Justin Timberlake in 2013

well, I have nothing against them, I just never particularly liked them...

actually, I just checked FS/LS and I hadn't realized almost all the album was released as singles !
I don't care much for the tracks that weren't except for FS/LS itself and summer love.

anyway, back to the new album, I guess I will be waiting for the official release to listen to it.
so far, "suit" is fine but far from his best stuff.
"mirrors" is meh although the chorus is ok (except the "oh oh" parts which I hate).
so 2 not great tracks out of 10 is not a great ratio for high expectations !
but maybe it's an album based on other things than strong singles which could be fine...

This album is mostly dope and only falls off in the last two songs

all right i'm officially with rev on this now

i even like how "blue ocean floor" prettily meanders

"mirrors" is meh to me because it reminds me too much of former glories, while at least the others sound (more) like new unique songs, not retreads of classics

especially since it was already a bit boring by "what goes around" !
that said, I'm not certain "mirrors" is worse than "what goes around". I've never loved that song. except the coda "comes around" which is great.

1. Its very difficult to play whackamole on a single metaphor for 8 minutes without belabouring the point.

2. Still think people were so terrified by the initial implications of the glitterball-sludge opening that the rest is automatically given the botd.

3. This might have legs in the long run though as far as bangers go it flatters to deceive.

4. Great song to hold the wall to but bubblegum ruins the pie.

5. Bemused double-take at the 05 grime beat, proving that I either lack imagination or didn't leave London soon enough.

6. Because Terius Nash of all people was in desperate need of an ego boost.

7. Almost makes you wish he he hadn't grown conscious of his Memphis roots... Almost.

8. Somewhere between Rio, Happy Feet, Shark Tale and Lionel Richie.

9. In loving memory of NSYNC (1995-2002) #NEVER4GET

10. Can't shake the Jesse Boykins III & Full Crate similarities and I'd probably prefer it if it hadn't overstayed its welcome.

the second of the bonus tracks 'body count' reminds me of justified in a very good way. like half like i love you and half senorita as produced by timbaland.

i mean, the rest of it is growing on me although it's not AMAZING but srsly a bit more of sleaze and sleekness and funk would not have killed him, esp. since he can still pull it off.

"body count" is great

the fact that nobody is talking about the fake authenticity here (JT AND THE TENNESSEE KIDS, YE GODS) is actually bugging me

http://www.heavyblogisheavy.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Body+Count+BC.jpg

ha, the JT & the Tennessee Kids thing seemed just kind of "roll eyes, move along"

is The Tennessee Kids some public access show he did before the Mickey Mouse Club?

heyyyyyyy now

thought the "let the groove get in" performance on fallon tonight had some real nice moments but the vibe was really weirding me out... it was like watching the climactic scene of a film where the plot is a white pop singer goes down to the carribean and saves a village by teaching it the joy of music

yiiiiiikes

they even had questlove off in the corner shaking maracas and stiltedly mouthing the hook like he was just picking up english

Naw, it didn't read like that to me at all. Thought it was a better song live than on record, too.

Damn. What a dead-on Elton impersonation on SNL.

i don't really see how the performance carried any more of that vibe than, say, the "Senorita" video, or any number of JT performances

I was listening to "suit&tie" this morning with the sun in the bus and it was very smooth.
I really like that song now !

The problem with "Mirrors" is that for most of its length it doesn't give you a place to land: it's all chorus and climax, and exhausting.

lot of problems with "mirrors," but that's otm. i also think it's so overstuffed that it sounds unmixed

but also "suit & tie" is in my head at every station of my life now so who knows maybe one day it'll slip in

'let the groove in' on fallon is the best one i've heard so far. i haven't heard the studio record yet though, just these live versions.

loved "suit and tie" on SNL, esp the choreography

<i>it was like watching the climactic scene of a film where the plot is a white pop singer goes down to the carribean and saves a village by teaching it the joy of music</i>

well, yeah -- but it comes across on the album too. to be fair part of this might be the PR seeping in (but what ever isn't), but, like, not expecting much else from a Justin Timberlake song called "Let the Groove Get In" described as having "Latin beats." plus with timbo bringing back the whole "let's sample/'sample' Middle Eastern pop to sound ~*dangerous and exotic*~" early-'00s schtick...

so is everybody coming around to loving suit and tie now? i was here first *ahem*

I don't mind it, i.e. still a middling grade. Jay-Z gets a D- though.

I've come around to Jay's verse. I like that it adds a more personal touch to the song.

it isn't the worst thing on the album but kanye is still correct

i really like the breakdown that occurs prior to jay's verse

Don't mind Suit and Tie, just wished the album had it's own SexyBack.

who hits the prince guitar solo 3:48 into "spaceship coupe"? damn

Listening to "Strawberry Bubblegum" for the first time, on Fallon, right now. There is an influence from Stevie Wonder's "All Day Sucker" here.

There's also a career similarity, a similar personality as well, between Kobe Bryant and JT.

I hate to say it but I've had "mirrors"' chorus in my head since this morning...

There's also a career similarity, a similar personality as well, between Kobe Bryant and JT.

you're gonna have to expand on this one

the stretch from "don't hold the wall" to "let the groove in" is heavenly

is the sample on "tunnel vision" meant to sound like it's saying "i know she lies"?

it's a vocal sample going "i know you lie"

yeah it's just weirdly at odds with the song's sentiment

yea other than like phenom @ a young age or something? i dont see a kobe/jt parallel @ all

i thought it was "i know you like"

yeah i think it's "i know you liii-i-ke it" now that i listen closer

you're gonna have to expand on this one

Okay, fair enough. This was a drowsy night thought but when I thought about it the comparison held up.

Ages: Kobe is 34, Justin is 32
Both have child-star or child-actor qualities. Kobe is the son of Joe "Jellybean" Bryant, a former LA Clipper. Since he was little he's been a basketball prodigy and grew up believing that he would be a super star one day. Justin was a child actor on the Disney Channel and has always had child-actor precociousness about him. Neither one stumbled on their career ambitions but both were raised, almost from birth, to excel in their fields.

Breakout year for both was 1996 (Kobe entered the NBA Draft, and 1996 was the first year NSync charted)

Both had a squeaky clean image that they abandoned. Kobe in 2003, after his rape case (previously he smiled for magazine covers -- now he scowled and got some tattoos). Timberlake tried, some might even say successfully, to act tougher and more like le bad boy circa 2002, with his album Justified. The Jackson Jackson half-time show nipple scandal -- a kind of rape (of the innocent).

They both "broke up the band" so they could finally receive all the glory for themselves. Kobe getting Shaq traded in 2004 so he could chase scoring titles (which he wouldn't have been able to do with O'Neal as a team-mater), and Justin in 2001 by going solo and ending N Sync.

Those are a bunch of side-by-side comparisons that are hard to disagree with, but I have criticisms that are obviously more subjective. Kobe and Justin's squeaky clean personas never fit either one of them. They're both incredibly hard workers whose ambitions were always greater than their talents (though they're both obv talented). Kobe should've played more like a SF earlier in his career rather than try to be like Jordan, a SG. Timberlake's on-screen presence is always bizarre and his comedy is always forced. Kobe is a ball hog, Justin is a camera hog. Kobe has his kind of hilarious "psychopath" face that he makes when things are getting intense out there, Justin has his male model lust face. Both are forced. Neither dude is ever subtle ("Call me the Black Mamba -- that's my new nickname")

And Kobe has done everything he can to make people compare him to Jordan. Timberlake wanted everyone to compare him to Michael Jackson. the effort was always obvious

To underscore Kobe Bryant's child-star personality: he has no conception of money. If you're his bodyguard, or in his Kobe posse, and you're hungry-- want to run into McDonalds -- Kobe will hand you a $100. "Kobe, I want an iPod" you'll ask, and he'll just hand you $100. "But Kobe, an iPod is worth $200-$400" and he'll just say "Oh, here you go," and give you three more Ben Franklin sheets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9QVNbUPzgM

timberlake is actually p capable @ comedy imo

i honestly dk abt how all n'sync ended but if jt's ego was involved or w/e then i truly think hes outgrown it & seems p well adjusted now

John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln in a theater and hid in a warehouse, Lee Harvey Oswald shot Kennedy from a warehouse and hid in a theater!

a lot of that conjecture about kobe is completely off-base fwiw.