Wow, this title track is really Empire of the Sun-ish.
Luke Steele is his partner on the track, so that makes more sense than you realize.
― Johnny Fever, Thursday, 14 June 2012 15:23 (1 year ago) Permalink
i would have absolutely no idea of Empire of the Sun's existence if that dude didn't work on a huge US pop album every year or so
― bronytheus (some dude), Thursday, 14 June 2012 15:26 (1 year ago) Permalink
i'm confused as to why he does so in the first place
― lamborghini persie (J0rdan S.), Thursday, 14 June 2012 15:28 (1 year ago) Permalink
really liking this album. climax is still my favorite thing on it but i'm actually pretty pleased with most of it. the only song that really kinda disgusted me was "can't stop won't stop" (which had me scared for the rest of the album since it was the first track). really liking the danja and jim jonsin tracks in particular.
also prob an unpopular opinion but i don't mind "scream" at all, usher singing max martin isn't great but it doesn't get on my nerves either.
― teledyldonix, Thursday, 14 June 2012 15:30 (1 year ago) Permalink
what i'm saying (xpost)
― bronytheus (some dude), Thursday, 14 June 2012 15:30 (1 year ago) Permalink
I'd love Usher singing a decent Max Martin song.
― a regina spektor is haunting europe (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 14 June 2012 15:30 (1 year ago) Permalink
Where does that main synth theme come from in "Can't Stop Won't Stop"? It's from another song or film score or something I've heard before.
― Johnny Fever, Thursday, 14 June 2012 15:31 (1 year ago) Permalink
Oh wait...
― Johnny Fever, Thursday, 14 June 2012 15:32 (1 year ago) Permalink
It's like some doo wop song...
Oh, I'm fully aware of why Looking 4 Myself sounds the way it does. I guess I was expecting it to be not so explicitly that sound. But it seems like they asked him to specifically reproduce it for Usher. I'm guessing the lyrics are written by Luke Steele, as well. Phrases like "way better" strike me as really Aussie.
― MikoMcha, Thursday, 14 June 2012 15:33 (1 year ago) Permalink
Shit. Is it Uptown Girl? xp
― Johnny Fever, Thursday, 14 June 2012 15:33 (1 year ago) Permalink
I'm gonna throw down the gauntlet and say that Here I Stand might've actually been better than this album.
― bronytheus (some dude), Thursday, 14 June 2012 15:34 (1 year ago) Permalink
Phrases like "way better" strike me as really Aussie.
"Way better" is something I hear all the time in the US.
― Johnny Fever, Thursday, 14 June 2012 15:35 (1 year ago) Permalink
I knew I picked up on that. Probably just me projecting then :)
― MikoMcha, Thursday, 14 June 2012 15:36 (1 year ago) Permalink
It's "Uptown Girl," yeah.
― maura, Thursday, 14 June 2012 17:53 (1 year ago) Permalink
i was glad i didn't read maura's article before listening to the album so i could experience the smh surprise in real time
― bronytheus (some dude), Thursday, 14 June 2012 18:00 (1 year ago) Permalink
anybody get a Raphael Saadiq vibe from "Twisted"?
― a regina spektor is haunting europe (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 14 June 2012 23:47 (1 year ago) Permalink
no, it just sounds like the same flimsy lounge-funk that pharrell has been doing for half a decade now
― lamborghini persie (J0rdan S.), Thursday, 14 June 2012 23:48 (1 year ago) Permalink
Saadiq at his least interesting records flimsy lounge funk
― a regina spektor is haunting europe (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 14 June 2012 23:50 (1 year ago) Permalink
oh, well then yes!
― lamborghini persie (J0rdan S.), Thursday, 14 June 2012 23:50 (1 year ago) Permalink
I haven't heard this yet and therefore cannot throw any gauntlets but I'm glad to see someone else stand up for Here I Stand if that's what you're doing
― da croupier, Thursday, 14 June 2012 23:56 (1 year ago) Permalink
here i stand up for Here I Stand
― bronytheus (some dude), Friday, 15 June 2012 00:48 (1 year ago) Permalink
my favorite Here I Stand-era joint wasn't even on the album
― they loooovin the crut (The Reverend), Friday, 15 June 2012 01:24 (1 year ago) Permalink
still havent listened to this because in my limited free time i just keep putting "IFU" on repeat. thanks a lot, rtc
― cissymanwhore (k3vin k.), Saturday, 16 June 2012 03:17 (1 year ago) Permalink
yeah great song, rtc. didn't even realize you were working with usher.
― lamborghini persie (J0rdan S.), Saturday, 16 June 2012 03:25 (1 year ago) Permalink
k3vin's signed up to mix the next one
― a regina spektor is haunting europe (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 16 June 2012 03:26 (1 year ago) Permalink
lol
― cissymanwhore (k3vin k.), Saturday, 16 June 2012 03:32 (1 year ago) Permalink
rtc first big-upped the song here iircn which is what i was referring to
― cissymanwhore (k3vin k.), Saturday, 16 June 2012 03:33 (1 year ago) Permalink
am i the only one who really loves "lesson for the lover"? it's got that slow, dirty, propulsive thrust i love about terry's best ballads
― cissymanwhore (k3vin k.), Sunday, 17 June 2012 03:27 (1 year ago) Permalink
Love "Show Me" so much, it joins select Dawn Richard in suggesting R&B can and may sometimes choose actually to do fun and interesting things with the house template. Every little component dovetails so perfectly.
Also fuck yeah "Euphoria" in fact.
I basically like-to-love everything except the first two songs.
― Tim F, Monday, 18 June 2012 10:02 (1 year ago) Permalink
"show me" is great... i love how the vocals kinda float on top of the percussion
danja's two productions on the album are brilliant, it's great to hear him but it makes me wish he was doing more work
― lamborghini persie (J0rdan S.), Monday, 18 June 2012 14:18 (1 year ago) Permalink
xp eh idk, as an album opener intro (and nothing else, i must stress) 'cant stop' is so toweringly, dizzyingly silly in every way it's hard to resent really
i mean you can't even accuse it of sell-out functionalism, like the big stupid drop it demands is conspicuously absent!! all uptown build and then apologetically halting circular excuse for a chorus
― r|t|c, Monday, 18 June 2012 14:27 (1 year ago) Permalink
nah it's pretty easy to resist -- my method is to just start the album with "climax"
― J0rdan S., Monday, 18 June 2012 14:31 (1 year ago) Permalink
"can't stop" is a mess but my i dislike "scream" more because the "oh oh"-ing in the chorus is so non-functional, it seems so obvious that instead of deciding to write words for the chorus they were just like "well, if we do a bunch of random oh-oh-ing halfway thru no one will be able to tell the difference"
― J0rdan S., Monday, 18 June 2012 14:33 (1 year ago) Permalink
― J0rdan S., Monday, June 18, 2012 10:31 AM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark
i don't do this kind of thing because if an album has huge flaws i need to keep confronting so as not to forget they exist -- i would've fucked up and thought Lloyd made the best album of last year if i'd just started it at track 3 everytime
― bronytheus (some dude), Monday, 18 June 2012 14:36 (1 year ago) Permalink
tho if you measure "scream" against "omg" & "dj got us fallin in love" it's kind of a dud, so maybe we all weren't as hook/line/sinker as they thought we'd be
― J0rdan S., Monday, 18 June 2012 14:37 (1 year ago) Permalink
At a pool party yesterday we heard "Scream" and the Guetta collab back to back. I was like, drown me now please.
― a regina spektor is haunting europe (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 18 June 2012 14:37 (1 year ago) Permalink
first time i heard "can't stop" i thought pretty much the same as rtc re: silliness but that was only due to novelty, it's sounded gross every time since
i think i way prefer the bonus tracks to the album proper, it seems to finally relax at that point - they don't seem to have a taste-chess agenda in the same way
― star-spangled david banner (lex pretend), Monday, 18 June 2012 14:38 (1 year ago) Permalink
still think this album is less than the sum of its parts, if anyone could expand on HOW they think any of this mess is coherent or tied together do feel free to say
― star-spangled david banner (lex pretend), Monday, 18 June 2012 14:39 (1 year ago) Permalink
One can still love a mess.
― a regina spektor is haunting europe (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 18 June 2012 14:40 (1 year ago) Permalink
yeah track skipping is just not cricket, we've been over this a million times tho
― r|t|c, Monday, 18 June 2012 14:41 (1 year ago) Permalink
It's got four songs I never want to hear again but I've got enough affection for the rest that I don't think, say, a B+ is overrating it.
― a regina spektor is haunting europe (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 18 June 2012 14:41 (1 year ago) Permalink
― lamborghini persie (J0rdan S.), Monday, 18 June 2012 15:18 (10 minutes ago) Bookmark
danja is not quite yet at the darkchild chronic stage of genius extraordinaire/lazy fucker syndrome but he's certainly the nearest latterday parallel i think
ok maybe lazy fucker is harsh but unrealised potential dominion at least
― r|t|c, Monday, 18 June 2012 14:43 (1 year ago) Permalink
still think this album is less than the sum of its parts
i agree w/ this. most of the non-dance shit is great individually (well, except "twisted") but yeah idk it's not a great album, for whatever that's worth
― J0rdan S., Monday, 18 June 2012 14:47 (1 year ago) Permalink
i think maybe timbo taught danja how to price himself out of the game
― bronytheus (some dude), Monday, 18 June 2012 14:48 (1 year ago) Permalink
― star-spangled david banner (lex pretend), Monday, June 18, 2012 10:38 AM (8 minutes ago) Bookmark
what was the last pop album that wouldn't be greatly improved if you switched out the x number of worse tracks for the bonus tracks? i was thinking '21' & 'born this way' but those also don't even have bonus tracks.
― J0rdan S., Monday, 18 June 2012 14:48 (1 year ago) Permalink
― star-spangled david banner (lex pretend), Monday, 18 June 2012 15:38 (7 minutes ago) Bookmark
exact opposite for me, my cold heart melts a little each time quite frankly
i suppose i am a noted aficionado and apologist of will i am trolling by this point though
― r|t|c, Monday, 18 June 2012 14:49 (1 year ago) Permalink
born this way had bonus tracks but in a surprise twist they actually were completely inessential
― star-spangled david banner (lex pretend), Monday, 18 June 2012 14:50 (1 year ago) Permalink
will.i.am's keenness to position himself as a member of the royal family has paid off in that i actually despise him as much as them now
― star-spangled david banner (lex pretend), Monday, 18 June 2012 14:51 (1 year ago) Permalink
the whole "fergie" thing just still confuses him
― bronytheus (some dude), Monday, 18 June 2012 14:52 (1 year ago) Permalink