SONG V SONG: Ed Sheeran's Sing VS. Justin Timberlake's Not A Bad Thing

SONG V SONG

  Hello, ladies and gentlemen of the internet, and once again welcome to my blog!  I've decided to try out something new for a change that will allow me to continue making reviews even when I'm feeling pretty lazy.  Now, instead of waiting a month or two for my next review, I've decided to review pop music itself to coincide with my album reviews.  This will make it seem like I'm not just waiting until the end of the year to vent out my opinions on different songs.  I know I haven't reviewed any albums in a while, but in all honesty, 2014's been pretty stale in both songs and albums.  It's the end of April and there hasn't been a single song released in 2014 that's charted in the top 10.  I'm not even kidding, every single popular hit from this whole year has been the leftovers from 2013.  Clearly people couldn't get enough of that year.  Fortunately, I've gone ahead and reviewed Sing before it inevitably (hopefully) enters the top 10 and becomes a trend-setter in its own way.  But, seriously, 2014's been just a stale year so far.  I haven't reviewed any albums this year because there hasn't been much to work with.  I felt like reviewing Pharrell's G I R L, Eric Church's The Outsiders, Aloe Blacc's Lift Your Spirit, and Foster the People's Supermodel.  But, after a year of almost entirely positive reviews, I didn't feel much like talking about albums that I enjoyed and nothing else.  Honestly, there were only so many 8's and 7's I could give out before I'd have to drop the whole X/10 thing for it not meaning anything.  And since I didn't feel like buying albums that I didn't like, I felt like I had to change up my formula.  Keep in mind that I'm not mellowing out or anything, I'm still going to review albums.  I believe Coldplay is coming out with one soon, and I gotta review that.  

  Also, I'd like to add that I'm not going to go back and do my top 10 albums of 2013.  It's at the end of April, and I don't want to have to have a rule like the "only on the Billboard 200 year end" rule or something, because I am not going to go and listen to 200 albums to do that list.  I also bought a lot of albums last year that I never reviewed, for instance The Neighborhood's I Love You or Justin Timberlake's The 20/20 Experience - 2 of 2.  I would go ahead and say that you could look at my reviews from last year and piece together from my ratings on each what my top 10 would be, but that would be a terrible idea.  Why?  Because wow has my opinion changed on them.  I have been contemplating on re-reviewing Magna Carta Holy Grail and Save Rock and Roll, because I would've given them a 3/10 and a 4/10 respectively.  What awfully disappointing albums.  In fact, I don't even like the songs that I said I liked on them.  Holy Grail has gotten really old and stale with me rather quickly, and there's only like 2 songs that I even like from Save Rock and Roll.  And I tell you, they aren't My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up) or Save Rock and Roll (what awful and shallow songs those are).  But anyway, if you wanna know what my favorites were of last year, I can't tell you exactly what my top 10 were, but my top 3 are definitely 3. Pure Heroine by Lorde 2. Yeezus by Kanye West and 1. Random Access Memories by Daft Punk.  Even if I listened to more albums, I don't think I'd change that top 3, so no matter what they're pretty much set in stone.  Well, I've certainly ranted on long enough, time to get on with what this review's about.

  Welcome to a new segment of my blog: SONG V SONG!  Here I'll take different rising pop songs and put them head to head and see which one will come out on top.  This is the first installment of the series, so I figured, why not take a shot at two of the biggest icons in pop music over the past two years; Ed Sheeran and Justin Timberlake.  One's a red head from England and the other's one of the most well-respected music legends of the past decade and a half.  So, we've got quite a competition going on today.  I don't want to waste any more time, so let's jump right in!

  Song 1:  Not A Bad Thing  By: Justin Timberlake

  Justin Timberlake's coming right off after a hugely successful year in 2013.  Releasing two no. 1 albums, touring with Jay-Z, and becoming relevant again, it was clear that Justin meant business.  So what would he follow up one of his most successful years with?  How about this... a song which is basically "I Love You" and... well that's about it.  Look, I obviously don't have a problem with romantic songs.  I like them way more (usually) than bro country or luxury rap songs which are nothing more than someone throwing their dick around.  But, here's the problem.  With all songs, it all comes back to who made them.  And in this case, Justin Timberlake of course.  But, musically what do we remember from Justin Timberlake?  He's a man with swagger, class, a man of high class, but is still cool enough to go to Taco bell right after winning a whole bunch of awards.  I'm sure most people agree that Justin Timberlake's at his best when he's at front and center of your attention and boasting about how great he is.  Why?  Because he can pull it off.  He's a man who's allowed to whip his dick all over the place and act like the greatest man alive, because he's just that cool.  He's somebody who would crash your wedding, cause you to go bankrupt, and deport you to another country and you'd still love him anyway.  That's one of the reasons why Suit & Tie is so great; it's stylish, it's boastful, and it's suave.  Because that's what Justin Timberlake is like!  He's so great at being the front and center of your attention that by the time he makes a love song, it really catches me by surprise.  I'll admit that when I first heard this song I didn't even think it was from Justin Timberlake.  I couldn't believe that a song like this that is so sweet and yet standard came from a man like Justin Timberlake.

  Of course, Not A Bad Thing is not a bad song.  In fact, I like it way more than John Legend's big hit right now, All of Me.  But, I have no other choice to compare it to anything but Mirrors; his biggest single from last year.  Now, Mirrors musically is a fantastic song.  it's 8 minutes long that demands to be replayed.  It's classical, soulful, and above all - romantic.  Even though the lyrics might've needed to be changed here and there, it's still a great song.  The way that Mirrors carries itself out through it's entirety is fantastic; from the opening riff to halfway in when it becomes a completely different song.  Since that was Justin Timberlake's last love song and last top 10 hit, I have no other choice but to compare Not A Bad Thing to Mirrors.  And with Not A Bad Thing, everything just seems so watered down.  There aren't any killer hooks, and the original is actually 11 freaking minutes long.  But, unlike Mirrors, Not A Bad Thing doesn't blend in to the other half well.  It sounds like everything was lumped together in production.  And above all, Not A Bad Thing sounds way too much like an album closer.  However, despite its flaws, it translates to a single rather well; that is when you remove the last 7 minutes or so.

  Not A Bad Thing does have its flaws, but it still holds up fairly well.  This is of course, because it is a Justin Timberlake song.  Songs have a lot to do with who made them, because both the artist and single reflect off of one another.  Fortunately, it was Justin Timberlake who made Not A Bad Thing and not anyone else.  Not A Bad Thing is definitely something that Justin Timberlake and only Justin Timberlake can get away with.  Especially in the lyrics.  "Spend all your time and your money just to find out that my love was free" why yes, Justin Timberlake.  "Oh girl, you didn't have to spend $33,576 and 2 and a half years of your life with me to discover that it was me who loved you best!  All you had to do was cuddle with me.  A lot."  That's what I at least get from that line.  Or how about, "Cause you might fuck around and find your dreams come true with me."  I translate this to "Oh baby, you so fine and I love you, even though you might date other men, you'll eventually discover that I'm the one who will love you and only you forever."  Good thing Justin Timberlake made this and only Timberlake, because then the chorus might've gone "So I won't act like it's a bad thing to be friendzoned by you."  Also, you're Justin Timberlake!  Who in their right mind would think it's a bad thing to fall in love with you!?  You can get any woman, man, piece of antique farm equipment to fall in love with you without question!

  But to finish this analysis up, Not A Bad Thing, isn't that bad of song.  Hell, I actually still find it to be really enjoyable.  It's got a great chorus to sing along to with your woman, man, or piece of antique farm equipment.  The hook isn't that it's sexy, but it's beautiful.  Like, this is a song you expect people are going to cuddle up to in their hammocks on the beach this summer during a beautiful sunset.  And then proceed to have CRAZY SEX to.  It just falls short of being up to par with what Justin Timberlake is able to do.  But hey, don't worry.  If you want Timberlake music, there's something else out there for you to enjoy.

Exactly like this, but without the hammock

Song 2:  Sing  By: Ed Sheeran

  Now, here's what I'm talking about.  During the exact same time, we have an Ed Sheeran song from Justing Timberlake and a Justin Timberlake song from Ed Sheeran.  Unlike Justin Timberlake, Ed Sheeran's been more of a unsung hero in the pop music scene (or more like an unsung something, I wouldn't use hero myself).  Despite having one song that was barely a hit, he's accumulated a huge fan base since the release of his debut album, +.  But now it looks like he's ready to turn his first album on its side for his second release.  No, literally turn it on its side.  His second album's titled X, which is a 45 degree difference from his first album.  But, this ain't mathematics here, so I'll move on.

  I should address the obvious here and that is that I never got a great impression from Ed Sheeran.  If you read my worst songs of 2013, then you'd remember that I gave The A Team by Mr. Sheeran an honorable mention.  I never mentioned that in the beginning few months of 2013 I was sure that I was going to place The A Team at number 1.  Eventually I stopped hating on it as much, but it's still an incredibly poor song to me.  I just couldn't get passed how juvenile Ed Sheeran made a dying prostitute sound like.  And no, Elton John's performance didn't help at all.  So, I was really skeptical of how Ed Sheeran's newest single would turn out.  I've seen artists in the past that I strongly disliked turn themselves around completely in the course of just one year before (like Bruno Mars).  So, how does this song present the new sound of Ed Sheeran?  How do I feel about this new single in just one sentence?

  WOOHOO!  There's my sentence.  Short sweet and to the point.  Congrats Ed Sheeran, you're the winner of this year's "I should give you more of a listen, but mostly because your second album kicks so much ass" award.  How is this possible?  I'll tell you how.  You know who produced this song?  None other than Pharrell.  Hell, it sounds like a Pharrell song.  But, Pharrell's already enjoying a rather lengthy stay at the top of the charts right now (for good reason) so why not give Ed Sheeran a shot?  I mean, this song is so fun and catchy, and it sounds just like a Justin Timberlake song.  Even more so, Ed Sheeran said himself that this song was inspired by Justin Timberlake, especially his first two albums.  But, if we're getting Ed Sheeran music from Justin Timberlake and Justin Timberlake music from Ed Sheeran, then why not?  If Ed Sheeran's second album is this damn good as Sing is, I might end up buying and reviewing it.  But, how does Sing work?

  Well, unlike Not A Bad Thing, Sing is more of a story.  Well y'see, Ed Sheeran is at this party with this pretty fine young thing and then he decides to make a move on her.  Badda bing badda boom, everything goes well and the story leads to of course CRAZY SEX.  Hey, that's enough story for me.  But, the chorus is the most powerful part of the song.  When the song shouts "SING!"  Sing what?  Well, sing Ed Sheeran!  You're killing it!  I mean, line after line here is executed flawlessly.  It's fast-paced, it's action-packed, and it's guaranteed to make you groove with it.  It looks like in this SONG V SONG Justin Timberlake decided to stay home from the party, whereas Ed Sheeran is the party.  So go ahead, Ed Sheeran, please continue making music that's this fun and energetic.  Of course, getting Pharrell to produce helps too, but Sing's strength definitely comes from Ed Sheeran being able to pull this off in a surprisingly unexpected way.

How Ed Sheeran presents himself (and by that, I mean he presents himself as Batman of course)

THE WINNER: SING

  Yeah, it's easy to see who came out on top with this one.  Congratulations Ed Sheeran for winning my first ever SONG V SONG!  You win this round, but hopefully I'll be able to compare Justin Timberlake and Ed Sheeran in the future again.  I hope you enjoyed my first SONG V SONG!  I'll be able to keep up with these a lot more often than album reviews, which I'll still be doing.  From now on, expect a new post from me at least once per week, which will probably be uploaded on the weekends.  But, I've got big plans with new SONG V SONG reviews and album reviews in the future.  Be sure to look out until next time!

Look at how happy he is with winning the first SONG V SONG