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Oh, Shamir...



Oh, I really like Shamir. I've been a fan for awhile now and I even dowloaded his first EP. I think it's the voice, so distinctive, and the lyrics, that are grounded and somehow colloquial. Also, I guess I like listening to songs sung by men who sing in a high register. There's so many male singers I like that sing in a high register that I could probably create my own playlist of favorites. Men who sing in some kind of falsetto have been around for decades in music. There's been articles written about it and even tons of studies that tell us of the many men with high voices that sing the songs we like.

Falsetto, which comes from the Italian word for false voice, has been around for a very long time. However, there have been few attempts to track its popularity in pop music. We teamed up with the Pudding to change that. We analyzed 20,000 songs that charted on the Billboard Hot 100 using vocal data sourced from Pandora’s Music Genome Project to figure out just how popular falsetto singing actually is.

VOX

Apparently, a high register IS very popular. So I'm not alone. But I imagine this one song goes beyond the voice because when I heard it it kind of hit a little bit too close to home. You see, I'm one of those silly people who basically fixate on the lyrics of songs and then cannot take them out of their heads. And lately, some songs get to me more more than others. I think it's my overall state of mind.

I used to think that love was fleeting
You'll just end up hurt
But it's a cosmic game of meetings
That may never work and I think
Maybe I deserve a little more
And life will get easier
But I don't believe in love anymore

So how's that for some Pandemic angst? And it kind of applies to me right now. You see, I have created this situation I'm living in all on my own and I wonder how sustainable it is. So the question is, is it better to keep the status quo and stay as we are right now in our own little bubbles or should we try and get ourselves ready for when (and if) things get back to the 'new normal'? Suddenly, Steven's posts totally made sense.

I always thought my heart was freezing
And I'm just cold
But I refuse to fucking suffer
Just to feel whole now I know
Maybe I can find the one
The more I rid myself
Of thinking I can't love anyone
Even if it's the devil himself

I think I have basically entrenched myself in this position, wallowing in my own ways and refusing to move on in what concerns some aspects of my life. Pretty standard 'Better the devil that you know' and all that Jazz. I blame the Pandemic. Well, that and the fact that I'm stubborn. Têtu, say the French. Opinionated, you may chime in.  I don't know if that's a byproduct of the self-imposed isolation we have have adopted to save our lives or maybe just a strategy I've deployed to avoid being hurt.

Whatever it is, this Shamir song brought it all up and now I'm in a slightly melancholic mood. I'm not sad. I'm just disappointed, I guess. Disappointed with some aspects of my life and slightly mad at myself for not being able to do without the status quo. Funny how a song can work better than therapy for stirring shit up, no?

But don't worry. I'll be ok. Been here before. Done better at the end. The thing is, can I keep my cool and just sit pretty while the dust settles and things look better? There's no question about the wait. The problem is the sitting pretty. I'm not good at that.

XOXO

P.S. here's Shamir trying to make me feel better. He may succeed at the end.




Comments

  1. Not really my style, though I do like'Call It Off' a little better. But there's great style in the videos.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, Call it off is a jam!
      And the videos are very cool. They have a very personal aesthetic.

      XOXO

      Delete
  2. You and I. I did a story on Shamir in June of 2015 on my blog! https://wonderlandburlesque.blogspot.com/2015/06/of-note-call-it-off-by-shamir.html
    I kid you not. Love him. Have lost track of him. Thanks for resetting my compass! You the best.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. OMG you did!
      I have also mentioned him here before. And he basically went underground and just recently kind of came back up for air.
      No, you are.

      XOXO

      Delete
  3. Babe you’ve always been one to find meaning in lyrics. I’m one who goes for listening to the music. That’s what usually brings me to a song. Like Bob I found “Call It Off, “ more to my liking I think because it’s more upbeat.

    But that’s what’s so amazing about you. Your analytical mind finding your meaning in a song. You’re very deep and thoughtful.

    XOXO 👨‍❤️‍💋‍👨

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha.
      Oh, it's a curse. I just live in my head. And Call it Off was huge. More accessible too.

      XOXO

      Delete
  4. I don't know I'm familiar with this Shamir, but that voice!!!! I think I have some of that feeling too. I was home for the first two months not out or around anyone. Then three months in, I have seen my mom and two other friends. Now almost 6 months in I have done my two trips to the woods and once to visit Pearly. Otherwise when home I am a recluse . Had I never even been out, I think I would have a major change in lifestyle by now. Can you say Great Garbo? To be honest, part of me doesn't want the world to return to normal for the sake of the planet and animals. I have to admit it depresses me to see more traffic and people out slowly. Hence why I need to keep socialized in person to a point. I'm an extrovert/introvert. But when the introvert takes over each time, it's getting more tiring and harder to keep at bay.

    Thanks to another blogger she got me into my Florence and the Machine listening binge day yesterday.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes!
      The voice draws you in. And I'm totally with you here. I've been almost a recluse during the week. Total Garbo vibes! I can deal with being on my own but sometimes I kind of long for another kind of connection.
      I think about me and about others and I just don't want to engage. It's both preservation and a desire to help contain this virus. Also, people who do not wear masks annoy me to no end.
      Oh, Yes! FATM is the bomb. The Dog Days are OVAH!

      XOXO

      Delete
  5. And on the love front I know I'm a ice queen and afraid of hurt. My favorite quotes is Joan Crawford- "Love is a fire. But whether it is going to warm your hearth or burn down your house, you can never tell." I'm not willing to find out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, hunny. Miss Crawford was CORRECT.

      XOXO

      Delete
  6. Okay, the's got a nice tone. Natural Tenor, really,. I'm with the majority - "Call It Off" is my favorite here. But, falsetto has been popular throughout pop music. Think Frankie Valli & the 4 Seasons, think Barry Gibb and the BeeGees. Shamir's range reminds me of Michael Jackson. Go further back and you get the likes of Eddie Fisher.
    Lyrics are supposed to mean something. That's why I get so aggravated when I'm forced to hear a mush-mouth singing. It's why I despise opera - most opera singers care more about the notes than the words. Maria Callas insisted on excellent diction for a reason.

    As far as the situation - - well, sometimes, they are of our own making; sometimes not. Right now, the thing I worry about is getting so used to, so comfortable with, not socializing. It's getting to the point where I don't want to be bothered - the phone rings and I growl. Even the IM functions bug me anymore. "Stop texting me! Leave me the fuck alone!" Does that sound at all familiar? Are doomed, even after this pandemic is over? XOXO

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A Natural tenor, then?
      I have no idea, of course. But I like how he sounds. I guess it's that Michael Jackson similarity, then what draws me in. I love Andy Bell and Sam Smith, too.
      And lyrics always get me. They stick to my head like hot bubble gum.
      Oh, the situation. It's so maddening with people acting a fool and with no end in sight that sometimes it irks me to no end. And I was telling a friend yesterday that we'll never get back to 'normal'.

      XOXO

      Delete
  7. Sorry, I'm with Bob. I like music played with instruments.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha
      Oh, Dave, darling. He's literally playing the guitar in this song. And the synths, that's true.
      But the music is more organic in On My Own than in any of the other songs that are more accessible. Also, it rocks harder...

      XOXO

      Delete
  8. Oh, and listening to lyrics? Don't get me started. Something would come out and I would be obsessed... the words, in my head... over and over... like a mantra. Me, living and feeling it. Like the soundtrack of my life. I get you. I know how that goes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha
      Same! I even did a soundtrack of my life post here! Oh, you should do one!!

      XOXO

      Delete

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