411 Music Buy or Sell 01.13.11: Yo-Yo Motto

Posted by Jeremy Thomas on 01.13.2012

Does Lil Wayne help make Drake's "Motto" a hit? Do we wish we hadn't heard Avril Lavigne's "Wish You Were Here?" Is Flo Rida's "Wild Ones" worth checking out? 411's Sean Garmer and Chad Nevett listen to these tracks and more!


Greetings and salutations, Music Zone readers! Welcome to your top choice in music single opinion columns, 411 Music Buy or Sell! I'm your host Jeremy Thomas, and each week we'll look at some of the hottest new and hit singles and a couple of our esteemed writers will decide if they want to keep the song (Buy) or drop it like it's hot (Sell). This week's listeners are a newcomer to Music Buy or Sell and a member of the Music 5 & 1 Illuminati who handles the Games Zone version, Sean Garmer, taking on Wrestling Zone veteran and Raw Instant Analysis man Chad Nevett!

All right, enough of the introductions and rules…let's hop to it!

1) Drake (ft. Lil Wayne) - "The Motto" From Take Care (Young Money/Cash Money/Universal Republic) Released November 29, 2011
Sean Garmer: SELL Ok, so because Drake has some nice flow I´m supposed to like everything he does? Lil Wayne is the same way; they both have some good stuff and some bad. I remember when Drake was doing "Degrassi" and not trying to flaunt his 25 million dollars he makes. I hate rap songs like this where the guy is talking about bitches, all the money he makes, nigga this, nigga that, only living once, and we should all follow that model. It is really annoying honestly. Not to mention, the beat on the track sounds like a bunch of clapping five year olds could have made it. Like I said, I like some of Drake´s stuff, but this is not one of my favorite songs by him. It sounds like he is trying to spend more time getting YOLO to trend on twitter, than putting effort into the track.
Chad Nevett: BUY I love the mellow, lowkey delivery on this. This is a no frills song that only really screws up by repeating the chorus at the end. Otherwise, some clever lyrics, a fantastic cadence, strong rhythm that's driven by the vocals... this isn't a top of the charts sort of song, but it's definitely a deep cut that's worth giving multiple listens to.
ANALYSIS: SPLIT

2) Rise Against - "Satellite" From Endgame (DGC/Interscope) Released November 1, 2011
Sean Garmer: BUY I´m mostly a classic rock guy, but Rise Against is a band that is around today that I really like. I feel they have matured through the albums and this song shows that a bit. I like that this is a message song inside of another one. It is a song that showcases the outsider, while also having old sayings in the verses. It is actually a smart mixture that works very well in telling the story of the song. The guitar work doesn´t sound too different from a lot of Rise Against´s songs and the drumming is a tad faster than normal. Musicianship aside, the song is still good enough to get my head banging a little bit.
Chad Nevett: SELL I just listened to this and I've already forgotten what it sounds like. When listening to it, I wanted to call it catchy, except it's not. I like the speed and the energy, but that's about it. It's generic rock that I change the radio station on. This is a #20 hit if I ever heard one: it's pleasing enough that you don't hate it, while not being good enough to actually like it. And, hey, that's fine, I'm just not buying it.
ANALYSIS: SPLIT

3) Nicola Roberts - "Yo-Yo" From Cinderella's Eyes (Polydor) Released January 8, 2012
Sean Garmer: BUY I could see this song becoming a big deal on youtube once it gets on the VH1 Top 20 countdown or something. The song is not just about Nicola wanting to get a straight answer from this guy. She also takes you through her yo-yo feeling with her very good up and down vocals throughout the song. I like a lot of her other songs as well and I think this is another solid addition.
Chad Nevett: SELL Speaking of generic... Like "Satellite," the elements all seem to be here, but the formula is hit on the nose so much that all you can see is the formula. Roberts's singing ability isn't great enough to rise above the same sort of sort of slow dance pop song we've all heard a million times before. It's not a bad attempt at writing and performing that sort of song, it's just not a particularly good one either. The world needs mediocre run of the mill crap too.
ANALYSIS: SPLIT

4) Flo Rida (ft. Sia) - "Wild Ones" From Only One Rida (Part 2) (Atlantic/Poe Boy) Released December 19, 2011
Sean Garmer: SELL So this continues Flo Rida´s insistence on having a singing female be the chorus of his track while he raps after it. This song is not much different than "Good Feeling" that got released earlier in 2011. The song is still about partying, the club, and having a good time. Except that this chick is singing about Flo Rida being a "wild one" instead of getting a good feeling. I really liked good feeling, but this track just does not give me that same sense of fun the other one did. I am in Miami on vacation right now and I´m sure they will play this out over here, but overall it seems out of place. The beat is not very good and I actually don't mind the vocal slowdown near the end of the song either. There is just something about this song that does nothing for me.
Chad Nevett: SELL The Sia stuff sounds like typical female vocalist guesting stuff: a little sad, a little dramatic. Like a boring Rihanna. Flo Rida's portion of the song wants to be the Black Eyed Peas so bad that it hurts. I don't see them releasing any new songs lately, so I guess that role is up for grabs. Then again, I assume people could just play one of their songs instead of giving this lame attempt their time and money. That would be my suggestion.
ANALYSIS: SELL

5) Five Finger Death Punch - "Remember Everything" From American Capitalist (Prospect Park) Released November 29, 2011
Sean Garmer: BUY I haven´t listened to FFDP that much, but I have liked a few of the songs I have heard. I guess this is their shot at a heavy ballad. I like the song for staying simple in order to get its sad message across. The person is apologizing to his family for something that happened. While he wishes the whole song he could take away his regret and the pain of the occurrence. Adding the "what the f***" in the song adds emphasis that he really is hurting and the instrumentation takes a back seat until the nice guitar solo towards the end. Maybe it sounds too emo for some, and at some points it starts walking that line for me as well. However, I think for what was presented in the song, Five Finger Death Punch have a nice soft song here.
Chad Nevett: SELL This song sounds like it probably means a lot personally to the lead singer. He sure does his best to sing with passion. But, there isn't much else to this song. Just a passionate delivery, forgettable music, an uninspired guitar solo, and vague, pseudo-deep lyrics. The overblown production doesn't help matters. A stripped down version of this song could probably hit a lot harder and reflect the vocals better. As it stands, it practically descends into parody by the end.
ANALYSIS: SPLIT

6) Avril Lavigne - "Wish You Were Here" From Goodbye Lullaby (Epic/RCA) Released November 1, 2011
Sean Garmer: SELL Good lord this was grating to listen to after the first 30 seconds, let alone three whole times. I don´t know if I was more annoyed by the repeated use of damn in the chorus or the repeated use of near and here in the chorus. I guess this is Avril trying to make the emo girl "I´m sorry" song. Mainly I was just glad this was not Avril trying to cover Pink Floyd. I have a disdain for Avril Lavigne because she is more overly sappy than Taylor Swift. If I was the guy she was singing to I would be cringing as she sang the song, wishing I had never dated her in the first place. The only thing the song makes me want to do is hit the mute button. This is coming from a guy that likes Chicago and the Bee Gees so I don´t hate love songs. I just don't like sappy songs like this where the artist is crying over the guy with lyrics ripped from a child's cartoon. Maybe she says damn all the time when she is angry, but please do not repeat it over and over in a song. The commenters can flame all they want to, but anyone that thinks this is some beautiful love song seriously needs to listen to better music.
Chad Nevett: SELL I can't be the only one hoping for Avril Lavigne covering Pink Floyd, right? Instead, this sounds like older Avril Lavigne material. Poppy, bright and shiny despire the sad, melodramatic content. The build-up to the chorus is the best part. Nice rhythm that sticks in your head. The chorus, on the other hand, is flat-out awful. Never has the word 'damn' been made to sound so flat. I'm on the verge of saying 'BUY' here, because there are parts of this I rather like. Except, by the end of the song, they're buried under a couple of minutes of the worst part of the song repeated over and over again along with a laughable bridge.
ANALYSIS: SELL

Rough week this week as we don't get any full Buys, with Avril and Flo Rida getting full-on Sells! Thanks to Sean and Chad for their participation this week; that will do it us! What do you think of the singles we covered? Agree? Disagree? Let us know in the comments!