One More... Big Time... [Archive]

Jyqm

11-27-2005, 05:40 PM

This song came up on the ol' iPod today, and about halfway through I thought, "Wait a minute, I don't remember ever liking this song this much..." I was really digging the understated smoky vocals and the relatively spare instrumentation, and the lyrics aren't that bad...

...and then I hit the bridge. It's incredible how quickly and devastatingly this song falls apart at that point. The term "Train wreck" seems an understatement. Which is a shame, because the first half of the song is really pretty good, I think.

blinker12

11-28-2005, 03:23 PM

Yeah, that song is seriously flawed. The bridge is a true disaster, and I'm not a fan of the screaming guitars on the choruses either. I do like the verses a lot, and I think with better production (and a new bridge) the whole thing could be great! :woohoo:

LiquidBlue5000

11-28-2005, 03:29 PM

awful bridge.. :distress: the rest is ok

Janis_no1

11-28-2005, 05:11 PM

Yeah i know what you mean! I heard it last weekend in the car! Abolsutlely vile "undercover music lover" EEEEEWWWWW :eek:

Rickypt

11-28-2005, 06:19 PM

...and then I hit the bridge. It's incredible how quickly and devastatingly this song falls apart at that point. The term "Train wreck" seems an understatement. Which is a shame, because the first half of the song is really pretty good, I think.

I think you've nailed it. I love this song, but it totally falls apart.

SapphireSister

11-28-2005, 08:30 PM

You're all on crack ;). This is song is a masterpiece from beginning to end, minus a few inaudible lyrics. I can't help it, I adore this song to no end. It's one of those story songs that Stevie tells oh so well.

I think part of the problem is it doesn't follow your typical song formula and fans aren't accustomed to that. So what if it's slightly flawed? That's art people. A lot of people just don't get this song and it's a shame b/c IMHO it's one of her best :shrug:. Amazing, vulnerable Stevie vocal and I love the electric guitar solos and melody. It's obvious she has someone specific in mind as she's singing and with such conviction! Very sexy sounding too.

"There were candles, crystals, I was anyone's fantasy". *swoon*

ontheEdgeof17

11-28-2005, 08:35 PM

dissention

11-28-2005, 08:48 PM

This is song is a masterpiece from beginning to end

Oh my. Next you'll tell me that not only are Elvis and Jim Morrison both still alive, but that they're living as an old retired gay couple in a Miami apartment that overlooks the ocean.

SapphireSister

11-28-2005, 09:51 PM

Oh my. Next you'll tell me that not only are Elvis and Jim Morrison both still alive, but that they're living as an old retired gay couple in a Miami apartment that overlooks the ocean.

Actually they're roomates with another gay couple, Biggie and Tupac :laugh:.

Johnny Stew

11-28-2005, 11:42 PM

So what if it's slightly flawed? That's art people.I've sometimes wondered what kind of helpful advice some of the folks around here would have given Picasso, on how to make his portraits more realistic. That guy really needed someone to tell him what a face is supposed to look like! ;)

SapphireSister

11-29-2005, 12:03 AM

I've sometimes wondered what kind of helpful advice some of the folks around here would have given Picasso, on how to make his portraits more realistic. That guy really needed someone to tell him what a face is supposed to look like! ;)

Thanks for the support Johnny Stew. I knew you'd understand :wavey:. Great example by the way.

sparky

11-29-2005, 12:11 AM

Johnny Stew

11-29-2005, 12:39 AM

I love how Marilyn Martin's voice sounds alongside Stevie's in the choruses.

I wish they would have continued recording together.

strandinthewind

11-29-2005, 01:18 AM

sparky

11-29-2005, 01:39 AM

Not to mention "UNDERCOVER MUSIC LOVER" and the repeat out of key and contrived lyrics. I love you La Nicks - but really~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG you are right ! The first undercover, especially, is totally flat. :lol:

strandinthewind

11-29-2005, 01:40 AM

OMG you are right ! The first undercover, especially, is totally flat. :lol:

The first time I heard that - I was like :eek:

I sort of picture everyone in the studio going "OF COURSE IT SOUNDS GREAT"

ontheEdgeof17

11-29-2005, 01:41 AM

The first time I heard that - I was like :eek:

Well...

The first time I heard that - I was like :)

amber

11-29-2005, 01:50 AM

The first time I heard that - I was like :eek:

I sort of picture everyone in the studio going "OF COURSE IT SOUNDS GREAT"
:laugh:
Really?
Honestly, I would think Stevie is used to herself being flat, and appreciates when someone tells her. :shrug: But then, of course I'm thinking of what Stevie would think if she thought like me....:laugh:

Also, I like that song. I like few demos, but that one is good. I can't comment much on it's subtelties b/c I've only listened to it a few times, a long time ago. I better go check the bridge right now. Apparently it sucks.

strandinthewind

11-29-2005, 01:55 AM

:laugh:
Really?
Honestly, I would think Stevie is used to herself being flat, and appreciates when someone tells her. :shrug: But then, of course I'm thinking of what Stevie would think if she thought like me....:laugh:

Also, I like that song. I like few demos, but that one is good. I can't comment much on it's subtelties b/c I've only listened to it a few times, a long time ago. I better go check the bridge right now. Apparently it sucks.

Try singing it - it is actually hard to go that flat on purpose - and, mind you, I LOVE her :eek:

dissention

11-29-2005, 01:57 AM

Try singing it - it is actually hard to go that flat on purpose - and, mind you, I LOVE her :eek:

Flat works for Patti Smith. Flat makes Stevie sound lazy. :laugh:

I'm surprised she didn't use Mirror Mirror for a b-side in '86 instead of that one, actually. It's much better.

amber

11-29-2005, 01:58 AM

Try singing it - it is actually hard to go that flat on purpose - and, mind you, I LOVE her :eek:
I've actually learned more how to sing like Stevie than any regular ways. Then when I sing her songs on my own, I'm like...."heeeey! that sounds crappy and flat! Damn you, Stevie!"
:laugh:
I shall go right now to my itunes and find it.
Sadly, I'm a better imitator/singer than a real singer, so if someone else goes flat, and I'm singing to that, it's not hard. :distress:

strandinthewind

11-29-2005, 02:01 AM

Flat works for Patti Smith. Flat makes Stevie sound lazy. :laugh: . . .

Not to mention the lovely and talented Natalie Merchant!!!!!!!

Holidays must end as you know!

strandinthewind

11-29-2005, 02:04 AM

. . .

Oh, and Natalie Merchant mostly pisses me off.

She is, simply, brilliant.

Brwn_eyes0511

11-29-2005, 02:10 AM

The first time I heard that - I was like :eek:

The first time I heard it I was like...<img src="http://www.anncoulter.com/phpBB2/images/smiles/barf.gif">

but hey I was drinking and very sick at the time.

Johnny Stew

11-29-2005, 02:13 AM

All her songs sound the same and dull to me except her covers.I adore "Like The Weather," but her solo albums are a bore.

Johnny Stew

11-29-2005, 02:14 AM

Flat works for Patti Smith. Flat makes Stevie sound lazy. :laugh:Riddled with double-standards, you are. ;) :p

Brwn_eyes0511

11-29-2005, 02:14 AM

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
that'll do it.

Yea, I think my cousin then put in Rumours and I was still throwing up when YMLF came on...and I WOULD NEVER throw up at that song! So, yea it must have been the alcohol for One More Big Time...but just listening to her hack her way through that song is enough to give you the vomits!

dissention

11-29-2005, 02:18 AM

She is, simply, brilliant.

She is. Have you ever heard her do "Planctus"? I love Philip Glass and her doing it is one of the greatest things I've ever heard in life. And her "Motherland" album is amazing.

strandinthewind

11-29-2005, 02:34 AM

She is. Have you ever heard her do "Planctus"? I love Philip Glass and her doing it is one of the greatest things I've ever heard in life. And her "Motherland" album is amazing.

For me, Verdi Cries is the best thing (of many) she ever did. I love her a whole bunch!!!!!!

The man in 119 takes his tea on the lawn . . . . .

strandinthewind

11-29-2005, 02:35 AM

Will anyone be explaining why they think she's brilliant? besides good lyrics? Do y'all love her atonal nonchalance? Her vocal "consistency"? What?

Her lyrics, her incredible style of singing with her limited voice, her vocals, her stance - all of it.

seekerj

11-29-2005, 06:29 AM

The problem with the bridge is that it grinds the song to a halt musically and lyrically. Then it starts again as if it has been jump started by a crash cart.
I love the parts of it, but find that the structure sabotages it. Pity, as it is a compelling vocal. There's a reason it was a B side, folks.

Hmmm... I remember hearing in 1985 that the reason it became a b-side was to make room for "Talk To Me", which was added to the album sort of at the last minute. I remember that the single was released on Halloween 1985 (a few weeks before the album came out), and I heard a clip on the radio that day where Stevie said "Talk To Me" was recorded last, that it was brought to her after she already thought she was finished recording the album, and that she stayed later than everyone to get the vocals right and to work on the song.
Does anyone else remember hearing this?

- Jim

Jyqm

11-29-2005, 07:00 AM

I think part of the problem is it doesn't follow your typical song formula and fans aren't accustomed to that.

Ha! Believe me, that's not my problem with it. Plenty of Stevie's songs don't follow typical pop-rock song structures.

So what if it's slightly flawed? That's art people.

Yes, let's all just accept whatever piece of crap Stevie throws at us and never be remotely critical of anything, because hey, that's art!

Amazing, vulnerable Stevie vocal and I love the electric guitar solos and melody.

I agree... until the bridge. It's a beautiful, great song... until the bridge. Then it just completely falls apart. The lyrics go down the **** hole, and Stevie abandons that great vulnerable vocal in favor of painfully flat caterwauling. And it never recovers. That's a bit more than a "slight flaw" to me.

Jyqm

11-29-2005, 07:03 AM

I've sometimes wondered what kind of helpful advice some of the folks around here would have given Picasso, on how to make his portraits more realistic. That guy really needed someone to tell him what a face is supposed to look like! ;)

Are you really implying that the proper response to art is simply to accept anything an artist presents to you as genius without applying any standards whatsoever or developing your own aesthetic?

I'm sure you're just playing devil's advocate here, as is your wont, but really, it's not very nice to encourage other people who might actually believe such a stupid thing.

Rickypt

11-29-2005, 10:25 AM

For me, Verdi Cries is the best thing (of many) she ever did. I love her a whole bunch!!!!!!

The man in 119 takes his tea on the lawn . . . . .

My god, you're making me cry just reading that line. I haven't heard that beautiful song in years. Natalie's hit and miss for me (Wonder, for example, is nauseating), but when she hits, she hits BIG.

Highwayman

11-29-2005, 10:46 AM

Flawed as it is, it is one of my favorite songs. Love the anger that comes out in the end.

bookie29

11-29-2005, 05:42 PM

:thumbsup:

I see nothing word with this song....

I especially love the "Undercovaaaaaaaaa....music lova...........undercovaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...music lovaaaaaaaaaaa...HEYAYYEAHYAHHHHHH....ohhhh...undercova.musiclova...and artlova like me..."

That part of the song has always embarassed me. If I am blasting it in the car with the windows down I turn it down for that part. It does sound flat and overwrought. A lot of passion about nothing.

I love Miss Stevie and in my eyes she can do no wrong, but that part of the song just kills me.

Sean

Johnny Stew

11-29-2005, 06:18 PM

Are you really implying that the proper response to art is simply to accept anything an artist presents to you as genius without applying any standards whatsoever or developing your own aesthetic?I don't think art is above criticism, per se.
My comment was a generalized one, in response to SapphireSister's comment ONLY, regarding the oft used, "Stevie could have written this line/part better" garden-style variety of criticism. It's too easy to play armchair quarterback and tell someone else how they should have done something.
It leaves no elbow room for the artist's vision regarding their own work.

But if one conveys what they feel works in a song and what doesn't work, and they express those thoughts in an articulate fashion, then I have no problems with it.
I had no issues with your comments about the bridge, or Sparky's, etc. It is the weakest part of the song, overall. Though I do think it's moving and effective in its own flawed way.

Jyqm

11-29-2005, 06:25 PM

I don't think art is above criticism, per se.
My comment was a generalized one, in response to SapphireSister's comment ONLY, regarding the oft used, "Stevie could have written this line/part better" garden-style variety of criticism. It's too easy to play armchair quarterback and tell someone else how they should have done something.
It leaves no elbow room for the artist's vision regarding their own work.

But if one conveys what they feel works in a song and what doesn't work, and they express those thoughts in an articulate fashion, then I have no problems with it.
I had no issues with your comments about the bridge, or Sparky's, etc. It is the weakest part of the song, overall. Though I do think it's moving and effective in its own flawed way.

I don't get it, what's the difference between saying, "The bridge is terrible," and saying, "Stevie could have written this better"? As criticisms go, they amount to moreo r less the same thing, don't they?

starshine

11-29-2005, 08:08 PM

I like One more Big ...even if others don't thats fine...Just like I like 'Garbo' too and Mirror, Mirror or Real Tears....No singer is perfect in there singing and the 'flaws' make them seem more human to me...but thats just my opinion. To each his/her own. Natalie Merchant is wonderful. I esp love her 'Ophelia' cd thats my favorite of all her solo lps. Well, just wanted to add my 2 cents in... Stevie's awesome!! Sue Every song may not be great but there still nice to have. To listen to and to make up your own mind what you like and don't like.

Johnny Stew

11-29-2005, 08:49 PM

I don't get it, what's the difference between saying, "The bridge is terrible," and saying, "Stevie could have written this better"? As criticisms go, they amount to moreo r less the same thing, don't they?I'll go to the art world again for an example. One could view something Monet painted, and say, "his choice of colors here leaves me cold," or "I'm indifferent to the setting in which he placed his subject."

But to say, "he should have used blue hues instead of red," or "callalilies in the foreground would have been far more effective than gladioli," seems unfair to the artist's vision.

In the former, you're simply expressing what it is that doesn't work for you, but in the latter, you're playing the artist and telling them how to create.

Jyqm

11-29-2005, 08:56 PM

I'll go to the art world again for an example. One could view something Monet painted, and say, "his choice of colors here leaves me cold," or "I'm indifferent to the setting in which he placed his subject."

But to say, "he should have used blue hues instead of red," or "callalilies in the foreground would have been far more effective than gladioli," seems unfair to the artist's vision.

In the former, you're simply expressing what it is that doesn't work for you, but in the latter, you're playing the artist and telling them how to create.

Gotcha. Although, as always, there's still grey area between the two. Comments like, "I get what Monet is trying to do here, but I think he could have conveyed it better if he had done x or left out y." That's just good ol' constructive criticism, and it's important. It's why novelists have editors. Is it a little pointless after the product is already finished? Maybe, but such criticisms can still be legitimate.