if I'm Robin Thicke I'm kinda feeling like my style [del] got took here, no[/del] was birthed by justin timberlake, and i have him to thank for my career
if I'm Robin Thicke I'm kinda feeling like my style [del] got took here, no[/del] was birthed by justin timberlake, and i have him to thank for my career
we remember things differently. I recall JT going solo about the same time as Thicke came out, and I daresay he didn't have the same grown n sexy thing going on then that he does now (that was Thicke's schtick at the time, and he does it way, way better than JT could ever hope to).
but I will most definitely defer to the JT fans on this one; I don't pretend to count myself among you.
DocMcCoy"Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,917 Posts
First impressions; it's kinda boring. Too many of the songs seem like weak or half-decent ideas stretched out for far too long. There's a serious shortage of memorable hooks, let alone killer ones - for a dude whose lingua franca is, essentially, pop music, that's a pretty serious problem.
On the positive side, the vocal production is amazing and it sounds lush throughout. Parts of it sound like Lewis Taylor-lite, which I ain't mad at, but which at the same time I have absolutely no need for.
I haven't heard anything other than the singles, but my guess is, with most of the songs being 7-8 minutes long (as I've read), this album will live on through numerous radio- and club-friendly remixes scattered throughout Soundcloudland, maybe with some of 'em even being officially sanctioned.
DocMcCoy"Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,917 Posts
Herm said:
I haven't heard anything other than the singles, but my guess is, with most of the songs being 7-8 minutes long (as I've read), this album will live on through numerous radio- and club-friendly remixes scattered throughout Soundcloudland, maybe with some of 'em even being officially sanctioned.
This is better than the Aeroplane remix but, much as I like Four Tet, this sounds like more of a DJ tool for his club sets as it does an actual remix.
Does nothing for me. Doesn't go anywhere. Just irritating vocal chop-downs over typewriters.
I don't think JT is done but he's really short on songs at the mo.
DocMcCoy"Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,917 Posts
J i m s t e r said:
I don't think JT is done but he's really short on songs at the mo.
The pre-publicity quotes him as saying something like; "If Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin and Queen can do ten-minute songs, why can't I? We can worry about the radio edits later."
And that's what it sounds like - a perfectly serviceable popstar with a tremendous voice making the cardinal error of confusing noodly self-indulgence and a failure to self-edit with boundary-pushing innovation. It does improve after a few plays, but no way is it even seeing Justified or FSLS. Too many of the songs sound like an afterthought, and at times it seems as if everyone's attention has been focused on coming up with a capital-G game-changer at the expense of the artist's strengths. As for Timbo, whether or not you think he fell off after he shifted his focus from rap and r&b to mainstream pop-rock, I think most people would agree that no matter how far out he went in the past, shit always knocked. This doesn't.
Yeah, I saw that Floyd and Zeppelin preamble somewhere, and he was also namechecking Dylan. Quite the change from the days of his move-busting and eye-twinkling youth.
It would be OK if these songs actually took you on a journey a la Rhapsody and dem, but that bar is quite high up, and I don't think JT, talented lad that he is, has developed his artistic Fosbury Flop to that standard. Where is the quality control? Seems ironic to me that his best tunes are still present in his less-serious "Pop" canon.
He should have, at least, ran it by a Neptune, just for friendly advice...
Colour me disappointed. Only listened through the once and there were a couple of tracks which I think may reward revisiting but it's one of those time where you can sense where he was looking to go with this and almost measure where he's fallen up short.
It's not a bad album just very underwhelming if you're going to return to making music after such a gap.
Also, could really have done with some one other than J-Roc collaborating with Timbaland. The big man has got way too comfortable in his lane and sorely lacking in that spark.
There's a terrible moment midway through Strawberry Bubblegum, where the listener slowly becomes aware that "strawberry bubblegum" appears to be a metaphor for his partner's vagina. Timberlake is a young man recently married, and he's entitled to celebrate that any way he chooses, although you do wonder if the lady wouldn't prefer, say, a bunch of flowers to a song, broadcast to millions, comparing her vagina to a piece of Hubba-Bubba. At least he dishes out something similar to himself: his penis apparently resembles a "blueberry lollipop", which suggests he needs to get a doctor to look at it. That sounds like a symptom of a serious circulation problem.
It's a bold soul that claims this kind of thing doesn't mar their enjoyment of The 20/20 Experience: it's definitely harder to concentrate on the rich inventiveness of the sound when there's a man comparing his wife's vagina to some bubblegum in a falsetto voice over the top of it. Equally, it would be churlish to claim it ruins it. Despite its flaws, The 20/20 Experience is a genuinely adventurous pop album in a world of will-this-do?
I can take some imagery away with me from this, at least.
There's a terrible moment midway through Strawberry Bubblegum, where the listener slowly becomes aware that "strawberry bubblegum" appears to be a metaphor for his partner's vagina. Timberlake is a young man recently married, and he's entitled to celebrate that any way he chooses, although you do wonder if the lady wouldn't prefer, say, a bunch of flowers to a song, broadcast to millions, comparing her vagina to a piece of Hubba-Bubba. At least he dishes out something similar to himself: his penis apparently resembles a "blueberry lollipop", which suggests he needs to get a doctor to look at it. That sounds like a symptom of a serious circulation problem.
It's a bold soul that claims this kind of thing doesn't mar their enjoyment of The 20/20 Experience: it's definitely harder to concentrate on the rich inventiveness of the sound when there's a man comparing his wife's vagina to some bubblegum in a falsetto voice over the top of it. Equally, it would be churlish to claim it ruins it. Despite its flaws, The 20/20 Experience is a genuinely adventurous pop album in a world of will-this-do?
I can take some imagery away with me from this, at least.
And hey, the writer buttoning up all the way to the top!
Given it another listen through and am feeling it more the second time around. In fact I'd say the middle part of the album is genuinely strong and will get a fair bit of love round these parts.
Also, I know that a) Petridis has to create a certain amount of copy and b) it's the Guardian but was it really worth spending that much of the review talking about the sexual imagery in one song? Would they prefer he write about some homosexual experience or express his misery about the plight of homeless children in a ham fisted fashion? It's pop RnB, that's what it is and what it does.
Comments
we remember things differently. I recall JT going solo about the same time as Thicke came out, and I daresay he didn't have the same grown n sexy thing going on then that he does now (that was Thicke's schtick at the time, and he does it way, way better than JT could ever hope to).
but I will most definitely defer to the JT fans on this one; I don't pretend to count myself among you.
Thicke - Blake Griffin
JT - Kris Humphries
On the positive side, the vocal production is amazing and it sounds lush throughout. Parts of it sound like Lewis Taylor-lite, which I ain't mad at, but which at the same time I have absolutely no need for.
Oh Shit.
Hilarious Clinton.
This is better than the Aeroplane remix but, much as I like Four Tet, this sounds like more of a DJ tool for his club sets as it does an actual remix.
And as soon as I get my hands on a DL link, it shall be one of mine too! Ha ha. Thanks!
Does nothing for me. Doesn't go anywhere. Just irritating vocal chop-downs over typewriters.
I don't think JT is done but he's really short on songs at the mo.
The pre-publicity quotes him as saying something like; "If Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin and Queen can do ten-minute songs, why can't I? We can worry about the radio edits later."
And that's what it sounds like - a perfectly serviceable popstar with a tremendous voice making the cardinal error of confusing noodly self-indulgence and a failure to self-edit with boundary-pushing innovation. It does improve after a few plays, but no way is it even seeing Justified or FSLS. Too many of the songs sound like an afterthought, and at times it seems as if everyone's attention has been focused on coming up with a capital-G game-changer at the expense of the artist's strengths. As for Timbo, whether or not you think he fell off after he shifted his focus from rap and r&b to mainstream pop-rock, I think most people would agree that no matter how far out he went in the past, shit always knocked. This doesn't.
It would be OK if these songs actually took you on a journey a la Rhapsody and dem, but that bar is quite high up, and I don't think JT, talented lad that he is, has developed his artistic Fosbury Flop to that standard. Where is the quality control? Seems ironic to me that his best tunes are still present in his less-serious "Pop" canon.
He should have, at least, ran it by a Neptune, just for friendly advice...
It's not a bad album just very underwhelming if you're going to return to making music after such a gap.
Also, could really have done with some one other than J-Roc collaborating with Timbaland. The big man has got way too comfortable in his lane and sorely lacking in that spark.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2013/mar/14/justin-timberlake-2020-experience-review
I can take some imagery away with me from this, at least.
LOC of the year (so far)
Which is better than busting a nut, yes?
I do love pistachios however. And Frangelico in my coffee.
And hey, the writer buttoning up all the way to the top!
sooo close...
(This is one of those times I wish I could tag a Strutter's name.)
Also, I know that a) Petridis has to create a certain amount of copy and b) it's the Guardian but was it really worth spending that much of the review talking about the sexual imagery in one song? Would they prefer he write about some homosexual experience or express his misery about the plight of homeless children in a ham fisted fashion? It's pop RnB, that's what it is and what it does.