Shut your mouth baby stand and deliver

"River" is a song by British singer-songwriter Bishop Briggs, released on 22 January 2016 through Teleport Records and Island Records. Initially, it was released on the artist's SoundCloud.[1] It is the second single released on Briggs's debut album Church of Scars.

The song became a hit and reached top 10 on three different Billboard charts as well as number one on the Spotify US Viral 50.[2]

Background[edit]

The song is about a strained relationship that is on the edge of failure.[3] Bishop Briggs stated that the lyrics of the song “was all about the tension…My hope with that song is it makes people feel empowered [to] take things into their own hands. I always have the visual, especially when I was writing it, to go up to someone's face and egg them on, and ask them to push you to your limits. I think there is something strong and exciting about that."[4]

Composition[edit]

A 19-second sample of the song.

The song starts with "a whipping percussion", before it "transitions into an explosive chorus highlighting Briggs's fierce, soulful-rocker vocals".[4] Vice felt that the song was "seemingly birthed by witches off the Bayou, bearing handclaps like reddening thigh slaps and boasting a topline that allows Bishop to truly exercise her range."[5]

Music video[edit]

The music video was directed by Jungle George.[5] Bishop Briggs stated the video was "about embracing my inner demons and setting them loose."[5] It begins with an opening shot of Bishop Briggs sinking in water.[3] In the video, there is a scene where she convulses and another where she is wearing a bag over her head.[3]

Critical reception[edit]

Brooklyn Magazine wrote it is “an explosive track with the potential to be a massive radio hit. It will leave you feeling empowered with surging bass and skyward vocals.”[1] Antonio Beliveau in Life & News wrote, “Simple. Space. Repetition. Straight to the point… It’s not a song that goes into my iTunes after hearing it even for the third time. But there’s a lot to appreciate about this cut.”[6] Hooligan Magazine wrote, “Parts of this track suck the air right out of the room, but Briggs never fails to throw us right back into the mix with her smooth guitar playing and slick voice. “River” has something for everybody.”[7]

Live performances[edit]

In her television debut, Bishop Briggs performed the song on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on August 1, 2016.[3][8]

Cover versions[edit]

In live shows starting in 2017, Pink has frequently covered "River."[9] She did so on some stops of her 2018–2019 Beautiful Trauma World Tour, including on her live album All I Know So Far: Setlist.

Rihanna - "Take A Bow" Oh, how about a round of applause? Yeah, a standing ovation Ooh, whoa, yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah You look so dumb right now Standing outside my house Trying to apologize You're so ugly when you...

Jessie J - "Sexy Lady" You're feeling nervous, having your doubts Don't be embarrassed if you don't fit in the crowd Keep standing tall and hold your ground Show 'em it's not OK to let 'em kick you down Oh, oh, oh, oh...

Jessica Mauboy - "We Got Love" Why do we always feel like we need to try Why do we believe that we need to be somebody else To feel alive Why do we make Why do we keep making the same mistakes And believing that it won't make a...

Sugarland - "Babe" What a shame Didn't wanna be the one that got away, yeah Big mistake, broke the sweetest promise That you never should have made I'm here on the kitchen floor You call, but I won't hear it You said...

James Morrison - "My Love Goes On" Tell me why you hold yourself like that, you look so sad But don't tell me that you're giving up when I got your back Still hiding from those people you can't forgive for what they did You can hold...

Microsoft has responded to a list of concerns regarding its ongoing $68bn attempt to buy Activision Blizzard, as raised by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), and come up with an interesting statistic.

In response to continued questions over whether Microsoft owning Call of Duty would unfairly hobble PlayStation, Microsoft claimed that every COD player on PlayStation could move over to Xbox, and Sony's playerbase would still remain "significantly larger" than its own.

Microsoft does not go into detail on its mental arithmetic here, but does note elswhere in its comments that PlayStation currently has a console install base of 150 million, compared to Xbox's install base of 63.7 million.

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That claim is part of a range of comments given to Eurogamer sister site GamesIndustry.biz in response to the CMA's latest report, which otherwise mostly repeats many of the same concerns raised by the UK regulator - and others around the world - already.

For those following the case, the CMA's latest intervention will not come as a surprise - it is the next step on the regulator's recent roadmap for how and when it will weigh in with its final ruling. This month, we were due the CMA's October "issues statement" - and it seems that this is the document to which Microsoft has now publicly responded.

The usual topics are covered - surrounding the potential for the deal to harm competitors should Microsoft gain too much of an advantage owning Activision Blizzard franchises (mainly, Call of Duty) and therefore being able to leverage their brand power to become a dominant market leader in the console market and cloud streaming.

Specifically, the CMA sees potential for the deal to harm Sony but also other streaming services such as Google (perhaps a moot point now), Amazon and Nvidia.

"Having full control over this powerful catalogue, especially in light of Microsoft's already strong position in gaming consoles, operating systems, and cloud infrastructure, could result in Microsoft harming consumers by impairing Sony's – Microsoft's closest gaming rival – ability to compete," the CMA wrote, "as well as that of other existing rivals and potential new entrants who could otherwise bring healthy competition through innovative multi-game subscriptions and cloud gaming services."

In response, Microsoft said such "unsupported theories of harm" were not enough to even warrant the CMA's current Phase 2 investigation - which was triggered on 1st September.

"The suggestion that the incumbent market leader, with clear and enduring market power, could be foreclosed by the third largest provider as a result of losing access to one title is not credible," Microsoft told GamesIndustry.biz.

"While Sony may not welcome increased competition, it has the ability to adapt and compete. Gamers will ultimately benefit from this increased competition and choice.

"Should any consumers decide to switch from a gaming platform that does not give them a choice as to how to pay for new games (PlayStation) to one that does (Xbox), then that is the sort of consumer switching behavior that the CMA should consider welfare enhancing and indeed encourage. It is not something that the CMA should be trying to prevent."

The CMA is due to notify Microsoft of its provisional findings in January 2023, at which point it can seek possible remedies to any sticking points raised. The regulator's final report - and overall ruling - will then be published no later than 1st March next year.

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