random dudes in boy bands realizing they can't be solo pop stars does not count
why not?
― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 3 November 2015 18:26 (eight years ago) link
it's very easy to "choose" to not to be famous when the choice is already made for you
― J0rdan S., Tuesday, 3 November 2015 18:27 (eight years ago) link
ok but there's a difference in attempting to buck that judgment (like, say, Tiffany) and just giving up (like, say, Fabian)
― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 3 November 2015 18:34 (eight years ago) link
some people read the writing on the wall and take their cash and go home, others persist in bangin their head against that wall
other people do this I guess: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynda_Thomas
― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 3 November 2015 18:37 (eight years ago) link
1. Fabian2. Lynda3. ?
― a llove spat over a llama-keeper (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 3 November 2015 19:51 (eight years ago) link
you really want that list eh. well if we can include boy-band members it's pretty easy to fill out
― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 3 November 2015 19:58 (eight years ago) link
i'd like to clarify: i don't really want that list. it's okay.
― a llove spat over a llama-keeper (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 3 November 2015 21:01 (eight years ago) link
'journals' was worse than this stuff bc he was doing more straight-ahead R&B instead of R&B pop and his voice is terrible for that sort of thing
he can get by on lite rhythmically nimble records but is not so good at conveying passion thru strength of vocal performance
― Listen to my homeboy Fantano (D-40), Wednesday, 4 November 2015 06:55 (eight years ago) link
i think the looser rhythms of this faux-tropical and actually tropical stuff complements his strengths very well for that reason actually
― Listen to my homeboy Fantano (D-40), Wednesday, 4 November 2015 06:56 (eight years ago) link
i agree on the latter which is why i don't think they work as well - they're quite understated production-wise and his vocal is pretty foregrounded, and he doesn't sell any of the songs especially well
he basically needs huge-sounding production ("as long as you love me") that makes him a cog in the machine
― lex pretend, Wednesday, 4 November 2015 08:53 (eight years ago) link
No I'm talking about why journals doesn't work ... On "what do you mean" his vocals are light as a feather, there's no sense of him over singing or reaching for some big dramatic r&b display
― Listen to my homeboy Fantano (D-40), Wednesday, 4 November 2015 10:42 (eight years ago) link
oh i was still talking about believe, never heard journals
light as a feather is part of the problem, he doesn't overreach and fail but there's not much there - undersinging when you can't get the nuances right is also an issue
― lex pretend, Wednesday, 4 November 2015 11:00 (eight years ago) link
Journals remains dope. Biebz just wasn't part of the conversation back then. There was no narrative to sell it.
― human and working on getting beer (longneck), Wednesday, 4 November 2015 11:06 (eight years ago) link
i.e. the Jack U song, which is where i think a lot of the crit reappraisal is coming from. personally i'll admit that i was more shocked than anyone that not only did a collab between Diplo Skrillex and Justin Bieber not make me want to hurl myself off a building I actually liked it
― illegal economic migration (Tracer Hand), Wednesday, 4 November 2015 13:18 (eight years ago) link
d-40 otm
lex stale aesthetic hobbyhorses zzz
― r|t|c, Wednesday, 4 November 2015 13:41 (eight years ago) link
my fave nu-biebz moment is towards the end of wdym when he ad libs "be more straightforward!", u rly feel the polite anguish
haha yes that part almost takes me out of it bc its a tell that he's not entirely certain he understands what the song is about
― Listen to my homeboy Fantano (D-40), Wednesday, 4 November 2015 20:37 (eight years ago) link
I'm not sure he can spell "straightforward"
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 4 November 2015 21:53 (eight years ago) link
even prettier than his grindr-twink haircut
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfGaX8G0f2E
― dyl, Thursday, 5 November 2015 07:44 (eight years ago) link
album is fine
― insufficiently familiar with xgau's work to comment intelligently (BradNelson), Friday, 13 November 2015 05:08 (eight years ago) link
the second half of this is pretty garb
― J0rdan S., Friday, 13 November 2015 05:20 (eight years ago) link
i straight up love at least two of the bonus tracks ("been you" and "get used to me") but prob bc they sound like lost songs from the recent derulo record
― insufficiently familiar with xgau's work to comment intelligently (BradNelson), Friday, 13 November 2015 05:20 (eight years ago) link
some of the bonus tracks are nice tho
"been you" is amazing yeah prob the best thing on here that wasn't put out in advance
really loathe the title track
― insufficiently familiar with xgau's work to comment intelligently (BradNelson), Friday, 13 November 2015 05:21 (eight years ago) link
on through the one with big sean i think this is pretty tight altho that one should be way better but bieber's voice can't carry it at all for whatever reason. but the travis scott song is a throwaway, the piano ballads suck and "children" sounds like legit parody (tho skrillex's riff is kinda nice). i like the halsey song a lot which seems impossible... i'm not sure i would've known she was on it if she wasn't billed. second half is really wayward from a conceptual & strategic standpoint.
― J0rdan S., Friday, 13 November 2015 05:25 (eight years ago) link
the halsey song ("the feeling") ruuuules
― insufficiently familiar with xgau's work to comment intelligently (BradNelson), Friday, 13 November 2015 05:26 (eight years ago) link
also the sheeran co-write is just a dead stop after the build of "what do you mean" and "sorry"
― insufficiently familiar with xgau's work to comment intelligently (BradNelson), Friday, 13 November 2015 05:27 (eight years ago) link
if you kept the first 7 tracks, ditched the travis scott record, moved the halsey one up, kept "where are u now" and swapped the other three out with "been you", "get used to me" and "hit the ground" you'd have a great front back to album. almost there! oh well i might just do that myself anyway.
― J0rdan S., Friday, 13 November 2015 05:28 (eight years ago) link
i like "love yourself" as a song but the sequencing is weird yeah. it's like 3-4 songs too early. also knowing that it's a sheeran record makes it seem a little craven. it's a good song tho.
― J0rdan S., Friday, 13 November 2015 05:29 (eight years ago) link
yeah "been you" is such a breath of fresh air after all the dogshit preceding it, hard to believe it's the first bonus track
― bunny slopes, Friday, 13 November 2015 05:53 (eight years ago) link
J0rdan is crazy. The Travi$ Scött song is great. As is most of this. It's about four songs too long and it has a Nas verse on it but apart from those things it's a pretty perfect pop album.
― human and working on getting beer (longneck), Friday, 13 November 2015 06:53 (eight years ago) link
Halfway through this and really enjoying it, its like he's finally making material to justify his celebrity.
― boxedjoy, Friday, 13 November 2015 12:07 (eight years ago) link
lol at the idea of Bieber advising a woman she needs to love herself.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 13 November 2015 12:15 (eight years ago) link
this album seems awful whiny
― i made a scope for my laser musket out of some (forksclovetofu), Friday, 13 November 2015 17:30 (eight years ago) link
"life is worth living" yikes
― i made a scope for my laser musket out of some (forksclovetofu), Friday, 13 November 2015 17:45 (eight years ago) link
It's about four songs too long and it has a Nas verse on it but apart from those things it's a pretty perfect pop album
no idea what you're hearing
― insufficiently familiar with xgau's work to comment intelligently (BradNelson), Friday, 13 November 2015 17:48 (eight years ago) link
this album is not good and the sudden wave of critical goodwill for bieber is baffling
― a self-reinforcing downward spiral of male-centric indie (katherine), Friday, 13 November 2015 17:51 (eight years ago) link
'Love Yourself' is immensely hateful and snide and really sets the tone of the first half.
― i made a scope for my laser musket out of some (forksclovetofu), Friday, 13 November 2015 18:08 (eight years ago) link
as a fixture in a disco ball, he's sufficiently lubricious but i find Bieber unpleasant to my soul when he's doing his more thick than thicke "I'm just a talented lil' songwriter is all' schtick.
― i made a scope for my laser musket out of some (forksclovetofu), Friday, 13 November 2015 18:13 (eight years ago) link
yeah, this Is a little bit disappointing. The first half Is good (except the travis one) and some of the bonus are nice. but too many fillers.Surprisingly, i dont hate the ed sheeran one. I always laugh each time i listen "my mom dont like you and she likes everyone".
― Nourry, Friday, 13 November 2015 18:18 (eight years ago) link
― a self-reinforcing downward spiral of male-centric indie (katherine), Friday, November 13, 2015 5:51 PM (48 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
i liked your "market capitulation disguised as poptimism" line on TSJ v much
album is very boring, very whiny. idk why people are going on about how vulgar the house beats are, if only there was some vulgarity here. i don't require artists to be pleasant people but biebz manifesting adulthood as a sub-drake gaslighter is deeply irritating to spend time with
― lex pretend, Friday, 13 November 2015 18:45 (eight years ago) link
― a self-reinforcing downward spiral of male-centric indie (katherine), Friday, November 13, 2015 11:51 AM (53 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
i mean it had a great set of lead-in singles
― Listen to my homeboy Fantano (D-40), Friday, 13 November 2015 18:45 (eight years ago) link
yeah -- I understand why bieber essentially has to play contrite and compare himself to jesus/gandhi, but the songs would only half-work if he didn't. (and if he could sing, but, well, yeah)
― a self-reinforcing downward spiral of male-centric indie (katherine), Friday, 13 November 2015 18:46 (eight years ago) link
first half is solid, second half is super iffy although i like the nas song, sounds like a LTTP outtake
― Listen to my homeboy Fantano (D-40), Friday, 13 November 2015 18:47 (eight years ago) link
my only prob w/ jordan's alternate tracklist is 'no pressure' is one of those terrible oversung bieber records
okay, on my third pass through the album i finally let it play past 'where are u now' and i got to 'children' and what the fuck is this
― i made a scope for my laser musket out of some (forksclovetofu), Friday, 13 November 2015 19:03 (eight years ago) link
like this is bad enough that it makes me reassess my enjoyment of 'where are u now' and 'sorry' and 'what do u mean' in that it is just a crasser more straightforward market share grab for people who found those songs too subtleplus it allows beebs the opportunity to rah rah his vapid philanthropic pride for (if i am hearing this correctly) "making a difference"*coughs out a throat oyster* ¡MILLENNIALS! *shakes fist at cloud*
― i made a scope for my laser musket out of some (forksclovetofu), Friday, 13 November 2015 19:09 (eight years ago) link
serious lols at Purpose with his sub tuesdays with morrie life lessonsi am compelled to transcribe this for future generations:
i don't know if this is wrong because someone else is telling me that it's wrongbut i feel this so let me just like TRY my best not to let this happen againwe weren't necessarily put in the best position to make the best decisionsyou can't be hard on yourself for it; these were the cards that you were givenso you have to understand that these, like, that's not who you are; you know you're trying to be the best you can be, but that's all that you can doif you don't give it at all you got, you're only cheating yourselfgive it all you got, but if it ends up happening, it ends up happening.that's what's happening with me it's like: i don't giving it all i got, sometimes i'm weak and i'm gonna do itand it's like, I'm not giving myself grace, I'm just understanding that's just how it is
― i made a scope for my laser musket out of some (forksclovetofu), Friday, 13 November 2015 19:18 (eight years ago) link