Nate Ruess: A Great Big Storm
5
By Themushu
Out of all the music that I've heard... Of all the songs I've purchased... And of all the songs I've felt an emotional connection to... Nate Ruess has managed to top them all. When I'm depressed, I listen to "Take It Back", "Moment", "It Only Gets Much Worse", or "What This World Is Coming To". When I'm happy, I might listen to "A Great Big Storm". Or when I just want to listen to a nice song on a lonely drive home, Nate Ruess is there with "Harsh Light" and "AhHa". The only songs that I didn't feel a connection to was "You Light My Fire", "Brightside", and, ironically, "Grand Romantic".
"Why didn't you feel connected to Grand Romantic?" You might ask. Well, the entire song is basically the same words over and over. While beautiful, (and still MUCH better than most songs heard on the radio today) it seems as though the album should not have been named after this song. If the song had been more like "A Great Big Storm", maybe I wouldn't have such a problem with it. But the album name, ESPECIALLY when it's named after one of the songs in the album (or vice versa), you'd expect the song to be an amazing summary of the album, and what it stands for, and this was not the case.
However, Nate Ruess has accomplished something that can be said by so few artists: an album that has more than 5 songs that I, myself, consider AMAZING. In fact, he has 9! 9 out of 12! This is nearly unthinkable. In my not so humble opinion, Nate has crushed any competition that may stand, and his songs and their meanings will stay in my mind for a very long time.
This "music video" helps connect the listeners to the music... Forging a connection by depicting the losses and struggles of Nate's life. A song is so much better when it can be related to yourself, because a song without meaning is just words with a good beat.
Keep singing, Nate. We will ALL be awaiting your next singles and albums. You have truly stirred up A Great Big Storm.