For old times' sake

Am I the only one who, every time she hears the beat of the new All-American rejects song, "Gives You Hell," keeps thinking "oh, they've sample Busted's 'Year 3000'!" I mean, I don't really think they have, but that beat is kind of similar to a part of that song. It's kind of an odd song from them, at least as a lead single--that strong guitar part we're used to from them doesn't come in until more than a minute into the song, when we get to the chorus for the first time, and even then, it isn't that guitar-y. I really don't know what to make of it--is it good? Kitschy and disappointing? Different and good? Less different than I think it is? Is the technique that it uses for the last 50 seconds, that whole-crowd-chanting-the-lyrics technique, something that makes the song more powerful, or a desperate attempt to give the song some sort of impact? Should the whole thing have been more musically fleshed-out, or would there then have been nothing special about it? I have no idea. I could be raving about in a week or barely ever listening to it again. "Dirty Little Secret" was just such a perfect adrenaline rush of a song--one of the best of the century so far for me, for sure--that I can't help feeling unenthused about this song so far. It could just be a matter of having to get used to something different than what you were expecting, and the "oooOOOO"s are definitely a good thing.

Dutch Idols winner Nikki's new single (and her first real post-winner's single single), "Bring Me Down" (listen on a MySpace-equivalent), on the other hand, doesn't have any sort of odd quarter-novelty value thing about it; it's fairly straightforward pop-rock. Guitars aren't in short supply here, though they're not overbearing either. Then again, so far I've been raising a similar question about it to one of the ones "Give Me Hell" caused: should it have been more musically fleshed-out? I like the chorus, but it kind of feels like whoever wrote it thought "oh, this might be good" and, instead of polishing it and expanding it, just left it as that basic initial idea. I like "Bring Me Down," though (and I expect it could grow on me), and I'd be posting it instead of the AAR song if I had it, but, as far as I know, it's only for sale on Dutch iTunes so far.

The new All-American Rejects album, When The World Comes Down, doesn't come out until November 18 (tentatively), but you will eventually be able to pre-order it from Amazon (it's not yet listed).