I wonder how y'all are gonna feel about this one...
...I bet most of you forgot it was even here...
...but I didn't.
#64 – Simple Song: 6.74
(created by Suburbia)
Highest: 1x9.5 (@savilizabeths) 2x9s (Me, @Mirwais Ahmazadi)
Lowest: 1x3.5 (@phily693)
My Score: 9
Favorite Lyric: I need to push it away. (Sometimes when you’re overwhelmed by a whole bunch of shit coming at you all at once, this is what you want to do. And it’s fucking relatable.)
Trajectory
5 Voters: #55
10 Voters: #72
15 Voters: #74
19 Voters: #64
Total Points: 128
Simple Song was written by Jeffrey Steele and Jesse Littleton and produced by Rock Mafia for Miley’s second album Breakout. The two writers are apparently musicians of their own, with
Jeffrey being pre-dominantly country and
Jesse being pre-dominantly pop-rock, and Jeffrey also co-wrote I Thought I Lost You, which left way back at #90. Anyway, the song is a hard-hitting pop-rock song with some more rock undertones in the verses and a gorgeous piano melody-led chorus about having a really busy, stressful and possibly bad day and wanting to just relax and listen to a simple song. I totally understand why Miley wanted to record this. I mean, can you imagine how busy she was working on Hannah, her music, and trying to be a “normal” girl all at the same time? It probably fucking sucked sometimes. The song itself is pretty good, though one of my least favorites from Breakout. I really enjoy for what it is, and it’s a total jam with a laid-back chorus. That said, when the production starts to just go AWF in the bridge and Miley’s singing and it’s getting more and more intense and then she just starts chanting “Make it stop!” and it finally does…whew, she tugged on my wig a bit with that one. The song was performed as part of the set-list for her Wonder World tour (in my personal opinion, taking a spot The Driveway could have filled, but it’s understandable why she wanted to do this one) and was also part of her Clear Channel Stripped set, most of which was included in the Platinum Edition release of the album, as well as her Rock In Rio set in 2010. As far as I could tell the only critic who really commented on the song was
The New York Times, who said “When the narratives grow too interior, as on…’Simple Song’ (which borrows some phrasing from the chorus of Avril Lavigne’s ‘Complicated’), it’s as if the production and songwriting battalion called it a day a little early.” Ouch.
What did y’all have to say about this anthem about needing to relax? Apparently not much as only four of you said anything. However, it was all positive.
@M24 (8) likes that it represents the title:
A bit simple as the song title says. But I like it. I’d argue that it’s actually quite complex, at least in places of it’s production, but what do I know? Time helped this for
@DJHazey (8):
I've been on the fence before with this one, but I also haven't heard it in ages. Fresh ears perhaps, because the piano-driven ditty of chorus and raucous verses I've always loved, feel like they're enough to carry this now. Yeah, I actually used to think the juxtaposition between the two didn’t work, but as I’ve gotten older, it started working for me. This song would’ve gotten like a 6 or 7 from me four years ago.
@pop3blow2 (8.5) brings up some true musical icons:
This sounds like a lost 70’s singer songwriter kind of song… Elton John, Billy Joel, etc. So that’s a compliment from me. Let me take this compliment and RUN. (Honestly I feel like Miley has the potential to be looked at like that in the future if she stopped with some (or most) of the bullshit ddddd.) Anyways,
@savilizabeths (9.5) gets personal again, and makes me want to hug her:
I struggled between a 9 and a 10 for this one. It’s certainly an odd but special song. The verses feel so manic and the chorus really breaks it down beautifully. It’s crafted very well. It actually really feels like a musical representation of my anxiety and manic disorders. I really like thinking about it like that. The chorus feels like when my girlfriend is holding my hand and telling me to breathe through my attacks. I’m sure this is also relatable to anyone, not just people with mental health issues. It’s quite a great little song. Hugs! Always here for you if you need to talk!
Here's the song again:
Live at the O2:
Clear Channel Stripped:
Here it is at Rock In Rio Live:
And let me post her other Elton John cover (I did post The Bitch Is Back earlier right?):
