Hello, and welcome to Hearing Double, where I compare and contrast two unrelated songs of the same title and decide which title does the most justice!
This week, we’re taking a trip to “Downtown” by Lady A or by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.
Lady A’s “Downtown” was released as part the band’s 2013 album “Golden.” The song is an upbeat country anthem lamenting a relationship that has grown stagnant.
Lead singer Hillary Scott starts the song reminiscing about the way she and her partner used to go out all the time “like it was your birthday every other Saturday night.” However, once we get to the chorus, she reveals that they never go downtown anymore, singing that she’s “only counting on your cancellation” when he claims he’ll take her out.
The song takes on the problem with a playful tone, poking a little fun at the partner by saying he doesn’t have “anywhere better to be” and trying to tempt him by describing what she would wear on the date. The modern country instrumentation manages to evoke the feeling of a fun night out, elevating the song from a frustrated plea to a persuasive and flirtatious jam.
“Downtown” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis is a unique ballad featuring Grandmaster Caz, Kool Moe Dee and Melle Mel on the verses and Eric Nally on the chorus. The song was released in 2015 and includes nods to Petula Clark’s much milder song “Downtown” from the ‘60s.
It tells the story of Macklemore absolutely rocking his new moped in a humorous subversion of the way celebrities show off their expensive rides. He even explicitly compares his moped to the way “everybody got Bugattis.”
This mirrors the theme of one of Macklemore’s and Ryan Lewis’s biggest hits, “Thrift Shop,” in which Macklemore brags about his cheap eclectic fashion in contrast to the expensive but basic-looking clothes others are wearing.
There’s almost too much happening in this “Downtown” to capture in words. The verses manage to genuinely capture the feeling of winding through different streets, each with its own unique cadence and style. The song draws on old-school hip-hop themes and plays with bass and brass instrumentation to keep the audience on their toes. It even includes motors revving between some of the verses in case you forget that the song is ultimately about riding a moped.
The song then transitions to Eric Nally’s chorus, which balances Nally’s heavenly voice with angelic backup vocals and triumphant music as the song declares you “ain’t seen nothing yet until you’re downtown.”
The song has drawn comparisons to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” on social media for its variation, and Macklemore confirmed in an MTV interview that he was indeed listening to a lot of Queen at the time he and Ryan Lewis wrote “Downtown.” The song masterfully blends genres and evokes the nostalgia of multiple musical eras, including the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘90s. It also happens to come with one of the best music videos of all time, which I’d highly recommend to anyone with five minutes and 22 seconds to spare.
The songs both capture the excitement that comes with hitting the town, but unfortunately for Lady A, it’s hard to compete with the masterpiece by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. Between its musicality, energy and lyricism, their “Downtown” takes us on a journey that cements the song as a modern classic.
Winner: Macklemore and Ryan Lewis