Am I the only person on here who feels sorry for Lorde?

[Ivan May]

As someone who bought her Solar Power album and was EXTREMELY disappointed with it, I can't help but admit I really hate to see the bad reviews on that album. I like that she is promoting pro-solar and anti-nuclear movements, something Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt promoted throughout the late Seventies. Unfortunately Ted Nugent is pro-nuclear.
The only problem I have with this record is the sound quality. Lorde's vocals are drowned out in the mix by the useless synths and the overrated production values of Jack Antonoff. At times, it sounds as if Lorde is struggling to be heard in a Jean Michel Jarre recording session. When Lorde does sing, however, her vocals start to sound like someone who has just inhaled helium. No wonder this album hasn't been nominated for a Grammy! In fact, I didn't like Solar Power at all. A few months after purchasing it, I stuck it in a storefront bin.
I do think Pure Heroine was a great debut album, and it proved hard to follow up. Although, I will admit that Melodrama came a little close. The fact alone that there are several knockoffs of Lorde (Alessia Cara, Maggie Lindemann, Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo just to name a few) doesn't help either. Solar Power did go gold in UK, so I guess it's not that bad commercially as it is critically.

I think part of the reason why Lorde disappeared is also because of her refusal to perform at the Grammys following Neil Portnow's accusations of admitting women need to "step up" in order to be recognized. Maybe Lorde can make a better album in a few years.
Hell, if Lorde makes an album called Crest of a Knave that wins a Grammy for Best Metal Performance, beating Metallica and Iron Maiden, among other acts, that won't surprise me, because the Grammys are starting to become a joke. It's all about money, not entertainment. And that ain't what the music industry is built upon.

 

But what do you guys really think of Lorde? I think she's a great act, and if this becomes one of those examples of artists who never topped their debut in critical or commercial terms, then that will be sad. I think Lorde is a voice for the voiceless, and 20 years from now, people are gonna look at her and admit her influence.

[Anderton]

Well, I think any album by a vocalist that doesn't prioritize the vocalist over everything else is starting with a huge disadvantage

[Notes_Norton]

In pop music, sadly, you are only as good as your last release.

 

Notes ♫

[Anderton]

34 minutes ago, Notes_Norton said:

In pop music, sadly, you are only as good as your last release.

 

Notes ♫

 

...and that's been true since at least the 60s, when I was told "you're only as good as your last single."

[Mighty Motif Max]

I like her. Not necessarily my favorite music style, but I recognize her as being good at what she does. I didn't find the Solar Power album to be that bad, but then again I'm not a huge fan in the first place. But I respect her. And I also hugely respect the decision not to perform at the Grammy's due to sexism.

 

I wouldn't say that Alessia Cara is a Lorde knockoff really. To me they have different voices and fairly different styles, with my preference leaning strongly toward Alessia.

[QuntBizkit]

Nope. She never deserved any attention in the first place. She debuted with a half-written song, knows bugger all about music (can't even play an instrument) & has a reedy/thin/warbling voice.

[Ivan May]

9 hours ago, QuntBizkit said:

Nope. She never deserved any attention in the first place. She debuted with a half-written song, knows bugger all about music (can't even play an instrument) & has a reedy/thin/warbling voice.

Why do you have to criticize great artists like Lorde? What did she do to you? I'd like to lock you up in a basement with the editors at Rolling Stone. 🤣

[Anderton]

3 hours ago, Ivan May said:

I'd like to lock you up in a basement with the editors at Rolling Stone. 

 

Wow, that's hardcore inhumane. 

 

As to Lorde, she's had some pretty serious health problems. Taste is subjective, but compassion isn't...so I wish her the best.

[KenElevenShadows]

What are some Lorde songs that you really like? I would love to hear 'em.

[Notes_Norton]

Her music doesn't speak to me, but I don't wish her any ill.

There are two kinds of music, songs I like, and songs made for someone else's ears.

 

 

 

Insights and incites by Notes ♫

[Bill H.]

I'll be honest. The only Lorde song I'm familiar with is Royals. And it is something special. I remember when it came out - this hauntingly beautiful distinctive track wafting through the summer air from every venue within earshot back then.

 

Speaking as a DJ it's the only Lorde track I've ever had a request for. Ever. 

 

So now that she's approaching 30, do I feel sorry for Lorde when people mostly identify her with a song she wrote when she was a kid? Well maybe a little. But it's hard to feel too sorry for someone who wrote one of the most defining songs of her generation, and one of the top singles of its decade. 

 

Carrying teenage fame into adulthood is so hard to do. Taylor Swift has done it. Billie Eilish is doing it. But they are exceptions. 

[analogika]

On 3/7/2024 at 4:19 PM, QuntBizkit said:

Nope. She never deserved any attention in the first place. She debuted with a half-written song, knows bugger all about music (can't even play an instrument) & has a reedy/thin/warbling voice.

alright, let’s hear it. 
 

show us your stuff. 

[Ivan May]

On 3/8/2024 at 1:16 AM, KenElevenShadows said:

What are some Lorde songs that you really like? I would love to hear 'em.

I like Royals and Green Light. What are your favourite Lorde songs?

[KenElevenShadows]

24 minutes ago, Ivan May said:

I like Royals and Green Light. What are your favourite Lorde songs?

I don't have any. But as it turns out, I have heard "Royals" numerous times and liked it, but apparently forgot who sang it. I let the songs for Lords run afterwards, and yeah, she sounds good, including "Green Light". Thanks.

[Notes_Norton]

On 3/9/2024 at 7:20 PM, Bill H. said:

So now that she's approaching 30, do I feel sorry for Lorde when people mostly identify her with a song she wrote when she was a kid? Well maybe a little.

It's a problem with a lot of faded stars.

One year you are headlining concerts in arenas, and 10 years later, gigging in a Holiday Inn or a minor cruise ship. It must be a let-down.

Plus, throughout history, there were and are a lot of one-hit-wonders. 

 

We opened for big names in huge concert halls, and later saw them or videos of them playing small rooms. Our record deal never went through (they tried to pimp and not pay us), so my compensation is this. The best thing about never quite making 'the big time' is; At least I'm not a has-been.

 

IMO, she is lucky to have her hits, and she can at least make more money than the house band when she gets to the new equivalent of the Holiday Inns.


Insights and incites by Notes ♫

[Bill H.]

I heard Royals this afternoon while I was getting my teeth cleaned. That song is still literally everywhere. 

[Stokely]

Lorde has a net worth of 18 million, so considering there are lots of people dying daily in poverty and misery, no I don't feel sorry for her.   

Sorry to be that person, been reading up on certain current events this morning and I probably should have remained ignorant for my own state of mind...

Putting aside humanity in general, just in the musical realm, she has been more successful than 99.99% of talented singers and musicians in the world.  (author's note:  percentage is an estimate  ) I'm not saying it's not deserved in her case, but how many fantastic writers and musicians never sniff one bit of having a hit song?   She hit the lottery.

[Notes_Norton]

She made 'the big time' which is better than 99% of the career musicians ever do. No matter what else happens, she is lucky.