YouTube: bit.ly/2NcdJTy
What kind of crazy fucked-up world do we live in where a number one rock song has more melody than anything in the Spotify Top 50?
In case you missed the memo, in case you're out of the loop, Lil Baby has a big hit with his Black Lives Matter track "The Bigger Picture": spoti.fi/2YeXw6s Then again, despite all the hoopla, seven days after release "The Bigger Picture" has already fallen out of the Spotify Top 50. So what we have here is a hit you were unaware of that is already over, or at least in a downward spiral, what is going on here?
A hit is not as big as you think it is.
And either a track gets instant acceptance and goes down from there, or it takes a long time to climb the hit ladder.
But my main point is despite the myopia of the major label/major media circle jerk, hits do not have ubiquity and reach fewer people than ever in the history of formatted radio, charts, i.e. since the explosion of the business with the Beatles in 1964.
With the road business closed, most genres are ignored and get no traction. It's all hit music all the time. And many people, even active music fans, have no interest in what the business has anointed.
And then we come to Bad Wolves' "Sober."
I'd be unaware of it if I wasn't on Ryan Downey's e-mail list. He lists charts as well as grosses and other pertinent info in the rock world. You can check it out here:'
bit.ly/3eemTuH
I don't pay a lot of attention to the hard rock chart, it's too niche. A small slice of music and fans that is so far from the original hard rock of Zeppelin and Black Sabbath as to be incomprehensible, never mind unpalatable, unless you're a student of the game and have followed every change in between. If I've never heard of the act, there's a good chance upon listening I know why, and I don't care.
But Mainstream Rock Songs?
Unfortunately, usually the same rules apply. Rock is now a self-referential genre, akin to jazz.
But I had not heard of the number one act, nor its song, so I decided to play it, and was stunned. It was kinda good!
"For a moment I can wait
It's a fight I guess I'll never know"
People don't understand how hard it is to break addiction. The inner strength required is nearly insurmountable. People think it's just a desire to get the high, but it's the opposite, it's the desire not to feel so bad. And it's not just physical, it's mental primarily. You're playing tricks with your mind, telling yourself to hold on, not to cave, that you want to break the cycle, but as the minutes go by, ever so slowly, your will power fades and you cave.
And it's not only street drugs, it's those prescribed as well. Ever take opioids to cope with the pain of an operation? You get relief when the drug kicks in, but when you stop...be prepared for the worst night of your life, you will be unable to sleep.
As for street drugs...
The problem is cool people never say being clean is cool. It's cool to get high. Whether on alcohol, prescription drugs or street drugs. That's who we admire, look up to. Everybody else is a straight arrow, we're drawn to those testing limits...until they die, or ruin their lives, or both.
Then we get those with no knowledge saying to just say no. I wouldn't listen to these people, would you? Telling you how to live with no knowledge of your experience?
As for musicians... Many do drugs to cope with the routine of the road. And the industry looks the other way, as these acts are worked to death night after night until some O.D.
"For a moment I can wait
I'm holding on to hope
And I know you're stoned, I can see it
The struggle's getting old
For a moment I can wait"
Usually the addict burns out those surrounding them, to the point where the only people who will give them the time of day are fellow addicts.
"'Cause you said you're sober
Lying and I can't get closer
Tell me should I let you go
Tell me should I let you go"
Sometimes they say yes, they're in their cocoon, they'll sacrifice everybody and everything for the drug, their addiction.
"Every moment I'm awake
It's a fight that you could never know
Every moment I'm awake
I'm clinging on to hope
And I feel so low but I'm dealing
The struggle's getting old
Every moment I'm awake"
Whoa, he was hooked too, he's struggling to stay clean.
And it is a struggle. Your problems are not solved after a week of rehab, never mind a month. You've still got those feelings, what do you with all that time, you're confronted with true life questions, who are you, where are you going, how do you fit into this world, and they are not instantly solvable.
"But I'm getting sober
Trying but I can't get closer"
He's hanging in there, but she's in her own addicted bubble.
"On and on we pray
Thinking 'bout time and our mistakes
Thinking 'bout time
Thinking 'bout time
It's about time"
The world keeps turning. People are finishing college, they're starting their careers, they're moving up the food chain at the supermarket, meanwhile you're in suspended animation, and when and if you get sober you're confronted with all that time you've lost and how far behind you are.
On one hand, the sound of "Sober" is not new. It's actually reminiscent of the Stabilizers' "One Simple Thing" from 1986. Which has been lost to history, it's not even on Spotify, but you can check it out on YouTube, and you should: bit.ly/3fFRsK6
Unfortunately, "One Simple Thing" has a better chorus and better changes than "Sober," proving that we seem to have lost the formula, when a minor hit from thirty plus years ago eclipses a number one from today.
Then again, the lyrics of the Bad Wolves song are more meaningful, even if the track is not as harmonious. But with a better chorus, "Sober" would be undeniable. If only someone at the label had pushed the band just a bit further.
But the interesting thing is "Sober" is on an indie label, Allen Kovac's Better Noise/Eleven Seven. Got to give credit to Kovac, unlike everybody else his age still releasing music he's not following the trends, releasing evanescent junk. Oh, that's one more thing about rock, the fans are loyal, they'll support you over years, as opposed to many on the hit parade, they're not dependent upon a hit to do business.
But "Sober" is a hit, however minor in the overall sphere.
But if more people heard it would more people like it? And if "Sober" were bigger would it inspire others to make this music?
Then again, the key member of Bad Wolves, Tommy Vext, has been playing in bands since the nineties, he's now thirty eight, whereas in the hit world, the younger and more inexperienced the better.
This is what happens in an uncurated, Tower of Babel world, it's hard to cross verticals, people are unaware of that which they would enjoy if only they were exposed to it. Meanwhile, the bigger companies don't want to take a chance/spend money/waste money on new territories, and will spew false facts to maintain their power.
Maybe you won't like "Sober." But if you were a rock fan, maybe you will.
Check it out.
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