, can you imagine if this had been sung by, for example, Kelly Clarkson?
My Life Would Suck Without You is a song in a similar vein to Firework, but listen to them one after the other, and it is blatant just how much of a stronger singer Ms. Clarkson is than Ms. Perry. That chorus on Firework is yelling out for someone who doesn't need to sound like a very large kidney stone is being forced through a very small hole that kidney stones shouldn't appear from. A nose, for example. But that doesn't mean I would choose not to listen to Firework. I don't choose not to listen to Neil Young because his voice isn't as strong as some of his contemporaries.
Ultimately, a voice is far from the most important thing in music. As much as a good voice is nice, the strength of the songwriting underneath is what is going to make you stand to attention whenever it passes your ears. Recently, my girlfriend's parents took us to the 02 to see James Taylor with them. It was a fun evening, and he has an interesting, unique voice, yet during his between song banter, he mentioned that he has written 10 songs 20 times each, or something along those lines and nothing could be more true. None of his songs ever really stick. The only song he performed that evening I could hum on the tube on the way home was You've Got A Friend. And that was written by Carole King. And that was only after a concious effort not to sing the similarly titled ditty from Toy Story.
If I've not convinced you yet, just go ahead and think about Losing My Religion. You know it. One of R.E.M.'s biggest hits. Yes, that one. Now have a listen to Graveworm's version.
Now, even without Michael Stipe's famous vocals, replaced by a man in desperate need of a lemsip, the core of the song is still intact, recogniseable and pretty damn perfect. When a song your gran can hum can transcend genre and be performed by a band the masses of Bloodstock would appreciate and still instantly sound faithful to both the original, and the band's sound, that just goes to show I was right to finally admit how much I enjoy Firework. It doesn't mean I'm instantly Katy Perry's biggest fan. Just that I have a lot of respect for the faceless songwriters who wrote it and thank them for getting the tune out there (even if that does include Mrs Brand herself).
No comments:
Post a Comment