thread of miguel

both songs are really dense... "use me" really gives off this vibe that he's, like, in the middle of a thunderstorm or something. but in a way that really works.

chorus is killer

serious jaw drop at "use me"

like 2:50 onwards is DDDDDDDDDDD:

where is the CDQ mixtape downloadable from the website???

dunno about anyone else but I love when Miguel belts

I need to stop listening to this off the website, I'm gonna burn out

man, dude packs so much music into just two new song; this is so much to digest. Love how substantial both of these tracks are

minor miracle I was somehow able to get the Spin site to stream these for me. Never has any luck accessing anything on that site before, so glad it came through for me when it counted

"adorn" is slowly rising on the r&b chart too

"use me" is stunning

"don't look back" sounds a bit too much like a ryan tedder collaboration or something but i don't dislike it

so i guess the album has 11 songs, if my math is right? good number imo

I've learned never to underestimate the dude's capacity for writing songs that grow on me. Even fucking "Broads" eventually wormed its way past my "i should hate this" shield

you're a brave man, Evan

his singing on "don't look back" is good tho

how prince is the title "kaleidoscope dream" btw? love it

Stay tuned: On Wednesday morning, August 1, SPIN will also be exclusively premiering a stream of Miguel's performance from an upcoming secret live show.

really excited about this, there's not tons of video of him playing live out there. especially the new stuff, if at all.

Wonder if Miguel is paying incredibly in-depth homage to Smashing Pumpkins by naming his multi-part digital album Kaleidoscope Dream.

lol i was listening to "use me" w/ the door partly closed while my boyfriend was in the kitchen and when i got up and went in there he said he thought it sounded like a smashing pumpkins song

Wonder if Miguel is paying incredibly in-depth homage to Smashing Pumpkins by naming his multi-part digital album Kaleidoscope Dream.

― Evan R, Thursday, July 26, 2012 11:45 PM (Yesterday)

that was my first thought too haha

"don't look back" >>>>>>>>>>>>

miguel's doubletracked vocals when the bass drops out on "use me" >>>>>>>>>>>

these new tracks are fucking stadium shit

we're gonna find out miguel's been bumping muse for the last six months or something

ok "Don't Look Back" just blew my mind

Yeah didn't grab as much at first, but it's good.

This guy has a gift for smuggling melancholy into unexpected places. "Use Me" is probably the saddest kinky sex song I've heard this year.

("Birthday Cake" doesn't count, because it is sad for other reasons.)

when he double-tracks the guitars on "use me" >>>

"Use Me" is probably the saddest kinky sex song I've heard this year.

he does sing the line "my pride is waving a white flag"

i hate myself for even bringing this up but anyone who dug the weekend's last two mixtapes should feel fucking embarrassed hearing "use me"

as well as in a more general sense

well yes that too, lol

right on cue Lex!

"Use Me" has a pathos that the Weeknd's songs don't, though. Abel is the predatory; Miguel is (at least for this song) the victim

word

Plus, Miguel knows how to use sound and space to complement his voice.

His productions consistently point outward, away from the self, as opposed to The Weeknd's insularity.

yup

"use me" really conveys the parallel nervousness and excitement of new sexual encounters/experiences imo. like you have this towering, expansive song & in the middle of it a guy singing "use me when you're taking control / with the lights off / i can just let go" and "it's the very first time / and i'm nervous / can i trust you, huh?"

tho he also sings from the other perspective as well & i guess it's up to debate which (if either) is him

It's songs that "Use Me" which have me give his songs queer readings.

*like "Use Me"

yeah totally

I was really engrossed by the sheer, uncompromising horror of those last Weeknd mixtapes (plus I think they sound great), but Tesfaye was never very interested in exploring his the roots of his monstrosity; he was just a ghoul. I love how Miguel, on the other hand, uses these small details to suggest the motivations behind sexual desires. He can use his voice to hint at the heartbreak the drives one-night stands, for instance, but its rare to hear a song that equates kinky sex to damaged goods as devastatingly (and as sweetly) as "Use Me."

that drive, excuse me. Gah, I gotta proof my posts better. Whenever I am on allergy meds I am typo city.

and he can makes kinks delicious (e.g. "Arch N Point").

ya good point

(I'm having trouble with subject-verb agreement too)

I was going to mention "Arch N Point" re: Miguel sad-kink

wow @ the "time of the season" interpolation at the end of "don't look back"

and jordan otm about the ryan tedder vibes but miguel wields them incredibly