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Isbjørn · 08-17-2014, 11:40 AM

"I See Fire"

You all know this song, either as «oh, the song from The Hobbit» or «that goddamn song on the radio». Also, some of you might already know that I was away at a camp this week, so my access to music was restricted to:

Christian songs sung around the evening campfire
Scout songs sung around the evening campfire
“Thank you, Lord, for giving us food”
Whatever songs everyone knew that could be sung on the bus
Bon Jovi songs screamed on the bus
Whatever songs from people's phones were played on the bus before the Music Angel died
Whatever songs from people's phones were played on the bus after the Music Angel died, some of which were played on a cup speaker that didn't work at all
The raps a friend and I improvised at the evening campfire
Other people's pre-written (but practising is cheating and for sh*tty rappers) raps
Pop songs sung by people with guitars

...and I came home from camp with a hatred for Ed Sheeran's song “I See Fire”. People played it on their guitars. People sung it without guitars a little more energetically than what I was comfortable with. But why did that piss me off?

Have you heard the trashcan argument?

I think it's a contributing factor. I first heard it on A Dose of Buckley (Buckley is an angry guy on YouTube who rants about stuff that pisses him off) in a video/podcast thingy he made about the dance group LMFAO, a so-called “musical autopsy”, where he takes the lyrics apart and tells us in an angry voice exactlyhow stupid they are. I don't remember a lot about music from 2011, as I mostly just sat in my room listening to Queen, Springsteen and naught else, but I do remember the song “Party Rock” and exactly how passionately I hated it. That synth hook or whatever it's called seriously grinds my ears and gears, and I didn't understand why my peers loved it so. It reached the goddamn number one spot on Billboard Hot 100 and it was absolute dog sh*t. So I agreed and nodded when I, last year I think, discovered Buckley and his rant about the group. But one thing he pointed out, that I didn't even think of, was that there is a lot of worse dance songs out there that doesn't piss off critics merely because they only make it to the dance charts. He compared this to people getting irate at the dog turd lying in the middle of the street, while being perfectly fine with the one lying in the nearby trashcan.

Why is this relevant?

“I See Fire” was made for being played during the credits of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. It didn't have to be great. All it needed was a couple of lyrics about fire and dragons and stuff, and that vaguely traditional-sounding vocal intro so that it would fit into the movie. But, I guess it was because the artist already had a couple of hits, it charted. I should know, because it reached number one over here. This, despite it being totally mediocre. The guitar hook is alright, but very simple and doesn't really stand out much (it still has 2,623,933 views on Ultimate-Guitar.com as of now). The lyrics are, you know, about dragons and fire and stuff, and they get the job done (their job was to go with the movie), but they aren't memorable or anything. The chorus is boring. Thus, it is mediocre. But now it's stuck in my head, and that makes me hate it. It's sung by some guy with a guitar, and that somehow makes it seem more genuine than it actually is. You think “this ginger guy really does see fire” (Dashboard Confessional is a not-really-guilty pleasure of mine). And so, even though I think it's dumb and boring and very non-outstanding and all that, I can't get it out of my head. And that vastly increases my blood pressure.

08-17-2014, 11:40 AM	#224 (permalink)
Isbjørn cooler commie than elph Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: In a hole, help Posts: 2,811	"I See Fire" You all know this song, either as «oh, the song from The Hobbit» or «that goddamn song on the radio». Also, some of you might already know that I was away at a camp this week, so my access to music was restricted to: Christian songs sung around the evening campfire Scout songs sung around the evening campfire “Thank you, Lord, for giving us food” Whatever songs everyone knew that could be sung on the bus Bon Jovi songs screamed on the bus Whatever songs from people's phones were played on the bus before the Music Angel died Whatever songs from people's phones were played on the bus after the Music Angel died, some of which were played on a cup speaker that didn't work at all The raps a friend and I improvised at the evening campfire Other people's pre-written (but practising is cheating and for shtty rappers) raps Pop songs sung by people with guitars ...and I came home from camp with a hatred for Ed Sheeran's song “I See Fire”. People played it on their guitars. People sung it without guitars a little more energetically than what I was comfortable with. But why did that piss me off? Have you heard the trashcan argument?* I think it's a contributing factor. I first heard it on A Dose of Buckley (Buckley is an angry guy on YouTube who rants about stuff that pisses him off) in a video/podcast thingy he made about the dance group LMFAO, a so-called “musical autopsy”, where he takes the lyrics apart and tells us in an angry voice exactlyhow stupid they are. I don't remember a lot about music from 2011, as I mostly just sat in my room listening to Queen, Springsteen and naught else, but I do remember the song “Party Rock” and exactly how passionately I hated it. That synth hook or whatever it's called seriously grinds my ears and gears, and I didn't understand why my peers loved it so. It reached the goddamn number one spot on Billboard Hot 100 and it was absolute dog sht. So I agreed and nodded when I, last year I think, discovered Buckley and his rant about the group. But one thing he pointed out, that I didn't even think of, was that there is a lot of worse dance songs out there that doesn't piss off critics merely because they only make it to the dance charts. He compared this to people getting irate at the dog turd lying in the middle of the street, while being perfectly fine with the one lying in the nearby trashcan. Why is this relevant?* “I See Fire” was made for being played during the credits of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. It didn't have to be great. All it needed was a couple of lyrics about fire and dragons and stuff, and that vaguely traditional-sounding vocal intro so that it would fit into the movie. But, I guess it was because the artist already had a couple of hits, it charted. I should know, because it reached number one over here. This, despite it being totally mediocre. The guitar hook is alright, but very simple and doesn't really stand out much (it still has 2,623,933 views on Ultimate-Guitar.com as of now). The lyrics are, you know, about dragons and fire and stuff, and they get the job done (their job was to go with the movie), but they aren't memorable or anything. The chorus is boring. Thus, it is mediocre. But now it's stuck in my head, and that makes me hate it. It's sung by some guy with a guitar, and that somehow makes it seem more genuine than it actually is. You think “this ginger guy really does see fire” (Dashboard Confessional is a not-really-guilty pleasure of mine). And so, even though I think it's dumb and boring and very non-outstanding and all that, I can't get it out of my head. And that vastly increases my blood pressure. __________________ fast(ml) Hear me play the guitar Look, mom! I got a journal