 Rank: Advanced Member
Groups: Registered
Joined: 18/03/2013(UTC) Posts: 7,279   Thanks: 16409 times
Was thanked: 10467 time(s) in 3435 post(s)
|
Single: Down the Road
Artist: Allison Cooper
Release Date: March 2nd, 2015
Genre: Indie Pop, Indie Folk
Written by: Airemese Smith, Yasmin(e) Kiambang, Anniken Dahl-Smith
Produced by: inZane
Length: 3:22
Down the Road is a song by American recording artist Allison Cooper used for the soundtrack to the HBO series Consequences (2015). It was released on March 3rd, 2015 by Kaleidoscope Records as the lead single from the record. An Indie Pop ballad, Down the Road was co-written by the writers and directors of the series, Airemese Smith and Anniken Dahl-Smith. Contemporary music critics lauded the single, calling it "emotive" and "somber". Lyrically, Down the Road is used almost as an introduction of the main character in Consequences played by Cooper, named after Cooper and seemingly has an awful lot in common with Cooper as well. Just like any child going through a rocky childhood, in the song she's given advice like "it gets better" and throughout the lyrics she questions if it really does and judging by her own life, she indicates that it only gets worst, that life is a trap, a road she wants to turn around and run away from, a hole that she fell down and wants to climb out of like Alice might've, the Disney character that Cooper's eponymous character is based off of. And despite the fact that Allison Cooper the character had always felt like it was her against the world and soon enough in the series realizes that it actually is, by the end of the song, her stubbornness to forget, forgive and hope turns into a plea for help, the little girl she never got to be finally admitting her mistakes and asking for guidance.
Down the Road was initially written by Airemese Smith. Originally, it was a neo soul song to glittery instrumentation, a song with one long verse and no real structure, named Down the Road, I Met a New Me. Based on her childhood as a victim of bullying and having a bipolar disorder, she wrote it as a track for Perks of Fame(2014), singing about transforming from a little girl into a pop star, looking back on her life and watching it go downhill pretty fast, picturing herself now telling her younger self to turn around and stay young. Though the song was emotional for her--so much that the singer talked about it taking multiple takes to record all the way through--she decided it didn't fit with Perks of Fame and pushed it to the side. Months later, she thought about using the lyrics for the Consequences soundtrack, immediately wanting to give it to Allison. The song was revised and edited by Anniken Dahl-Smith and Yasmine Kiambang, fellow writers of the show. Since Smith ended up writing another track named Warm Sheets to the same instrumental used for Down the Road, I Met A New Me produced by her "group" mate Nina Tarantino (Rum/FancyN), Down the Road was given a new transformation musically by Zane Anoshkin (Zayne/inZane).
Tris McCall of The Star-Ledger praised the indie production and the newfound Allison for sounding "broken and adamant" with her "vulnerably powerful" vocal delivery, something never heard in her 3 previous singles. Down the Road was described as an "award worthy single" dubbing it as an "untoppable pop ballad" and "something like nothing I've ever heard from the new waves of artists" by Andy Gill of The Independent. Gill's view was shared by Consequence of Sound's Chris Bosman while at the same time belittling Cooper's discography up until now, who said that the lyrics were "touchy and bold and yet aren't as awkward as Allison's previous songs about her mental health," and that "Her team has finally found the right balance between someone to exploit and someone to relate to which has without a doubt made this song a highlight of the year." The lyric, "But that ain't keep my mind from going bad" was called "a chilling response to the chorus" by Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani. Writing for Slate, Dee Lockett pointed out the track's introduction as the "inside look to not just Cooper's mind but a teenager's as well, and this goes on--making the song binarily tie perfectly with the actress and her character."
I can't wait for the day I can refuse these sessions
Longing for the day I'm too grown for all of your questions
You don't understand that you just can't understand, just leave me alone
Maybe there will be a day I won't give into pressure
A day I'd weigh out an option simply 'cause of it's measures
I don't understand, I'm supposed to understand what the future holds?
They keep saying,
"Down the road things might get better
Down the road there's a change in the weather
Down the road there'll be even more paths
Down the road there's no turning back..."
But that ain't keep my mind from going bad
Stuck crying all the time at all those times I could've thought fast and saved my back
You don't understand just how much I don't understand the point of moving on
They keep saying,
"Down the road things might get better
Down the road there's a change in the weather
Down the road there'll be even more paths
Down the road there's no turning back..."
In a world like this I don't know how I've even managed to last
They swore I'd lose but I don't have the strength... to finish
They keep saying,
"Down the road things might get better
Down the road there's a change in the weather
Down the road there'll be even more paths
Down the road there's no turning back"
Well down this road I've grown up too fast
And down this road I've met men in masks
Yea, down this road, I've held my own...
But wont you take me back down this road?
|
 10 users thanked kandii for this useful post.
|
|
