Talk:Pseudologia Fantastica (song)

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Problems with the current choice of lead

The lead section of the article, as of Revision 597634777 by @Y2kcrazyjoker4 (the current revision), states:

"Pseudologia Fantastica" is a song by American rock band Foster the People. It is the fifth track from their 2014 studio album Supermodel and was released as the record's second single in the United States and Australia on February 25, 2014.

First problem with this lead is the fact that it does not treat the subject as a song, as implied in the title, Pseudologia Fantastica (song), but rather treats it as a track. Since this article, when developed further, won't talk about the subject as a track, it's unnecessary to treat it as so. Changing "It is the fifth track from their 2014 studio album Supermodel" to "The song was originally recorded by (Foster the People/the band) for their second studio album Supermodel, where it appears as the fifth track." would help greatly in restoring the subject to the song, not the track. Changing ""Pseudologia Fantastica" is a song by American alternative rock band Foster the People" to ""Pseudologia Fantastica" is a song written by members of the American alternative rock band Foster the People" would also help, although it is not known who exactly wrote the song at this stage, it's best to say who the song is written by instead of who it was first recorded by, since, the latter would describe the track as well.

The second problem I have with the current choice of lead is that it contributes to the wide misconception about the single. Saying that the track or song "was released as the record's second single" implies the general misconception that singles are simply statuses of an album track. They're not. They're a music release too, just like an album and extended play is. Therefore, we need to state that a single was released, not the song was released as a single. Saying "A "Pseudologia Fantastica" single was released by Columbia Records in the United States and Australia on February 25, 2014." would be more appropriate, mimicking the lead of an album article or an EP article. Additionally, you could also say "A "Pseudologia Fantastica" single, featuring the Supermodel track of the same name was released by Columbia Records". This will help better educate others the difference between a song and a single and a track and a single. The end result would look along the lines of:

"Pseudologia Fantastica" is a song written by members of the American alternative rock band Foster the People. The song was originally recorded by the band for their second studio album, Supermodel, where it appears as the fifth track on the album. A "Pseudologia Fantastica" single, featuring the Supermodel track of the same name, was released by Columbia Records in the United States and Australia on February 25, 2014.

RazorEye ⡭ ₪ ·o' ⍦ ࿂ 08:14, 1 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I honestly do not understand the point you are trying to make. The lead sentence establishes it is a song by Foster the People. Since the song was written by recorded by the band, why do we need to be any wordier than that in the lead sentence? "By Foster the People" communicates the same message as "written/recorded by members of Foster the People". Furthermore, we don't know the song was written for the album - maybe they wrote it for inclusion in a film or a TV commercial and plans fell through, so they included it on the album. Let's keep it to things we know, like, the song is the fifth track on the album. Also, why are you trying to define the meaning of a single in the article on a specific song? This is not the place to go into this type of detail or dispel misconceptions about singles. The song was selected to be released as a single to promote the upcoming Supermodel album - why is any additional clarification needed, particularly when there don't appear to be any B-sides or edits the song for the single release that require further explanation? I don't see any of this wordiness in FA song articles. Why are we starting now? Y2Kcrazyjoker4 (talk • contributions) 22:42, 1 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]