Absolute: Rihanna- Can music eclipse the tabloid fever?

Rihanna- Whipping My Hair (Link 2)

*Image courtesy of ultimate-rihanna.com*

We decided to withhold judgment of the Chris Brown-Ri Ri issue until all the facts were laid out. That was also due to the fact that neither were releasing new material, and this is a music site, after all.

Rihanna’s new demo ‘Whipping My Hair’ surfaced last week, and I suppose it’s time to think about the night two people overshadowed the Grammys. In my personal opinion, I am still unsure of the situation but I think that no man should never hit a woman. On the flipside, I didn’t have Chris Brown down as a wife-beater, and we still don’t know the details behind the events (other than some rumours of car-keys and infidelity). I woke up on the morning after the Grammys (having not been able to see it as it wasn’t showing live over here in the UK) and went through the normal daily routine. Alarm. Shower. Get dressed. Breakfast. Laptop. News. Work.

When I checked the news, I knew there would have been a scandal (there always is at awards shows), but I really didn’t expect anything so huge. It’s also interesting to see that no concrete facts have been provided yet, other than that terrible photo of Rihanna post beat-down.

And that’s it. On to the music. ‘Whipping My Hair’ offers far more punch than the deflating ‘How I Like It’. Both demos share the theme of experimentation, but neither is as edgy or, admittedly, as brilliant as ‘Disturbia’. Whereas ‘How I Like It’ showcased the out of breath trembling that were the hallmarks of her first album, ‘Whipping My Hair’ is more mature, and clearly recorded recently, with cleaner cut vocals. Over the course of her recent tours, her vocal ability has seen a marked improvement- look to the Live Earth performance of Umbrella about a year ago and then to the Montreal performance of Rehab. It sounded like a breathing problem which has been solved by either coaching or the consistent performances, and I have to admit I am impressed.

‘Whipping My Hair’ holds a lot of potential for a studio work-over, and the subtle backing vocals and synths hint at a more lo-fi approach for the new album. We’ll keep a look out for new material and let you know. As the for the Chris Brown issue, we’re going to continue sitting on the fence until the details surface.



2 Responses to “Absolute: Rihanna- Can music eclipse the tabloid fever?”

1. Topics about Music » Absolute: Rihanna- Can bmusic/b eclipse the tabloid fever? | The Cold Cut says:

   March 1, 2009 at 6:53 pm

   [...] Will added an interesting post on Absolute: Rihanna- Can bmusic/b eclipse the tabloid fever? | The Cold CutHere’s a small excerptOn to the bmusic/b. ‘Whipping My Hair’ offers far more punch than the deflating ‘How I Like It’. Both demos share the theme of experimentation, but neither is as edgy or, admittedly, as brilliant as ‘Disturbia’. b…/b [...]
2. Ex Back says:

   April 9, 2009 at 2:01 am

   I read your blog for a long time and should tell that your articles always prove to be of a high value and quality for readers.