Special Edition: Adam's Rant - Grimes New Song

You may remember from an earlier Adam's Rant (approximately 2 years ago -- again, sorry about the hiatus....I was seriously trying to get my shit together), I introduced you to Grimes on the premise that, since I like her dreamy dubstep, you must hear it, too. In case you didn't know, last month, Grimes released her first song in .... well, approximately 2 years (apparently, that's how long it takes to get your shit together). Well, roughly two weeks ago, I got the following message on the Facebook:

Clearly, Adam was distressed. Like ALL CAPS distressed. Oh my.

To be honest, I hadn't taken the time to listen to the new track, "Go" ft. Blood Diamonds. Sure, I shared it on social media and filed it away to listen to later. Later turned out to be over this past weekend.



First, let me just say -- and this may be to Adam's dismay -- I actually really liked it. But I do understand where he's coming from and he made valid points. No, it is not typical Grimes. The strange yet ethereal vocals a la Alex Winston mixed with Enya....are gone. Not that the vocals on "Go" are bad, it's just -- they're too pretty. I know that doesn't make sense so let me elaborate. If anyone has seen the new "Les Miserables" film, I'm just going to use that as an example. There are scores of people who could sing "I Dreamed A Dream" better than Anne Hathaway, but the fact that her voice broke in places made the song better. It is possible to sacrifice prettiness for raw feeling. It almost sounds like a different person at times. Of course, on the positive side, it does demonstrate her range and I'm not hating hearing her sing at full voice.

The actual music is cool but I feel like I've heard it before. It's very similar to Katy Perry's "Dark Horse" or, let's be honest, any R&B duet with a solo female artist--especially a soprano. Please don't get me started on Katy Perry. I will say only one thing about her -- she knows how to get on the fucking radio. And I would say that this song definitely was aiming for the radio.

As for the Rihanna comment.....Oh my god totally. Don't get me wrong...I like Rihanna. She has a unique voice -- but so does Grimes. I think it really underscores the sorry state of the mainstream music industry that they feel they need to latch on to the hottest artist of the day just to sell music. Then, in turn, new artists feel that in order to be noticed they need to emulate what's already out there. Culture doesn't evolve with this mindset. It just sort of festers until we get Justin Bieber.

But, although I deeply sympathize with Adam's disappointment, there is a silver lining. A bunch of people who have no idea who Grimes is may fall in love with the cozy familiarity of "Go," and then subsequently, her older stuff. I feel that this is a good thing.

Besides, it's only one song. I'll try to reserve full judgment until the album drops.

Oh, and Adam....If you do decide to put The Rumble Pack on the back burner and become a legendary dubstep artist, I will gladly man the vocoder.