USHER: the singles

"U Remind Me"
"U Got It Bad"
"U Don't Have to Call"

I am a big fan of Usher's "U" period

^^^^

U mad

jk I am just having fun w/my irrational hatred for U Got It Bad.

the thing about "u got it bad" is that "burn" is actually better

― high efficiency unit (J0rdan S.), Friday, September 24, 2010 12:51 PM Bookmark

a) "actually"
b) no

brr, fuck a choosing between these. anyone mind if i rhapsodise a little about the early stuff & related miscellany though?

'call me a mack' is pretty inessential - main conclusion to take is a 15 year old in the 90s sounds twice the realer dude than grown-ass men in the here & now. (also possible fodder for kids in r&b thesis i guess; usher is allowed a pretty pragmatic edge to his boasting on this, it's not cutesy bluster.)

'can u get wit it' - magnificent devante swing godhead, nuff said. here's his own gangsta lean remix and then the extended version of the og: treat yourselves.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVZYZD7vmt8

'think of you' - maudlin puppy love given everyday pause for thought by textbook puffy/hitmen opportunostalgic concoction (bit of 'who got the props', something else familiar); distilled to lovely effect by lord of the sad pandas chucky thompson's bad boy remix.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxNSz1fQgrY

'the many ways' -

**-71 There Goes My Baby - Usher
when usher was 14 and looked like mannie fresh he had al b sure writing him dope ballads, now he just cravenly samples 'nite & day' like any new jack. smh.

― r|t|c, Thursday, 25 February 2010 13:44 (6 months ago) Bookmark

kind of enjoy 'there goes my baby' on a duhh mindless tip now though heh.

'the many ways' is pretty brilliant actually. great chorus with a quietly determined sincerity that would most probably have sounded trite coming from an older man.

Girl I've learned my lesson
No, we can't let others in
Misery loves some company
They don't see it's from within

a) "actually"
b) no

― The Reverend, Friday, September 24, 2010 4:00 PM (34 minutes ago) Bookmark

i used "actually" properly

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

"Lil Freak" (featuring Nicki Minaj) 1

I am the worst possible type of douchebag and I cordially invite you to punch me until I die

hahaha

u-s / h-e-r / r-a / y-m / o-n-d

wow how did i never see this thread. much better results than the other poll.

"U Remind Me"
"U Got It Bad"
"U Don't Have to Call"

I am a big fan of Usher's "U" period

― Monkeys? Um, no. (HI DERE), Friday, September 24, 2010 2:01 PM (1 year ago) Bookmark

no joke, the original title for 8701 was All About U

lmao @ "Pop Ya Collar" being lex's #1

Pop Ya Collar is amazing tho

It resonates with me

fyi that song may have been a huge hit in the UK but in the US it was seen as an embarrassing debacle that led Usher to delay and retool the album

Really?! I had no idea! It's, like, classic 4eva here. As it should be

there was a whole segment in his 'behind the music' about how that was one of the big crisis moments of his career

Huhhhh

But it's so much fun to dance and indeed pop one's collar to

More fool them

i'd never heard this... it's pretty good, sounds like a destiny's child song or something tho, not sure it really works

strangely usher's random duet with romeo santos is basically the most interesting thing i have heard from him in a while

http://www.billboard.com/column/the-juice/usher-s-20-biggest-billboard-hits-1007252152.story#/column/the-juice/usher-s-20-biggest-billboard-hits-1007252152.story

this is really awesome http://rapradar.com/2013/02/24/usher-ludacris-lil-jon-at-so-so-def-show/

So much love for this

^____________________________^

hadn't heard "burn" for probably years until it came on the radio the other day, man, what a song. really struck me what an obvious "papers" antecedent it was too

ok the idea of "Papers" being more of an Usher touchstone than "Burns" is so bizarre I almost wonder if you were originally from earth

lol Burns

??

oh i just meant i hadn't been thru the ursh discography in a while and the song was a nice trip down memory lane, i know it was huge

I still hear it pretty frequently tho! I haven't heard "Papers" since it was out

Boo-urns

also 'confessions' the album is really great stuff

the first 7 or 8 tracks on my list are really some of my favorite songs of all time -- early usher means a lot to me

i might like "u remind me" better actually

― high efficiency unit (J0rdan S.), Friday, September 24, 2010 2:00 PM (4 years ago)

everything about this post

everything about that album really except "Yeah"

I am a big fan of Usher's "U" period

― Monkeys? Um, no. (HI DERE), Friday, September 24, 2010 2:01 PM (4 years ago)

^yes

i also include bUrn

I love this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx36wHIUS5k

so when Usher says in the rap on "My Way" that his mind is on "seven digits, before I pay heaven's skies a visit"

is he saying literally the only thing he wants before he dies is this girl's number

or that he thinks her boyfriend is going to murder him for hitting on her

or millions of dollars?

lol i didn't even consider that one

Either way, seven digits doesn't get you what it used to

i miss when you could dial seven digits and reach someone.

that ended in like middle school for me

Confessions is masterful.

f u if you disagree

Is there any Usher fan who would?

Probably not.

I address the skeptics.

i heard "pop ya collar" (mistyped the first word as 'poop' btw) recently for the first time since its original run. i didn't even realize it was by him back then! very indistinctive, alarmingly mediocre song for him. apparently it was actually a big hit in the uk or some other places? i guess it could be described as catchy

I don't think of "Pop Ya Collar" as indistinct or mediocre, though I guess it could be said it doesn't really lean hard into Usher's singing skills - which I think is more a reflection of the fact that it's such a She'kspere / Kandi song that there's no room left for Usher to really insert much of his personality into the mix (which may in practice land in the same territory as "indistinctive").

The same could be said of She'kspere and Kandi's songs for Destiny's Child and Pink - some of which are peerless and epochal, but none of which really focus on the singers per se except and to the extent that Kandi came up with a great asymmetrical top line for some of them.

i like "U Don't Have to Call (Remix)" more than mot of his

*most

"Climax" would be a strong contender for winning this poll if it was run again (for the third time)

i go back and forth between that and "Burn" as my fave