Carbon Leaf Countdown #19: Miss Hollywood
Feb 10
Next up is a highlight from Carbon Leaf’s 2009 album Nothing Rhymes With Woman talking about those elusive dreams. At #19, it’s “Miss Hollywood.”
Come on, who doesn’t really, really like this song? Sure, you might not have included it in your top 25 or are in full love with it, but who really doesn’t enjoy this great song? Don’t get me wrong, there are better songs to me on the album, but it’s really easy to see why the band or label or both picked this song as the lead single off that album. This is going to be that “why aren’t Carbon Leaf bigger” debate again too. You’re fore-warned. Why isn’t Carbon Leaf bigger? Seriously, if I look at the list of songs that hit number one in 2009, is someone really going to tell me that The Black Eyed Peas write better songs than this? Catchier sure, but better in any sense of the word? The answer has to be no! Oh, “My Life Would Suck Without You” was number one that year too. Think about that…
This song is rather great though. Chock-full of references to Hollywood & red-carpets it’s really kind of in the same vein as Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Tell Me Baby.” No offense Carbon Leaf, but the Peppers are my favorite. No offense Peppers, but “Miss Hollywood” is clearly better. The guitar opener alone in the song cements it too. On that point, what’s the deal with the radio vs. album version of the song? I ended up getting rid of the album version for no other reason but the radio was superior in every single way imaginable. Head-scratcher there. Well, to end it, I’d have to say the best part about this is watching it live. The lights, the drama that Barry imposes on the song, and how Carter spins around while hitting those guitar chords before the final chorus. Carbon Leaf live itself is amazing, but this song definitely stands out in their live shows and hopefully will remain a fixture of their set-lists for years to come.
Song: Miss Hollywood
Album: Nothing Rhymes With Woman
Year: 2009
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Feb 28, 2012 @ 23:30:56
Some amazingly tricky guitar playing here. I also really like allusion to ubiquity of fame being like the tendency of astronomical stars to appear basically the same regardless of location.