Before We Come Undone better sound quality,

Enjoy!!!!

Thanks for this. I had to figure how to autorepeat Youtube Videos because of this song. This one is my favorite so far. This one has the “Since U Been Gone” effect on me – I’m jumping up and down on the chorus part. Yes, it was pitchy at the beginning but it was the first live performance of this song so Kris will definitely improve on this.

That prank call was hilarious!! I was literally LOLing throughout it. Then I walked away from my computer for a few moments and had LLWD in my head, just from the snippet on the interview! This may be a Script song, but it’s Kris’s voice and take on it that I lurve so much!!!

erinnthered, I completely understand what you’re saying (or at least I think I do). Last yr. my expectations were huge for DC and when I heard LO, I was disappointed immediately. It’s grown on me since. (DCTR has some gems on it though, imo) This yr. I went into this thing with no (or little) expectations from Kris and have, so far, been pleasantly surprised!!! I keep wondering if it was the expectation level or if these songs suit my taste more. Don’t get me wrong, I still adore DC and he’ll always be at the top of the list for me.

And since we’ve referred to Kris past this first album already, I must say I’m looking forward to DC’s second album which he has started working on. I’ll see how my expectations affect me this time around…

I too love the analysis and debates! This has been a fun thread!!!!

snlw
October 27, 2009 at 12:59 am
Not sure you guys have seen this ‘Kris Allen Prank Call with Y100′ ³ yet
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Tz3dArTuek
It’s too funny! Enjoy!

Oh that was hilarious! Thank you so much! I need to hear it again.

I did feel like in some of your posts you kept repeating that we (new Idoloonies, as Michael Slezak of EW would put it) would ‘get burned’  because we seemed to have this idealistic mindset of what we hoped for our American Idol contestants. I merely wanted to point out that while some of us are new posters and new followers of AI, we aren’t naive (at least here I speak for myself, I can’t speak for everyone else) enough to think that what we expect of Kris will come to pass.

Far enough, but you have to admit, saying you might want to tone down your expectations is a far cry from saying you should tone down your criticisms.

I totally get what you’re saying about perspective, and how it effects your impressions of an artist, but I do think there are some objective ways to identify innovators. Especially in music and visual art. There really isn’t a huge difference of opinion on most musical innovators. Again, it’s one thing to say someone opened your eyes to a whole new form of music, than to say that they influenced the way music is made. I just think that’s an important distinction…one that a lot of AI fans (and I don’t mean you) could stand to learn.

There will always be disappointed fans when any artist releases new music. I do think it can be magnified within a fanbase, but not all fans will be fans of everything. AI related, or not. I don’t mean to say that criticism in the “this kinda sucks ’cause it’s not my style” way is wrong, at all. I’m really just going back to the ownership issue. It’s when people start saying things about what they wanted or expected, or make statements about a person’s state of mind whom they’ve never met. That’s when I think it crosses a line.

erinnthered and starr! you guys have become my heroes keep up the healthy debate

Thanks, SarahP. It’s nice to know we aren’t just a couple of people off arguing in a corner. lol

Also

“but what did he ever do that was folk, in any way?”

Ross – My reference to Folk – as in soul/pop/acoustic/folk – I just inserted a random genre often associated with acoustic music… and it was more in reference to JCastro (who did do some folksie stuff on AI). I should have specified… In no stretch of imagination did Kris do Folksy stuff on AI. It was more soulful/pop stuff.

SarahP
October 27, 2009 at 1:10 am
erinnthered and starr! you guys have become my heroes keep up the healthy debate

and arrrghhh! why do i have to be at work today of all days when i want to read all the comments here??? just when a kris thread has expounded and exploded, i have a million things piled on my desk.

oh well, i’ll get back here during lunch break and enjoy!

I was watching the videos again and I keep thinking that Kris’s lead guitar player, Andrew, looks like Adam Brody from The O.C.

come to think of it, yeah he does. he’s a bit mellow for a lead guitarist though

Thanks, SarahP. It’s a lot of fun talking to like-minded people who share a thinly-veiled obsession for all things Kris Allen hahaha

and arrrghhh! why do i have to be at work today of all days when i want to read all the comments here??? just when a kris thread has expounded and exploded, i have a million things piled on my desk.

oh well, i’ll get back here during lunch break and enjoy!

I was watching the videos again and I keep thinking that Kris’s lead guitar player, Andrew, looks like Adam Brody from The O.C.

come to think of it, yeah he does. he’s a bit mellow for a lead guitarist though

I admit I may have chosen my words poorly when I seemed to imply that you were shushing people, when you were really just doling out advice as a seasoned American Idol follower. That was not my intention. I did feel like in some of your posts you kept repeating that we (new Idoloonies, as Michael Slezak of EW would put it) would “get burned” because we seemed to have this idealistic mindset of what we hoped for our American Idol contestants. I merely wanted to point out that while some of us are new posters and new followers of AI, we aren’t naive (at least here I speak for myself, I can’t speak for everyone else) enough to think that what we expect of Kris will come to pass.

Re the John Mayer thing: Like I said, we will agree to disagree. I can only use my experience as an example when I post and at the point of my life when I discovered John Mayer’s music, he did not sound like the conventional stuff that was on the radio, hence my use of the words “experimental” and “ground-breaking”. And call me cynical, but at the time Mayer released Room for Squares, he was pretty young, 23-if I am not mistaken (same age as when Kris won AI). And when I heard Room for Squares, to me it sounded more mature than what any other 23-year-old in the music business was churning out on the radio. My point is: for someone new to the music biz and relatively young as a solo musician, Mayer did not seem to have to compromise much for his debut album. And once again, I reiterate: this was my interpretation of it, and you can disagree because this is not set in stone and we all have different opinions.

And we can’t all agree on who is an innovator in music. Experts will have their opinion on who has really left their mark or who were pioneers, but everyone else will have their own formed opinions about who they feel really matters in the music industry. We can probably reach a broad consensus as to who the big people are, but we all have different tastes in music and we are bound to disagree on certaina artists being considered pioneers and experimentalists, etc.

Re the “clamoring” – once again, excuse my poor choice of words. I agree with you and for the most part among his fans I have seen nothing but them embracing Kris’s new songs. Again, didn’t mean anything bad with what I posted; just saying that while the general atmosphere seems to be that people love, like or meh the new songs, there are some people who are disappointed (yours truly, of course, not among the bunch, I love the new songs) and I outlined the reasons why they might be above.

Starr, your Kanye impersonation made me laugh.

Seeing a better closeup of Chris the bass player … I’d almost swear I saw him at my gas station the other week. Maybe following this is just messing with my head.

No one is telling anyone here that they can’t have whatever opinion they want. I’ve said repeatedly that if anyone, you included, don’t like the songs that that’s fine, but that not liking them is not a reason to wish Kris into a box he may not want to be in. That goes way further than having big expectations.

I also resent you using words like “closed-minded” and “snobbish.” I certainly never implied that you anyone here were either, and I certainly never used those words. If you are mistaking me for someone else, that’s okay, but please don’t put words in my mouth.

Believe me, I’ve met snobbish music fans (and used to be one), and anyone who even gives two seconds to listen to an AI contestant would never qualify. lol

As far John Mayer…YMMV on any artist, as it always does, but my comment was specifically because you did use the words “experimental” and “ground-breaking” to describe aspects of Room for Squares, and my opinion is that it is neither of those two. Good is one thing. Equating John Mayer to a sort of poppier type of Radiohead is another. Like I said, I love him now, and began to love him shortly after Room for Squares was released. I’m just saying, he’s no innovator.

ETA: I also don’t really see the “clamoring” you’re talking about. I do see a few loud voices who are disappointed, but overall, most seem to be pleased and unsurprised – or pleasantly surprised – by his music. I think this is another case of – and I am just as guilty of it – seeing what you expect or want to see. It’s an easy thing to do. From the outside, it doesn’t appear the same. Again, I’ve sooo been there, and I’m just as guilty of it. I just don’t think this mass disappointment in Kris’ direction is there. It’s no larger than any other year. In fact, I’d say it’s much smaller than most years.

‘October, I’m really happy for you and i’mma letchu finish, but November 17 needs to come right now!’ 

ROFL, this is especially funny because IT’S SO TRUE.

Yes, I admit, I am one of these people who wrote a fan letter to Kris telling him to stay true to himself – even though I know Kris has a strong voice, even though he comes off as quiet and reserved, he knows who he is and isn’t afraid to push the boundaries (Noooo boundariessss wahaha ).

The bottom line is: I love these new songs and I cannot wait for the album. In the now immortal words of Kanye West: “October, I’m really happy for you and i’mma letchu finish, but November 17 needs to come right now!” “D

erinnthered
October 26, 2009 at 8:24 pm
Well since Kris co-wrote 2/3 of the new songs he performed, I think he is showing us who he really is as an artist and a person. He is not locked into just one style. As Randy stated, he is a potpourri of styles.

THANK YOU! Nice to see that someone gets it!

Most decent artists are multi-faceted, but I truly believe that this represents what Kris wants us to see. It’s who he is as an artist. No hoping, wanting, or expecting will change that.

This is Idol. I know people have been trying to tell you newbies for a while that hoping for anything unique or musically ground-breaking was going to leave you burned in the end. If Kris wanted to be ground-breaking he never would have gone on Idol. Period. He went on Idol because he wants to sing pop/ rock. That’s exactly what we got.

Having said that, I’m sure you’ll all get plenty of goodies at his smaller live shows. He’s the kind of guy who can mix it up, and I’m sure he will.

Starr, excellent point about ‘owning the artists.’  That’s a constant issue within Idol fandom because of the structure of the show. Anyone who finds themselves using words like ‘my’  and ‘our’  and ‘that’s not what I wanted’  need to stop and think about what they are saying. Still, I understand where you are. I was you a few years ago. It’s okay. The thing is, you’re going to get burned. I know from experience. Ask mj, or any of the people who’ve been around a while. We’ve all thought that the first album was a ‘jumping off point’  because he/she needs ‘to sell themselves first.’  It’s not true. It’s never been true. He won’t give you what you want. If you can’t enjoy what he’s putting out for what it is, then he’s probably not going to be your favorite artist. The truth is, Kris will be okay with that. If you only buy a few songs on iTunes and maybe catch a live show every other tour, he won’t be disappointed. It’s a hard thing to let go of. Especially to see others thoroughly enjoying what you find to be kinda meh.

Also, sorry, but John Mayer’s first album was not an artistic masterpiece by any means. I do love his music, but I would never call it ground-breaking or experimental. I was working in a music store when Room for Squares came out, and initially the reaction was terrible. Pete Yorn had just released his first major label album, and we used to call him ‘Pete Yorn lite’  and ‘Pete Yorn for tweens.’  It took a few singles and some time for many of us to warm up to him. Glad I did, though. He’s blossomed into a very credible musician.

I heard the better Before We Come Undone audio. It’s’ ¦a bit pitchy dawg’ ¦I think I’ll have to reserve judgment on this one.

ETA: Okay. I’ve come to the conclusion Kris needs a new drummer. Sorry. The rest of the band sounds really competent, but the slightly off tempo beats and lack of originality are bugging. I hope it’s just a bad day for this guy, or a lack of rehearsal, but I’m not impressed.

erin: I think you are somewhat missing my point. I do enjoy what he is putting out, I believe I’ve put that down emphatically here haha. What I was trying to say (albeit a bit ineloquently) with the “jumping off point” part was that usually artists (not just on Idol) need that one album that will be a departure from what they are used to musically, and that a lot of people might question. This seems to be what is happening to Kris. A lot of people are pleased, but some aren’t, as you can see from some of the posts on this board clamoring about the disappearance of the acoustic/pop/soul Kris. For instance, Dashboard Confessional released the album “Dusk and Summer”, which was practically devoid of the traditional acoustic stuff Dashboard was known for and which garnered a huge following in the beginning. There were fans who were turned off by the departure, claiming Dashboard was losing the authentic sound that made them great. I personally thought Dusk and Summer was a great album and showcased a much different version to Chris Carabba both musically and lyrically, and I appreciated that,

My point is: You are right in trying to pass on some wisdom to us Idol newbies by giving us the advice of not expecting everything we want to be reflected in the albums of whoever we voted for. However, it’s not necessarily bad for a fan to criticize some of the things their Idol does. To me that is not being close-minded or snobbish or whatever, it’s just wanting the best for their Idol. And yes, what we consider the best is not necessarily what is really the best thing for the singer. I’m just saying it’s not fair to tell people to shush when they are not perfectly happy with a singer’s output. Instead of telling them to shush, it might be better to point out what makes the album an addition to the singer’s body of work, instead of dwelling on what “should have been” the album. I think when people have great expectations for an artist, it’s a good thing. Sure, they get burned, but that pretty much came with the territory. I had never been a fan of American Idol before, but I knew going into this that there would be a big possibility my expectations would either be met, exceeded or let down. Basically, I know I will get burned if I expect too much, but I expect a lot nonetheless!

Hope that made sense.

As for John Mayer’s debut album, we’ll agree to disagree. I’m a big fan of Pete Yorn as well, and although I can see some similarities with John Mayer, I’d have to disagree that they sound alike. I never said John Mayer was a pioneer in his genre of music when he released Room For Squares. However, I felt like for a debut album, it was a pretty strong feat. But like I said, to each his own

Kris only ‘co-wrote’  one of the songs he performed on this day. One is a Britney cover, one a Script cover, one the Script wrote, and another he co-wrote. The other song was from another set of writers. (can’t remember who they were) One out of five.

Can I just point out that that one he co-wrote is the best received of the songs he performed? That has to be a good sign.

ETA: So, you pointed out that it was two, but my comment still stands. It seems his writing abilities have direction, and both songs have gotten positive feedback from fans.

Still, I think they (Kris and “his people”) selected these songs because they showcase the album. Probably also to see reactions for possible second singles…please, please, please go with Can’t Stay Away! I have to believe that these are representative of Kris’ sound regardless of who wrote them.

I think that’s what the discussion is about. His musical direction. Why fake out his first major live audience? I doubt the rest of the album differs too much from the direction of these four songs. I’m just glad there is a direction. No musical schizophrenia here. Yay!