NE-YO v THE DREAM

Rihanna is simply a traditionalist rather than an innovator—Otis Redding rather than Sly Stone, High on Fire rather than Khanate.

hi im a critic :D

http://i27.tinypic.com/6eq2h1.jpg

bullshit

-- rev, Thursday, May 1, 2008

I'm a Ciara-Amerie man myself.

anyway rock critics jumping on an album by a fringe artist and making it a 'huge deal' so it's not really news. at least love/hate is good enough to deserve it.

btw wtf is this album officially called? Love Me All Summer/Hate Me All Winter? Love/Hate? LoveHate?

anyway rock critics jumping on an album by a fringe artist and making it a 'huge deal' so it's is not really news.

I'm not sure how Ciara qualifies as "human-sounding" and Rihanna doesn't.

i guess what im saying upthread, and this may in some ways be an untenable point but i think theres some legitimacy, is sometimes it just seems corny with echoes of 'hell hath no fury' when a bunch of dudes rally around some random R&B album track

anyway rock critics jumping on an album by a fringe artist and making it a 'huge deal' so it's not really news. at least love/hate is good enough to deserve it.

the dream isnt really a 'fringe artist'

I'm pretty sure he meant B. Valentine

Ciara's timbre is pretty cool, but her songs are written around this; with Rihanna I feel like the tracks are forcing her to be friskier than she is. She sounds forced.

deej, i meant fringe in terms of general rock criticism-- it's obv not the same as people making a huge deal out of the field but not the same as lil wayne either

oh i dont have issue w/ them rallying around the dream! i dont think thats corny. its a great album. i think its weird to pick an album track from it and be like 'this is genius!!!' when its yes a great track but not really a standout in an album full of standouts, i think maybe part of my problem is it sounds like when someone picks up on a single track like that that they aren't actually checking for the rest of the record

ok i agree with that

i dont mean to make it seem like im moving the goalposts everytime i say something, im just kind of thinking thru this thing out loud

Ranking the tracks:

"Livin' a Lie"
"Ditch That"
"Falsetto"
"Fast Car"
"Purple Kisses"
"I Luv Your Girl"
everything else

alfred doesnt actually like the album, he likes "traxxx"!!!

your two favorites are like the least representative

i was thinking about making an album poll but at this point it would be repetitive

i think 'falsetto'->'luv songs' is my favorite stretch and at any point any one of those is probably my favorite but i love the whole thing

'nikki' is basically the only one i don't really like

your two favorites are like the least representative

-- deej, Thursday, May 1, 2008 4:06 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

wtf is wrong liking the songs that are unrepresentative of album the most!? i just mean in general, not just this particular example.

alfred doesnt actually like the album, he likes "traxxx"!!!

Ha! When you're a critic, contribute to year-end lists, drink the Kool-Aid, etc, you can't waste time learning to love perfectly average songs, brah.

wtf is wrong liking the songs that are unrepresentative of album the most!? i just mean in general, not just this particular example.

-- Alex in Baltimore, Thursday, May 1, 2008 3:09 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

i dont mean there's anything wrong w/ it in general, just 'rong' in the lol opinions sense that what im getting from this album is a vibe that isnt really hitting with him

'nikki' is great! that whole stretch is the heart of the record

Ha! When you're a critic, contribute to year-end lists, drink the Kool-Aid, etc, you can't waste time learning to love perfectly average songs, brah.

-- Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Thursday, May 1, 2008 3:11 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

'luv songs' =/= 'perfectly average'

It's ok. I'm pretty sure you and I don't share sexual preferences either.

what does that have to do with liking luv songs

alfred doesnt like tits or 'luv songs', which is o_O in an 'opinions are like assholes' sense

okay guys I have a question.

"the american dream. mmhmm. and you know what I mean.."

what does he mean?

Loving tits and assholes without fear of reprisal.

It's ok. I'm pretty sure you and I don't share sexual preferences either.

-- Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Thursday, May 1, 2008 4:16 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

what does that have to do with liking luv songs

-- J0rdan S., Thursday, May 1, 2008 4:17 PM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

Alfred does this "oh I guess that's a record for you STRAIGHT people" thing all the time, I don't really get it either.

i'm not straight either and i jam "luv songs" so im doubly wtf

dude, all I said was a variant on different-strokes-for-different-folks.

it doesn't read that way though

Alfred does this "oh I guess that's a record for you STRAIGHT people" thing all the time

Yes, ALL THE TIME. Plz to post every time sexuality's come up when I discuss music in print or on ILM.

(I'm enjoying the teasing, but c'mon)

when its yes a great track but not really a standout in an album full of standouts, i think maybe part of my problem is it sounds like when someone picks up on a single track like that that they aren't actually checking for the rest of the record

"Livin' a Lie" and "Ditch That..." were definitely my gateways into this album thanks to Rich Juzwiak's House of RnB mix. I agree that they're the least representative tracks on the album (well, besides "Mama"!) but they're also the most immediate. They were reason enough for me to buy the album.

Ranking these tracks is not easy!

Luv Songs
Livin' a Lie
Fast Car
Falsetto
Purple Kisses
Ditch That
Playin' in Her Hair
Shawty is Da Shit
I Luv Your Girl
She Needs My Love
Nikki
Mama

i'm not straight either and i jam "luv songs"
^^^^^^^

(I'm enjoying the teasing, but c'mon)

-- Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Thursday, May 1, 2008 4:28 PM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

see, you're bringing homosex into it again!

does anyone like "Mama"? To me that's the only totally blah tune.

i think it's okay but by the time it comes on im ready to move on to something else or replay other songs on the album. if it was like the 6th track or w/e i'd let it play through tho

whoa this got different quick

anyway, "Livin A Lie" is my second worst song on the album, I pretty much love them all though and can;t really distinguish that well between most of them...it is definitely an Album to me

and yeah the two songs at the end drag it down a bit

xpost I'm glad it's at the end so I can start it over

Luv Songs
Falsetto
Fast Car
Livin A Lie
Purple Kisses
I Luv Ur Girl
Playin In Her Hair
Nikki
Ditch That
She Needs My Love
Shawty is Da Shit
Mama

or something like that. Every song is great though pretty much.

j0rdan otm about mama

it's weird cuz i think if livin a lie/mama were in the middle of the album i'd be like "well this album is really great except it's got these two average songs" but w/ the tracklisting the way it is i like forget they exist sometimes and finish the album @ luv songs thinking "A++++ album" in my head

re: "Mama"- I don't hate it. It's just awkward after listening to lines like "She keep them thongs chewin' on her asshole".

lol yeah, it's like that last song on T-pain's Epiphany album, "Sounds Bad" . An emotional ballad after all of the party tracks is just kind of weird.

I can't believe you guys aren't feeling "nikki" and "shawty is the shit" more

I like shawty is the shit, I just never listen to it because I got burnt out on it before the album was released.

and I prefer the edited "shawty is a 10" version w/o fabolous.

'shawty' was in my top 5 singles last year and imo 'nikki' is just surrounded by a bunch of better songs so it kinda pales in comparison

yeah i rarely listen to it anymore either except i prefer the 'shawty is a ten' version with fabolous