Why on earth is Train
so successful? That is not to say that I think they’re bad or that they don’t deserve their success. They are probably good people and they do have some good music and talent. However, they are not, in my opinion, as great as everyone seems to think they are. Their songs are either kind of nice until you get sick of them, like "Calling all Angels,"
or not so great and I was somehow sick of them instantly, like "Drops of Jupiter."
One of their more recent songs, “If It’s Love,”
seems to be a list of clichés that are almost chanted and that sound very much like the list was thrown together nonsensically, amidst very catchy choruses and a handful of meaningful lyrics. I'm not suggesting that clichés never belong in songs. When used well, a cliché can provide deeper meaning than new phrasing could, such as Jay-Z's modified use of "If you can make it in New York you can make it anywhere" in "Empire State of Mind."
Phrasing that sentiment without the use of the cliché wouldn't have the same potent meaning that it has. Train on the other hand, uses countless clichés in “If It’s Love” to create a meaningless list. Clichés should be used wisely and few and far between (see what I did there hahahaha).Perhaps the catchy choruses are the key to Train’s success. Britney (Spears)
had that song, "Womanizer,"
that seems to be nothing but a catchy chorus repeated incessantly, and people appeared to like that a lot. I didn't; I liked the chorus once or twice, and then could no longer tolerate it for the duration of the song. Therefore, Train's insertion of lists of clichés between catchy choruses in “If It’s Love” is definitely an improvement compared to Britney's abuse, I mean use of the catchy chorus, which makes the former tolerable and at times even enjoyable. However, by no means is it a great song, nor are they a great band; they are merely good.
UPDATE July 21,
2012
I heard a new Train song and I liked it! It’s “50 Ways to Say Goodbye,” and while it
is yet another list of things rattled off to a catchy tune, I actually like
it! I like the Phantom-of-the-Opera
sound in the verses, and I like the Mariachi-band sound in the chorus. I often enjoy merging genres, and this
quasi-merger of show tune, pop, and Mariachi created a nice, strange sound that
I find myself enjoying, and I’ve only heard it once so far. Of course it helps that I rather enjoy the
occasional funny song. Well done, Train, you’ve risen above your
mediocrity for this song, despite maintaining what appears to be a lazy
approach to music creation. Please note, as a person who is incapable of humming in tune,
let alone creating music, I am not one to judge. But I will anyway.
(Later that day…)
In a flash of glorious, wondrous, and grossly exaggerated
epiphany-imbued brilliance, I suddenly understood where the band name Train
must have come from! It very obviously refers to
their sometimes-used style of music writing.
The lists of things are but a train of thought! Get it?
Train of thought…Train…Get it???
I know, I’m a genius. Thank you
for your kind applause.
I feel that I should defend Train. I have never purchased their music except for
“50 Ways to Say Goodbye” and I think I might have purchased “Calling All
Angels” at some point. Thus, I have
never purchased nor heard their non-radio songs. It is therefore very possible that what
doesn’t make it onto the radio could be better-than-mediocre. I have noticed that some non-radio and
otherwise less popular songs of other artists are billions of times better than
some of the most popular and radio-friendly songs. For example, Kelly Clarkson’s “Addicted” is
vastly better than her “Stronger,” though I do enjoy “Stronger” as well. Therefore, there does exist the possibility
that while Train and perhaps other mediocre bands and singers are great at
appealing to popular tastes in mediocrity, they might in fact be great
composers and songwriters with depth beyond their shallow puddles of popular
music. Perhaps the real question is: why
do popular audiences prefer so much mediocrity?
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