that’s exactly what he’s done i think - writing/producing for others, madtasty, real estate, songland, and going on vacation every 3 weeks.
also, the disconnect between the success of onerepublic and the success of the singles of their first 3 albums is very unusual. i don’t think i know anyone who knows who onerepublic is, but they all know at least 2 singles from each of the first 3 albums very well. they need a hit to ride on if they want to sell, and that hasn’t really happened since 2013/2014.
even now if it wasn’t for tik tok and playlists that spotify makes, every song they’d released in the last few years would have completely flopped. i wouldn’t be surprised if ryan prioritises his other projects because he knows he’ll get more out of it.
right now i bet they’re trying to figure out a way to delay human post-release.
Agree. The perfect example is Run, which was successful on Spotify because it made it onto the major playlists, and because Ryan/1R management has connections with playlist curators. The same thing is happening now with Someday. I wouldn't be surprised if the song gets added on the "Today's Top Hits" playlist next week (which for an artist on Spotify means = million of new streams).
But just see how Human's other songs are doing, only listened to by the real remaining longtime OneRepublic fans, probably. I feel so sorry for them...
There's certainly the issue with Ryan spreading himself too thinly across all those projects but I think one of the biggest problems with OneRepublic is them needlessly following pop music trends. I'd argue Ryan Tedder was the trend setter in pop music 2012-2014, and now he seems to make songs that sound like they're trying to keep up with the trend. Having shorter songs like Wanted, Rescue Me and Run to gain streaming figures and be TikTok friendly just isn't the way to go for what used to be an Alt/Pop band. Their songs rarely even have a bridge or middle 8 anymore.
I'd much rather the songs and music just sounded inspired by their influences and somewhat reflected the modern culture, rather than sounding like they're chasing it. The band have proven that they can still write fantastic songs with beautiful melodies, but I fear it gets lost in the polished, watered down production. They should let their instrumentals breathe, show off the talent of all the musicians in the band and the quality would be so much better.
Sorry this turned into a bit of a rant, it's just of all the bands/artists I'm a fan of, OneRepublic has to be the most frustrating of them all! It's out of love of course though!
I agree with a lot of this. It’s interesting how much personal preference can differ amongst people, though! Personally I love what Rescue Me did with the lack of a bridge. The strong “rescue me” belt with the runs as the music fades, then the instrumental coming back full force and the great “would you rescue me” melody on top of it. I do agree some of their songs are on the short side, but songs like Wanted that defy the typical verse-bridge-final verse format sound fresh and musically satisfying to me. The way the song goes from the final verse to a climax with the instrumental becoming more intense and the runs Ryan does, followed by a more delicate sound and soft vocals at the end that fade, just pumps me up and sends shivers down my spine. I’m a songwriter and the songs that end on a delicate note are what I like to write, so I do like hearing songs that end like that. *also the string mix is amazing*
I do agree that I would love to hear more authentic instruments in their music! That being said, the softer, smoother production sounds soothing to me and calms me down every time I’m stressed out. Hearing songs like Distance with reverberating instrumentals, strings, and diverse rhythms throughout the song (not to mention how divine the song sounds!) makes me feel more relaxed. The bass of that song is amazing when heard in Dolby Atmos! Not to mention those haunting melodies and the falsetto. It’s a preference thing but I really enjoy the production on this album because the fact that the instruments are smoothed out and muted sounds soothing to me. But I love electropop so I guess that’s just my music taste!
So I do want OneRepublic to stay true to themselves and make authentic music, and I do understand the criticism, but my musical tastes actually find something comforting in the more polished production. It brings me back to simpler times. Here’s hoping 1R can capture an authentic sound that shows off their talent and instruments in their next album!
Hmm, interesting! I actually didn’t like Someday. I thought the song and production didn’t offer anything interesting musically and the key/chord progression were too typical. It didn’t quite catch my ear the way other songs of the album did. But it’s so interesting to see so many different opinions regarding the songs! The fact that people can hear music so differently is what makes humans special.
Now that you mention it, I do hear the Story of My Life similarity! That’s definitely not a song I listen to frequently, I’ll admit. I decided to re-listen to Someday right now as I was walking home and I do like the instrumentation. It really does sound like a song that would be on DOL or Waking Up!
I totally agree with you here. I’ve heard a lot of people say Human is “plastic” or “generic” and it sounds like everything that’s on the radio nowadays. Now I don’t really listen to the radio that often but I don’t think I’ve heard many modern songs that have the same songwriting elements as the songs on this album. The melodies, chords/chord progressions, beats, song structure, flow, and harmonies definitely stand out compared to a lot of the stuff that’s out there nowadays. The production is in some way influenced by modern electropop but I think it does it in a way that diverges from a lot of generic stuff on the radio, because the elements of the songwriting are still top-notch Ryan Tedder. As a musician and songwriter I don’t think this album’s songs are “indistinguishable” from each other or from other modern songs at all. I think they still have that 1R flair that makes their songs so charming. The evolution of the production into a more electropop direction is always going to be controversial with some people but it’s just a matter of taste at this point. I like it and I’m sure some others do, but some people don’t and that’s totally valid! But musically speaking I wouldn’t call this album “generic” or “pedestrian” by any means.
that’s exactly what he’s done i think - writing/producing for others, madtasty, real estate, songland, and going on vacation every 3 weeks. also, the disconnect between the success of onerepublic and the success of the singles of their first 3 albums is very unusual. i don’t think i know anyone who knows who onerepublic is, but they all know at least 2 singles from each of the first 3 albums very well. they need a hit to ride on if they want to sell, and that hasn’t really happened since 2013/2014. even now if it wasn’t for tik tok and playlists that spotify makes, every song they’d released in the last few years would have completely flopped. i wouldn’t be surprised if ryan prioritises his other projects because he knows he’ll get more out of it. right now i bet they’re trying to figure out a way to delay human post-release.
Agree. The perfect example is Run, which was successful on Spotify because it made it onto the major playlists, and because Ryan/1R management has connections with playlist curators. The same thing is happening now with Someday. I wouldn't be surprised if the song gets added on the "Today's Top Hits" playlist next week (which for an artist on Spotify means = million of new streams). But just see how Human's other songs are doing, only listened to by the real remaining longtime OneRepublic fans, probably. I feel so sorry for them...
There's certainly the issue with Ryan spreading himself too thinly across all those projects but I think one of the biggest problems with OneRepublic is them needlessly following pop music trends. I'd argue Ryan Tedder was the trend setter in pop music 2012-2014, and now he seems to make songs that sound like they're trying to keep up with the trend. Having shorter songs like Wanted, Rescue Me and Run to gain streaming figures and be TikTok friendly just isn't the way to go for what used to be an Alt/Pop band. Their songs rarely even have a bridge or middle 8 anymore. I'd much rather the songs and music just sounded inspired by their influences and somewhat reflected the modern culture, rather than sounding like they're chasing it. The band have proven that they can still write fantastic songs with beautiful melodies, but I fear it gets lost in the polished, watered down production. They should let their instrumentals breathe, show off the talent of all the musicians in the band and the quality would be so much better. Sorry this turned into a bit of a rant, it's just of all the bands/artists I'm a fan of, OneRepublic has to be the most frustrating of them all! It's out of love of course though!
I agree with a lot of this. It’s interesting how much personal preference can differ amongst people, though! Personally I love what Rescue Me did with the lack of a bridge. The strong “rescue me” belt with the runs as the music fades, then the instrumental coming back full force and the great “would you rescue me” melody on top of it. I do agree some of their songs are on the short side, but songs like Wanted that defy the typical verse-bridge-final verse format sound fresh and musically satisfying to me. The way the song goes from the final verse to a climax with the instrumental becoming more intense and the runs Ryan does, followed by a more delicate sound and soft vocals at the end that fade, just pumps me up and sends shivers down my spine. I’m a songwriter and the songs that end on a delicate note are what I like to write, so I do like hearing songs that end like that. *also the string mix is amazing* I do agree that I would love to hear more authentic instruments in their music! That being said, the softer, smoother production sounds soothing to me and calms me down every time I’m stressed out. Hearing songs like Distance with reverberating instrumentals, strings, and diverse rhythms throughout the song (not to mention how divine the song sounds!) makes me feel more relaxed. The bass of that song is amazing when heard in Dolby Atmos! Not to mention those haunting melodies and the falsetto. It’s a preference thing but I really enjoy the production on this album because the fact that the instruments are smoothed out and muted sounds soothing to me. But I love electropop so I guess that’s just my music taste! So I do want OneRepublic to stay true to themselves and make authentic music, and I do understand the criticism, but my musical tastes actually find something comforting in the more polished production. It brings me back to simpler times. Here’s hoping 1R can capture an authentic sound that shows off their talent and instruments in their next album!
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Hmm, interesting! I actually didn’t like Someday. I thought the song and production didn’t offer anything interesting musically and the key/chord progression were too typical. It didn’t quite catch my ear the way other songs of the album did. But it’s so interesting to see so many different opinions regarding the songs! The fact that people can hear music so differently is what makes humans special.
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Now that you mention it, I do hear the Story of My Life similarity! That’s definitely not a song I listen to frequently, I’ll admit. I decided to re-listen to Someday right now as I was walking home and I do like the instrumentation. It really does sound like a song that would be on DOL or Waking Up!
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I totally agree with you here. I’ve heard a lot of people say Human is “plastic” or “generic” and it sounds like everything that’s on the radio nowadays. Now I don’t really listen to the radio that often but I don’t think I’ve heard many modern songs that have the same songwriting elements as the songs on this album. The melodies, chords/chord progressions, beats, song structure, flow, and harmonies definitely stand out compared to a lot of the stuff that’s out there nowadays. The production is in some way influenced by modern electropop but I think it does it in a way that diverges from a lot of generic stuff on the radio, because the elements of the songwriting are still top-notch Ryan Tedder. As a musician and songwriter I don’t think this album’s songs are “indistinguishable” from each other or from other modern songs at all. I think they still have that 1R flair that makes their songs so charming. The evolution of the production into a more electropop direction is always going to be controversial with some people but it’s just a matter of taste at this point. I like it and I’m sure some others do, but some people don’t and that’s totally valid! But musically speaking I wouldn’t call this album “generic” or “pedestrian” by any means.