Beyonce - 4

the slick rick sample feels so awkward, it's like offbeat chattering

I don't care if I have to stand alone on this, fuck it, I feel strongly.

i feel like there's too much winking going on w/ its retro-ness ... thats what i meant by the tumblr stuff ... like, intentionally off-beat drums, big obvious synth melody, slick rick sample -- its a build-it-yourself THROWBACK that draws too much attention to its throwback qualities at the expense of an overall song

like all those tumblr graphic design ppl who post stuff for capturing the overall vibe of 'an era' & thats the sole purpose

I don't really get an overly retro vibe from it? A bit, but it doesn't seem like the focus, certainly not as much as something like say, Lloyd's "Girls Around the World".

that partic slick rick sample was on like 200 songs in 1992. there's no way its anything but retro

girls around the world was just the beat loop -- nothing else about it was retro -- thats what made it feel more lighthearted & fun, bringing a single element forward

this just feels like -- and im sure its aggravated by kanye's presence -- an attempt to, i dunno, wear cross colors and put them on backwards and say 'catch wreck'

im probably overstating how 'bad' this is, i seem to be more strident in my 'dislikes' lately, when really its just, like, average, but i dunno, its just not my thing

also to be fair im coming at this from probably the wrong angle -- a star as big as beyonce & i'm only intermittently familiar w/ her albums so im bringing a kind of R&Bism / chart popism combo to it, instead of a Pop Star angle, so

deej you're prob being a bit harsh -- anyway i think it's pretty easy to evaluate it outside of the context of its sampling & just say it's kinda drab

I don't really get what's retro about this other than the Slick Rick sample tho. I don't get the whole dress-up thing aspect you do at all. "Girls Around the World" had a Slick Rick sample too btw and begins with someone saying "The year is '88" ffs.

(Not saying those are strikes against it, to clarify)

Oh, and Debarge lyrics!

hmm yeah ill have to think more on why it grates here but not elsewhere. i mean there are examples where old skool stuff just seems fun & other times it seems overly reverent (saadiq, say -- not the case here) or overly serious (this is not a test-era missy, say) but neither of these seem like the issue i have here. i think maybe its just a kanyesque laziness about its arrangement that bothers me

And at any rate, the "Ashley's Roachclip" drums by themselves seem way more "of their time" than anything going on in the Beyonce song.

Tbh, I'd have no idea Kanye was behind this if not for his voice.

i dunno it def has a stilted groove and blatant obviousness that strikes me as supremely kanye

Doesn't feel stilted or obvious to me?

i could see both of those things re "party" but i'm not sure if they apply to kanye in general

well kanye is indisputably a king of lame grooves right? like since the days of the 'through the wire' drum part (obv song was redeemed in other ways)

but hes always been more of a big obvious pop hook kind of producer & theres something just so blatant & unsubtle about his approach here. there was no big obvious melodic part to 'girls around the world' for ex

I don't think having a strong melody is a weekness.

weakness, obv

Also, I'd be somewhat surprised if Kanye wrote the vocal melody.

its not always a weakness, i just think that retro stuff should be handled w/ a lighter touch i guess

oh im sure he didnt -- beyonce's part on this song is great though!

like i said i dont unreservedly hate it or something

"Rather Die Young" is STILL killing me

Like, I have to holler along with the chorus and everything

i concur w/mdc and shipz about kanye's contribution to "party" completely wrecking a song that wouldn't have been a standout anyway

it made me v sad to see a fellow music journalist tweet that he liked the swagu line the other day. what the fuck is there to like about that line.

and is it like...a pun on ragu? god stfu forever kanye

heard a funny story about kanye from some people who went to his house in paris recently btw

oh come on, you're not just going to drop a teaser like that, are you?

ha it's not really a specific thing just general awkwardness when someone's as socially inept as you'd expect

frank ocean thing for "i miss you" makes sense - at last a frank ocean song sung by someone with a decent voice! weirdly that song is giving me serious kate bush vibes too, is that an actual fairlight synth?

that's some suzy shit, lex

Maybe the problem with Party is that it doesn't feel retro ENOUGH, or at least its the wrong kind of retro in the context of almost everything else that's around it.

The rest of the album is really melodically strong, Run The World aside, and this feels kinda underwritten melodically - or perhaps its that Beyonce's vocals would be fine over the top of better production. The beat doesn't bounce enough for that tempo so the song as a whole plods somewhat, the general effect is weirdly amateurish, even when you pretend that the Kanye lines don't exist.

Really loving I Care at the moment, the drums are terrific, and the bit where Beyonce sings along to the squealy axe solo *and then goes further* is amazing.

Apologies if this review has already been talked about, but this is so creepy.

http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/beyonce-4/2529

Memo to Jay-Z: Beyoncé is probably about to start poking pinholes in your condoms.

Because, though I don't know nuthin' 'bout birthin' babies, 4 frequently makes me want to get all gynecological.

"Run the World" couldn't sound more like the proverbial red-headed stepchild, the album on the whole couldn't be more maternally forthright if it rubbed cocoa butter on its bulging tummy. It couldn't be more hormonal if it demanded midnight grocery store runs for rum raisin ice cream with a honey Dijon sauce.

firstly, that is gross, and secondly, how are you going to make broodiness the focus of the review AND THEN FAIL TO MENTION THE ONE LINE ON THE ALBUM THAT'S ACTUALLY ABOUT HOW SHE WANTS A CHILD

OMFG STUPIDITY IS TOO RIFE

Have Jezebel been alerted?

Also: kanye has a house in Paris?

Can't stop listening to Love on Top.

so this album is pretty not that good huh

waht this album is awesome, totally her best

ok maybe i have to listen more closely, i thought for sure there was no way this was coming close to b'day

which are the killers apart from "1+1" and "love on top" ?

even "love on top" i felt was being overrated around here

"i miss you," "rather die young," "end of time," "I care"

and I love "party" though it has been pretty divisive here

this vs. b'day is totally up to personal taste, but I'd say it's definitely better than I Am... Sasha Fierce at the very least

Yeah, I think this might be her best too. Pretty much equal with B'Day im current o.

4 >>>> Born This Way and I say that as someone who does like the latter

4 is definitely the best big-name pop album of this year so far

it's so different from b'day that a straight comparison isn't that helpful, they both aim for totally different things, and they both succeed

yeah otm

I kinda think that 1+1 might be the overrated one here, maybe it's that arpeggio cycling through the whole song that makes it feel more rudimentary than it actually is. It's still good but... I thought it was amazing, then went and listened to Purple Rain, and it hasn't felt anywhere near as amazing since.