thread of miguel

true

he did look very smashable like this tho:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt3QLI3XYtk

'gravity' is my least fav track I think. not a fan of 'dirty basslines' in general

dirty basslines are the best thing in music

"adorn" is one of those things you crave or you don't i guess, i've made myself listen to it a ton to try to get what you all hear it but i'm not feeling any craving :(

one trusts u are not listening to it thru lappy speakers?

total craving at this end.

nope normal speakers though it doesn't sound quite...mastered?

there's an aqueous synth throughout that i don't particularly like, it doesn't sound quite in tune

just relistening again and omg "gravity" is SO MUCH BETTER i can't believe i'm the only one who thinks that. those backing vox>>>>>>

i just finished listening to "adorn" again and i couldn't sing any of it if you asked.

and that moment where he hits that note for one second and everything drops out and THEN he sings "i'm just a shooting star" <3

THEEESE LIPS drrm drmm drmm drmm

no doubt 'gravity' is really really good but it's also the most predictable by far of the ep songs and thus the least rewarding in comparison. harshly speaking it's kind of the general step-up from the first album you expected rather than the quantum leap you get with the rest

like i know this'll be just me but i'd even go so far as to say i'm more interested in listening to 'broads' again to gauge its wonky badness than i am 'gravity'

do people like "That I Do"? Doesn't do much for me

xp also i don't actually know what the plan is for these songs but i will be more favourable to 'gravity' should it to appear on an album as part of some flow rather than assessing it just on its jones

'Gravity' totally reminds of Neptunes, especially in their more N.E.R.D. rock guise, the intro's real Pharrell-styles. I'm being too harsh to say it's a forgettable track, but it just leaves me a bit cold emotionally.

i guess i'm not actually that convinced by miguel when he's not being somewhat predictable and generic yet - i find the whole "art dealer chic" concept slightly try-hard, i still think the last album is just "sure thing" + varying degrees of okay-ness and i think of him as someone who can turn well-worn tricks into magic rather than blow my mind with new tricks

"Quickie" >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>. "Sure Thing"

(I make no friends)

"That I Do" seems like the least memorable of these songs. I am really taken with "Arch & Point" right now.

The tryhardness of the Art Dealer Chic concept really has no bearing on the quality of these songs whatsoever. Miguel has quite simply transcended his pretensions, whatever they may be.

"that i do" is really busy-sounding but it's totally great to listen to while you're like walking around somewhere

what does he even think is so chic about art dealers, idgi

it's a signifier of new wealth innit

i'm not even so sure he doesn't mean "art dealer chick" tbh

art dealer sheik

i still think the last album is just "sure thing" + varying degrees of okay-ness and i think of him as someone who can turn well-worn tricks into magic rather than blow my mind with new tricks

I think the package itself is something new. What sets Miguel apart from every popular R&B singer is he attempts something new, different or just a little bizarre with literally every track. Most singers take some risks, of course, but for him they're the foundation of what he does. He's really defined by his restlessness.

what are these new, different and bizarre things? assuming you don't mean the art dealer shtick.

what i loved about "sure thing", and what i love about miguel when i do love him, is that he does songs that you can imagine anyone doing, but no one pulling off quite like him.

Listening to "Adorn" and "Gravity" again just now and I realized my love for "Adorn" is greater because I prefer Marvin Gaye homage over Bilal homage.

what i love about miguel when i do love him, is that he does songs that you can imagine anyone doing, but no one pulling off quite like him.

I really can't imagine a Trey Songz or a Chris Brown doing "Adorn" or "Arch N Point" or even "Gravity." Miguel owns his aesthetic in a way those singers don't.

yeah but what do you think his aesthetic is? specifically? i can certainly hear trey songz doing "arch & point". bobby valentino too. omarion's "forgot about love" was something i tended to file next to miguel too.

In a word, "exotic," maybe. Synths that are a little more warped or muffled than you typically hear; tempos that are just a little bit off; song structures that are a little more tightly knotted than the norm (he packs five minutes worth of song into three); guitars and riffs that are strikingly loud. He's not re-writing the book every time, but he's always tweaking it.

And, come on, there's nothing in Bobby Valentino's catalog remotely like "Arch N Point." Just on blunt, first-impression sonics alone, you really can't hear the difference between Miguel and boilerplate Bobby?

dog what are you even

"rearview (ridin')"? that sounds more out-there than anything miguel's done. though all of the things you describe are actually the things i dislike about the art dealer songs and had previously attributed to bad mastering or whatever - the rhythms don't always fit the songs, some of the synths make me feel queasy and elements that are too loud just sound like ass.

Just listened to these after mostly ignoring this guy (thought "quickie" was gross), and they're indeed pretty terrific. Great production, great singing.

"Broads" is kinda cute if it's meant to be a joke (which I think it is) but if not its pretty repulsive.

i can't wait to get my whole fucking team on

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zLh5eR7wAo

o_O

so no vol 3 today, eh?

ha i just checked the site an hour ago and saw there was only a 'coming soon' page for it

I'm always amazed when shit like this actually does come out on time

I'm a bigger stan for "Arch & Point" than for "Sure Thing" at this point.

i'd like to get angry about this sorta thing but i have no leg to stand on when it comes to doing things on time, so...

i'm sure it's more a matter of some intern hitting 'publish' than miggy in the studio until the wee hours last night trying to get THREE WHOLE SONGS tracked and mixed in time

he wanted to make those tracks were sure things

CLINK

http://www.amoureuxauban.net/forum/download/fozzie-bear-waka-waka-i4.jpg

if anything can console me, it's nabisco writing about vols 1 & 2

http://pitchfork.com/features/why-we-fight/8821-why-we-fight/

also i think i dig "quickie" more than "sure thing" now... the production on quickie is so great. the way those spindly guitar lines sorta slowly float away, the liveness of the drums. it's all very post-coital.

i pretty much shake my first at each and every notion that anything is better than "sure thing" but "quickie" is pretty great, yeah

that whole album, man. "hard way" is my fav sleeper cut

thx for the nabs link, i'll have to remember to read that