Friday, January 24th, 2014

Sam Smith – Money on My Mind

…and mind on my money.


[Video][Website]
[4.11]
Patrick St. Michel: With a shrill chorus like that, it’s probably good dude doesn’t have money on his mind.
[4]

Iain Mew: It showcases Sam Smith’s sad shriek to slick effect, maybe even matching “La La La”. The problem is that “I don’t have money on my mind… I do it for the lols the love” is such a boring message that no amount of vocal ache can do anything for it. I suppose I could be grateful that he avoids the clusterfuck potential of calling out those who apparently do have money on their mind, but it’s dull dull dull.
[4]

Daniel Montesinos-Donaghy: Glitches and Artistic Integrity Howls aside, didn’t we already give Daniel Merriweather this shot?
[5]

Anthony Easton: This is just fucking pretty, the artifacts of decay, the history of repeating, the working out of the same few words, a belief that he might be telling the truth–the work is almost subversive.
[7]

Alfred Soto: “When I’m home I tend to close the door” strikes me as sound advice. “So sing with me” isn’t. No way, buddy — not with that mush-mouthed falsetto.
[3]

Scott Mildenhall: It’s saying something when the annual ordination of This Year’s Big Thing (or in Sound Of’s case, Possible Big Thing Some People Have Been Convinced Is “Credible”) has reached a point where the chosen one’s debut is all about signing a deal and mostly irrelevant industry machinations, on top of how, more familiarly, it’s not about the money, money, money. That’s the part people are always ready to – well – buy into, and though it’s transparent, and though it’s yawnsome, as a lyrical manifesto it’ll do its job. More importantly, and for the first time with a Sam Smith solo release, it’s catchy, if a bit insubstantial. He’s got a wonderful voice, but he still needs the songs.
[6]

Katherine St Asaph: Sam Smith’s voice has an uncanny resemblance to a Diplo synth. It still doesn’t make it good, or the lyrics.
[1]

Will Adams: What a waste. He’s already charmed half the world with “Latch” and won the Sound Of poll. Why is he subscribing to the Jessie J Model of Breaking Stateside? He needs to team up with some more creative songwriters before it’s too late.
[1]

Brad Shoup: It’s a slow jam with a fast twitch until that gonzo chorus. His control is remarkable — he sounds like he’s got a volume knob in his throat — so couldn’t the chorus have been either more ridiculous or sung by someone else?
[6]

Reader average: [5.5] (4 votes)

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8 Responses to “Sam Smith – Money on My Mind”

  1. sam smith sells seashells by the seashore

  2. Katherine linking this to that Jacobin article is a great connection and a powerful argument for the lyrics being worse than I thought

  3. From 2009:: “City banker is ‘sacked for spending too much company time on son’s pop dream'”. You could not, as I believe a writer for the most reputable source here is wont to say, make it up.

    (You probably could.)

  4. Wow, that is some find.

  5. It’s on his Wikipedia page. I imagine his management would want to get that scrubbed. There might even be more out there for someone inquisitive enough to look, like what I think might be his first video.

  6. woooowwwwwwww

  7. That’s near-impossible to watch. I mean, the style of that song, er, was out for several years before he was even born.

  8. and yet that canned-guitar song and patrick bateman-mr. rogers video is still infinitely better than “Money On My Mind.”