Shape, shift, and trick

Warning: Scott Pilgrim related song overanalysis

I think I just found out why I enjoy Brie Larson's version of Black Sheep, originally played by Metric, and I'm going to explain it to you because why else are you here for? Seriously, what are you doing here?

Anyway, the reasoning behind my preference towards the movie version instead of the original is mostly based on the singers. Now I absolutely have no problem whatsoever with Emily Haines. She is successful for a reason, and she's attractive as well.

But Brie Larson's portrayal as Envy Adams on stage was just spot on (the acting is a different story I'll get into some other time). Her singing, in comparison to Emily Haines', sounds and feels a bit more seductive and provocative, which perfectly embodies Envy Adams as a character. She's supposed to be the sexy superstar everybody admires and wants to be. She's a perfect ten on the scale of fives, and she knows it. On the other hand, Emily Haines has a smoother voice layered with probably the smallest amount of autotune. It sounds great, but it's not Envy.

The other thing I will applaud Brie Larson for is her performance on stage. She wasn't over-the-top crazy, but she had fun and was presentable. The only live performance I ever saw of Metric was when they performed Black Sheep in Comicon (I think) where Emily Haines was seemingly drunk, head-banging to a beat that didn't exist.

Once again, I'll say that this post is by no means a dig on Metric. From the other songs I've heard from them, I can confidently say that they're talented and I owe them my firstborn for creating a song as good as Black Sheep. I'll even admit that their version is probably superior music-wise. But, in terms of trying to emulate Envy and the Clash at Demonhead, that's when Brie Larson and the others have the advantage.

[Will probably tear this whole tangent off and articulate more on it in a new blog post]
Admittedly, this whole post is incredibly biased. I love the movie, and I had very many sexy encounters with the books. I obviously would gravitate towards the song that represents more of what I am interested in. It's also good to note that Envy is one of my favorite secondary characters in the comics (Infinite Sadness was my favorite one of the series). Her rise to fame was simultaneous to her "fall from grace" in Scott's perspective, leading to the breakup of their relationship and the band itself. Her introduction brought a kind of "reality" into the whole story. It wasn't the cookie cutter comedic hijinks that Bryan Lee O'Malley could've easily went with. Rather, he was bold enough to infuse this complicated storyline while being able to create some humor and action into the book, balancing all of them with perfect precision. It's not just boy meets girl while people laugh. It's much, much more than that.
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Holy shit I need a life.