"Reality killed by a reality star"

[Hibbyradge]

That's one of the lyrics from Tom Jones's new single, "Talking reality television blues".

Superficially, it would be easy to dismiss this as another aged performer who has lost his voice, trying to make some money by talking the lyrics instead of even attempting to hold a tune, a la William Shatner*, but this had enough about it to hold my attention till the end and, after only one listen, it's prompted me to post this so it must have something.

I've not checked on who wrote the words and music, but the backing track is irresistible in parts. The lyrics are fine, hard hitting at the end hence the thread title, and although I probably think they'd be better served by an actual rapper, the fact that it's Jones saying them lends it a certain je ne sais quoi. Intrigue maybe?

The music really makes it for me, but it's peaked my interest enough that I've decided that I'll definitely be giving his new album a listen when it's released in April.

*Although most of the stuff I've heard from Shatner is almost comical, he makes a very good job of talking through Pulp's Common People, imo.