NOTE: I embedded a different audio file of the song. Hopefully, this one won’t give you those weird “you can’t listen to this in your country” messages
Rihanna’s new single “Russian Roulette” was just released this morning…
My first impression? Wow, girl. I was not expecting you to drop a slow-burning power ballad that sounds more like rock than pop, dance, or R&B.
I’m into it, though. It’s not an instant ear-grabber, but by the middle, it’s developed into a full-on storm. Very dramatic. Rihanna’s vocals, too, have retained the personality they gained in “Take a Bow” and “Disturbia.”
If “Russian Roulette” and the new Adam Lambert song are hits, we could very well cycle back to an arena rock phase in pop music. That’s cool with me.
7 responses so far ↓
1 Roommate Joe // Oct 20, 2009 at 12:42 pm
This kind of further bolsters my belief that though her voice isn’t amazing, she definitely brings…something to the table. It’s not just that she’s the lucky lotto winner who got handed “Umbrella” and “Please Don’t Stop the Music.” This is a pretty boring song, and she makes it listenable.
She brings an odd gravitas to her songs now. Partly because of Chris Brown, yes (obviously the woundedness in this song hits much harder now). But also? I think because of all the hits she’s notched under her belt. It feels like she’s not trying to prove anything. That she’s not trying to sell you on herself, like a lot of younger, less established aspiring pop ladies (Katy Perry, Gaga even). There’s an odd authority to her now.
2 Mark Blankenship // Oct 20, 2009 at 1:03 pm
I agree, Joe, about Rihanna’s new authority. After having so many hits, she’s in a position where she can create trends instead of follow them. “Russian Roulette” doesn’t sound like anything else on the radio right now—and it certainly doesn’t sound like anything that Rihanna’s female pop contemporaries are doing—and other than Beyonce, no other female singer currently has the status to gain traction with such a departure. People are going to listen to this song because it’s by Rihanna, and even if they don’t like it right away, her name will make them listen at least one more time.
Granted, Ne-Yo wrote the song, not Rihanna, so she’s not entirely responsible for dropping an oddly structured ballad on the world, but I think you’re right that she IS bringing something to the table. I utterly dismissed her at first, but with every song, she develops more and more personality. No, she’s not a great vocalist, but there is a gravity to her performances that’s striking. “Russian Roulette’ would sound less spiky and dark without her.
Case in point: Listen to the “Glee” version of “Take a Bow” compared to Rihanna’s. Lea Michele does a great job, but Rihanna does, too. There’s a rough-edged anger in her take on the song that it makes it sound “real,” for lack of a better word.
I think that’s part of Rihanna’s ongoing appeal. She’s talented enough to be interesting, but not so talented that she seems unapproachable.
It’s interesting that I think this, since I know almost nothing about her. Really, the Chris Brown thing is my only connection to her “personal life.”
3 Anne // Oct 20, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Ok, now I’m bummed…’unable to view in your country due to copyright restrictions’? Gah.
4 Mark Blankenship // Oct 20, 2009 at 6:09 pm
Seriously? LAME!
5 Teev // Oct 21, 2009 at 2:17 am
Yeah I got the wrong country message too, which is weird because I thought you were in New York, and I am also in the States, so we are in the same country, yes? Or are you in Canadia?
6 Jackalpants // Oct 21, 2009 at 7:13 am
Mark! Hate to comment just to call you out, because I love the blog as a rule, but “lame” is a pretty bad pejorative to use- it smacks of ableism, and it kinda sucks to see it used to describe terrible things when it’s a word people use to describe you.
I know it’s not one a lot of people are aware of, but it is Not Cool to use “lame” that way.
Still love the blog, mind!
7 Mark Blankenship // Oct 21, 2009 at 9:35 am
Hey everyone! I’m rushing to an interview right now, but I will see if I can post another version of the song later today. I am in New York, so I don’t understand why other American readers are getting the “wrong country” message.
@Jackalpants — I had never thought of that. It’s certainly giving me something to think about for the future.
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