It’s been a couple of weeks since Adam Lambert’s second single, “Never Close Our Eyes”, from his album “Trespassing” (due out May 15th) was announced.
I was anxiously waiting for the “Adam Explosion” (see my blog on Jan 7) expecting “Cuckoo” or the title track “Trespassing” to be the next single. Adam has been teasing us on his radio station promo tour by singing those songs along with “Better Than I Know Myself” (BTIKM) and “Whataya Want From Me.” While I understood the choice of BTIKM as the first single, I was hoping that once he was accepted on pop radio he could unleash himself on the masses with another F(_)CK YOU Moment (see my blog on Feb 26).
But Noooooooo! “Never Close Our Eyes” (NCOE) is the next single. If BTIKM was a flop, why choose the song on “Trespassing” that is closest to it?
Because Bruno Mars wrote it and he is a proven radio success?
Because it has a universal message?
Because it showcases Adam’s vocal ability?
Because it has a “radio –friendly” sound?
Because it has no controversial lyrics?
Because it sounds just like Bruno Mars and he did win a Grammy? (OK, I still have a bug up my butt for that one)
I was on the receiving end of some serious and mean spirited bashing for my opinions expressed in the January 27th and February 26th blogs. So I thought I would wait to express my opinion about NCOE. Really, I was just too depressed about the whole situation to write about it. What could I say that I didn’t already say about BTIKM? Adam is supposed to be on American Idol and it was shown in wiki that the song he was to sing was “Cuckoo.” I imagined him making a funny going crazy face, doing some sexy moves and belting out “Gonna party til they take us away.” Now I only imagined Adam sitting on a stool, crooning out some cliché lyrics like “I wish this night would never be over” and “What goes up must come down.”
Then this morning I saw this video.
And it struck me that “SHADY” would be a great song to release as the next single. But why?
Because “SHADY” is written by Adam, showcasing the creative vision of the album.
Because “SHADY” features Nile Rodgers who plays disco and funk.
Because “SHADY” features Sam Sparro who sings pop.
Because Sam Sparro looks like Freddie Mercury.
Because it has lyrics like “Turn it up. Turn it up. Turn it waaaaaaay up!”
Because even though we know those lyrics are about the night Adam met Sauli, they are universal.
Because it sounds nothing like anything else on pop radio.
Because it sounds like the disco and funk songs they play on oldies stations.
Because it sounds like the Queen and Bowie songs they play on classic rock stations.
Because it sounds like the Prince, Madonna, Michael Jackson and Elton John songs they play on those stations that play “anything.”
You’ve all read about the psychic messages I get through the radio. In my car I have 6 music stations that I listen to. Two of them play top 40s, one plays oldies, one plays classic rock and two play anything. Every day on my 30 minute commute to and from work, I switch between these 6 stations in search of a decent song. I hear Madonna, Elton John, Prince, Michael Jackson, David Bowie and Queen. I even hear more obscure songs by them. Then it struck me that these artists are still played on the radio because in their day they were groundbreaking. They sounded like no one else on the radio and they looked like no one else on radio. They had their own signature sound and their own signature look or style.
They were their own genre. They were the ones that everyone wanted to be, that everyone wanted to copy. Copycats came and went and the originals remain, still getting airplay on today’s radio.
We have Adam Lambert who sounds like no one else and looks like no one else. To me it’s the perfect storm.
To say your game was brand new
No I ain’t broken but I, I need a fix
That satisfaction when I, I get my kicks
I’m up all night
I’m out of sight
Don’t turn on the light
cause I’m feeling so shady lately
Come on and take me underground
deep under the street
come on and take me, take me down
the freaks like us can meet
Turn it up turn it up turn it up turn it way up
don’t stop the beat
come on and turn me, turn me on
cause I’m feeling so shady lately
Go on gimme a shot
gonna knock it back forget all my blues
yeah that really hits the spot
I’m feeling pretty fierce in my damn sin shoes
No I ain’t broken but I, I need a fix
That satisfaction when I, I get my kicks
I’m up all night
I’m out of sight
Don’t turn on the light
cause I’m feeling so shady lately
Come on and take me underground
deep under the street
come on and take me, take me down
the freaks like us can meet
Turn it up turn it up turn it up turn it way up
don’t stop the beat
1 comment
1 ping
Susan Payette says:
July 16, 2012 at 3:34 AM (UTC 0)
Hi LE – it’s Adamazing-Eyes from AO. I read ALL of the “page” – surprised that there were 2 Queen connections you didn’t make to the date of your epiphany (maybe you didn’t know). Queen’s debut album was released on 7/13/73 and they rocked the world at Live Aid (for charity….) on 7/13/85.
Like you I am a Pisces. I wholly believe in much of what you wrote – in fact all 3 of my tattoos are based on that belief. #1 says “We’re all connected” #2 says “One” and #3 says “Ubuntu”. I would love to discuss your ideas further. Have you ever read the book “One” by Richard Bach? There is a part in there about “The Truth” that I have never forgotten since I first read it in the late 1980′s. My husband has a friend whose wife is Mayan and they were just recently discussing the Mayan interpretation of 12/21/12. I don’t consider myself psychic but I am open to messages from God, or the Universe, and I do receive them. They are guides for me to follow in my own life, not about other people.
Adam Lambert’s Next Single » says:
May 4, 2013 at 11:28 PM (UTC 0)
[...] “Turn It Up: The Case For Shady” [...]