the production reminds me a lot of her first album... the record scratches are really nice & unexpected
there's also a light bounciness to the production but a weightiness to the subject matter -- and that subject matter still being treated with a sense of humor and attitude -- that reminds me of mariah in a way that is flattering for not being overt (like "baby i")
― J0rdan S., Tuesday, 6 November 2018 03:13 (five years ago) link
The song is so disarmingly plainspoken and unpretentious; it feels like an artist simply and directly expressing something real and immediate (which it is).
― too busy or too stoned (morrisp), Tuesday, 6 November 2018 06:18 (five years ago) link
(Or within ILM’s usual parameters when we list songs that work a particular theme, etc.)― too busy or too stoned (morrisp), Sunday, November 4, 2018 8:47 PM (two days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― too busy or too stoned (morrisp), Sunday, November 4, 2018 8:47 PM (two days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
this song is readymade for one of those threads, where 6-7 genuine examples are provided and then everything else suggested doesn't really work. this is a great song though and that is a good question, it was honestly my first thought after reading about it last night
― flappy bird, Tuesday, 6 November 2018 06:24 (five years ago) link
Yeah, my girlfriend and I discussed the same question after hearing this song for the first time. It's a lovely song. I mean, the tropes of the angry/spiteful/sad break-up song are so omnipresent in pop music, that this really does feel like something completely new. Having the maturity and humility to look at your past relationships and choosing to focus on how those people helped you grow, and expressing appreciation for them rather than seething in bitterness and sadness...I just feel like I never see that anywhere, let alone in music. I love when art pushes you to reflect on how you might approach life differently, and I didn't think an Ariana song would ever do that for me, but uh..it did.
― triggercut, Tuesday, 6 November 2018 07:18 (five years ago) link
otm. Jezebel wrote this thing about the song being "powered by pettiness", and it felt like such a misreading of its intent. It's easy to be cynical about celebrity relationships and the Hollywood news cycle, but Ariana's sunny KIP outlook strikes me as anything but petty.
― Roz, Tuesday, 6 November 2018 08:37 (five years ago) link
i dunno i mean, she said there's no shade but it's definitely shady c'mon! the repetition of "thank you, next" comes off as belittling to her exes -- especially pete -- even as she praises them. like, if an ex of mine positioned me in a succession of boys who were around to teach a lesson before the next one came along i would kinda be like "fuck off!"
i guess to me the reason this song is so good is that it works on both levels -- there is def something mature and forward looking and sweet about it, but i also just think there's something undeniably shady about the song on a base conceptual level
― J0rdan S., Tuesday, 6 November 2018 15:35 (five years ago) link
otm
― lowercase (eric), Tuesday, 6 November 2018 15:37 (five years ago) link
She doesn’t belittle Mac. Also, I don’t think she’s belittling the others, she’s being honest about them. When she says “thank you,” it’s genuine — there’s nothing catty in it. Though obv. the song plays on yr expectations of what a post-breakup song with that title would be.
― too busy or too stoned (morrisp), Tuesday, 6 November 2018 15:55 (five years ago) link
(That guy Ricky insta’d a “reaction shot” of himself hearing the song; and she was like, “Haha sorry, I gave you the worst line”)
― too busy or too stoned (morrisp), Tuesday, 6 November 2018 16:01 (five years ago) link
it kinda exists in a space between petty and legit grateful, which is how i feel about a lot of my exes
― princess of hell (BradNelson), Tuesday, 6 November 2018 16:07 (five years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN0iD0pI3o0
i love this song so much but admittedly she could remake "into you"/"touch it" for the rest of her career and i'd be satisfied
― princess of hell (BradNelson), Wednesday, 7 November 2018 17:36 (five years ago) link
Also, a fun live performance of "thank u, next" is posted @ https://www.ellentube.com/
― too busy or too stoned (morrisp), Wednesday, 7 November 2018 17:47 (five years ago) link
pic.twitter.com/1V5zcCe75W— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) November 8, 2018
― too busy or too stoned (morrisp), Thursday, 8 November 2018 22:10 (five years ago) link
that "mmmah mmmah yeah" part she does 2/3rds of the way thru breathin' <- i'm dead
― alpine static, Friday, 9 November 2018 17:13 (five years ago) link
i guess Genius says she's singing "my air" so ... w/e
― alpine static, Friday, 9 November 2018 17:19 (five years ago) link
Number 1 in the uk. Her first since Problem in 2014 astonishingly.
― piscesx, Friday, 9 November 2018 18:10 (five years ago) link
does anyone have the vinyl for this? and if so, is the clean versions?
i bought vinyl from Amazon and they sent me clean mp3s. i can't imagine the vinyl is clean, is it?
― alpine static, Saturday, 10 November 2018 07:57 (five years ago) link
shaping up to be a huge hit stateside too. personally i don't understand the appeal
― dyl, Saturday, 10 November 2018 16:45 (five years ago) link
it’s the right song at the right time
― too busy or too stoned (morrisp), Saturday, 10 November 2018 18:47 (five years ago) link
xp whatever one thinks of it, it's undeniably unique subject matter / POV for a pop song - a rare thing - I totally get its appeal on that alone + it is very much of the moment
― flappy bird, Saturday, 10 November 2018 22:03 (five years ago) link
I love this song and that Ellen performance is so endearing.
― monotony, Saturday, 10 November 2018 22:04 (five years ago) link
so nice to see a little perfect bubblegum pop coming back around after a few years of nothing but drivel, not to mention its sincerity <3
― meaulnes, Sunday, 11 November 2018 02:08 (five years ago) link
hmmm
― dyl, Sunday, 11 November 2018 02:18 (five years ago) link
It’s now her first-ever #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
― too busy or too stoned (morrisp), Tuesday, 13 November 2018 02:50 (five years ago) link
thank u, next
― flappy bird, Tuesday, 13 November 2018 04:09 (five years ago) link
I just saw the ellen performance : it's great and so fresh and alive (the misstep, dance moves, laughters...).regarding the track, I like the "hiii" she does a couple of times, right at the end.
― AlXTC from Paris, Thursday, 15 November 2018 11:22 (five years ago) link
just browsed several pieces of writing about this tune and am annoyed that it appears to be more frequently often described as "synth pop" and "pure pop" (?? blech) than anything else. if any r&b 'influence' is acknowledged it tends to be mentioned in passing wrt production -- no mention whatsoever of her delivery or cadence. like, hello?! the triplet verses? the punctutated 1e--2e--3e-- delivery of the chorus's final line? have any of these writers turned on an 'urban' radio station for the past 5 years?
― dyl, Saturday, 17 November 2018 19:48 (five years ago) link
it was also described as "bubblegum pop" upthread and supposedly a reprieve from the 'drivel' that has been successful on the charts lately (presumably rap music) so maybe it is instead i who is not seeing something. any help?
― dyl, Saturday, 17 November 2018 19:50 (five years ago) link
Nah, it’s totally R&B-“influenced”... that’s partly why it’s such a big hit, IMO
― my guitar friend wants his money (morrisp), Saturday, 17 November 2018 20:00 (five years ago) link
if a black artist recorded it it would be simply described as "r&b", no influence invoked or assumed. so i agree! but the number of people who seem to have failed to notice or are otherwise ignoring or downplaying this fact is worryingly high. (it's also possible that the articles i browsed were not representative and that all my hand-wringing is senseless.)
― dyl, Saturday, 17 November 2018 20:05 (five years ago) link
It is rnb but the most pop/mainstream side of it maybe (it reminds me of early 90s rnb/pop hits)
― AlXTC from Paris, Saturday, 17 November 2018 20:10 (five years ago) link
maybe my vernacular of bubblegum wasnt so appropriate. i just meant that its light, breezy, fun, simple and memorable in the same way songs like 'call me maybe' were - not abrasive, maximalist and full of millenial whoops.
― meaulnes, Saturday, 17 November 2018 20:56 (five years ago) link
the "My Boo" progression
― billstevejim, Monday, 19 November 2018 07:16 (five years ago) link
The much-anticipated (and -teased) video has premiered:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl1aHhXnN1k
― very legal & very cool (morrisp), Friday, 30 November 2018 20:18 (five years ago) link
this is very nice but unfortunately the ellen performance is still the official video
― jolene club remix (BradNelson), Friday, 30 November 2018 20:20 (five years ago) link
cute video!
― dyl, Saturday, 1 December 2018 03:48 (five years ago) link
Yeah the video is silly and cute but the Ellen performance is the shit !
― AlXTC from Paris, Saturday, 1 December 2018 07:00 (five years ago) link
just got around to the ellen performance, it is indeed very endearing!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tX_vx_s6Gr0
― niels, Sunday, 2 December 2018 10:48 (five years ago) link
really don't like the trans gag character in the thank u next video
― ufo, Wednesday, 5 December 2018 06:40 (five years ago) link
I was looking up Ariana Grande guitar chords (I don’t have a guitar) and discovered the chords to “Pete Davidson” are just BAE over and over and I can’t believe I just wrote the Da Vinci Code pic.twitter.com/L48k3V7o5i— Grace Barry (@gracelbarry) December 6, 2018
― underqualified backing vocalist (morrisp), Monday, 10 December 2018 01:23 (five years ago) link
haha
― niels, Monday, 10 December 2018 17:09 (five years ago) link
A new single titled "Imagine" drops tonite, fam
― underqualified backing vocalist (morrisp), Thursday, 13 December 2018 22:54 (five years ago) link
It’s some next-level shit, y’all !
― underqualified backing vocalist (morrisp), Friday, 14 December 2018 05:11 (five years ago) link
"imagine" is pretty nice, especially the ending section - it's better than most of sweetener
guessing a christmas album release? that feels like something she'd do
― ufo, Friday, 14 December 2018 05:27 (five years ago) link
as in the album gets a surprise christmas release rather than she's recording a christmas album lol
― ufo, Friday, 14 December 2018 05:28 (five years ago) link
I know I’m prone to hyperbole ITT; but I feel like this year we’ve seen an already extraordinary artist just “come into her own”... she’s totally in the pocket, every release feels like a minor revelation. I can think of only a few rough analogies — witnessing an artist this perfectly in the zone — in my lifetime of music fandom. I’m so happy to be here for it.
― underqualified backing vocalist (morrisp), Friday, 14 December 2018 06:03 (five years ago) link
both "imagine" and "thank u next" are better than anything on Sweetener except the lead single
― boxedjoy, Friday, 14 December 2018 09:41 (five years ago) link
"imagine" def not as effortlessly good as "thank u next" but im just rly happy to hear her over some good production that is not pharrell or max martin
― J0rdan S., Friday, 14 December 2018 15:52 (five years ago) link
I've listened to "Imagine" a couple of times. I don't find it particularly good so far (and not better than some Sweetener tracks).But I'll certainly give it more time. Maybe it'll grow.
― AlXTC from Paris, Friday, 14 December 2018 15:54 (five years ago) link
"imagine" isn't a smash but kind of revelatory for me as someone who's been listening awhile to hear her release a very good song that isn't straining itself to be a smash
i would contrast with "god is a woman" which to me sounds like it's contorting itself into some truly grotesque shapes in order to go bigger and wider with each second that passes, by the end it's mike teevee at the end of charlie & the chocolate factory, towering overhead but so thin and wobbly that a slight gust of wind might knock it to the ground
"imagine" is much looser, more natural, more listenable, more recognizably human
i knew her music would get a lot better once she left max behind, i just never imagined it would happen so quickly
― james brooks, Friday, 14 December 2018 18:02 (five years ago) link