12.14.11 Adammadness BEGINS BTIKM Clip & Cover

Maria,

What a present you received for your birthday today ;D

samlansky Sam Lansky
Alright, Glamberts, go crash @muumuse's site. I got to hear #BetterThanIKnowMyself in full and reviewed it for y'all! www.muumuse.com/2011/12/adam-lambert-better-than-i-know-myself-single-review.html/
47 seconds ago


ADAM LAMBERT: BETTER THAN I KNOW MYSELF (SINGLE REVIEW)
by Sam Lansky




Get ready, y’all, because the evolution of Adam Lambert has just begun.

See, I’ve had a chance to listen to the new Adam Lambert single, “Better Than I Know Myself,” — in full. Great news — it’s really, really good.

First off, I should say that the snippet, which was released today, doesn’t really do the song justice. You can hear that the chorus sees Adam reaching into the higher part of his register, with booming, “Halo”-like drums and a skittering backbeat. But part of what makes the song magical is the way it builds from the opening of whining synths and a nicely percussive backing track, then builds instrumentally into the chorus. Dr. Luke‘s signature style as a producer is the juxtaposition of relatively subdued verses and a huge, explosive chorus, and “Better Than I Know Myself” does that magnificently.

The added talents of Claude Kelly, too, who remains one of the finest songwriters currently in the game, augment the song’s impact, since Claude has a way of cutting to the core of an emotional conflict with quick, elegant images. “Cold as ice, and more bitter than a December winter night/That’s how I treated you,” Adam sings in the opening lyrics, a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it simile that speaks volumes.

The most emotionally potent moment is the bridge, where the richer synths yield to a tinkling piano and the lyrics turn unexpectedly vulnerable: “I get kinda dark/Let it go too far/I can be obnoxious at times/But try and see my heart.” It’s a lovely turn, with a candor that’s refreshing to hear in pop music, and it makes the song truly memorable.

In my piece last week for MTV Buzzworthy, I wrote that “My sources tell me that ‘Better Than I Know Myself’ is a piece of flaw-free radio candy, a stunning midtempo track with a powerhouse chorus that’s like a pumped-up ‘Whataya Want From Me,’ and it should cement Adam’s place in the pop A-list.” I’m sticking by this, especially the latter statement. “Better Than I Know Myself” is more radio-ready as anything on his last album, and I would be stunned if it didn’t perform excellently on the charts, and catapult Adam way further into the realm of superstardom than he’s ever been before.

Hi Glittergma, haha, love your exuberant posts!

Watching your gson for 9 hrs the last 3 days out of 5?? I have one 5 yr. old grandson and as much as I love him it exhausts me to think about that, lol.

And I love the parts of your post quoted above. Too excited for emoticons, eh? Lol, love it.

And you don't care and no one can make you grow up -- I hear you on that!! Totally on the same page with you, but still working on the 'no caring' part, haha. Very limiting, that.

So...here's my thoughts on the events of the day. First -- about time for SOMETHING to happen! And yes, like every other discriminating person in the world, I LOOOOVE the cover art for the single. That might just possibly be my very favoritest (??!) hair EVER. Yum. Yum. And I was going to say something about Adam being photographed from his 'good' (aka, non-slightlylessattractivebrotherwithacriminalpast, thanks Chunkey) side. But it seems like people think it was flopped, so I kind of give up on trying to figure it out -- I thought I knew which side seemed 'better' but if peeps are photoshopping and flipping/flopping, who the hell knows anymore. :

As for the *snipp-it*, ha, I don't think I've ever met a snippet I really loved, and this is no exception. I am reserving judgement until I hear the full song. But, a few funny things happened during my snippet-listening experiences.

My first reaction was that it sounded generic. As in, I could imagine someone else, even another Idol - *shudder* - singing it. It sounded very mainstream. Which is not what I was thinking I wanted, and also is not what I think will win over all the many Adam-resistant people in my life, who are mostly non-mainstream. So, disappointment my initial reaction. And I didn't care for the song title or the demo when I heard it either, so, meh. (I like the album title a lot, tho). (I don't have a particular sound or style that I'm attached to, really -- LOOOVED FYE - the single - from first listen, didn't initially love WWFM or IIHY, but GREW to love them. Also loved PUU, Broken Open, TFM. And eventually, everything from the first era.)

But, of course I had to listen again...and again. On second listen, why yes, it is an earworm. And I understand that maybe going mainstream is what's needed for this single and radio play. So, yeah, I can see the strategy, but still slightly disappointed.

On the third listen...I was taken aback. Don't know why I'm surprised by what happened here anymore, but was listening again, and suddenly I realize that the voice is throbbing under my skin and making me feel crazy (-er). That Adam's voice has penetrated --if you will, haha--my body and my psyche and is giving me chills and this gahhh feeling again...

Haha, so there you go, and that's pretty much the main reason (NOT the only one by ANY means, but the others vary) I'm here.

I'm feeling a little anti-editing contrariness, so I hope the above thoughts make some kind of sense.

Very curious to see what happens -- expecting world domination, but you never know how or when things actually play out -- and curious to see/hear everything that's coming.

Also want to say -- CraazyforAdam, loved your post on pg. 60. Kind of addressed some of my initial negative reactions and turned them into a positive. And made a lot of sense.

I just spent 15 minutes trying to get thru their site -- which is in Finnish. Google was not helpful. Glad that was solved.