I chose today’s song not because I had anything particularly interesting to say about it but because I hadn’t paid much attention to this album in a long time and I figured it was due a little love.
I did stumble across an interesting tidbit while preparing for this blog entry, though.
Apparently Santogold (which is the stage name of Santi White) changed her name to Santigold a year ago after she was sued by Santo Gold, a company that produced a bizarre infomercial in the mid-80’s selling a money-making opportunity related to gold jewelery and a wrestling movie called Blood Circus.
This infomercial, which I’ve seen in pieces online is a masterpiece of incoherence, the sort of thing around which pop culture cults are formed. Do yourself a favor and visit the link above for just a few minutes (I’ve also embedded a brief clip of the infomercial’s opening below).
Oh yeah, and here’s a nice song from Santog — I mean Santigold’s debut album.
“But first, ladies and gentlemen, our goodwill message for today: ‘Say something nice and kind to the very next person you see.'”
Shoot up the station
TV’s dead, where is there to run
Watch everybody come undone
Lights out
We’ll make it easy
We’ll make it fun
Won’t let them see now
How they have won
Still I wait another round
Darlin’
Don’t got to worry, you’re locked in tight
Darlin’
No don’t you worry turn out the light
Wiped out
No concentration
They got us baskin’ in a storm
I watch it as it loses form
Wiped out
When could see me
That’s what I want
A casualty but I am upfront
And I know what it’s about
Lights out
Shoot up the station
TV’s dead, where is there to run
Watch everybody come undone
Lights out
We’ll make it easy
We’ll make it fun
Won’t let them see now
How they have won
Still I wait another round
Darlin’
Don’t got to worry, you’re locked in tight
Darlin’
No don’t you worry turn out the light
I’m still shakin my head
The one you can’t account for
I keep just one step ahead
There’s no place to run
Darlin’
Don’t got to worry, you’re locked in tight
Darlin’
No don’t you worry turn out the light
Darlin’
Don’t got to worry, you’re locked in tight
Darlin’
No don’t you worry turn out the light
Meet Me In Montauk 
You’d think they’d relish the publicity that might come their way. I can understand why she would voluntarily change her name rather than risk confusion with an infomercial/wrestling movie, but they threatened to sue her? Crazy.
As for the song – it’s just not doing anything for me. What kind of music is this? It feels generic – not pop, not world, not r & b – how would you classify it? And is the rest of the album like this? I remember you reviewed it, but I can’t think of a single song I might have heard from it.
I’d call this pop. The other songs from this album I’ve posted are here and here.
I’ve never heard of either this artist or the company and its infomercial. Somehow, I don’t think I’m missing much on either front.
You seemed to like her the last time she was on the blog, mister. Or do the words “good song, and I like her voice” not ring a bell? I said good day, sir! 🙂
Yeah, yeah…but I also said of her other song, “Good, but nothing that blows my mind.”
I do distinctly remember her name and the cover art 🙂
And having just reread my comments on the songs you previously posted (thanks for the handy links), I realize I felt the same way then – at least initially. I want to go grab an album by an artist I love that I haven’t listened to nearly or recently enough. Since I’m not a big fan of this kind of music anyway (the closest I come to owning a Beyonce or Rihanna album are the two Glee soundtracks we have that include covers of songs by both of them), I’m unlikely to be lured in by a far less known or lauded artist.
Your comment on the first link above was that you wanted to get the album. 🙂
I’m not the world’s biggest Santogold fan, so this is a half-hearted defense, but I would say that she’s actually been more lauded than Beyonce or Rihanna and that she doesn’t make “that kind of music” but something that crosses a lot of different genres.
The artist she’s compared to the most (and one she has collaborated with) is M.I.A., another one who has been lauded more than Beyonce or Rihanna.
Personally, I think Santogold and M.I.A. are so critically acclaimed more for the fact of their music — its genre-busting, culture-clashing nature — than how good it actually is. I like both of them well enough but I’ll listen to Rihanna a hundred times before putting their CDs on.
That said, I do find them both interesting artists worthy of at least some of my attention.
I feel as Amy does. I just am not that into dance/pop music. Nothing I have heard from Rihanna grabs me. I do like Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” but don’t like “Halo” and haven’t found much else I have heard from her all that great.
I suppose I feel about dance/pop music much the way I do about country music–there are a rare few songs I love, some others I like, but not necessarily so much that they require repeat listening, and the rest just doesn’t interest me all that much.
I hear ya, but I don’t think Santogold falls into the dance/pop category (though some of her songs do).
Well, I can see that she has that international element, like M.I.A., at least in some songs, which I do find more interesting. That is probably why I liked the one other song by her you posted.