Germany GERMANY 2018 - Michael Schulte - You Let Me Walk Alone

[A-lister]

I just wish it was Rammstein

I'd be here for Rammstein anyday!!!

 

[mauve]

I agree with you that YLMWA is rather bland. But in a Eurovision full of glitzy songs this one is quite a relief in between. Lacklustre setting, lacklustre outfit, lacklustre song. I‘m sure this will be refreshingly different and in contrast to most of the other songs.

Exactly the thought I had!

 

[Franzilein]

Don't get me wrong guys, I didn't like the previous entries either Elaiza was the last "decent" German entry imo

With "personality" I didn't refer to who wrote (or didn't wrote) the entries, I strictly commented on the "sound" of the entries (production, melody etc.)... and again it's not as if these previous ones were particularly good or original either (more the opposite), so it's just small nuances really. This year's entry leaves me completely empty though, even a trainwreck entry with the worst singer in the world with lyrics written by a 5 year old leaves atleast some sort of impression on the listener (for better or worse), this however doesn't even manage to do that.

There are those type of songs that may not be particularly bad, but they are just so bland and inoffensive and frankly unmemorable that they become bad because you feel nothing out of them, and this entry just happens to be one of those

The last time I truly enjoyed a German entry was back in 2011, then I even had Germany in my personal top. 3 ranking. I think those two Lena years were some of the strongest German showings in Eurovision for some decades, but unfortunately they look more and more like some distant parenthesis because except for a couple of stand-out entries during the last decades (except for Lena, also 2006 and 1999 comes to mind), we'd have to go back to early 90's or even back to the 80's when Germany were more evenly "good" (atleast based on my taste).

Absolutely agree with you here, I've also been heavily dissapointed by a lot of past German entries, but then again, you compare a ballad to a somewhat modern type of pop, to folk, to country. I think for what YLMWA tries and wants to be, a song dedicated to a deceased family member, it does a good job. Sure, it isn't innovative and uses the same four-chord-pattern that a lot of songs use, uses typical instruments like a piano and strings to create a somewhat melancholic sound, but then again it's pretty straight forward in its harmonies and has a clear structure. It doesn't have these weird ninth jumps like Black Smoke and it's also not as monotonous as Ghost for example, and it's also in line with Michael's œuvre.
I mean, considering the theme of the song, how else would you produce it?

 

[A-lister]

Absolutely agree with you here, I've also been heavily dissapointed by a lot of past German entries, but then again, you compare a ballad to a somewhat modern type of pop, to folk, to country. I think for what YLMWA tries and wants to be, a song dedicated to a deceased family member, it does a good job. Sure, it isn't innovative and uses the same four-chord-pattern that a lot of songs use, uses typical instruments like a piano and strings to create a somewhat melancholic sound, but then again it's pretty straight forward in its harmonies and has a clear structure. It doesn't have these weird ninth jumps like Black Smoke and it's also not as monotonous as Ghost for example, and it's also in line with Michael's œuvre.
I mean, considering the theme of the song, how else would you produce it?

To be honest I didn't know the background of this song, but if that's so, is sounding like a budget Ed Sheeran ballad really the way to go? It sounds too much of a "love song" than a personal song if you know what I mean.

 

[Realest]

Today its 2 years since Roger Cicero died.

 

[mauve]

To be honest I didn't know the background of this song, but if that's so, is sounding like a budget Ed Sheeran ballad really the way to go? It sounds too much of a "love song" than a personal song if you know what I mean.

I know quite of a few people who would say otherwise. Many were very touched and reacted very emotionally when they heard the song and they had tears in their eyes. Guess it's a matter of perspective. To some People the song IS personal.

 

[Vondenburg]

To be honest I didn't know the background of this song, but if that's so, is sounding like a budget Ed Sheeran ballad really the way to go?

Seemingly yes. Watch the Reactionvideos on YouTube. There are many people that can emotionally connect with the song.

 

[Franzilein]

To be honest I didn't know the background of this song, but if that's so, is sounding like a budget Ed Sheeran ballad really the way to go? It sounds too much of a "love song" than a personal song if you know what I mean.

I don't know, you tell me, I'm okay with the song, in fact, it's the first one since Standing Still that I really like . And no, I don't know what you mean. When is a song a "personal song" to you? On which criteria do you base that? And how do you determine that it sounds "too much of a love song"?
... and since when do "love song" and "personal song" seclude each other?

 

[mauve]

I don't know, you tell me, I'm okay with the song, in fact, it's the first one since Standing Still that I really like

True!

 

[A-lister]

I don't know, you tell me, I'm okay with the song, in fact, it's the first one since Standing Still that I really like . And no, I don't know what you mean. When is a song a "personal song" to you? On which criteria do you base that? And how do you determine that it sounds "too much of a love song"?
... and since when do "love song" and "personal song" seclude each other?

It's always hard to explain something as subjective as musical taste, there is no "right or wrong" here, it's just different perceptions.

I meant, in this case, if his was about some family member that died, it sounds (to my ears) more as a generic cheesy love song and not something I'd expect a song that is about such a "personal tragedy" would sound like, but maybe that's just me.

 

[Franzilein]

It's always hard to explain something as subjective as musical taste, there is no "right or wrong" here, it's just different perceptions.

I meant, in this case, if his was about some family member that died, it sounds (to my ears) more as a generic cheesy love song and not something I'd expect a song that is about such a "personal tragedy" would sound like, but maybe that's just me.

Musical taste is indeed subjective, but music itself is similar to maths. So if you say YLMWA doesn't sound personal enough considering the production and melody, I expected something a bit more fundamental to that criticism than just "different musical taste". I mean, you must have some kind of sound in mind or not? What would fit your expectations of a "personal song" and why?
Is it the simple structure of the song? 'Cause that is exactly what makes it so personal for me besides the lyrics, it lays emphasis on the privacy of the subject. Wouldn't want Michael to hang a lantern on it with sume huge orchestral version, dramatic long notes or what not (HEY, LOOK AT ME, MY FATHER DIED WHEN I WAS YOUNG! Ergh...). That's what turned me off with Belgium's entry 2014 for example, it went over the top in the end
One could argue that he should have written the song in minor for its general "sad sound", but since the image of his father is entirely positive (childhood hero, shelter from the storm etc.), I think B major fits it just fine

 

[Juliette]

I'm not someone to dig deep into the background of songs, I'm sorry. This song doesn't affect me in the slightest. Feels like nothing more than a background tune to a casual passer-by like me.

 

[A-lister]

Musical taste is indeed subjective, but music itself is similar to maths. So if you say YLMWA doesn't sound personal enough considering the production and melody, I expected something a bit more fundamental to that criticism than just "different musical taste". I mean, you must have some kind of sound in mind or not? What would fit your expectations of a "personal song" and why?
Is it the simple structure of the song? 'Cause that is exactly what makes it so personal for me besides the lyrics, it lays emphasis on the privacy of the subject. Wouldn't want Michael to hang a lantern on it with sume huge orchestral version, dramatic long notes or what not (HEY, LOOK AT ME, MY FATHER DIED WHEN I WAS YOUNG! Ergh...). That's what turned me off with Belgium's entry 2014 for example, it went over the top in the end
One could argue that he should have written the song in minor for its general "sad sound", but since the image of his father is entirely positive (childhood hero, shelter from the storm etc.), I think B major fits it just fine

But it really IS hard to explain And obviously I didn't mean anything like that cheesy-ness "Mother"

But ok, to give some sort of "idea" of what I had in mind, have you listened to Ben Howard's second studio album for example? Easiest to describe him would be sort of like the "opposite side of the coin" of Ed Sheeran, on paper they are both stripped-down, guitar driven, "folksy", singer-sonwriter male soloists, but wheres Ed Sheeran is going for the more "easier to the ear", commercial and lighter sounds, Ben Howard's far darker, introspective and haunting. I guess the fact that this sounds rather like a budget Sheeran elevator music-song is what is so uninteresting about this song to me atleast, while it could have been so much intriguing if it dared to take us in another direction (and yet it could have stayed in the same stripped-down style musically). Michael is technically not a bad singer, but there's nothing in the song that invites you back to a second listen

 

[Franzilein]

But it really IS hard to explain And obviously I didn't mean anything like that cheesy-ness "Mother"

But ok, to give some sort of "idea" of what I had in mind, have you listened to Ben Howard's second studio album for example? Easiest to describe him would be sort of like the "opposite side of the coin" of Ed Sheeran, on paper they are both stripped-down, guitar driven, "folksy", singer-sonwriter male soloists, but wheres Ed Sheeran is going for the more "easier to the ear", commercial and lighter sounds, Ben Howard's far darker, introspective and haunting. I guess the fact that this sounds rather like a budget Sheeran elevator music-song is what is so uninteresting about this song to me atleast, while it could have been so much intriguing if it dared to take us in another direction (and yet it could have stayed in the same stripped-down style musically). Michael is technically not a bad singer, but there's nothing in the song that invites you back to a second listen

Now that is something I can work with I didn't know about Ben Howard before, but he really does some great music (now I kinda wish we had him participating, UK please). Just taking "I forgot where we were" as example, he got some interesting patterns and harmonies going on there which are indeed more daring and unusual (e.g. a double dominant :-o), even though it's overall pretty repetitive as well... he makes good use of the five chords he's using, haha. I see what you mean.

Don't think that was to be expected from Michael though. He has his comfort zone, he rarely breaks out of the "basis" of harmonics. Guess that's why most people here that didn't like YLMWA were sort of satisfied with his song "Falling Apart", which involves a C major in a D major song, which is a bit more unusual... Not sure, but maybe you would like that one more as well?

Maybe it's because I've been following him since The Voice of Germany 2011/12, so I'm kinda familar with his style of music, that I like YLMWA. Piano, some strings, simple, but clear structure? Yup, that's clearly Michael Can't help but be happy that he stayed true to himself with this song (and it's not like Ed Sheeran invented this style, he's just the most prominent figure at the moment who does it; + red hair and similar voices, hurr durr, easy comparison). People from "the outside" like you don't have that perspective of course, so I guess that also plays a huge role, different expectations

 

[mauve]

Can't help but be happy that he stayed true to himself with this song (and it's not like Ed Sheeran invented this style, he's just the most prominent figure at the moment who does it; + red hair and similar voices, hurr durr, easy comparison). People from "the outside" like you don't have that perspective of course, so I guess that also plays a huge role, different expectations

Well said!

 

[CPV4931]

http://blog.prinz.de/grand-prix/die-prinz-blogger-gratulieren-michael-schulte-wird-vater/

Michael Schulte becomes a father in August - Congratulations :-)

 

[A-lister]

Now that is something I can work with I didn't know about Ben Howard before, but he really does some great music (now I kinda wish we had him participating, UK please). Just taking "I forgot where we were" as example, he got some interesting patterns and harmonies going on there which are indeed more daring and unusual (e.g. a double dominant :-o), even though it's overall pretty repetitive as well... he makes good use of the five chords he's using, haha. I see what you mean.

Don't think that was to be expected from Michael though. He has his comfort zone, he rarely breaks out of the "basis" of harmonics. Guess that's why most people here that didn't like YLMWA were sort of satisfied with his song "Falling Apart", which involves a C major in a D major song, which is a bit more unusual... Not sure, but maybe you would like that one more as well?

Maybe it's because I've been following him since The Voice of Germany 2011/12, so I'm kinda familar with his style of music, that I like YLMWA. Piano, some strings, simple, but clear structure? Yup, that's clearly Michael Can't help but be happy that he stayed true to himself with this song (and it's not like Ed Sheeran invented this style, he's just the most prominent figure at the moment who does it; + red hair and similar voices, hurr durr, easy comparison). People from "the outside" like you don't have that perspective of course, so I guess that also plays a huge role, different expectations

See, this "Falling Apart" is sooo much stronger and more intriguing, it's no "Ben Howard-level" to me, but that's probably more the style I would have preferred, especially given the history behind the song. I guess we are in an understanding of eachother atleast

 

[Franzilein]

See, this "Falling Apart" is sooo much stronger and more intriguing, it's no "Ben Howard-level" to me, but that's probably more the style I would have preferred, especially given the history behind the song. I guess we are in an understanding of eachother atleast

Haha, yes. But it's nice to have these conversations, I love talking about music And it often annoys me when people cannot back up their criticism and fall back to the "musical tastes are different" argument which is just so... lame. It offers nothing to a discussion.

 

[Realest]

Hopefully he promotes this as good as he can in May.

 

[Sherlock]

Hopefully he promotes this as good as he can in May.

Yeah, so everybody knows that he sings a lullaby for his unborn child