Beyonce - 4

i watched this beyonce concert on MHD recently.

it was very strange, she is a weird performer. like she doesn't even feel like she's playing a real show for real human people, it's like she's still making all her hair flailing tigress type weird facial expression and it even seems like she has canned facial expressions for everything.

like maybe she should only play in arenas, this was a small room in vegas and it just didn't work, like i dunno she doesn't really scan for me, like even celine or someone like bette midler kinda CONNECT with you even over TV, beyonce seems like a cipher.

likes she's talented in the basic sense, she can dance and sing and everything but i don't think she's a really compelling performer outside of videos where all her hyperactive weird faces and poses can sort of be used and presented in a certain way.

very "dead" emotionally i think (as a performer)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNvfIDbotHY

I'm not sure Schoolin Life would be any more sore thumb than Party.

^exactly what i was thinking

"party" sticks out because it sucks, not because it's uptempo

Also it's sonically completely different to the rest of the album. Schoolin Life at least fits the retro 80s reel.

Beyonce Stan Calls Target
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyAFd_QuXhc
Because some people are beyond help.

Also it's sonically completely different to the rest of the album. Schoolin Life at least fits the retro 80s reel.

― Matt DC, Thursday, June 30, 2011 2:02 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i think Party fits an 80s retro feel to a large degree, and i think it is sonically more similar to the rest of the album than Schoolin Life is.

xpost Beesus?

to me, most of the album sounds like Beyonce just got home from a long night and said "peace, i'm gonna go to the basement and record." and Party sounds like she went upstairs after a while and took a break with the crew.

if Schoolin Life were on there, it would sound like she went into her time machine and took a break in another galaxy.

going to see her Good morning America show tomorrow if i can wake up at like 4.30 or 5.
kind excited?

er, "kinda excited?"

"party" is uptempo?

not really, no

i cannot imagine not liking "party" just like i cannot imagine not liking monica's "just one of them days"

just doesn't compute for me

sorry, "upbeat"

btw jordan i like " i was here "

have u not listened to it at all?

no

i have no problem w/ "I Was Here," it fits in with the theme of the last 4 tracks while being kind of a refreshingly different energy from the others

yes it is quite pretty, the way she sings " i was here "

surm otm re: "i was here" and "party"

although, as much as i think it fits the record, kanye just completely jettisons me out of any mood the previous four tracks established

swagu intolerance

xpost to some dude lol yeah that was the show! fucking bizarre stuff

FYI, there's a "Year of 4" behind the scenes special on VH1 right now...

i just listened to "Party" w/o the Kanye intro and i have to admit the song is a lot more tolerable without that setting the tone. still a weak spot of the album, and Andre's verse kinda sucks, though.

xpost The one time I saw Destiny's Child, when they toured after her first solo album, I was surprised by the sheer dearth of star power radiating from Beyonce. It felt like any other show to me.

Is anything from this album gaining traction? I've been driving across the country, flipping around top 40, and I don't think I've heard a single Beyonce song, new or otherwise, yet. Unless I have and didn't recognize it as such, I guess.

"Best Thing" is steadily rising up the charts -- i've already heard it on the radio enough that i'm kind of sick of it and change the station as soon as i hear that growl of "WHAT GOES AROUND COMES BACK AROUND HEY"

so far "Countdown" has been picking up the most airplay on urban radio out of the album tracks

"Best Thing" is so nice. it's like women of the canyon.

played this at a friend's house last night, and one of my girlfriends who never listens to R&B was all ears. it was exciting.

was anyone else surprised this only got an 8.0 from pfork? I expected it to do better than waka, lol

8.0 seemed high tbh, when's the last time they gave significantly more than that to a big non-rap blockbuster album?

Damn, I set my alarm for that Pitchfork review and it failed to go off.

I was pretty impressed too, and Dombal nailed the album's tone and ambitions (he's dead wrong about "Party" though).

was anyone else surprised this only got an 8.0 from pfork?

did anyone else give a shit?

I really don't understand how US radio works, but it's probably preferable to the UK where every song will be automatically playlisted on every relevant station purely by virtue of being by Beyonce.

terius displays his pitchfork rating on his website as a badge of honour btw

"best thing i never had"

i really like this one and i'm not surprised it's catching on or that it resonates with lots of people. i'm confused that it's been specifically criticised for being bitter and petulant - it reminds me of the reaction to kelly clarkson's "never again", as though clarkson had somehow committed a giant faux pas by making an angry, bitter pop song - i got the distinct impression that people were demanding that pop should only be happy & uplifting.

beyoncé's been covering "you oughta know" live for a while. alanis morissette and her confessional/cathartic aesthetic may be considered both uncool and uncommercial right now (though if you think this, you're an idiot), but the audience is totally there to be tapped because it is REAL, and beyoncé understands real.

i don't know if it really 'resonates' that much or if it's just a new Beyonce single that's more radio-friendly than "Run The World" -- after "Irreplaceable" it just feels like more of the same tbh

there are critiques along those lines?? that is very weird to me. it doesn't even sound bitter to me. it sounds reflective and ultimately positive.

i thought songs putting other people down were pretty common.

it think it resonates and i think it sounds very different than irreplaceable.

it has a pretty distinct angle on a break-up from "irrepaceable" though

i think it sounds less spiteful and more like she is celebrating how far she's come

I just can't get over the Bruce Hornsbyisms

I mean, I do like "The Way It Is" but I never really had any desire to hear an R&B power vocal over it

i think there's spite in "bet it sucks to be you right now" and also in her delivery throughout. spite is not a bad thing!

very true - but the chorus and the music overall sounds so much more joyous and personal than irreplaceable, don't you think?

i wouldn't call either of them joyous at all

with "irreplaceable" i get the impression of someone who's actually still in love with him but knows rationally that she should end it, and how much better she is, but it still hurts, and she might cry when she's closed the door on him/when the song's over. it's pure head-over-heart.

with "best thing i never had" i get the impression of someone who isn't so over him that he's not on her mind, but i think she just wants to grind him down, she doesn't have any residual positive feelings left

weird, the singing in the chorus of "best thing" sounds very joyous to me. finding joy thru the pain, after a long journey.

I don't think there are exactly many layers to read into either song really but the best bit in Best Thing... is the sarcastic "boo-hoo".

i actually think the lyric/concept of "Best Thing" is pretty good and clever, i just dislike the production/melody, and it's probably the one song on the record where her vocals are TOO over the top and kind of ruin it. and even if it's not exactly the same sentiment as "Irreplaceable" it would feel more novel or less 'safe' if not coming after that song being one of her biggest hits.

this has been bugging me for a while but i basically don't understand why the single edit of "run the world (girls)" is on the actual released version of the record

i mean, the piano in the intro of the unedited version connects it more effectively to the rest of the record, i think? plus the drum hits that start the song are pretty similar to the drums that end "i was here"

i rly just think that song is hilarious bc while albums usually have 1 or 2 songs u rly don't like, it is kind of rare to have an album that is just so good RIGHT up until the very end and then BOOM

the One Terrible Song

it's like it is just begging to be lopped off

especially without the intro piano, it seems