thread of miguel

yeah, i've sort of come to peace with the whole thing. even the jessie ware album, it's the same thing. you've just got to step back and not hold it against an album if it arrives and we've already heard half of it.

i guess there is also the choice to not listen to any leaks.

I don't mind since the single/3-5 song EP is my preferred choice of method of consumption these days

I'm haunted by an rtc comment: something like, 'lol at the idea of an album in 2012' or something to that effect

personally i think the best strategy nowadays is to do what jay/ye & frank ocean (and others) have done and that's to let one or two songs go before dropping the whole thing in full as a digital download. you probably get a nice windfall in sales and everyone gets that experience of hearing it for the first time together. buzz builds for a week and then you can drop the physical. but, maybe that takes a special kind of situation.

trying to remember the last time a contemporary R&B album with this high a profile came out w/ no obligatory guest rappers

― some dude, Monday, August 27, 2012 12:38 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

might have been preferable to his own rap :/

and he drops a "YOLO" bomb .....

ha, "Where's The Fun In Forever" = where his hanging out w/ FlyLo, Thundercat, etc shows. definitely has that LA "beat scene" feel

might have been preferable to his own rap :/

― The Reverend, Monday, September 24, 2012 1:24 PM (8 minutes ago) Bookmark

ha, yes

On the other hand there's less "work" to put into listening to an album on which you've heard four tracks.

btw for those who wondered what the original version of "That I Do" sounded like:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sZ2qJyIi6A

So I'm curious to see whether all the critical enthusiasm and general good will surrounding Miguel translates into glowing "OMG, you need to buy this! You cannot ignore this!" reviews a la Frank Ocean, or just easier to phase out "Hey, this is pretty good for an R&B album because it's different" reviews

oh best case scenario it doesn't get half the critical hype FO has gotten

I find most of the Ocean an album a well-intentioned bore made by a talented guy whereas Miguel started as a talented guy whose already dropped at least six killer tracks this year.

* omit the "an"

I like "Adorn" and "Arch N Point" more than any particular song on Channel Orange but don't find this album nearly as immersive.

I'm delighted by both, obviously, but my overall experience with each artist so far is that Frank Ocean floors me at first but some of the shine fades over time, where Miguel's material just continues to keep growing on me, even despite absurd amounts of exposure

I feel like I'm going to end up listening to songs from this over and over rather than the album over and over.

Which is the same as happened with AIWIY and ADC.

So I'm curious to see whether all the critical enthusiasm and general good will surrounding Miguel translates into glowing "OMG, you need to buy this! You cannot ignore this!" reviews a la Frank Ocean, or just easier to phase out "Hey, this is pretty good for an R&B album because it's different" reviews

― Evan R, Monday, September 24, 2012 1:51 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark

yeah, probably the latter. people definitely embrace the weirdo aspects of miguel's persona and music, but i think the one thing about frank's album (objectively speaking) is that it had this perfect confluence of the artist getting a lot of attention as a celebrity and is music that sounds more like the type of black music that critics have always loved. it's a very strong, singular album imo but it has a wider appeal to critics than, say, the-dream. it's a hip soul album, more or less -- the type of thing that critics have privileged for years, but on the pop stage. miguel has won a lot of people over just because he's so damn good, but it's still not in that same classification as frank.

that said he'll be getting an exponentially higher amount of press now than he did w/ anything off his first record, so that alone is a major coup.

He's made a ridiculous percentage of my favorite songs of the past couple years, but he hasn't quite mastered the album format.

yeah i mean i'd buy that. i'm still rating 'channel orange' over this partly for that reason.

Ergo, he should just keep releasing lots of amazing EPs.

He's made a ridiculous percentage of my favorite songs of the past couple years, but he hasn't quite mastered the album format.

― The Reverend, Monday, September 24, 2012 2:03 PM (53 seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

damn, you gotta hand down that proclamation on high the day the album starts streaming?

i think the one thing about frank's album (objectively speaking) is that it had this perfect confluence of the artist getting a lot of attention as a celebrity and is music that sounds more like the type of black music that critics have always loved. it's a very strong, singular album imo but it has a wider appeal to critics than, say, the-dream. it's a hip soul album, more or less

Yeah, I think that's fair. I was gushing over the Frank Ocean album with a music-critic friend last week, and he was explaining how Channel Orange was exactly the type of album he'd been waiting for, not from R&B per se, but just from a singer-songwriter in general. That album fills a really big hole

i guess i wouldn't say that he hasn't mastered the album format... one of my favorite things about this album is that i think all these different sounds make more sense when you hear them played straight through.

damn, you gotta hand down that proclamation on high the day the album starts streaming?

― some dude, Monday, September 24, 2012 11:06 AM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I mean, obv I'll give it room to grow, but I don't like most of the new songs (including the ones from the previews) nearly as much as my favorite stuff from the ADCs and I think the whole vibe is a bit more predictable whereas ADC was all about surprises.

oh i think this album is way better than ADC. i mean those have the bangers but there was also some filler, intentional (reused tracks) and not ("party life"). this is dope all the way thru even tho it tails off a bit towards the end.

for me now, like, now that "adorn" and "arch n point" are on this album, the only things i'll play off of the EPs are "...alll" (which wouldn't have fit on the album) and the OG version of "candles"

I still play "That I Do", "Gravity", and "Party Life" a hell of a lot in addition to those (other than "Candles", which is just whatever in both versions). I do think I like ADC as a project more than Kaleidoscope Dream.

Then again, only Kaleidoscope Dream has the third minute of "Adorn"...

I'll add some enthusiasm to the pot: This record rules. It sounds nothing if not masterly to me, including the new songs ("Pussy" aside). I loved AIWIY, too, but that album was all over the place. This one covers as much ground without feeling so scattered.

I come from a different perspective than the Rev, though. The album is important to me as a format, and this is a great album.

8. “Where’s the Fun in Forever?”
9. “Arch & Point”

A+ album sequencing here (had nearly worn out the latter but once it kicked in, it suddenly seemed fresh)

"all" is definitely the ADC exclusive that i keep going back to

I do think this album is better than AIWIY, which never really clicked with me beyond the singles despite my best efforts.

This one covers as much ground without feeling so scattered.

I agree with this, but I think part of my reservations stem from it being a bit too singular in its vibe? It could use a wild curveball or two.

Pu$$y song is so lame and pointless, idk. The rest is cool though.

I come from a different perspective than the Rev, though. The album is important to me as a format, and this is a great album.

I certainly appreciate a good album! But I don't consider it sacrosanct, no. I probably prefer the EP as a format at this point. I suspect Miguel does, too.

"...All" is second only to "Arch n Point" in replay value on my iPod, so unless he sticks it on a comp eventually its lack of availability will probably add to its aura.

I agree with this, but I think part of my reservations stem from it being a bit too singular in its vibe? It could use a wild curveball or two.

― The Reverend, Monday, September 24, 2012 2:25 PM (12 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i think there are at least a couple songs on here that could be considered a 'wild curveball' if the whole album was being heard for the first time at once

Pu$$y song is so lame and pointless, idk. The rest is cool though.

the "I didn't realize we were recording" framing device is kind of infuriating. would have preferred a fully orchestrated/ gospel choired "broads"

the "I didn't realize we were recording" framing device is kind of infuriating.

I like "Pussy Is Mine", but this.

I'll probably just end up inserting the original version, which as far as I can tell is otherwise identical into the running order.

i think there are at least a couple songs on here that could be considered a 'wild curveball' if the whole album was being heard for the first time at once

― some dude, Monday, September 24, 2012 2:39 PM (18 minutes ago) Bookmark

yeah i mean definitely "use me" and "don't look back" were pretty surprising to me and if i was just hearing this blind i'd be pretty engrossed with where it goes sonically

it's easy to forget how much of an outlier "Adorn" is because it's the first track/lead single, too

it's funny, when i talked to him he seemed kind of, like, ashamed by "how many drinks" and to a lesser extent "adorn" because they're the most r&b songs on the record and the ones most aimed at the radio but even those are pretty damn singular sounding for radio joints

As cheesy as this sounds, I'm gratified that Miguel still managed to take "Adorn" to #1; it was no....sure thing.

oh definitely.... it's a special song. that anecdote that al relayed about the radio DJs mirrors the reaction i've seen/heard from most people who have heard the song. it's just such a gorgeous, likable song.

as a lady i am very pro-'pussy is mine'

the Baltimore station STILL plays the 2-minute "Adorn," which is kind of charming but mostly frustrating, doesn't feel complete to me anymore

loving the first listen. "do you" would definitely be a curve ball.

in fact hes about curve balls (except for adorn)

very important: thank god a short album

A+ album sequencing here (had nearly worn out the latter but once it kicked in, it suddenly seemed fresh)

otm

a+ sequencing throughout, which i worried about having gotten to know half the tracks through three song eps