thread of miguel

i definitely do not hear lana del rey

(thankfully)

imagining that you're at your ENT right now

is this leaked or do y'all just have the advance?

gah and now i kind of want to start saying rti myself

this is the thing about migs that not enough people seem to get imho, he is excellent precisely because he is so often very nearly terrible

like idk if it was some italian guy popped up on a harley singing about cigarettes and john lennon and leopard print skirts u would all shrivel up and die

loving his new song 'rude' tho

― r|t|c, Wednesday, February 11, 2015 5:18 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

he's not THAT gaslight anthem but "lana miguel rey" does have a nice ring to it

― some dude, Thursday, February 12, 2015 5:41 PM (4 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

WE CAN FACE THE SUN LET'S FALL INTO FOREVER

HOW CAN I LISTEN TO THIS?! I CANT WAIT! (Sorry about the caps lock but i can't contain myself)

Yeah, I have that same feeling. It's out in two weeks but I need it right now.

Perhaps you will get your wish. Three more songs are out: http://www.factmag.com/2015/06/16/hear-three-new-songs-from-miguels-wildheart-album/

aaaaaaaaa holy shit

this is erotic

I'm not feeling "Fresh" at all :(

"Flesh" rather. It's like the boring parts of KD.

why are we disagreeing so hard today alfred

"Face the Sun" is so fucking good

why are we disagreeing so hard today alfred

― insufficiently familiar with xgau's work to comment intelligently (BradNelson),

Prolonged exposure to the Donnie Trumpet album.

a great record, it should theoretically make our opinions chill and continuous

"goingtohell" should prob be illegal, holy hell

(this is meant as the highest compliment)

"goingtohell" describes what Migs agreed to for Kravitz to play an excellent solo. I like this one best.

"Flesh" is fantastic

i am surprised he let "face the sun" out pre-release! it is the perfect way to close the album. the "purple rain" nod>>>>>>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Z55sZ2oVY4

OK please stop with the goodies now, 2015. Reaching saturation point.

"face the sun" ;_; It's such a typical Miguel song too, like it's so obvious and earnest that it should be come across as corny and it kind of does, but somehow you don't care because it's just so good.

also where did he learn to use his voice like that on "Flesh"? (ok, Prince but... damn.)

playing nyc on august 2

this album is interesting. i'm not sure you can even call him an r&b singer at this point -- his last album still sort of clung to the notion that he should serve up easy singles to a core R&B audience but this one pretty much sheds that concern entirely. i feel like you can follow the thread from "do you..."/"the thrill" pretty easily to this album and though i think there might be too much grit and not enough effervescence overall, "waves" feels like a pretty nice sequel to "do you...". the production on this feels unique to me, too - it at once... sounds like stone temple pilots (...?) but also has a certain desert landscape expansiveness that is appealing.

i think this was a very honest album for him to make, and though a few times i think it gets in its own head ("the valley" most notably) there are also some flat out great songs ("waves," "leaves," "face the sun") and maybe more to chew on than kaleidoscope dream overall.

i'm not sure you can even call him an r&b singer at this point

foh

i dunno he clearly seems himself as a rock star, not that those two things are necessarily incompatible (prince obv will always loom large over miguel's music) but there's not a lot of "all i want is you" or "sure thing" left in his music. i can see some of the album tracks from his first record as the foundation for this sorta sun-warped sound but i feel like he's deviated from the path. even the funkier, upbeat tracks on this album sound as influenced by KROK as anything.

Well, the boring parts of KD are bits of "Use Me" and "Where's the Fun in Forever," the bits that Chuck Eddy said were like the boring parts of Around the World in a Day. I agree he's uncomfortable with being an R&B artist. Get ready for people who Don't Listen to R&B But Like Miguel to be louder this time -- if the album generates any buzz (it may not).

"Use Me" is perfect tho

^

there's not a moment that he's not a soulful belter at heart, though. someone like Frank Ocean, his vocal style is much further removed from that tradition, the 'not an R&B singer' stuff is still pretentious but less of a reach.

feel like there's a dawn richard analogue here, in terms of closeness to r&b then wildheart : blackheart :: kaleidoscope dream : goldenheart

in one sense yes they're exploring wilder shores or whatever but a) both dawn and miguel are soul singers at heart, and b) they're both within a pretty strong lineage of r&b artists exploring rock and electronica respectively. i mean miguel straight-up interpolates "purple rain" in "face the sun" just to make the connection obvious (what a glorious moment, too)

it's fair to say that neither are interested in getting radio play in any genre, i guess, though in both cases it feels more like radio isn't ready for them than they've made hookless or difficult music

agree with j0rdan that the production here is very dirty indeed, i would like to hear it on headphones/not a stream before i make up my mind re: that, but the murk is reminiscent of d'angelo's last album in places

"the valley" is sampling something massively obvious and i haven't put my finger on it grrr

Miguel is one of the most played acts on R&B radio the last 5 years, it seems probably unlikely that he's not interested in getting radio play, that doesn't just happen by accident

I'm listening to "NWA" now and trying to figure this claim out: "this album is interesting. i'm not sure you can even call him an r&b singer at this point"

cuz this is an R&B song

also much love to kurupt for dropping the first "Lee Iacocca" reference in like 25 years XD

i wouldn't say he's disinterested in radio play but there's a noticeable lack of a "how many drinks"-style "well lemme make sure i have a surefire reliable single in my back pocket" on this album

Not heard this album really but "R&B" can encapsulate a hell of a lot and forays into stadium rock are definitely part of that.

Like at this point in history I would *much* rather hear R&B artists exploring rock music than the other way round.

who will be the Eddie Van Halen on Miguel's "Beat It"?

.....Bonnamassa

Hearing a lot more obvious nods to Prince on some of these, especially with the more guitar-centric arrangements and production. Feels like it was supposed to be Prince soloing on "Face The Sun" especially, but he proved to difficult to get and so he settled for...Lenny Kravitz. Or maybe he just loves Lenny Kravitz.

i'm not sure you can even call him an r&b singer at this point

I agree he's uncomfortable with being an R&B artist

it's fair to say that neither are interested in getting radio play in any genre

A lot of assumptions being made about R&B as a genre and R&B listeners in these comments. Only heard half the album, but nothing in that feels far enough outside the lineage of R&B to justify these statements.

Like at this point in history I would *much* rather hear R&B artists exploring rock music than the other way round.

speaking of this record pairs nicely with the new daniel johns which is better than it should be

Gonna get shit for saying this, but I get shit on ILX no matter what, so...

After all the talk above about how he objectifies himself and how refreshing that is etc. etc.

Are we really OK, in 2015, with faceless black women used as a piece of furniture?

I know he's trying to go for "80s hair metal rock star" or whatever, but couldn't "naked faceless women as furniture" be a trope left in the 80s?

I have not heard this Daniel Johns record, but object strongly to any reference to him in the Miguel thread.

lol

not if brad is repping for it

I know he's trying to go for "80s hair metal rock star" or whatever, but couldn't "naked faceless women as furniture" be a trope left in the 80s?

Please look at (very) many r&b/funk covers from the late 60s/all through the 70s. Maybe it's a trope, but it's not hijacked from hair metal.

Grace Jones often made herself a semi-nude faceless woman as furniture.

Do I really have to explain to you that there's a vast conceptual difference between presenting yourself as an object, and using someone else as an object?