I wouldn't seek out the rest of the album based on "I Decided", which succeeds for me as a music video but totally falls over as a song. It doesn't hit hard enough to trigger my stomp buttons and it isn't smooth enough to hit my suave buttons. *shrug*
In some ways I feel like Solange has been doomed by Beyonce's runaway success because she isn't a completely different animal from her in the same way that Ashlee and Jessica Simpson are completely different; comparisons between the two of them are going to hold more water because their voices are too similar (Solange having the light, wispy version of Beyonce's voice).
I think I'd like this song a lot more if Paris Bennett sang it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORH04NjKoVY (her singing "Fever" on American Idol)
― HI DERE, Tuesday, 1 July 2008 01:12 (fifteen years ago) link
part 1 just clicked for me (watching MTV hits, of course). the freemasons mix had all the subtlety of a 9mm, which is why i loved it on first listen, but i finally "get it" and i am so thrilled
― Keaney Tong, Friday, 11 July 2008 08:20 (fifteen years ago) link
i decided is my single of the year so far.
― titchyschneiderMk2, Friday, 11 July 2008 09:36 (fifteen years ago) link
On a side note Baby Daniel (Solange's little 'un) has some kind of weird internet rep as being a weed pusher (?! I didn't start that) and Solange is his weed holder and apparently he will readily cut a bitch for looking at him sideways or disrespecting his momma so peoples lets be kind about this album. http://blackcelebritykids.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/oct-22.jpg
― VeronaInTheClub, Saturday, 12 July 2008 02:00 (fifteen years ago) link
lol u read crunk n disorderly thx 4 playing
― J0rdan S., Saturday, 12 July 2008 02:02 (fifteen years ago) link
^I KNOW! I LOVES IT, I totally bite that site more than anything else in terms of cultural refs. Also that pic is scary there's some determination in Baby D's eyes.
― VeronaInTheClub, Saturday, 12 July 2008 02:15 (fifteen years ago) link
okay after listening to "I Decided" over and over and over I'm ready to say it's the "1 Thing" of this year
― The Reverend, Tuesday, 29 July 2008 06:26 (fifteen years ago) link
i got 45 mins with her tomorrow :D
― lex pretend, Wednesday, 30 July 2008 20:33 (fifteen years ago) link
make sure you wear a rubber
― and what, Wednesday, 30 July 2008 20:34 (fifteen years ago) link
Srsly are you all hearing a completely different song from the limp, unexciting, faker-than-beyonce's-weaves song I'm hearing?
― HI DERE, Wednesday, 30 July 2008 20:43 (fifteen years ago) link
beyonce doesn't wear a weave it's a lacefront wig
― The Brainwasher, Wednesday, 30 July 2008 22:13 (fifteen years ago) link
leakleakleak
― The Reverend, Thursday, 21 August 2008 06:48 (fifteen years ago) link
supposedly she was to make an appearance at some bar tonight. curious
― Surmounter, Thursday, 21 August 2008 06:49 (fifteen years ago) link
i like the album a lot, though i went back and forth on it for ages. weird that 'wanna go back' didn't seem to make the final cut.
― lex pretend, Thursday, 21 August 2008 10:05 (fifteen years ago) link
Well, of the two new albums I've heard today, I quite like this one, whereas Bloc Party's is fairly shit.
The retro vibe works, and there are a handful of GREAT songs (Sandcastle Disco, Would've Been the One, I Decided). My attention started to drift in the middle, but repeated listens might change that.
― Alex in Montreal, Thursday, 21 August 2008 10:10 (fifteen years ago) link
This album totally appeals to my intellectual backpacking coffee shop digital kid sensibilites. I love it.
― The Reverend, Friday, 22 August 2008 06:16 (fifteen years ago) link
"Cosmic Journey" ffs
― The Reverend, Friday, 22 August 2008 06:17 (fifteen years ago) link
ChampagneChroniknightCap = swirl of cherry juice
lovely vocal harmonies & synths.
― Turangalila, Friday, 22 August 2008 06:38 (fifteen years ago) link
yes, that is my other favorite, listening to it right now
― The Reverend, Friday, 22 August 2008 06:41 (fifteen years ago) link
Secretly I think what got me hooked on the song was the subliminal choral glissando @ 0:56 - 0:58
― Turangalila, Friday, 22 August 2008 07:01 (fifteen years ago) link
what IS that sound? "let's have a ChampagneChroniknightCap....(e.g., 2:02 - 2:04)"
― Turangalila, Friday, 22 August 2008 07:07 (fifteen years ago) link
lez go lez go to the open
― Turangalila, Friday, 22 August 2008 07:21 (fifteen years ago) link
so shut the fuck up this bird's not slowing down
― Turangalila, Friday, 22 August 2008 07:38 (fifteen years ago) link
still not feeling the whole album, but some of these songs are so genuinely weird. 'this bird' starts off with that alien boc sample & there's a bit in the ending that is so totally minnie ripperton circa 'adventures in paradise'. also love the countryish "it's not over yet" outro. all of this, framed with this weirdly displaced r&b edge.
― Turangalila, Friday, 22 August 2008 07:44 (fifteen years ago) link
also, 'i decided' is absolutely not emblematic of the whole album's sound.
― Turangalila, Friday, 22 August 2008 07:48 (fifteen years ago) link
the rhythm/cadences on 'would've been the one' are so unusual. so are the chord progressions.
― Turangalila, Friday, 22 August 2008 07:56 (fifteen years ago) link
This shit is great. And I am still struggling to hear all the indie pop and techno everyone was talking about last month up above. That's like calling She Wants Revenge trends post-punk
― skygreenleopard, Friday, 22 August 2008 09:02 (fifteen years ago) link
haha "I promise I'm not high!"
― Turangalila, Friday, 22 August 2008 09:07 (fifteen years ago) link
i was more surprised at how straight she played the album! though possibly her kookiness made me expect/fear something really eccentric/'wacky'. i mean the album is mostly just motown throwbacks and minnie ripertonisms until she starts veering off on techno tangents and songs about weed at the end. it's pretty impressive how she pulls off both the trad and the out-there, though, and most of the songs really hold up - apart from the obviously great tracks, '6 o'clock blues' and 't.o.n.y.' are sleepers.
she was a difficult interview, too.
― lex pretend, Friday, 22 August 2008 09:21 (fifteen years ago) link
'6 o'clock blues' and 't.o.n.y.' are sleepers
ugh, indeed, that's what I was just thinking
― Turangalila, Friday, 22 August 2008 09:22 (fifteen years ago) link
also she was brilliant live
― lex pretend, Friday, 22 August 2008 09:24 (fifteen years ago) link
'difficult interview' how, Lex?
― Turangalila, Friday, 22 August 2008 09:25 (fifteen years ago) link
basically acted like i'd just woken her up throughout. only loosened up when i gave up asking her questions with any point and starting shooting the shit about dubai architecture, her tattoos &c
― lex pretend, Friday, 22 August 2008 09:29 (fifteen years ago) link
haha I see
― Turangalila, Friday, 22 August 2008 09:30 (fifteen years ago) link
were you responsible for that "Beyonce's crazy sis" Guardian headline, Lex? It seemed a bit much, especially since it I felt that the piece presented her as more of a mere scattershot eccentric.
― Merdeyeux, Friday, 22 August 2008 22:12 (fifteen years ago) link
nope!
― lex pretend, Friday, 22 August 2008 22:35 (fifteen years ago) link
anybody heard the new album yet?
― batwing, Thursday, 25 September 2008 06:39 (fifteen years ago) link
Most of the people upthread!
― Tim F, Thursday, 25 September 2008 06:41 (fifteen years ago) link
too stupid to live
― batwing, Thursday, 25 September 2008 06:45 (fifteen years ago) link
(me)
i'm finally listening to this. it's pretty damn great.
― Annoying Display Name (blueski), Sunday, 5 October 2008 16:51 (fifteen years ago) link
I love Cosmic Journey but... am I the only one who has issues with the actual SOUND of the techno bit? I can't put my finger on it.
― Turangalila, Sunday, 5 October 2008 20:26 (fifteen years ago) link
I'd been kind of enjoying the album up until the final few tracks and then Cosmic Journey sounded so great it made me really annoyed that the entire album wasn't like that.
― Matt DC, Sunday, 5 October 2008 20:55 (fifteen years ago) link
my only criticism so far: needs more/any violin
― Annoying Display Name (blueski), Sunday, 5 October 2008 21:40 (fifteen years ago) link
The ending of "This Bird" really ruins the song for me. I adore the intro, though.
― Turangalila, Sunday, 5 October 2008 21:42 (fifteen years ago) link
I don't like the techno bit of "Cosmic Journey" - it feels tacked on and showy.
― Tim F, Monday, 6 October 2008 00:29 (fifteen years ago) link
Right.
― Turangalila, Monday, 6 October 2008 01:22 (fifteen years ago) link
The ending of "This Bird" really ruins the song for me. I adore the intro, though.Suggest Ban Permalink― Turangalila, Sunday, October 5, 2008 2:42 PM Bookmark
Suggest Ban Permalink― Turangalila, Sunday, October 5, 2008 2:42 PM Bookmark
otm, the part where she says "This song isn't over yet" makes me gaaararrgh
― © 2008 (The Reverend), Monday, 6 October 2008 02:10 (fifteen years ago) link
Basically I'm not convinced Solange really carries off the "i'm that weird intergalactic meta-chick" act she tries on these tracks, either in terms of straight execution, or in terms of constructing a convincing persona.
As I said in my review, I think the temptation to avoid is to applaud this stuff simply for its own sake - for, y'know, bucking trends or whatever - when it seems pretty clear that Solange or her people just aren't as strong here (lyrically or musically) as they are on terrain like "Would've Been The One" or "Sandcastle Disco".
Which is not to say that the three tracks in this category don't each have positive qualities, or that they're the weakest songs here.
― Tim F, Monday, 6 October 2008 05:18 (fifteen years ago) link
she killed it at the pigalle last night - SO much fun. sol! angel! and the hadley! street! DREAMS! and she looked fab - gold layered miniskirt + mickey mouse stencilled T-shirt + military jacket.
'cosmic journey' is a billion times better played by a full band - shonky dance knock-off turned into something genuinely immersive. and she played the og 'i decided' because she has good taste in her own songs. in the second verse of 'would've been the one' she quietened the band with a wave of her hand and really dreeeew out the line "and she was cool with just...fuckin' around" to whoops and cheers from the crowd.
― lex pretend, Saturday, 8 November 2008 11:10 (fifteen years ago) link