Todd In The Shadows Thread

I mostly listen to classic rock and jazz radio, so I don't really hear most of those more recent pop songs, but Todd is just fun to watch. And it helps that he regularly dives into older songs, which I often DO know.

I’ve been listening to breathin nonstop since I saw the episode. He’s right; it is really helpful for dealing with stress/anxiety.

"Breathin'" just sounds like a Cliché Storm of motivational tripe to me. I have literally never heard breathing as a metaphor for anything before. Literally every single lyric is a stale motivational cliche that I've already heard a trillion times.

It’s YMMV. I like the vibe, and most songs about breathing are bummers (Sia, Breathe Me; Ingrid Michaelson, Keep Breathing, etc)

It's not so much the bummer factor as it is the fact that I was able to predict literally half the lyrics on first listen, thus rendering the song meaningless.

Is one even slightly original thought too much to ask?

Edited by Twentington on Jan 16th 2019 at 12:30:28 PM

Giving the context of what trash Ariana went through last year, it seems a little harsh to call it meaningless.

What trash did she go through?

Manchester was 2017 I think, but she broke up with Mac Millar because of his drug problem, people yelled at her for it and later blamed her for his death, and then Pete Davidson was a quick engagement and quick break up, and again people acted like his poor mental health after was her fault.

And emotions are never original. We all process them as we experience them, and just because it’s not an “original” take doesn’t make it less valid. YMMV.

That and original isn't exactly an easy thing to accomplish anymore. That applies to pretty much any media outlet so it is not exactly wise to judge something based on how 'original' it is rather than if it does what it was intended to do.

That's just my take on the matter. I think the song works overall.

I mentioned this in the video itself, but I remember some radio D Js talking about the song when I first heard it on the radio, and "breathin'" was like one of the first songs Ariana recorded after the Manchester attack. Her producers needed her to write a song and she was too stressed to come up with anything, so they had her say whatever the first thing that came to mind was. With everything going on that ended up being "Just keep breathing." So yeah, it's a really personal song.

I relate to specifics. Detail. I don't see how anyone can relate to vague, open ended genericness.

... Todd?? O.O

lol no I mean in the comments section. Sorry.

nap is secretly Todd

Nap can't be Todd, I'm Todd.

…The One Hit Wonderland on Scatman put a smile on my face in a way I didn't expect. I kinda hoped the man was still alive today (he'd be… 75?), but then I was sad to learn he left this world only a few years after his hit.

Now that I think of it, Scatman is… one of the first songs I remember hearing, period. Well, first hit song anyway. And it was indeed huge.

…Speaking of OHW, was "Born to Be Alive" ever a hit in America? It'd be interesting to cover if that's the case.

Edited by Lyendith on Jan 16th 2019 at 2:19:49 PM

New video available on Patreon, after an earlier upload attempt that wasn't particularly sick, but was nevertheless not well.

Frickin, I hear that song on the radio all the time and I can never get it out of my head when it does. It drives me crazy.

Song is Flagpole Sitta by Harvey Danger

paranoia paranoia

I hope Todd mentions Sean Nelson's 33 1/3 on Joni Mitchell's "Court and Spark" :3

I have never heard this song before. Huh. Todd’s review is solid but I don’t like the song; the smug lyrics overpower the fun beat/music.

Huh. I actually remember this song from way back when the Nostalgia Critic used it in his review of Tom and Jerry: The Movie. Kind of an odd place to first hear it from, but hey.

Interestingly, I remember it from his review of The Thief and the Cobbler.

Well that was short. They may even be less interesting than Alien Ant Farm.

I have no memory of ever hearing Flagpole Sitta before this video.