Todd In The Shadows Thread

BTS, BLACKPINK and FIFTY FIFTY have been on year-end lists. BTS was fairly early in their international career, I think it was "Boy with luv"?

Edited by FirstSnow on Apr 23rd 2024 at 1:11:12 PM

Joke? Why are you calling it a joke? You drew a picture of two dudes hugging and wrote "I love hugs!" on it.

Jolene review now on Youtube.

Edited by igordebraga on Apr 22nd 2024 at 2:08:06 PM

As someone who doesn't listen to country at all and has little knowledge and zero connection to the original "Jolene" I can't muster any feelings about it or Beyonce's cover beyond "those sure are songs."

I did like Todd calling out Beyonce's oversinging. That has been my biggest bugbear with her her entire career.

That video was exhausting to get through. Maybe it's not that deep, bro. Maybe Bey covered it because she likes the song and wanted to do her own spin on it

Edited by BearyScary on Apr 23rd 2024 at 12:18:05 AM

I liked it better when Questionable Casting was called WTH Casting Agency

if it isn't that deep, why did Bey get Dolly Parton to do the spoken word intro to specifically address the subtext?

My take on the cover is that it's what I call a photorealistic pokemon drawing; art that is technically very well made, but loses meaning in the transformation, and sometimes even changes what made the original compelling.

Yeah, I had never heard of this song either, so the whole context was super interesting.

As some have noted in the comments, maybe it would have been better if Beyoncé had rewritten the song from the poit of view of Jolene instead of making it super defensive and hostile.

And I don’t know, B’s version is kinda… disturbing in some parts? "I raised this man, I raised his kids, I know him better than he knows himself" or "My man’s gonna stand by me, breathing in my gentle breeze" doesn’t sound like a woman in love, it sounds like a controlling woman holding her man on a leash. >.>

Edited by Lyendith on Apr 23rd 2024 at 12:28:36 PM

She also seems so confident of her control of her man that it kind of works against the basic concept of the song. The original was a desperate plea for Jolene not to steal the singer's man; if it's clear from the get-go that Jolene will never succeed, why'd you make a whole song about it?

A lot of people in the comments section are suggesting that if Beyonce wanted to do an angry version of Jolene then, instead of being all defensive of her man and attacking Jolene, she should've taken on a tone of "You want him, Jolene? Take him!"

Then someone else pointed out that a band called Chapel Hearts actually did something like that. It's called "You Can Have Him, Jolene". It's not a cover of Jolene and is more of a sequel song to the original, but it's a lot better than Beyonce's cover.

If anything, it almost makes me want Jolene to succeed to save that poor man from the singer’s clutches. >.>

Now that’s a cool idea.

I agree; that part stands out to me in a weird way

I liked it better when Questionable Casting was called WTH Casting Agency

From the perspective of the "Jolene is an eldritch monster" joke, I kinda like the layer Beyonce's cover adds to it.

Jolene is such a powerful, unholy abomination that she even makes someone as strong as Beyonce sound defensive and insecure, it just manifests as unhealthy bravado and possessiveness instead of pitiful pleading like it did for Dolly.

Edited by GNinja on Apr 23rd 2024 at 1:08:03 PM

Kaze ni Nare!

Perhaps it's setting up a future song where Beyonce overcomes Jolene, making Bey look even more powerful than normal

I liked it better when Questionable Casting was called WTH Casting Agency

I mean who's to say Bey isn't already a bigger, badder eldritch being than Jolene is?

Edited by PhysicalStamina on Apr 23rd 2024 at 10:57:30 AM

I feel like this response sort of misses that as Todd mentions, the guy in the original hasn't actually done anything aside from talk in his sleep and if it came down to it we dont know if he would do anything. Jolene hasn't done anything either aside from exist and be awesome

I'm not sure if this was intentional on Todd's part, but according to a few of the comments the "traditional Japanese music" clip he found is actually a Bad Apple cover.

“As some have noted in the comments, maybe it would have been better if Beyoncé had rewritten the song from the poit of view of Jolene instead of making it super defensive and hostile.”

Yes. It could be interesting for someone as famous and elevated as her to use it as commentary on parasocial attachments.

And yikes: I get that “raised” is supposed to mean different things in the two phrases, but it makes the singer sound like she’s Parenting the Husband.

Funnily enough, the youtube algorithm just recommended me this cover of Jolene that does rewrite it to be from Jolene's perspective:

New Pop Song Review on Youtube. Except not - More of a review of the Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar rap beef.

Edited by diddyknux on May 8th 2024 at 11:28:45 AM

I was wondering how exactly he would tackle this. By the way, I am shocked that I have only seen this brought up over here on the TV Tropes forums just now, considering everyone else has paid attention to the beef since Friday night with Meet the Grahams.

Edited by Weirdguy149 on May 8th 2024 at 1:16:44 PM

It's been 3000 years…

Considering Drake and Kendrick are probably not going to kill each other like Biggie killing Tupac (and Tupac's people killing Biggie), I doubt this is the beef to end all beefs.

Edited by Smasher on May 8th 2024 at 1:01:22 PM

Do we know for sure it happened that way?

Nach jeder Ebbe kommt die Flut.

Moving away from the recent video, has Todd ever done any videos on Dua Lipa (or at least put her on any top 10 list)?

I think he put her on a Top 10 best of list.

Yup, New Rules was in his Top 10 Best of 2018; Electricity and Don't Start Now have been H Ms.

Edit: Oh, there's also his video about that Sweetest Pie song with Megan Thee Stallion.

Edited by achilles_heel on May 8th 2024 at 10:56:11 AM