Everybody makes fun of Luigi, blah blah blah, but there's no way on Earth I'm not going to feature his possible upcoming single, "Strangers Again." I've written about it briefly before (because it's by the guy who wrote Magnus Carlsson's "Walking In My Shoes," Velvet's "Sound Of Music," and Lutricia McNeal's "Same Same Same") and, now that the whole thing's out, I can't resist posting it (for a very short time only, though, given that if you like a song from an artist struggling to establish him/herself, it's even more important than usual that you buy it when it comes out).Look, I completely understand the reservations people have about him and I'm not going to stand here and argue he makes for a brilliant popstar (given my so far only erratic attention to him, I'm hardly in a position to make a judgment), but it would just be silly for me to deny that "Strangers Again" is amazing--I returned to the clip of it over and over again, even more than I expected I would. Let's all be honest: if this showed up from some random Swedish popstar, we'd all love it...and, at least on this song, the vocals are fine enough (and it's enough of a fully produced sounding song that the vocals aren't starkly thrown into focus) that there's no reason that we shouldn't react in exactly the same way when this artist is singing it. If you wouldn't like the song in any circumstance, that's fine; just be consistent.
"Strangers Again" is a dance-pop song that's poppy as all get out, catchy, adorable, and with lyrics about a relationship that lasts the length of a song on the dancefloor. Ultimately, Luigi-the-character ends up wanting more out of the relationship than three minute of dancing, wants it to last--will we, the listeners, let the love affair last any more than this one great song? That'll depend on what comes out of the speakers next.
There's nowhere you can buy "Strangers Again" as of right now, but if you live in the UK, you can buy his earlier single, "Strobelight," here (digital).
Next up: maybe that American singer.
10 comments:
Hey PPG - Finally someone who sees Luigi songs as pretty darn good too. "Strangers Again" is amazing...one of the best songs of 2009 possibly.
Raj :)
www.electroqueer.com
Oh gurl, you know how to give me a popgasm! ;-) What a great song! :D
It's just genuinely a really good song, Raj, I agree!
Great news! :D I'm so glad you like it.
Who?
I can't wait to hear an album!!!!!
Hmmm, it's good but its not great (for me) nothing to do with Luigi. It's a decent song indeed, but i think i would cry me a river if this made it big in the UK while Simon Curtis or Darin tunes languished unknown and unloved over here. I didn't like his voice AT ALL on Strobelight, but it sounds better here. Hows that for a more open mind? :P
Tom, I deliberately avoided the use of his last name in this post originally, but I probably should have provided more context on who he is--I didn't just because he's been covered elsewhere, including on Popjustice. For some basic background, you could read their article on him.
Aaron, as I implied in the post, I'm not to that point yet--I just think this is a good song. If he happens to continue to release good songs, so much the better.
Paul, I couldn't hum you the melody or recite any of lyrics from "Strobelight," and, as I say in the post, I understand the reservations about him--there are times, I think, where elsewhere his voice is a distraction as opposed to helpful. For me (and it sounds like a little for you too), that just doesn't happen to be the case here. I wouldn't be worried about the scenario you outlined occurring; I don't think this is a very UK radio friendly sound at all, but then again, much of the music I enjoy isn't very UK radio friendly--I mean, Charlotte Perrelli's "Hero" isn't about to become a UK smash and I think it's fantastic.
Basically, as a general comment, let me reiterate that this is a very middle ground sort of post. It is not in praise of Luigi Masi's general body of work or him as a popstar, nor is it really a condemnation of him. It's just about a song that I happen to think is great.
Peter at PJ was unnecessarily mean in his posting; I mean why bother wasting a whole blog posting about someone you don't feel is talented and why you don't feel he's talented? It's just an opinion.. and your opinion is just as valid, Poppostergirl - no need to justify something you like :')
x
W
Aww, Will, thanks! :D Don't worry, though--I do feel secure enough in my music tastes that I like what I like. I wasn't even thinking of Peter when I wrote this post. I've just been trying to emphasize that I fall somewhere in the middle on this issue--sometimes, when you disagree with one aspect of what people think about an artist, people necessarily think you disagree with everything, which isn't always true. I think in the highly improbably situation that, say, Peter and I were having a conversation about Luigi, we would agree on a good number of things. I DO think that Luigi's voice often detracts from some of his songs. For me, "Strangers Again" is a song where that's not true (one could say it's a good song in spite of Luigi, but not having heard anyone else sing it, his voice may be perfect for it, so that's not necessarily true). As I say up in the post with that analogy, so far, for me this is a one-song relationship with Luigi. If his next song is great, too, then sure, the "dancing" can continue. If not, then it'll have been a great four minutes and I'll move on with fond memories of the song, with no further attachment to his work but still with great feelings about those four minutes.
Really liking the song as I said in that other thread. I won't go into the past as even I was one of the haters at the beginning. But then I learnt he was just 17 when he went on tour, far too young to be flung out, and he's taken a year out to train properly and going in a much more pop direction. So far so good and if the rest of his material is at this standard, the only thing that will let him down is himself, but I don't think that will happen after what he's learnt.
Post a Comment