'GNTLMN' - Colin Carpenter's group singing "Top Of The World"

Upon visual review of the video for Get Some,
(note, especially at 50 sec) I believe James is correct (post#21 above),
in that the video includes men--albeit not explicitly dressed as such.
As for the song itself, not my cup of tea:

Strange how time flies (and, things change)
as 1980, when Karen Carpenter couldn't release...
"I remember the first time I laid more than eyes on you,"
but, now, we hear
Richard Carpenter's son singing.....
"why you dressed up to take it off"
"boys just want to get some"
That "whirling" sound you hear is Agnes doing 360s in her grave...
 
Upon visual review of the video for Get Some, I believe James is correct in that the video includes men--albeit not explicitly dressed as such.
To be honest, I think the video includes more men than women. :) I like 'Get Some'. The lead singer has a good voice. The melody is immediately catchy. The lyrics have just enough edge to make them interesting, within the confines of a fairly commercial-style song. Tame compared to what's out there, but say enough to hint at things hit-making-age music buyers can connect with. A good-time party song always has a chance.

'Top of the World' looks like a bit of fun and I enjoyed it as such. Probably not very rehearsed. A couple of good voices in there. I liked the character that came through. :) Looks as if Colin doesn't have that shy, self-conscious streak that his Dad has, although he's from a generation that's been constantly in front of cameras since they were babies, so I dare say he'd be pretty comfortable being filmed. I like Richard's on-screen persona, btw.

I like the humour if the video for 'Get Some' does, in fact, show the band. In any case, seeing as most of the girls seem to actually be guys, what the band is singing about and what they're showing on screen makes an interesting juxtaposition, which makes the whole thing a bit more clever than I at first thought.

I stopped listening to radio back in the early / mid 90s, so I'm completely out of touch with current music. Most that I accidentally hear in supermarkets or see on television, I hate. (Now I can understand my Dad's often-repeated rant when I was a teen - "TURN THAT BLOODY RACKET OFF!!"). :)

'Get Some' doesn't sound very different from what I was hearing mid-90's, so I'd agree that it's a throw-back to that era. Whether it would be commercial now, I have no idea.
 
[SNIP]

I like the humour if the video for 'Get Some' does, in fact, show the band. In any case, seeing as most of the girls seem to actually be guys, what the band is singing about and what they're showing on screen makes an interesting juxtaposition, which makes the whole thing a bit more clever than I at first thought. ]/SNIP]

Ok...first, I'm a bit embarrassed that I didn't realize many of the "women" were actually the guys. And to top it off, I have to say something nowadays probably considered politically incorrect (I don't care) - I remembered thinking "My God, this is a pop song video, and this is BEST looking girls they could come up with?" So embarrassing LOL.
 
I don't actually think Colin normally sings that low as a rule. He sounds a little uncomfortable doing so but probably had to because the baritones and tenors in the band had to come in a full octave above him that wasn't bordering on falsetto by the time they got to the chorus :laugh:. If I had to guess I'd say his range is wider than it seems. I'm sure we'll find out if an album materialises.
 
Last edited:
Now I can understand my Dad's often-repeated rant when I was a teen - "TURN THAT BLOODY RACKET OFF!!". :)

That sounds familiar. :whistle:
 
Great Interview with the group:
EXCLUSIVE: CelebMix chats with GNTLMN
Excerpt.....
Colin:
"I know it is very corny and predictable but my top inspirations are
my aunt Karen Carpenter and my dad Richard Carpenter!
They are the reason I have the drive and passion for music that I do and I love every moment of it ! "

Hats off to him for being truthful about it, many people in his position would have gone for a more contemporary inspiration just to make themselves look hip and trendy.
 
Earlier in this thread the idea was put forward that some of the girls featured in the "Get Some" video are actually members of the group crossdressing. This excerpt from the article GaryAlan links to above doesn't support that:

The music video is an interesting concept, and doesn’t actually feature you in it. How did the idea for it come about?

Alex: I came up with the concept based off the song’s idea that guys tend to think they’re the ones that are in control of the situation… But in fact, the ladies pull the strings. Having girls lipsync the song implies that they put the words in our mouths and therefore put the whole song into motion!
 
It looks and sounds like fun. And I like their commitment to their craft. I feel that each song will get even better given their talent and energy. It is infectious. I like their songs and like them even more at each listen.
 
Very exciting that one of the Carpenter kids is pursuing a career in music now also! Great and interesting to hear that they chose the original album version of "Top of the world" from '72 for their cover instead of the better-known single version from '73. Colin's facial expressions do indeed remind me of Karen's! Then after that long phrase "In the leaves on the trees and the touch of the breeze there's a pleasin' sense of happiness for me", he seems to be thinking "Out of breath, buddy??" to bandmate Camden :)

As for the single, although I still need to get used to the manipulated voices thing that you hear so often in Top 40 songs these days, I think it's a fun and catchy tune with some cool harmonies. I especially like the rhythm and synth style from the second chorus on. Kind of reminds me of the early 1980's electro-/synth pop tunes like "Big in Japan" by Alphaville. It reminds me even more of "Mammagamma" from the Alan Parsons Project's album "Eye in the sky", which incidently is an album that Richard (and Karen??) listened to in 1982, as I recall from one of the newsletters...

Apparently the group has just finished their EP, so I'm curious about their upcoming new sounds.

Wishing them the best of luck and hopefully they'll get a lot of exposure thru TV and live gigs! :cool:

Greg
 
The group’s new single was released today.



Almost the entire track is sung in a deep bass register, which is strange because some of the band members sound much better singing tenor. When I hear this I keep willing them to go up an octave, where I think it would have sounded much more commercial.
 
I wonder if the video was filmed at his Dad's home in Thousand Oaks? The backyard/pool area looks very familiar to other clips I've seen in recent Carpenter clips and documentaries.
 
Gonna run right out and buy this one--I
I wonder if the video was filmed at his Dad's home in Thousand Oaks? The backyard/pool area looks very familiar to other clips I've seen in recent Carpenter clips and documentaries.

It looks like the interior too; juke box, etc.
 
It like it for its boldness that captures the behavior of youth from the past 20 years or so and has brought it into mainstream life as a casual night out and as a code of living for the runaways as a defense for wild youthful flings. I think the idea has a shock value of delivery as it looks like the calm norm adding the voices, purposisly using auto tuners, paints a lyric touch of satire in life depicting art and it’s creativity is captivating. The low voicing helps deliver the art of the song. I feel it is a song of message wrapped in fun as if this type of fun is life fulfilling?
 
Back
Top Bottom