I'm not sure how Ciara qualifies as "human-sounding" and Rihanna doesn't.
― rev, Thursday, 1 May 2008 19:54 (sixteen years ago) link
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'
― deej, Thursday, 1 May 2008 19:55 (sixteen years ago) link
I'm pretty sure he meant B. Valentine
― rev, Thursday, 1 May 2008 19:56 (sixteen years ago) link
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.
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Thursday, 1 May 2008 19:56 (sixteen years ago) link
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
― J0rdan S., Thursday, 1 May 2008 19:57 (sixteen years ago) link
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
― deej, Thursday, 1 May 2008 19:59 (sixteen years ago) link
ok i agree with that
― J0rdan S., Thursday, 1 May 2008 19:59 (sixteen years ago) link
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
― deej, Thursday, 1 May 2008 20:02 (sixteen years ago) link
Ranking the tracks:
"Livin' a Lie" "Ditch That" "Falsetto" "Fast Car" "Purple Kisses" "I Luv Your Girl" everything else
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Thursday, 1 May 2008 20:05 (sixteen years ago) link
alfred doesnt actually like the album, he likes "traxxx"!!!
― deej, Thursday, 1 May 2008 20:05 (sixteen years ago) link
your two favorites are like the least representative
― deej, Thursday, 1 May 2008 20:06 (sixteen years ago) link
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
― J0rdan S., Thursday, 1 May 2008 20:07 (sixteen years ago) link
'nikki' is basically the only one i don't really like
― J0rdan S., Thursday, 1 May 2008 20:08 (sixteen years ago) link
-- 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.
― Alex in Baltimore, Thursday, 1 May 2008 20:09 (sixteen years ago) link
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, 1 May 2008 20:11 (sixteen years ago) link
-- 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
― deej, Thursday, 1 May 2008 20:15 (sixteen years ago) link
'nikki' is great! that whole stretch is the heart of the record
-- Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Thursday, May 1, 2008 3:11 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Link
'luv songs' =/= 'perfectly average'
― deej, Thursday, 1 May 2008 20:16 (sixteen years ago) link
It's ok. I'm pretty sure you and I don't share sexual preferences either.
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Thursday, 1 May 2008 20:16 (sixteen years ago) link
what does that have to do with liking luv songs
― J0rdan S., Thursday, 1 May 2008 20:17 (sixteen years ago) link
alfred doesnt like tits or 'luv songs', which is o_O in an 'opinions are like assholes' sense
― deej, Thursday, 1 May 2008 20:18 (sixteen years ago) link
okay guys I have a question.
"the american dream. mmhmm. and you know what I mean.."
what does he mean?
― The Brainwasher, Thursday, 1 May 2008 20:19 (sixteen years ago) link
Loving tits and assholes without fear of reprisal.
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Thursday, 1 May 2008 20:23 (sixteen years ago) link
-- Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Thursday, May 1, 2008 4:16 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Link
-- 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.
― Alex in Baltimore, Thursday, 1 May 2008 20:23 (sixteen years ago) link
i'm not straight either and i jam "luv songs" so im doubly wtf
― J0rdan S., Thursday, 1 May 2008 20:26 (sixteen years ago) link
dude, all I said was a variant on different-strokes-for-different-folks.
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Thursday, 1 May 2008 20:26 (sixteen years ago) link
it doesn't read that way though
― J0rdan S., Thursday, 1 May 2008 20:27 (sixteen years ago) link
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)
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Thursday, 1 May 2008 20:28 (sixteen years ago) link
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
― lou, Thursday, 1 May 2008 20:32 (sixteen years ago) link
i'm not straight either and i jam "luv songs" ^^^^^^^
― lou, Thursday, 1 May 2008 20:33 (sixteen years ago) link
-- Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Thursday, May 1, 2008 4:28 PM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark Link
see, you're bringing homosex into it again!
― Alex in Baltimore, Thursday, 1 May 2008 20:34 (sixteen years ago) link
does anyone like "Mama"? To me that's the only totally blah tune.
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Thursday, 1 May 2008 20:35 (sixteen years ago) link
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
― J0rdan S., Thursday, 1 May 2008 20:37 (sixteen years ago) link
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
― PoMXII, Thursday, 1 May 2008 20:38 (sixteen years ago) link
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.
― The Brainwasher, Thursday, 1 May 2008 20:39 (sixteen years ago) link
j0rdan otm about mama
― The Brainwasher, Thursday, 1 May 2008 20:40 (sixteen years ago) link
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
― J0rdan S., Thursday, 1 May 2008 20:40 (sixteen years ago) link
re: "Mama"- I don't hate it. It's just awkward after listening to lines like "She keep them thongs chewin' on her asshole".
― lou, Thursday, 1 May 2008 20:40 (sixteen years ago) link
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.
― The Brainwasher, Thursday, 1 May 2008 20:42 (sixteen years ago) link
I can't believe you guys aren't feeling "nikki" and "shawty is the shit" more
― PoMXII, Thursday, 1 May 2008 20:45 (sixteen years ago) link
I like shawty is the shit, I just never listen to it because I got burnt out on it before the album was released.
― The Brainwasher, Thursday, 1 May 2008 20:46 (sixteen years ago) link
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
― J0rdan S., Thursday, 1 May 2008 20:47 (sixteen years ago) link
yeah i rarely listen to it anymore either except i prefer the 'shawty is a ten' version with fabolous
-- Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Thursday, May 1, 2008 3:35 PM (13 minutes ago) Bookmark Link
i love this song. must be a straight guy thing
― deej, Thursday, 1 May 2008 20:51 (sixteen years ago) link
-- The Brainwasher, Thursday, May 1, 2008 3:46 PM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark Link
this is the incorrect opinion to have
fabo's verse is awesome-- he's not a great rapper anymore (ever?) by any means but he's kind of the perfect dude for songs like these
― J0rdan S., Thursday, 1 May 2008 20:52 (sixteen years ago) link
i.e. "dip it low" remix
-- The Brainwasher, Thursday, May 1, 2008 4:42 PM (8 minutes ago) Bookmark Link
"Sounds Bad" is by far one of my favorites on the album! and it's still pretty midtempo and silly (he says "frigidator"), I think "Suicide" is a much bigger disruption to the tone of the rest of the album.
― Alex in Baltimore, Thursday, 1 May 2008 20:53 (sixteen years ago) link