Saturday 17 December 2011

Better Than I Know Myself - Stream with Lyrics


YESSSSS!!! I'm thrilled I didn't have to wait very long for the full song after deciding to skip on the snippets. It leaked earlier today but now I've finally listened to it for the first time from the official site. Here it is for your listening pleasure:



First impressions are it's got much more of an urban sound than what I was expecting. One of the things that stands out is the beat. I think the uniformity and simplicity of the beats from FYE let it down a little so I'm incredibly happy to hear something quite different. I wanted something more complex and this syncopated beat hits the mark. Brilliant. I recognise the rhythm but the names of songs on which it has been used escape me so if you could enlighten me I'd be grateful.

It's not your bog-standard catchy pop tune, being light on instrumental melody and with no instrumental hook. Instead it has a synthesiser drone in the background (which resembles the reverent sound of a church organ in the intro and also has a hint of Sleepwalker) that hardly competes with Adam's voice, allowing it to take centre stage. And that voice is marvelous. No vocal trickery or acrobatics but there's plenty of that graininess that I love and can't get enough of, especially on 'sometimes'. It's only the high notes in the chorus that I feel have lost a little in the production but I'm already excited about the prospect of being able to hear it belted out live in an attack of goosebumps.

Here are the lyrics:
Cold as ice
And more bitter than a December
Winter night
That's how I treated you
And I know that I
I sometimes tend to lose my temper
And I cross the line
Yeah that's the truth

I know it gets hard sometimes
But I could never
Leave your side
No matter what I say

'Cause if I wanted to go I would have gone by now
But I really need you near me to
Keep my mind off the edge
If I wanted to leave I would have left by now
But you're, you're the only one that knows me
Better than I know myself

All along
I tried to pretend it didn't matter
If I was alone
But deep down I know
If you were gone
For even a day I wouldn't know
Which way to turn
Cause I'm lost without you

I know it gets hard sometimes
But I could never
Leave your side
No matter what I say

'Cause if I wanted to go I would have gone by now
But I really need you near me to
Keep my mind off the edge
If I wanted to leave I would have left by now
But you're, you're the only one that knows me
Better than I know myself

I get kind of dark
Let it go too far
I can be obnoxious at times
But try and see my heart
Cause I need you now
So don't let me down
You're the only thing in this world
I would die without

'Cause if I wanted to go I would have gone by now
But I really need you near me to
Keep my mind off the edge
If I wanted to leave I would have left by now
But you're, you're the only one that knows me
Better than I know myself

'Cause if I wanted to go I would have gone by now
But I really need you near me to
Keep my mind off the edge
If I wanted to leave I would have left by now
But you're, you're the only one that knows me
Better than I know myself
I have to admit, I'm not a huge fan of the lyrics because I see nothing particularly original or inspiring. I also prefer them to be implicit and not written in the first person addressing someone directly when it comes to relationships. But that probably says more about me than the songwriting. Anyway, lyrics tend not to be as important to me as the sound.

For me, the song is all about the groove and the atmosphere it generates. It's a self-reflective one for the headphones, a slow grindy one for the dancefloor, or a tender fucky one for the bedroom. It's quite a big step away from FYE and as a first single, it's a pleasantly surprising choice and one that has me very excited for what else is to come on Trespassing. I'm hooked already.

7 comments:

  1. I know I'm supposed to be jumping out of my seat thrilled with this song--but I'm just not. I actually like Outlaws of Love far better. I think the lyrics of BTIKM are nothing to write home about and I'm just not grabbed by the tune. I agree that he'll probably make it his own when he's in concert. I'm a little nervous about the whole upcoming album since he's talked so much about it being dance music, I'm worrying that it will be way overproduced. Of course, my favorite from FYE was Soaked...although I love a whole bunch of the other ones. I also liked his extra tracks better than some of the regular tracks. Hopefully, he'll have versions of this album with extra goodies as well.

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  2. I loved this from the first listen but it gets better every time. By the time I get to be a sardine I think we will all be swaying to this one. This is so different I wonder what other treats he will have for us?(Denise)XX

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  3. We have all been warned a number of times that this album will be different. I think that Adam is evolving into a more sophisticated artist, and I have to admire him. Without any doubt, Sauli's presence in Adam's life is changing his music...into something better, I would say.I love BTIKM and I am very much looking forward to the rest of the TRESPASSING album. Thank you Lambosessed for your wonderful blog.(Sagittarius_IL)

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  4. Idahophoenix, I've heard a few people say they feel underwhelmed with the song. I think it's partly due to raised levels of expectation after reading about industry people's reactions on hearing the new material, and also people (myself included) expecting a catchy upbeat pop song.
    I was surprised at the choice of sound at first, but I like it much more than if we had something like WWFM. It's more subtle and laid-back than the FYE singles, from which there's a welcome departure. To me it shows that this is a more mature effort and Adam's keen on evolving and pushing music forward, continuing to try to give us what we didn't know we wanted. Stylistically I think I'm going to enjoy Trespassing much more than FYE. If this is the most commercially appealing track then I think we'll be in for some treats. Give it a bit more time and I think it might grow on you.
    I understand your concerns about the production. There are a couple of points in BTIKM where I'm not keen on it but for the most part, his voice sounds wonderful. If there's to be a lot of funk on the album then I expect the raw quality of his voice to remain untouched.

    Denise, this song has got me so excited for the rest of the album too! I suspect there'll be more in the way of experimentation that's not your standard pop.

    Sagittarius_IL, I'm going to really welcome this different album. It seems to have changed direction so many times already though! I also admire him for being brave enough to take chances and make the album that he wants, not what we want. It could be argued that the best art is inspired by negativity but it looks to be the opposite for Adam.

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  5. Lambo--you are so right. This song continues to grow on me. I'm loving the slight rasp in his voice. And alas, the lyrics seem so appropriate right now! Btw, did you see the Sauli-Claus and Adam-CowboyClaus photos? Awwwwwwww...

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  6. I too was a bit underwhelmed by BTIKM but now can't get it out of my head. I loved Outlaws of Love so much more and this seemed so 'commercial', but it's still Adam and I can't wait to hear more.

    Idahophoenix... those photos were sooo cute! Loved the cowboy hat.

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  7. Idahophoenix, jo_blue, I absolutely love that rasp! I'm curious as to how much the song's grown on you by now. That Santa hat was very cool, trust Adam!

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