Justin Timberlake in 2013

xposting I mean in interviews and how he carries himself. JT seems like a doofus, but a charming doofus, with some degree (real or affected) of humility, and not a moron. Bieber is a doofus, but an unctuous, irritating one, because he is a moron.

Like, when Timberlake won that video award over Johnny Cash, then demanded a recount or whatever and talked about how much he admired Cash? I would not be shocked if Bieber had no idea who Johnny Cash was.

“Thank you. (Cheers and applause) Um, this is a travesty. I demand a recount. And I just want to say two things real quick. It’s an honor to be in a category with people like Eminem and 50 Cent and people that I admire. John Mayer as well. But also my grandfather raised me on Johnny Cash. I’m from Tennessee. (Cheers and applause) and I think he deserves this more than any of us in here tonight. So I guess in some cool way I share this award with him. He deserves a round of applause. Thank you MTV. Thank you.”

You were recently on an ad during the Super Bowl break with Ozzy Osborne. Any advice from the Prince of Darkness? Jane Playdon, London

“He…(Laughs) not really. Usher’s given me advice. He said to have fun with what I’m doing, and always don’t take myself to seriously and Drake told me to make sure I behave. But Ozzy was a nice guy. He’s settled down a lot over the years (smiles). But I like Black Sabbath, you know, some of the stuff. I like – what is it – School’s Out For Summer? (Q points out that it’s not by Black Sabbath) He did that song! (Q says it’s by Alice Cooper) No, he did that song! I like rock music, man. I like Guns N’Roses and Metallica. The Beatles. I like (Metallica’s) Fade To Black, and One. It’s edgy and emotional with those instruments and electric guitars and stuff.”

lol see that's the part that depresses me - I don't know, this might be unfair on Bieber, but I don't attribute his best work to him the way I do for Timberlake. I think a lot of the good songs that Bieber's recorded so far seem like happy accidents rather than sounds that he specifically pursued, whereas with JT it was very obvious what he wanted to do when he went solo (I've always seen NSYNC's breakup as a result of creative differences btw - there's that tension on 'Celebrity' with JT going urban/R&B and JC going more towards 2-step/dance music).

JT has always showed at the very least, a really good ear for pop music and I don't think I buy the idea that that goes away as soon as you hit your 30s. I just think a lot of what we've been hearing so far this year sounds really lazy and he knows better.

Lots of young people know JOHNNY CASH is the name of a Famous Person; it may not mean familiarity with his music.

If JT says his grandfather raised him on Johnny Cash, I have a feeling he is familiar with his music.

plus never forget:

http://i.huffpost.com/gen/291929/JUSTIN-TIMBERLAKE.jpg

Doofus!

BTW, did JT '13 get his hair straightened?

haha

I like his current hair btw, best he's looked in a while

He looked great last night. The music was another story.

his "passion"? hmmmm. it was a convincing move but even at the time it was a pretty obvious way to transition to a credible, adult career out of a teenpop one (and v much in line with what britney had been doing already)

eh as soon as Justin started writing N Sync songs they were leaning in an R&B direction (and not just Britney-style Neptunes production = R&B influence shorthand). i think he does like R&B and what his solo career sounds like than the early N Sync sound or, like, some pop/rock type sound he could've gone with a la Nick Carter.

I don't like the idea that Timberlake "matured," as if adult = mature. He really hasn't changed much since "Gone."

10 years ago we had bob hope, steve jobs and a pop sensation who was aware of johnny cash. now we have no hope, no jobs and justin bieber

The problem might be Timbaland, but for the moment this is off to a poor start.

new song is pretty great, the one from the grammy's last night was horse shit

'suit and tie' is becoming p unimpeachable

Josh in Chicago killin it ITT

i thought "Pusher Love Girl" sounded pretty good and "Suit & Tie" just gets worse and worse

i kinda love "mirrors"... i think it's a really fantastic vocal performance

i really can't even begin to give a fuck about another "cry me a river"/"what goes around" type song

it genuinely bums me out that THAT is the quickie 2nd single hail mary to "Suit & Tie"

i'm honestly not even sure why i think this, but i think "cry me a river" and "what goes around" are so distinctive that i'm okay with the idea of them adding to them for a sort of trilogy thing. i def initially felt like they were just playing out the formula or whatever but i think this song is pretty good on its own and idk i guess i've just really warmed to the idea of them making that song again.

also, again, i think it's a really fantastic vocal performance

i think it's a octology or something once you factor in all the songs justin has written/produced in that template

i will have to go back to "mirrors" with a fresh set of ears at some point though

maybe it's also that i'm not really feeling the direction of "suit & tie"/"pusher love girl" so i'm just gobbling this wheelhouse shit up

i think jt does the best he can with the sub-chris cornell scream guitar arpeggio that tim provides

lmao you took it there

the guitar sounds like so much dogshit

i can't even with this song

if "strawberry bubblegum" and "spaceship coupe" are bad i'm gonna be heartbroken

i could take them rewriting the same song for the millionth time (lol at "trilogy") if they'd bothered to write a melody as affecting as "rehab" (which was a good song despite the formula being way played out even then)

at this point i'll just be happy if we get a couple of legit decent jams off this album

i have mirrors going in my headphones now and i'm having trouble making myself pay attention to it.

eight minutes??

we only got four minutes to save the song

^^a better song than "mirrors"

student played me "Mirrors" for the first time today and imo it's fucking amazing

Yeah, I'm feeling Mirrors and Suit & Tie (although I haven't really admitted the latter to anyone until now). I really want to hear the full album though. Futuresex/Lovesounds ‎was explicitly an LP, I wonder whether I even feel differently about those tracks in that context.

rorschach test of some kind maybe but 'mirrors' seems like total autopilot to me

There's more than a bit of nostalgia to it, for sure.

futuresex/lovenoztalgia

there's a bit of nostalgia to all this excitement but liking poor imitations of a 6-7 yr old just out of nostalgia seems sad

it's just really important as a music fan to know when the magic has gone from my favourite artists' work

Ciara - One Woman Army (2012)

I'm reserving my full declaration of sadness.

i love poor cici's new stuff as much as anything at her peak, and not because it sounds like it

if anything's magnifying ciara for me in 2012-13 it's that NO ONE ELSE is dancing so she seems way more unique than she should perhaps

I wonder if JT solo ever really switched things up? It's basically been about stretching out the Timbaland/Neptunes era R&B urban sound into increasingly epic variations...

lol j0rd