Beyonce - 4

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.

I think this album is the best showcase of her voice. I think b'day might be the stronger album but I think I may be more personally attached to this one.

this is a thoroughly enjoyable album, i just have bugger all to say about it

besides me and my BOOF and my BOOF BOOF riding of course

detect a pointedness about lex calling this the best pop alb of the year rather than r&b

whatever the fulsome merits of the record part of me is a little disappointed she has seceded from the rigmarole and played the grown woman card this early

this isn't really grown in any particular way, symbolic or otherwise, than the last couple records were, is it?

nice album, still figuring out exactly how i feel about it but definitely will never like it as much as B'Day

detect a pointedness about lex calling this the best pop alb of the year rather than r&b

none intended! pop as in big pop star really.

i think the first disc of sasha fierce played the grown woman card pretty heavily, but where i think 4 differs is in how B's clearly aiming for a rawer, less glossy effect - most noticeable in the vocals and the sparser arrangements.

First disc of Sasha Fierce is stuck in between the two stools of grown woman and teen ballad, there's too much slush in there. First half of 4 feels more grown woman because of the instrumentation, partly, it all feels like it's been written and recorded with a massive money-spinning enormotour in mind.

It's also part of the reason why Party sticks out like a sore thumb, it totally breaks the flow of what's gone before. There's a reason why the big balladosaurus is stuck near the end as well.

i think 4 could lose both "party" and "i was here" quite easily - would be even better for the flow of the album too

this isn't really grown in any particular way, symbolic or otherwise, than the last couple records were, is it?

― some dude, Thursday, 16 June 2011 11:43 (12 minutes ago) Bookmark

ah he's spotted the balloon, he's got his pin, here he comes

nah seriously though i agree it is couched fairly superficially - it just seems less fussy i suppose, a simpler statement

interesting that mdc invokes the "massive money-spinning enormotour" cos i get this vibe from this album's ballads so much less than i did with any of her previous. was strongly wondering where a hit would come from in fact

I like how "Rather Die Young" faintly evokes Massive Attack's "Protection."

I'd rather get rid of "Best Thing I Never Had" than "Party"

I miss crunchy albums tracks like "Suga Mama," but on the other hand she's never sung ballads as well as "I Miss You."

interesting that mdc invokes the "massive money-spinning enormotour" cos i get this vibe from this album's ballads so much less than i did with any of her previous

I'm kind of mentally editing out 'Irreplaceable' in all this. I dunno, it's something to do with the instrumentation, big drums, guitars, trumpets, it's mostly all very live-sounding in a way that, say, 'Scared Of Lonely' or 'Hello' or 'Halo' aren't.

I'm not sure where the hit is either, but it'll still shift a load as an album in its own right I think.

it just seems less fussy i suppose, a simpler statement

I think this is spot on. I think it makes the album quite relatable despite its constant bignesss. Almost in a Fantasia-esque manner, though their voices are very different obv.

I like "Best Thing I Never Had" more each time I listen to it.

more i hear this as a whole the less disposable i find even my least fave cuts, it's a deceptively well-balanced album imo

within the album's context would make a case for every track in fact, the whole would suffer without 'best thing's girlish petulance or 'party's... well, whatever pleasantly inane thing 'party' brings

or 'party's... well, whatever pleasantly inane thing 'party' brings

valiant attempt right there.

I'm kind of mentally editing out 'Irreplaceable' in all this. I dunno, it's something to do with the instrumentation, big drums, guitars, trumpets, it's mostly all very live-sounding in a way that, say, 'Scared Of Lonely' or 'Hello' or 'Halo' aren't.

I'm not sure where the hit is either, but it'll still shift a load as an album in its own right I think.

― Matt DC, Thursday, 16 June 2011 12:07 (3 minutes ago) Bookmark

yeah i'm kind of feeling you, it doesn't seem orientated towards radio (even heart fm ballad radio if u know what i mean) so much as it is to i dunno, like big gloria estefan roadshows

or the live circuit in general, to put less of a point on it

i really like "best thing i never had"

simpler and more direct is key - i mean even down to the ballads' titles, "i care", "i miss you", just these direct statements that leave no room to hide

Best Thing I Ever Had feels like the big radio hit to me, it's about as MOR as you can get.

i originally misread tim as saying more reliable than relatable and i kinda feel there's something in that

simpler and more direct is key - i mean even down to the ballads' titles, "i care", "i miss you", just these direct statements that leave no room to hide

Spot on.

i originally misread tim as saying more reliable than relatable and i kinda feel there's something in that

I think there is! This is a beyonce you could trust to hold shit down for you.