The thread where we appreciate Akon's "Lonely"

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You sick of sped up samples? Yeah me too. But this song is really really twee-tacular and awesome

― roger adultery (roger adultery), Friday, 4 March 2005 22:15 (twenty-one years ago)

Obviously yall ain't heard this yet.

― roger adultery (roger adultery), Friday, 4 March 2005 23:19 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm checking it now, as I've never actually had a chance to check any Akon stuff, and I'm digging it. I may have to check out that Disciple CD.

― Will M. (Will M.), Saturday, 5 March 2005 01:49 (twenty-one years ago)

If you miss Alvin and the Chipmunks, yes. I found this whole album to be a colossal disappointment.

― shookout (shookout), Saturday, 5 March 2005 17:47 (twenty-one years ago)

I really love the beats.

I like this song in a kind of uncomfortable never-actively-want-to-listen-to-it way.

― The Lex (The Lex), Wednesday, 9 March 2005 01:25 (twenty-one years ago)

one month passes...

Best song ever?

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Thursday, 21 April 2005 22:57 (twenty-one years ago)

nah, but its great.

― miccio (miccio), Thursday, 21 April 2005 22:58 (twenty-one years ago)

Bobby Vinton's keeping track:

http://www.bobbyvinton.com/news.asp

Maybe he has something more to say about the song elsewhere on his site, but his creepily well-preserved mug has scared me off exploring further.

― m.e.a. (m.e.a.), Friday, 22 April 2005 00:58 (twenty-one years ago)

Haha when I posted earlier I was actually thinking about 'Locked Up'. 'Lonely' isn't at all uncomfortable. I do like it though.

― The Lex (The Lex), Friday, 22 April 2005 07:10 (twenty-one years ago)

this song is going to annoy the hell out of me.

heard it twice and the cringesome factor is already kicking in.

― mark e (mark e), Friday, 22 April 2005 07:24 (twenty-one years ago)

Of course the only people who like this shit are people who dont love music, so what are you doing on this forum?

Its a novelty that everyone will recognise as terrible about a week after its topped the charts.

I hated Sweetie the Chick, and this rips it off in an even more annoying way. Its childish and irritating and mindless, and sure to be popular such are the monkeys of the British public.

― dmun, Friday, 22 April 2005 09:17 (twenty-one years ago)

Horrific.

― $V£N! (blueski), Friday, 22 April 2005 09:36 (twenty-one years ago)

I still want a refunt from SFJ for convincing me to buy this shitty album.

― shookout (shookout), Friday, 22 April 2005 09:41 (twenty-one years ago)

Its childish and irritating and mindless, and sure to be popular such are the monkeys of the British public.

You seemed to have confused Akon with the Futureheads.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Friday, 22 April 2005 10:26 (twenty-one years ago)

I'd be quite interested to see someone write a few paraggraphs on 'Lonely' defending it to the hilt. I thought 'Ignition Remix' was terrible when I first heard it but warmed up thanks largely to being convinced by a few people on here. Akon is beyond the pale though - from what I've heard (not much, granted) he can barely sing and the times when he can he sounds like the Lighthouse Family.

― $V£N! (blueski), Friday, 22 April 2005 10:33 (twenty-one years ago)

"You seem to have confused Akon with the Futureheads"

Yeah i second that. May as well use this as another chance to dig at the Kaiser Chiefs too, who could also be accused of this.

― dmun, Friday, 22 April 2005 14:11 (twenty-one years ago)

"Locked Up" is good. "Ghetto" is better. This is blech.

― David R. (popshots75`), Friday, 22 April 2005 14:14 (twenty-one years ago)

ugh ugh ugh.his voice is like a dental drill. locked up was bad enough, but lonely is beyond the pale. enough with the whining, already - "waah, i'm in jail. waah, i don't have anybody."

― lauren (laurenp), Friday, 22 April 2005 14:20 (twenty-one years ago)

It's rather bizarre; like one of those desolate-sentimental 50s rock'n'roll ballads. Ok, it's hardly anywhere near any such re-creation in "Twin Peaks", but it's at least out of nowhere - only the chipmunk voices sounds at all like KW to me.

― Tom May (Tom May), Tuesday, 26 April 2005 00:13 (twenty-one years ago)

well, the Bobby Vinton sample is from '64, so not quite '50's, but yeah, it definitely has a vibe from that era.

― Al (sitcom), Tuesday, 26 April 2005 00:37 (twenty-one years ago)

Yes, I guess that the 60s never started until 1963 or 1964, or whenever that Larkin-Beatles-Chatterley moment was. The simplicity of the melody is quite like Roy Orbison, but there's nothing melodramatic or deeply heartbreaking about it.

It reminds me a bit of Mud's "Lonely This Christmas", must say.

― Tom May (Tom May), Tuesday, 26 April 2005 01:00 (twenty-one years ago)

Growing on me but it's still not fantatsic.

― The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Tuesday, 26 April 2005 02:02 (twenty-one years ago)

It IS weird. His singing IS rather (and seemingly obliviously) horrific. Since when did these qualities make a 'bad' pop song?

― Roger Fidelity (Roger Fidelity), Tuesday, 26 April 2005 02:28 (twenty-one years ago)

It is hilarious.

― Lethal Dizzle (djdee2005), Tuesday, 26 April 2005 02:34 (twenty-one years ago)

I'll admit I like the song more when I find it mid-song on the radio.

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 26 April 2005 02:38 (twenty-one years ago)

because it's too long?

― Al (sitcom), Tuesday, 26 April 2005 02:57 (twenty-one years ago)

I agree--listening to the whole song is a bit tedious. It's much more fun to come in for just long enough to sing along to one of the choruses and bow back out.

― The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Tuesday, 26 April 2005 02:58 (twenty-one years ago)

His voice starts out a little more bleh, song builds and I enjoy it more when the chimpunk is in full swing

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 26 April 2005 02:59 (twenty-one years ago)

x-post: exactly

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 26 April 2005 02:59 (twenty-one years ago)

heh miccio you know i have a long angry tirade building up in response to your nutty reasoning for Lonely > 1 Thing

― Al (sitcom), Tuesday, 26 April 2005 03:00 (twenty-one years ago)

what every critic has to prefer "1 thing"?

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 26 April 2005 03:02 (twenty-one years ago)

I have no intention of bullying anyone into falling in line with consensus, no.

― Al (sitcom), Tuesday, 26 April 2005 03:04 (twenty-one years ago)

Lonely is ridiculous. We had a drunk singalong to it in the car the other night.

― Lethal Dizzle (djdee2005), Tuesday, 26 April 2005 03:05 (twenty-one years ago)

One hook I love repeated ad infitium > a bunch of hooks I find annoying. "1 Thing" isn't an evil song, its just one that I don't enjoy that everybody else seems to think defines the cat's pajamas (though "Lonely" is doing slightly better on the charts if I'm not mistaken, woo woo).

just post the rant in my comments box under the name "Taco Supreme" late Friday Night along with a comparison of me to post-lobotomy Chuck Klosterman or something.

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 26 April 2005 03:06 (twenty-one years ago)

i have no problem with the preference of one over the other in and of itself, it was your batshit reasoning of 1 Thing = futuristic claptrap/Lonely = comfy pop classicism, when both contain samples but 1 Thing is basically using an old funk sample to make something that ultimately resembles an old funk record, whereas Lonely utilizes an old sample in a very current production style that's only been in vogue in the past 5 years. so if any of them is retrominded, it's 1 Thing.

― Al (sitcom), Tuesday, 26 April 2005 03:07 (twenty-one years ago)

also dude you handled that Haloscan heckler pretty poorly. brushing someone off with "you're up late" and "i'm not important enough to disagree with" is not a great defense of your convictions.

― Al (sitcom), Tuesday, 26 April 2005 03:09 (twenty-one years ago)

actually that makes sense, though Amerie's vocal strikes me as a pretty modern style (I may just be unaware of or unable to think of a precedent pre-J. Lo) and I was kind of inspired by Jess comparing it to drum'n'bass. That was refreshingly logical and devoid of bile. Bravo, dude!

x-post: he didn't challenge my convictions, though. he said I was a writer he hates to read. I pointed out how I'm easy to ignore and that his bile only inspired amusement, which I don't believe was his intent.

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 26 April 2005 03:13 (twenty-one years ago)

and I noted how late he was up in hopes he'd realize what a fucking loser he is.

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 26 April 2005 03:16 (twenty-one years ago)

haha yeah I hyped it up with the 'angry tirade' thing, which it might've been if I had just gone off a la your Haloscan buddy, but I had some time to reason it out. and i figured you were responding more to Jess's d'n'b comparison, which i'm not sure I understood. I mean, the drums are loud yes but with a completely different tempo and texture.

but yeah that guy probably did come off too hostile off the bat to really take seriously. I think I took your dismissal personally because I'm an insomniac and do a lot of blog reading after 3am. in the same comments box dave gave a much better example of how to challenge your statements rationally.

― Al (sitcom), Tuesday, 26 April 2005 03:20 (twenty-one years ago)

haha i'm up late to and reading at 3am too. I just don't post screeds in people's comment boxes for dissing critically hailed canonized megastars (and the dude did it twice before back when I wrote that Big Star thing - he's really worried people will not give these folks a chance after reading my glorious prose!)

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 26 April 2005 03:22 (twenty-one years ago)

oh also he did it anonymously! as a damn indian dish! does he really think shit like that's gonna sting?

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 26 April 2005 03:23 (twenty-one years ago)

and dave's a pal from college, knew who that was.

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 26 April 2005 03:24 (twenty-one years ago)

Man I love "1 Thing".

― The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Tuesday, 26 April 2005 03:26 (twenty-one years ago)

yeah i wasn't sure who dave was, figured you did. just saying he had more tact, which you don't need to know someone first to use of course.

did dude post as the same indian dish the other times too?

― Al (sitcom), Tuesday, 26 April 2005 03:27 (twenty-one years ago)

yup! there was actually two haters on my site after the Big Star piece in Stylus. You know you hit a nerve when guys follow you home going "no, fuck you, man."

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 26 April 2005 03:29 (twenty-one years ago)

anyhow back on track. I also like "Lonely" because it expresses romantic discontent in an earnest way while removing all possiblity of humorless emo by adding a goddamn chipmunk. The Mario Winans album needed chipmunk BAD.

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 26 April 2005 03:34 (twenty-one years ago)

we really are overdue for an R&B/rap video in which the sped up vocal sample is personified by an actual chipmunk sitting on the featured artist's shoulder singing to them.

― Al (sitcom), Tuesday, 26 April 2005 03:50 (twenty-one years ago)

actual = animated, I meant to say. although if they could train a real chipmunk to do that that might be even better.

― Al (sitcom), Tuesday, 26 April 2005 03:51 (twenty-one years ago)

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