David Cook – Album Press Release and Song Lyrics

He’s intense. I’ve never cried reading song lyrics. I realize I am pregnant, but wow.

We recorded à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Permanentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ in two takes and everyone in the room was crying,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  Cook recalls. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I actually had to leave at one point because it was so emotional.

I’m so ready for this album, I can taste it. These teasers are about to kill me.

I can’t help but believe that RCA has done right by David. :clap_tb:

Permanent is really touching. I’m not sure if I can listen to this album all at once.

I read this right after reading Kirsten’s post on Idol Sales advocating the need for a new single release. I say go for it. DC is obviously very talented, and although I know success is as closely tied to publicity and luck as talent, I think it would be such a great shame if this guy goes down the tubes. If TPTB see DC as anything other than a mere product they need to be pulling out the stops now to get him some major promotion with the right material! Sorry – don’t mean to panic here, but I really like this guy! (Can you tell?) :grrr_ee:
I cannot wait for the CD to be released and I honestly cannot tell you the last time I said that about any artist.

I love the press release. I think I can understand better how Light On fits in with the themes on the album, but I still don’t know why it was the first single, or a single at all.

So far, after listening to all of the snippets *cough* times, I think the skippable songs for me will be LO and TOML. I’m sure he’ll get all sort of “generic” and “Daughtry-lite” thrown at him, but I really find his lyrics to be anything but generic, and I’m glad RCA let him do his emotional, earnest thing. I just hope people get to hear it.

And no, he’s not, omg, the best songwriter evah! or anything, and this probably won’t be an “important” album, but I do appreciate the “honesty throughout the record.” For me, that’s enough to set it apart from what people expect from the Idol winner. I think I’m going to be listening to some of these songs five years from now.

Ya know, I was thinking about this album this morning on my way to work. I read that he said he wrote a couple of songs DURING Idol. WTF? WHEN? Anyway, I wondered which ones he worked on during Idol. Wish I knew for sure! Why do I want to know? Oh I dunno…I really like his writing though. And now I’m trying to suck up tears at work after reading those lyrics. He just touches my heart. Awwwwwwwwww. :wub_tb:

I don’t know if he’s the best songwriter EVAH, but he is definitely my current favorite! hee. 12 more days! WOOHOO!

Oh I’m gonna be a MESS listening to this record. Dang it, I cried this morning when Yo Face came on my iPod. How do you SOUND tender and adoring when you sing? And those were someone else’s words and notes, not his very own. I don’t know how he does that. He’s a MYSTERY to me. What a combination of talent and heart and smarts…he’s something else.

ETA: So can we classify him as earnestemorock? And I plan on listening to David Cook music for the next…ooohhhhh…20 or 30 years I think. Seriously. I have other music I’ve been listening to for that long and I still love it. Egads, I’m dating myself!

It’s actually good to see the different themes in the album.
I liked the lyrics of Bar-ba-sol a lot. They seem to come from a tormented and lost place.

Permanent is really touching. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not sure if I can listen to this album all at once.

Just reading the lyrics to Permanent had me in tears. I know I’ll be bawling when I hear David sing those words. I’ll probably listen to the whole album first and then go back and listen to each song “mumbly” amount of times. I know I’ll be listening to this album years from now.

Isn’t TOML a bonus track, and therefore technically NOT a part of this album? Funny how TPTB still managed to get it in there!

ETA: Although I suppose it is a very small price to pay for letting David make the album he wanted.

I cannot make any more judgments, I’m too biased. I just want to have the CD already! I’m only hoping it becomes available here on the 18th as well. Or else, what am I gonna do?

I think it would be such a great shame if this guy goes down the tubes. If TPTB see DC as anything other than a mere product they need to be pulling out the stops now to get him some major promotion with the right material! Sorry – donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t mean to panic here, but I really like this guy! (Can you tell?) :grrr_ee:

LOL. I do think it’s a little early for panic. All indications are that the album will be at least good, and he still has a lot of people who know his name, rooted for him and will at least check give the record a listen when it comes out. We just have to hear HOW good the album is. I suspect his sales will be very, very strong if most people like what they hear and good buzz develops. The worst case scenario for me is that Light On turns out to be the mother of all bad first singles – in which case, they will switch to a new one in January. There are actually a couple of marketing strategies around multiple singles right now RCA could play with. I think it should all be ok in the end.

I wrote this for a different forum but I would like to bring it here.

I think there are too many unknowns for those of us not in the business to be declaring which single should have been released first.

The fact is that LO was quickly added to many stations playlists. Remember that cover shot from HotAC: HotAC.com Look at what it says on the cover – Most Added Out of the Box on over 1/4 of the panel.

How do you know that the songs from the album weren’t tested with radio people to see what they would have added? I don’t think labels make these decisions blindly. I am sure they do market research before they make their decisions.

I have been tracking radio adds and plays for Light On. Radio play for Light On is steadily increasing building towards the release of the album.

If they wanted immediate and ginormous sales for David, they would have forced him to do a Top 40 friendly pop tune. How about having him sing some version of “I Kissed a Boy and I’m Bleeding Love”

I would like to kiss the ground RCA walks on for allowing David to make the album he wanted to make.

I’m not looking for immediate gratification in sales numbers. I’m looking at the strong foundation that they are allowing David to build.

I completely agree, jan.

I’d also add that, given the steady growth of LO’s airplay over the last 2-3 weeks, I’m not ready to give up on LO. They’ve just launched the video which hasn’t even shown up on the video channels yet and has mostly just been seen by us fans; the airplay (while increasing about 1.0 million in weekly Audience Impression ever 3-4 days) is still not quite to 9 million for the week; and the press push has barely started. If LO stalls on airplay, I would agree that they need to issue another single. Until then, I’m content with watching the initial strategy play out.

All in all, the snippets, the leaks from insiders who heard the record, and the lyrics that we’ve seen are promising that the record will at least be good and (I’m thinking) better than merely good. RCA’s press release shows a lot of faith in him, and I think that he’s going to show that he deserved that faith.

Oh another thing… LO is low radio spins right now and seems to be selling kinda eehhh. Meanwhile, he has a fanbase that is silently waiting to hear his album, and lots of goodwill. So is he Jennifer Hudson or Blake Lewis? Thats the question. We won’t know until the album drops.

And no, heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not, omg, the best songwriter evah! or anything, and this probably wonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t be an à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“importantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  album, but I do appreciate the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“honesty throughout the record.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

I get what you’re saying cheese. You know, it depends what you consider good songwriting. I don’t think David’s a musical genius, but damn does he have a certain way with words. I think he’s kind of fearless in taking something so highly personal and putting it out there into the universe, and I also think tapping into his emmotions like that and letting them pour out for the world to see is his gift. When he said he wanted his album to be important, I’m still not sure he meant changing the face of music iconically important. I figured he meant he wanted it to be an important rung in his artistic ladder, kind of like Joshua Tree was an important formative album in molding U2′s creative identity, rather than you know an album that was Frankensteined to be a commercial success and really didn’t say anything about David Cook other than he sold X units. I don’t know if this album will sell in a huge way, or if the critics will take him as seriously as he took his commitment to making this album worthwhile, but I do believe, after reading through these lyrics, that he was able to make something important. I also have a feeling that listening to the album for the first time will be like finding somebody’s personal journal and not being able to resist reading through it even though you feel like you shouldn’t be intruding.

Permanent…as I said after the snippet preview, I like how he chose one word and used it in a context that gives that word a ton of emmotional weight. Those lyrics took me immediately to my godmother’s bedside ten years ago and it was hard to breath for a second. I’m just so glad David and Adam were given more time together.

Like Bar Ba Sol even more now…its kind of like a musical expletive, like a “Holy shit!” song. I imagine those words might have come to mind when he realized what he had gotten himself into with AI.

Jan, the problem is that is doesn’t seem to be building in sales and that is the bottom line. According to the info on the Idol sales and what Kirsten has, LO dropped 42 percent in sales last week and only had a bump in increase since SNL. I know I was being overly dramatic in my earlier thread but I do agree with Kirsten that is may be time for another single. The posts on these threads and other fansites (and SNL) all suggest the reception of Declaration was much stronger than that of LO. Folks here are even favoring snippets over the song. I don’t think folks in a test market would have been that different than the rest of the world. Archie’s camp has already released a second single before the release of a CD and according to Kirsten, many other artists do the same. I – without the dramatics this time – just think it might be time for RCA to consider releasing a second song to build up steam before the album release. One that, as Kirsten pointed out, might have more of a chance of being downloaded if people hear it on TV or the radio and one that his fans can generally love and not debate. Because nothing -nothing – sells like word of mouth. I know the CD will be a huge success among his fans. I’d like the people outside of the AI bubble to get it too.

I hit on this a little last night but, that’s not really a press release. I mean that’s not what will be sent out through PR Newswire or anything. I believe that’s the the updated biography that will be up on the RCA site and is also being distributed packaged with the album online that people are hearing early, if that makes any sense. Not to be a downer here or anything but those are always pretty overblown. I remember the one that RCA sent out for Clay’s last CD was also a little OTT.

eta: It’s on the RCA press site under biography, not press releases .

I’m in the camp that thinks a new single should be released ASAP because LO isn’t doing it but I can’t see that happening. I think they’re pretty clueless. But sometimes you need to just admit something isn’t working. Airplay aside by now it shouldn’t keep dropping the way it is on iTunes. I’ve seen some brilliant albums underperform all due to a poor first single.

Sigh. So I just posted this fairly long comment on the sales thread about LO’s SNL sales bump, and whether it means RCA should switch the first single, but reading this PR just makes me realize that I don’t even care about that stuff anymore– based on my expectations for the music, I’m overcome with this feeling that just getting my hands on this precious music is enough. I’m just really happy that DC’s album is shaping up to be something I will lovelovelove, because that is rare for me. I enjoyed AH for its promise, DC’s voice, and the parts of each song (either lyrics or music) that I loved, but I thought there were maybe only 3 complete songs that I thought were excellent. Axium, similar situation– lots of promising and enjoyable stuff, but only a small handful of songs were stellar. But this record… even a partial glimpse has me trembling with excitement, it looks so damn good.

Okay, so I lied. I do care that it does well, because the rational part also wants him to have commercial success so that DC will continue to create great music for us for years to come, with all the resources afforded by a major record deal. BUT, I’m not not worried. RCA has shown that it is backing DC fully, and I just feel in my heart that the album is going to sell and keep selling for a long time, even if LO doesn’t push it out of the gate strong. There’ll simply be too many good songs on it for its subsequent singles not to get crazy radioplay, leading to long-run consistent album sales. And the album will have crazy legs because the songs on it will be so strong. That’s my optimistic prediction, anyway .

ETA: As much as I stand behind LO as the single (for now), Kirsten and jpfan did bring up an interesting idea in the sales thread, suggesting that DC switch it up at the various TV gigs, rather than performing LO everywhere. I mean, that sounds interesting to me– most people won’t be exposed to the 5-song set on AOL or Walmart, so why not vary it a bit and cater the song choice to the talk show audience a bit when making the rounds? Hmm, wonder what are the chances of that happening?

I’m in the camp that says that RCA knows what they are doing. For immediate gratifying sales, they could release commercial dreck.

David is proud of his record. That is enough for me.

When they are ready to release another single, they will. And then they will release another and another.

Thank goodness they have faith in David. They are not panicking and neither will I.

eta: Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s on the RCA press site under biography, not press releases .

Thanks. I’ll amend my post.

Press releases are always overblown, but I thought the songwriter info and David’s quotes were interesting.

Hee…

So is he Jennifer Hudson or Blake Lewis? Thats the question. We wonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t know until the album drops.

I know what you meant, but I have to say it…he’s DAVID COOK!

He’s not the next Jennifer Hudson or Blake Lewis or Chris Daughtry, he doesn’t want to make an insert-name-here album, he wants to make a David Cook record, he knows who he is.

That was all a jumble of different things I read that he has said.

So anyway, I would love to see this album be commercially and critically successful for him. But if it’s not, and I’m sure it won’t be for some people no matter WHAT is on it, I am still buying it. And I have no doubt I will listen to it over and over “mumbly” times and over “mumbly” years. I think he can handle the good and the bad in this business he’s in now. I hope he makes another album…after the DAVID COOK & EEB TOUR that lasts forever and comes close to where I live multiple times, please. If anyone out there liked him on Idol, likes what is being said about the upcoming album, and has not been able to see him LIVE, I highly recommend that you see this band perform live, in front of your very eyeballs, if you can! 12 more days….eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee……

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m in the camp that says that RCA knows what they are doing. For immediate gratifying sales, they could release commercial dreck.

Picking a first single is art rather than a science, and it’s not unusual for a label to misstep. It happens all the time. The first single doesn’t hit? The label releases another one.

I can’t imagine that RCA released “Light On” not caring about the sales numbers. I’m sure they were expecting it to be a huge hit. I would not blame them if they moved on to another single sooner rather than later.

Is it safe to assume we’ve heard about all the bonus song that will be released? iTunes and Walmart only?

Well, I dont know much about the music business or anything, I just know what I like. I like David Cooks songs. Its just the kind of music I like. I don’t know how well LO is going to do on the charts. I do know that Ive been in the yes room since it came out, and its steadily playing. I guess im in the rarity in saying I love the song. I liked all the snippets of the songs on the cd also. Ive never followed american idol before, or anyone on it. Do all the contestants get this much scrutiny over everything they do? Its seems like ever since the new song came out people are already claiming hes a failure. I dont think we have heard the last of mr. cook.

Ive never followed american idol before, or anyone on it. Do all the contestants get this much scrutiny over everything they do?

Yes.

If they aren’t getting this much attention on this site and others, they are probably called Corey Clark (and they are coming to a parking lot near you!)

I canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t imagine that RCA released à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Light Onà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  not caring about the sales numbers. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m sure they were expecting it to be a huge hit. I would not blame them if they moved on to another single sooner rather than later.

After what I’ve heard of the album, I wouldn’t mind a single bit….BarbasolPermanentDeclarationLifeontheMoonHeroes….take your pick.

I too love Light On. It’s really a great pop song. Once the video comes out, the song will start seeing more plays on the radio.

The problem has not been with Light On itself. The problem has been with whoever is in charge of promoting David. Where is he? What shows is he appearing on? What huge radio stations is a he guest on?

So far David has been on Oprah & SNL. What else? Granted those are two biggies, but really what else?

***I am NOT trying to start something below so please do not take it that way***

Archie the runnerup is all over the place. He is on radio shows, he was a guest on a radio show when his song premiered. He has all types of guest appearances at certain places. Macy parade also coming up. Where is David Cook in all of that hub bub? Someone needs to get on the ball because they are the ones failing in this. Sorry but I am frustrated and it is not because of Light On being chosen as the single.

David is not going anywhere for a long long time but to the top of the charts. His only problem right *now* is no one know’s he is even putting out a record besides his hard core fans. Just like alot of folks asked after SNL. Who is this guy? He has an album?

Indeed promoter’s who is this guy?

No problem MJ. I agree the info about the songs was interesting but I wanted to point out it’s not unusual for these things to be filled with praise. I’m seeing a lot of opinions that this is an indicator RCA is backing him 100%.

Thank goodness they have faith in David. They are not panicking and neither will I.

I don’t think we can know how RCA is feeling right about now. I appreciate that they had enough faith in him to make the kind of album he wanted and do so much writing, but it’s really hard to say how they’re feeling about LO’s progress. Maybe they are panicking but considering the video, shot by a top tier director just came out and the album is set to drop in 2 weeks they may not know how to go about things. No way do I believe they released LO with the intentions of not caring whether or not it does well.

I canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t imagine that RCA released à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Light Onà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  not caring about the sales numbers. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m sure they were expecting it to be a huge hit. I would not blame them if they moved on to another single sooner rather than later.

I agree. Based on the performance of TOML, they probably expected David’s first “real single” to meet or exceed those sales. I don’t think LO is going to get the job done, even with upcoming appearances and increasing radio play. Leadoff singles usually don’t get much promotion right out of the gate – the appearances don’t kick in until the album is released. Still, I think it’s underperforming, just given who David is and how many downloads he has sold in the past.

I do think that because of the success of TOML, the label knows that he can sell singles and hopefully they’ll be willing to put the same kind of promotional $$ into the next one, regardless of when it comes out. LO has a commercial sound, but other songs on the album are just a lot more likable, would be a better fit for Top 40, and would give people a better taste of what the album is actually like.

Of course part of me just wants to see him perform something else on the upcoming appearances. I don’t want to have to wait until January or February to hear him perform something on TV other than LO. He just looked and sounded so much more comfortable singing Declaration. Some artists are also releasing different songs to different formats. Maybe LO can keep inching its way up HAC while “Bar Ba Sol” goes to rock stations (which are clearly not embracing LO) /wishful thinking.

If this still is the lyrics post, I have somethign to ask.
In another post I read people talking about the lyrics of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Life on the Moonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ , but I don’t see them in you compilation MJ. Does anyone have those?

I wanted to point out ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not unusual for these things to be filled with praise. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m seeing a lot of opinions that this is an indicator RCA is backing him 100%.

Oh. Gotcha. And I take your point.

In another post I read people talking about the lyrics of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Life on the Moonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ , but I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t see them in you compilation MJ. Does anyone have those?

If somebody has them, I don’t know where they are…

I actually think this press release/bio/whatever is pretty toned down compared to the one I can still remember for Daughtry. That one made me lmao.

For me the indicator that RCA is backing him comes from the fact that he wrote all the songs except for LO, not from whatever adjectives are used in the press release. I doubt they decided that this Cook fellow is such a waste of time that they’ll just put whatever on his CD and not even try. It seems like they are behind him and his music, notwithstanding the selection of the Cornell song as the first single. I’m sure that other songs written by other songwriters were pitched to them, but clearly, they didn’t make the cut.

ETA: Oops, just remembered that Blake wrote most of his songs, too. Ugh. I still think this will turn out better.

“So far David has been on Oprah & SNL. What else? Granted those are two biggies, but really what else?”

Cook just appeared on the one of the highest rated, most-talked about television shows of the year that feature live music, only four days ago, and is booked for high-profile TV events every few days for the next month. In the past 30 days, he’s received coverage in Rolling Stone, Billboard, MTVnews, LATimes, Entertainment Tonight, and EW, to name only the higher profile ones, as well as the video release, the AOL music promotion, top of iTunes placement and so on. There are a dozen radio interviews, all linked to on this site well. All these events are well-covered here, and elsewhere on the web

If, after that, a speaker insists that Cook is not being promoted, it is hard to think of any factual evidence they would ever accept that he is.

Once you’re established that *no* evidence of success or progress will ever be accepted, it becomes easy to declare that no progress is being made.

The single counter-example of musical reputation given is the assertion that the runner-up has been on a lot of radio shows and at high schools and so on, without attempting to compare any numbers or facts other then “all over the place.”

If I was going to be similarly subjective, I would point out that not person I know outside TV websites, except my teen nieces, has ever shown the slightest knowledge that David Archuleta has a song out or even that he exists. “Who is this guy,” indeed.

There appears to be a somewhat reductive circle going on whereby the people who comment on Idol websites assert that the number of times someone is mentioned on Idol websites has something to do with the larger world’s knowledge of said someone. But it doesn’t.

I think TPTB should follow Taylor Swift’s label’s playbook. They have gradually released a new single every week for the last several weeks to Itunes in anticipation of her album dropping next week. And it’s working. She’s #1 on Itunes and has been for quite some time now.

The industry is changing. It’s not even remotely close to the same industry it was a year ago. I don’t think the tried and true is necesarily the best route anymore. I listen to a station in CA that should have added LO weeks ago and it still has not. That says a LOT to me. This is a station that really takes chances, too – and yet, they still are not playing it. It’s time to move on to the next one, imo.

ETA: I love the lyrics of the songs he wrote. I want to listen to David! I’m all for collaboration but I don’t want to listen to him sing someone else’s music anymore.

I have to ask…how does it work with Sony/BMG the parent company and the underlying labels? Has anyone wondered if RCA is in trouble with Clive being demoted? Bary Weiss proved with Jive that he can sell a pop singles artist like Jordan or Chris Brown and Archie slid easily into that mold. But Cook needs to be handled differently. I can’t help but wonder if 19 is more responsible than RCA for the SNL gig, and what Sony/RCA’s problem is in getting David out there more on the radio. Not that Light On hasn’t been gaining spins, but there wasn’t a huge push right off the bat. That said, I have a ton of faith in David’s ability to resonate with people via music. I think that’s why he won AI, and why he will ultimately be a success even if it’s true that Archie is initially getting the winner’s treatment. RCA/19 need to get Cook performing on TV often, and hopefully let him perform Declaration as well as Light On. And put lots of album copies int he stores over the holidays. If he sings it, they will come. I dunno, I may or may not have faith in RCA right now, but I definitely have faith in Cook. JMHO.

In another post I read people talking about the lyrics of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Life on the Moonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ , but I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t see them in you compilation MJ. Does anyone have those?

Oops, that was me– I misspoke! Haven’t seen LOTM lyrics!

I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think Davidà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a musical genius, but damn does he have a certain way with words. I think heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s kind of fearless in taking something so highly personal and putting it out there into the universe, and I also think tapping into his emmotions like that and letting them pour out for the world to see is his gift. When he said he wanted his album to be important, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m still not sure he meant changing the face of music iconically important. I figured he meant he wanted it to be an important rung in his artistic ladder, kind of like Joshua Tree was an important formative album in molding U2à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s creative identity, rather than you know an album that was Frankensteined to be a commercial success and really didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t say anything about David Cook other than he sold X units. I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t know if this album will sell in a huge way, or if the critics will take him as seriously as he took his commitment to making this album worthwhile, but I do believe, after reading through these lyrics, that he was able to make something important. I also have a feeling that listening to the album for the first time will be like finding somebodyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s personal journal and not being able to resist reading through it even though you feel like you shouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t be intruding.

Well said, sunchick.

I think thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s why he won AI, and why he could ultimately be a success even if ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s true that Archie is initially getting the winnerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s treatment.

I suppose it’s subjective, but Archie is going around talking to highschools and 2nd tier radio stations while Cookie is on SNL and Oprah and having big articles in Rolling Stone and Blender. I think Oprah/SNL/RS/Blender are pretty high profile gigs while I could probably get random highschools in random cities to let me give a presentation of my wonderful numbers (provided I say “weighted averages” a lot). I think that RCA/19M are doing a great job for Cookie in the promo department (and I’ve certainly criticized my share of promo departments). I think somebody just picked a lead-off single that might perhaps not be as good a lead-off single as some other songs may have been. That’s a mistake. A mistake that is easy to make because picking singles is not a science. I don’t think I would claim that he’s not being treated like a winner. In fact, in the history of this show, I don’t think there has been a winner to get this much pre-album drop promo. That I can recall. They may not be doing a perfect job, but they appear to be trying to do something. And that’s always a good sign.

Partial lyrics to LOTM were posted…I haven’t seen the full lyrics yet.

See here: http://www.dc42.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=28

Cook just appeared on the one of the highest rated, most-talked about television shows of the year that feature live music, only four days ago, and is booked for high-profile TV events every few days for the next month.

That would be *SNL* that I mentioned.

There are a dozen radio interviews, all linked to on this site well. All these events are well-covered here, and elsewhere on the web

There are a few yes. I have seen them on here (since I have been coming here for years) & on the web.

If, after that, a speaker insists that Cook is not being promoted, it is hard to think of any factual evidence they would ever accept that he is.

*A Speaker*….hmmm am I suppose to be *A Speaker*?
He still has not had the hard promotion that Archie has. Again, I say that is his promoter’s fault.

Not everyone watches AI. There is a stigma attached to it in the music world that I hope is starting to break. Hard core fans definitely know who both David’s are. Now it is the promoter’s job’s to get them out in the public eye.

I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think you can claim that heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not being treated like a winner. In fact, in the history of this show, I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think there has been a winner to get this much pre-album drop promo. That I can recall.

I didn’t mean that he’s been treated like an afterthought or anything. I meant that even if RCA made some misteps and it’s true that we are going to see an initial wave of “Archie was the true winner” sentiment making the rounds based on early single sales, Cook can still hang in there and do his thing.

Not that Light On hasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t been gaining spins, but there wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t a huge push right off the bat.

Thank you sunchick. There lies my whole point. :smile_wp:

I was referring to David Cook not David Archuletta, reread.

Maturin is saying that most people have no idea who Archie is either.

They’ve received different types of promotion, but I can’t say that one is better or worse. Cook may not be as prominent on the radio with “Light On,” but in every other avenue, his promotion is up there.

Deejay, thanks for the link.

Deejay for now at least Archie’s promoter’s are getting him out there *more*. Sorry I took that another way, correcting it.

As I said, this was not meant to flame any wars. Period.

What I am wondering is who is doing the promoting and why did Light On not have a bigger push right from the start? I can live with Oprah & SNL and hope to get more, maybe a Christmas at the White House & New’s Year’s with Dick Clark and Seacrest. Album is coming out soon he just need’s a bigger push.

Hopefully the video will help with that.

David has been able to create His CD with His music. He gets to live this dream scenario- top label, top producer, top shows, gets to experience what mass adulation is like. I think even if nothing this incredible ever happens to him again, he will ride into the sunset happy. How many of us can say we got to do what we had imagined we might in our wildest dreams at the age of 25 ?

I just hope he can get enough success to carry on in his career. I think based upon the quality of the music he has put on this CD, that to me is given.

As far as personal expectations go, I have found myself humming the little snippets of music from his CD at odd times. They are in my head. They make me happy. I don’t think what someone else will say about them will change the inherent value of that music for me.

However my heart will bleed a little for him if the comments are intentionally cruel. This record is raw, almost voyeuristically bare and heaping derision on it would be like kicking a puppy. David maybe able to brush it off, it will be a bit hard for me to ignore that, that easily although I fully well intend to try.

It may be the fact that I just listened back to back to Jason Castro ‘s and David’s A.’s ( or should I say team of writers in regards to Achuleta?) rather insipid lyrics, but I do think Josiah Leming and Cook are a few cuts above as lyricists. From the title, I thought that Mr. Sensitive was about Simon Cowell. In a way, it still is, isn’t it? Interesting how Barbasol suggests the distaste of being treated like a brand. The “reveal” in the lyrics definitely make the record seem less manufactured.

I didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t mean that heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s been treated like an afterthought or anything. I meant that even if RCA made some misteps and ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s true that we are going to see an initial wave of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Archie was the true winnerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  sentiment making the rounds based on early single sales, Cook can still hang in there and do his thing.

Ah. I see. I wouldn’t worry about the press too much. They were all over the “Crush” debut because the “Crush” headlines nearly wrote themselves (journalists seem to love double meanings in their headlines). There was barely a burble when LO came out. Plus, they blow with the wind. They could be all rah-rah Archie one minute and then turn Cookie into Rocky the next minute. Whatever sells papers. I think, on the whole, the press likes Cookie so that will help. Slezak and Barnes clearly do and they are kind of the goto guys for Idol in the professional press. And AI likes Cookie. So, he’ll get lots of positive press from them (and the Three Stooges).

I didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t mean that heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s been treated like an afterthought or anything. I meant that even if RCA made some misteps and ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s true that we are going to see an initial wave of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Archie was the true winnerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  sentiment making the rounds based on early single sales, Cook can still hang in there and do his thing.

We’re not going to see “Archie is the true winner” headlines because the press is, and probably will be for awhile, squarely in Cook’s corner. I can count on my hand the number of entertainment press that are actually pro-Archie. As Kirsten said, the whole “Crush” headline regarding the Hot 100 debut was really easy to write, but you notice that when LO’s sales numbers didn’t match those of Crush’s first week, there was barely a headline in sight. In fact, I’m pretty certain that the press is waiting for the album numbers, and will make their comparisons based on those. Since Cook’s album has been on pre-sale for months longer on Amazon (right after the finale, when his fandom was at its highest), and a week longer on iTunes, Archie is already in the deficit there. Cook will likely outsell Archie in his first week, whereby we’ll probably see the headlines more akin to “the right David was the winner” based on something as arbitrary as first-week sales.

As for promotion, I think Cook fans and Archie fans see things very differently. Archie gets sent on a radio promotional tour that had him going to high schools and pizza parties. Granted, these promotional tours are standard, and it was good that he did it, but that’s not SNL or Oprah. It’s not Rolling Stone or People. Archie is getting almost the same set of TV appearances. And Jive doesn’t send out press releases, like the one above. RCA seems to send out a lot. Jive is pushing David and Crush, and I’m happy for that, but I think RCA is doing a lot pushing Cook.

I think the only thing that Jive did that RCA didn’t was to have Crush’s debut on Z100, which is a lot. That’s why the song started so strong on radio. Light On did not have a radio debut and has to climb on its own, which happens slower.
But other than that both guys are getting good treatment, although you’re probably never going to see Cook going to schools, but that’s because they’re marketing the guys to different audiences.
I don’t people can complain much.

SNL & Oprah are HUGE. Those are the kind of shows new artists would kill for her. He was probably heard by more millions last week on SNL than any kind of massive radio play can bring in a weeks time. I don’t think we’ll know the extent of promotion until a little closer to the drop date, but right now I don’t expect to see him everywhere. There’s a banner with a link to the LO video on every Clear Channel radio website, I’d say that’s promotion. Whether the promotion is affective or not is another story.

I don’t know how getting booked on those shows work, I don’t know if 19 or RCA was responsible (I’m leaning more towards 19) but whoever got him on the 2nd highest SNL in 10 years or whatever is I tend to think would like to see him do well.

So…

Nobody wants to analyze lyrics?

*ahem*

Let’s keep this post focused on Cook and leave the archie vs cook sales stuff for the sales thread, where it belongs. Thanks.

Soà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

Nobody wants to analyze lyrics?

Oh, I want.
I would actually love to know people’s takes on Bar-ba-Sol.
Did he pick that title because he’s telling the story of someone (him?) who is just a brand? One that is fulfilling a dream but to do it he’ll be treated as a product.

So much of the lyrics are really deep. David Cook is such a sensitive person and he does have a great way with words. I’m not sure which song I am most looking forward to. I think I am probably a more shallow person that David, but I understand the words from Lie. They speak to me. I can completely understand knowing that things are not right but not wanting to hear it. I can completely understand being okay with the quiet rather than hearing that your world is falling a part.

To me this is kind of the difference between the Davids for me. David Cook has obviously experienced heart break and uncertainty and he can put real emotion into it when he sings about it. This is not meant as a dig to David Archuleta. Archie does a fantastic job of singing with conviction. But for me, there is a difference in his ability to connect to people like me who have experienced adult relationships and situations of their own. There is a difference between singing about life and singing from your own experience with life. I hope this won’t get me in trouble to say. But that is the first thing I think when I read these lyrics. He is writing and singing from his life. He is putting himself out there again for us. He is making himself vulnerable to us. And it makes me even more of a fan.

Loeme, I have no idea what Bar Ba Sol means to him. It sounds to me like he is conflicted between the opportunities this journey has opened up for him and the pieces of himself he may have to compromise on to make it happen. But he said that Mr. Sensitive is the song about his idol experience, didn’t he? Maybe there are pieces of it in both songs.

Permanent is certainly autobiographical. What a beautiful thing to say to someone who sees everything slipping away. What a loving thing to say that no matter what else, I’m permanent.

Yes…

He is putting himself out there again for us. He is making himself vulnerable to us. And it makes me even more of a fan.

And…

What a beautiful thing to say to someone who sees everything slipping away. What a loving thing to say….

I. Cannot. Handle. It. Him. How can I NOT just adore this man and his music? How beautiful is he? He’s RIDICULOUS. I can’t go through the lyrics that we have of each song right now. I want to be able to read the exact words and hear the music and hear him sing first, then I’ll start my analysis. Most of it will actually be about myself first, I’m sure.

I have listened to “Analog Heart” mumbly-mumb times now since March. And certain songs more than others. I get a lump in my throat ev-er-y f-ing time I hear certain lines from his mouth. I know other songwriters who write from the heart and sing that way too. I do not know why or how or what the hell it is that just tears me apart when I hear Cook sing and I know he wrote the words. And then I smile again at the next line he sings. And there’s that cover of Creep. Oh. He just WAILS…pure estrangement, rejection, creepiness, outsider, loneliness, adoration, longing, tenderness, anger, desire.

You know, I think there would be something freeing about telling the absolute truth, telling everyone, just singing it out loud for anyone who is listening. Oh haha…making a DECLARATION maybe? If you tell the truth from the beginning, you are invincible. And the deeper and more real that truth, the more you have nothing to lose. You have shown the real you and that’s it…there’s nothing to pretend, nothing to protect, and yet everything remains to hold close to your heart.

ETA: David Cook singing The World I Know on the last night of that competition was utterly beautiful. I stood in front of my TV a few feet away, trying to get closer to it. I cried. I didn’t even know why.

blahblahblah. Waiting for that important record, Cook. Thank you.

KathrynTX, I had the exact same reaction to The World I Know. It was like watching a piece of his soul on the stage. I was shocked that Simon couldn’t see it. I was shocked that everyone of those judges didn’t see what we saw. Was it a power ballad, no. Was it a personal moment shared with all of us, yes. Also, about Declaration. I think that is why I was so excited about it. It was David telling us that this is who he is as an artist. No wonder he could sing it with such conviction.

Soà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

Nobody wants to analyze lyrics?

Nah. Just wanna think about “Permanent” and how it’s going to turn me into a hot, blubbering, headachey mess. The anguish in those lyrics is almost palpable.

David is a self-described goof/nerd/goober. I’d have to agree, seeing as how he likes to stick Sharpies up his nose. But inside of him, there’s a lot going on. He’s pretty much a private person from what I’ve gathered. He only lets us know what he wants us to know. But, through his music, he bares his soul to us.

David Cook is special.

I could never put my heart out there for the world to see the way David does with his songs. Never mind wrap it up in lovely words and melodies. That takes enormous courage and talent. I am so thankful that RCA has seemingly acknowledged this and is letting David present himself through this album on his own terms. Cause he’s wonderful and he deserves to have the world know!

Hee, sorry, got lost in a fangirly moment there. (But I mean every word of it.)

Okay, lyrics. I think Bar-ba-sol’s are gonna be fun to analyze…I think I get the “sold and spun” part but bloody noses and lost keys? eh?

Wow, I was just ‘ploding these last 2 days – SNL-the Video-the song snippets-now the lyrics-the press release, and then the Election: IT’S TOO MUCH! Whew..

I can’t begin to absorb the lyrics yet, coz I’m just too hung up on the WAY he sings certain lines like:

….the city feels low, against the gleam and the glow, of his diligence…..to their elegance…. – I play this line while out driving at night in the gloom of the car with the bright city lights passing by. “Diligence to elegance” – the shallow / superficial way we all capitulate to the lowest common denominator of other people’s opinions. Why do we care so much what other people say? Does it matter? That’s what this song is saying to me.

….I’m alone in this crowded room…It’s like Life on the mooooooonnnn….. – the echo of that last note makes me feel sooooo lonely

….Sold and spun agaaaaain, uh…All before me like a dream..
….JUST-SHUT-TIGHT!…I feel SICK! I feel ner-VOUS!f – aaaaaaaaahhh, these lines makes me feel all kinds of hawt n crazy like I want to throw things and yell! Or take off my clothes and dance! LOL

….I don’t mind if you wait before you tear me apart…so look my in the eye… – I knew before getting the full lyrics what was coming next. He just spoke the words in my head that I want to tell someone in my life right now. My. Hairs. Stood. Up.

….I’m permaneeeeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnnnt……… – I’m right here even if I’m not. You can’t get rid of me even if you want to. I’ll make you listen and LIVE. He wants this engraved into the listener’s heart *cries* It’s useless.

And all these are the words from the song snippets alone, not even the full songs. I can not only hear them. I can SEE them (no, I’m not crazy *LOL* – what I mean is each song has such a strong identity: I can see listening to one song in a dark room with a candle, and another on a road trip with the top down and hair flying, and another on a rooftop just belting out my guts to the world, and so on….). I’m having such a viscereal reaction to the WAY he says/sings the words. I’m literally falling in love with this album, it’s not even about David right now.

Soà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

Nobody wants to analyze lyrics?

I do, I just don’t know where to start… or end. His words leave me speechless, haha. I’ll just make some random comments on my 3 favorites, I guess.

I already loved Bar-ba-sol from the snippet, but I love it even more now, having read the rest of the lyrics. I do like the interpretation that he’s writing about about his experience with Idol and that perhaps the title refers to his feelings of being turned into a product. But personally, for me, I like that the lyrics can be interpreted a different way. What DC said about Life on the Moon can be applied here also: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“What I like about that song is that it represents the last year of my life without perverting the last year of my life,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  he says. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s written so that it could be about the whole Idol journey, but it doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have to be.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

That’s so key for me, because no, I can’t relate to the frustrations of dealing with choosing to go on a reality show, but I can relate to the sense of frustration he expresses in that song, period. There are loads of times in my life when I felt sick and nervous, when things were hard for whatever reason, when I didn’t feel up to facing my obstacles, and the burden felt too much, when nothing’s going right (bloodied nose and lost keys), and I just wanted to sleep it away or keep my eyes shut tight against it all. We all deal with the consequences of what we choose, with after-effects that could be deafening. This song– this hard, riff rocker, it just kills me. I can’t wait to get the whole song on my hands, so I can blast it full volume and wail along with DC as a stress reliever. Music is clearly a release for DC emotionally, and I benefit from that release as a listener when I can connect to the lyrics myself.

About Permanent… wow, I pretty much tear up every time I read the lyrics of Permanent, because it strikes a personal chord with me but I don’t think I can be coherent if I tried to explain this. I’ll just say that I’ll be listening to that song when I need a good cry. Wow, DC is like therapy for me, I guess…

Heroes– I love that he wrote it about his family, because that’s something I connect with deeply, as I am also extremely close to my family, and that’s exactly how I feel about them. They’re my safety net, keeping me from falling, teaching me to rise up, open my eyes up– it’s extremely empowering for me, and definitely anthemic. I will be singing along to this one too.

So here’s my 2 cents of thoughts on the biography and the lyrics that have been posted:

Declaration: Now that I know his intentions (somewhat) behind this song – for declaring that, with this song and the others you are going to hear “basically”, “this is David Cook”. The one line in this song that has struck me from the beginning (SNL) is, “That I wear my heart upon my sleeve…” This is exactly what he is doing with this. entire. album.

The words that have been posted so far tell us exactly who David Cook is and how he experiences life, relationships, feelings…possible death of a loved one, fame, family, etc.

The thing that makes this so great is that I would imagine everyone can relate to many if not all of these things in one way or another… (Okay,not fame hee hee.)

I remember hearing him in a radio interview and he said he doesn’t take himself seriously (the goof), but he takes his music seriously. Being able to put forth these strong, raw emotions in such a powerful way is well, almost (I know this may sound totally cheesy), therapy for the soul. For him and the listener.

So now, I will touch on the album title. It fits. Basically this album is: David Cook.

In the biography he stated that Rob Cavello was tuned in to who he is and made the songs fit him. I say, Yeah to Rob Cavello!!!!

I want to see more lyrics…I want to read them over and over on the back of the cover (or inside) while listening to them over and over.

He says that he has several layers as an artist, I wonder how many years from now I’ll/we’ll still be uncovering these as we continue to listen to the album, David Cook.

à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.Sold and spun agaaaaain, uhà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦All before me like a dream..
à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.JUST-SHUT-TIGHT!à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦I feel SICK! I feel ner-VOUS!f – aaaaaaaaahhh, these lines makes me feel all kinds of hawt n crazy like I want to throw things and yell! Or take off my clothes and dance!

take off your clothes in church, you mean? lol. I love that part too. I’m crazy over how he sings “sick” and “ner-VOUS”. So much emotion in those 2 little words.

The lyrics to “Lie” makes my heart hurt…

That’s what breaks me up sometimes, cookcricket…he’s just 25 but (commentary on his songwriting as a whole) able to express on such a breadth of human experience. Makes me think he’s gone through a lot in this life already but instead of getting jaded and cynical he still stays so hopeful and optimistic. I hope he never loses that.

Hey Cricket. Hope you have gotten some sleep. LOL I agree about the title of the album and hadn’t thought of that before. It is appropriate because he is putting himself out there. Do you think it is common that a new, young artist is given as much control over his first album as DC? I think it says something about how much faith these veterans of the music business have in our boy that they trust his instincts.

I was just looking at the order of the tracks and thinking about why they were placed in that order. Here are my thoughts…this is a whole lot of speculation, so take anything I say with a grain of salt. Heh.

1. Declaration – As he explained, declares overall intentions for the album.

2. Heroes – Ode to his supportive, inspirational family.

3. Light On – About leaving the ones you love…which is what he did as he embarked on his music career, even before AI. His mother talks about his leaving to go find himself and give music a try.

4. Come Back to Me – Some have said this sounds like a parent talking to a child who has to go out and find himself…which is, again, what he did in the few years before AI. After graduating from college, he went to Tulsa to give music a shot. He had to find what was right for him. This song could be about his family’s support through this.

5. Life on the Moon – And now…American Idol. This song seems to express some of the feelings that came along with insta-fame. He needed the anchors of his family and friends, and the separation was difficult.

6. Bar-ba-sol – And now he’s getting a bit angry and conflicted about the whole fame thing. He knows how he got here, but it still feels like a crazy dream…yet it isn’t. All the mixed feelings that come with it are potent, and he needs to vent.

7. Mr. Sensitive – He can act tough and angry all he wants, but when it comes down to it…he’s a sensitive guy at heart. Living under a microscope is difficult for someone who takes things to heart and wears that heart on his sleeve, but he can’t “let the words get the best of him.”

8. Lie – That sensitivity translates to other areas. He clings to relationships, doesn’t want to let go, even when something clearly isn’t working. Also, he’s at a point where he needs some support from people who are no longer nearby. As much as he’d like to keep living a facade, though, some things eventually end. Could be about a relationship before or during the beginning of AI.

9. I Did it for You – Don’t have enough lyrics to dissect this yet…but it sounds like it could be a break-up song, which makes sense following “Lie.”

10. Avalanche – Ditto for this.

11. Permanent – Now, he’s perhaps mulling over the temporary nature of some things in life, like relationships. And perhaps how separation can put a strain on love. But most crucially, while he’s out there separated from the people he loves, his brother is suffering from cancer. Which of course makes one reflect on how temporary life itself is and how insignificant many of the ins and outs of our daily lives are. Above all, there’s one thing that’s significant. That’s permanent…the love of true family and friends. The kind of love that outlasts everything.

12. A Daily AntheM – So what’s the moral of the story? Cherish your loved ones. Near or far, when you’re feeling lonely, remember those whose love is permanent. The people keeping a light on for you and keeping your things where you left them. And keep a light on for them, too. This song, this anthem, sounds like a way to celebrate and remember those loved ones on a daily basis. It’s a permanent symbol of permanent love and will outlast our temporary lives.

Whew! Deep.

Wow, Deejay. That was beautifully done.

No kidding! What a beautiful synopsis.

Looking at the song titles again, it reads like the chapters in a book. That was very intuitive on your part, Deejay.

The sense of alientation, the isolation amidst the crowd, to see words form on stranger’s faces and to not understand, the sense of helplessness, I feel all of that in Life on the Moon.

The hopeless dependence on a relationship that maybe all onesided love is apparant in Lie. He can see that the days of the said relationship are numbered but he does not want to know to how many. To live one day more in parody of bliss rather than to be cut open having to acknowledge the truth. Words once spoken, it all becomes real. So here this verbose soul seeks silence. I have no question in my mind that this song is a product of a personal heartache for him.

The man has LIVED. He has been burned. He has understanding of his own frailty and that of the things around him. And yet he is not hiding behind a tough, bitter shell. He remains astonishingly open, ever hopeful, grounded.it is all quite apparant in the lyrics of this album. The journey of that understanding is in the chronology of the songs so wonderfully interpreted in Deejay’s post.

A huge thank you to all who have posted interpretations and impressions of the lyrics of David Cook. It makes me more impatient for the release of the complete CD and lyrics for the rest of the songs.

I’m currently playing the snippets, along with the complete songs of Light On and TOML in the order that they appear on the CD as a continuos loop. I know some people have said that TOML doesn’t seem to fit in musically with the rest. However, if you look at the song list as autobiographical and a story of the last year of David Cook, I think it does fit in based on the lyrics (magic rainbow as the exception).

TOML talks about bitterness, dreams, the search for something, and love; then think of all of the emotions in the songs leading up to TOML. I see TOML as a post script, sort of like a summary as well as an expression of hope for the future and what it has in store for him. He’s having the time of his life where his professional dreams are coming true, while still having the love and support from those important to him in his life. ie: family and friends.

Magic Rainbow is always the exception….

Great analysis, deejay.

David did a radio interview on an NC station this morning and talked a little bit more about “Permanent.” He mentioned that he really wanted a lullaby-like piano ballad on the album, and wrote this one late in the recording process. He worked with Raine Maida and his wife on the music, and he said he wrote the lyrics in 15 minutes (!).

It was a pretty good interview, but when he hung up the DJs mocked him mercilessly for things like using the word “remiss,” for being emotional while recording “Permanent,” and for “name-dropping” even though most of their questions involved asking David for the names of people he worked with. They also threw in an obligatory “we should have asked him how if feels to know that David Archuleta will sell more records,” and a “He’s no Daughtry” for good measure. Love the morning DJs.

It was a strange postscript to the interview. Otherwise, it was good. They played LO, and polled 7 listeners, 6 of whom liked it, 2 of which were guys. And the very end of the sarcastic thing, they all said that they thought that LO was a good song. And the bit on Permanent was great—he recorded it with a piano and a 15-piece string orchestra. (I had been envisioning more like a cello and a violin.)

On a funny note, after mentioning Daughtry, they then admitted that Daughtry hadn’t shown any inclination to talk to them in a long time, despite being from the area. Huh, I wonder why interviewees would avoid you if you are going to ask questions solely to get answers for use in mocking?

^^ Guys, do you have a link? Sounds like an interesting interview, but unfortunate that the DJ’s were asses. But that’s pretty much the norm for these morning DJ personalities. I’m used to it in my area, so it’s really no big deal.

Hey—here’s a download, that I think includes the make it or break it bit before the song but cut off the nasty comments. Courtesy of Jolene at http://www.davidcookofficial.com

Yeah, let’s cross THAT station off the list for any future press…sheesh!

Deejay, awesome analysis. Good call on interpreting the song order.

If David does look at lyrics first I can see how LO was chosen. and like wordnerdarchie said, even ToML fits into the overall theme (even though it was an obligatory song.)

So great to keep discovering how much thought went into this album.

daenarys…

à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.Sold and spun agaaaaain, uhà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦All before me like a dream..
à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.JUST-SHUT-TIGHT!à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦I feel SICK! I feel ner-VOUS!f – aaaaaaaaahhh, these lines makes me feel all kinds of hawt n crazy like I want to throw things and yell! Or take off my clothes and dance! LOL

à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t mind if you wait before you tear me apartà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦so look my in the eyeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ – I knew before getting the full lyrics what was coming next. He just spoke the words in my head that I want to tell someone in my life right now. My. Hairs. Stood. Up.

Ah. And I really like reading ALL of these comments about the lyrics and the snippets. Didn’t he say he wanted to make a record that would make you feel exhausted after listening to it, that would make you want to…oh I don’t know…jump off a building, just for the rush…that would make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. ?? I think he said that. Yeah, his words leave me speechless too. I think every song on here will elicit a strong reaction from me.

When I’m listening to him sing, I’ve thought about the time I ended up in the ER because I found out the hard way I’m allergic to wasp stings. I was given injections of Benadryl and adrenaline. Now, those have 2 very different effects on a body! When the doc asked how I was doing, I said, all jittery like “Really weird! Ummmmmm…exhausted but as soon as I jump out of my skin and hit the ceiling, I’ll feel better I’m sure!”

Or I could think about riding a roller coaster or creeping through a haunted house. And then coming back down to safety and warm fuzzies. What a ride! And I often decide I’m really pissed at him about this too. I was doing a really good job of not feeling things for awhile…and now…DAVID COOK opens his lovely mouth and SINGS. Resistance is futile. You WILL feel, dammit.

Indy radio interview Again, courtesy of DCO.

Thanks for the comments, everyone. I think the record will really tell a cohesive story, so it’s starting to look like he accomplished his goals.

About the radio interview there they mocked him…Glad I missed that one. That’s all I’ll say.

Ha, I am such a geek for lyrical analysis! Dee, your breakdown was awesomely intuitive and I really enjoyed reading it. I think that progression makes perfect sense, and I can also totally imagine the TWIK performance inspiring this direction for the album. With that song he used someone else’s words to summarize his journey, and with the album he put it into his own words. I also dig that it all relates back to naming the album David Cook. Even before the lyrics were released, when we basically only had the track list to look at, the song titles struck me as some sort of autobiographical commentary in and of themselves. So via word association based on the title only…first thing that came to mind…

Declaration….choosing to concentrate on music, setting the deadline to get music career going by a certain age
Heroes…crossing paths with MWK (Andy’s solo disc=To Have Heroes)
Light On….deciding to leave his family to move to Tulsa
Come Back To Me…tagging along with Andrew and his mom to the AI audition
Life on the Moon…Introduction to AI
Bar-ba-sol…the momentous haircut and forgetting to shave
Mr. Sensitive…singing ABMB for Adam, a huge emmotional cornerstone of his AI journey
Lie…Simon not understanding the magnitude of the choice to sing TWIK and calling it a knock out in favor of DA
I Did It For You…”It’s all his fault!” “THat’s my brother!”
Avalanche…the win and the overwhelming emmotions, also the imagery of the falling confetti
Permanent…life will never be the same
A Daily Anthem…his decision to pursue music has been reaffirmed

It’s interesting to see how it played out with the lyrics, and how everyting about this album seems to have a few layers to peel back. The lyrics we have read can apply to David’s life or apply to more universal themes relating to the human condition. A Cook fan is never bored, I’ll tell you that.

Quick aside re: that radio interview, and the dumbass commentary afterwards….I noticed the DJs were acting a little weird about asking the Kim question. My guess is that they were told by the PR rep to avoid the topic and it ticked them off and the whole vibe was kind of negative before he ever called in. I listen to talk radio every now and again, and my impression is the djs who fancy themselves shock jocks hate being told what they can and can’t ask in an interview. Just a hunch.

OK, I am late to this thread, because I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear or read anything about the actual songs until the the release date. I decided to read some of the lyrics and I must say, I am blown away by the lyrics alone. The man is a rock poet. I am literally in tears as I type this because of the song Permanent. Anyone who has watched a loved one struggle with the horrors of cancer will completely relate to these words. Trying not to cry and to remain optimistic because your loved one is scared enough, is almost impossible, but you try so hard. And sometimes you fail and the tears just flow…. This album is going to be phenomenal, I can just tell by the words alone.

On a lighter note, my nephew has become a huge DC fan. He stopped by my house and I wasn’t home so he left a note. It basically said that Analog Heart = one of the best rock records ever. He works at a guitar center and he plays David’s music often. He says that evey time he puts on DC’s AH, without fail, people come up to him and ask him who he is playing because they love it.

I love David’s comment in the press biography:

à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I want my album to be an exhausting experience, in that you listen to it and have to take a breath to collect yourself, and immediately need to listen to it all over again,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  he says. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I want people to hear it and feel like they just ran a 5K marathon.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

I’m feeling that way just listening to the snippets. When I hear Permanent, I just stop breathing. I can’t imagine what a mess I’m going to be when I hear the full version. I’m glad he followed that song up with A Daily AntheM, because it’s definitely an emotional boost and a great ending to the album (not including bonus tracks, which I’m also excited to hear–well, except for TOML).

A co-worker of mine listened to the snippets, and he really liked them. He’s a musician, and no fan of corporate rock (mostly likes indie music), but he will probably buy the album. He and his wife saw DC on SNL, and co-worker mentioned to wife that I really liked said performer. Wife said, “I can see why!” Now they are both new DC fans, yay!

Oooooh, I’m luvin’ this!!!

I Did It For Youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s all his fault!à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“THatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s my brother!à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

I had posted that I thought this song could be for Andrew on another thread, thinking I was waaaayy off base so I’m glad to see that someone else is thinking along these lines too!;)

The line “Feelings I just can’t reconcile…” spoke to this (I thought), since he had gone with Andrew for the auditions for support, but ended up falling into an audition. Then he made it and his younger brother who truly wanted to didn’t. These feelings would be so hard to reconcile with the desire to make it in music (giving himself the goal of age 26, I believe?), and finding that very opportunity before him! Of course there are other lyrics to this one we haven’t heard/read yet…so maybe not.

So here’s what I’m thinking, we may never find out all of the layers these songs truly do mean to him, and he’ll be just as pleased if they mean something else to others…just so they mean something!:)

It’s so much fun to analyze isn’t it? Great job Deejay and sunchick!