SOLANGE KNOWLES, omg the return of

in terms of crit reception, prob otm

yeah ive never heard a brooke valentine song so that's what i meant

actually ive heard girl fight

if youdon't like it fine but it's not like there aren't tons of people who do

what's so "weak" about it?

also I don't think the brooke valentine comparison is apt because that was just a bunch of critics, tons of people I know IRL are actually feeling solange's new shit.

same thing that's weak about 90% of Pharrell productions over the past 6 years, also tryhard vocals and anemic melody. Freemasons remix puts a decent little bit of polish on that turd, but not much.

xpost

really it's the same kind of forced sass as "Work It Out," the failure of which at least kept Beyonce away from the Neptunes for a few years.

I don't think it has much in common with "Work It Out". "Work It Out" is going for that FONK, in your face dirtiness and attitude (and I agree that it;s kind of a failure on that front), whereas "I Decided" is laid back, jazzy, sweet.. doesn't come off as forced to me at all. It'll probably grow on you I bet.

"work it out" = marva whitney/ tina turner

"i decided" = martha reeves

Pt 2 might grow on me, but the beat on Pt 1 feels so stilted and off that I can't stop grinding my teeth long enough to give any of the other elements a chance. She definitely sounds like she's punching above her weight with the vocals on the first verse, though.

same thing that's weak about 90% of Pharrell productions over the past 6 years

Really? It doesn't sound like anything else the Neptunes have done to me. I had no Idea it was them until I saw so. I think it's a great beat.

well yeah it's not really similar to any particular other tracks of theirs, but it has that shaky feel of Pharrell punching in the loop (or playing the beat on dinky buckets or whatever the fuck he does) without quantizing it that he seems to think gives it groove or swing but really makes it sound amateurish and grating, at least to me.

I think it swings in a very satisfying way. I don't think what it's going for would work if it was played straight.

On the other, there are certainly other Neptunes productions where yeah that is a nuisance.

Freemasons remix puts a decent little bit of polish on that turd, but not much.

xpost

-- some dude, Monday, June 30, 2008 12:44 PM (4 hours ago) Bookmark Link

its like an entirely diff song

remix is on a more solid foundation but it's still some failed retro bullshit to me. guess we gotta agree to disagree.

im just not clear whats 'failed' about it

uhhh that I don't like it? I mean obviously it's not a failure to everyone, I can only speak for me. I just hear a singer trying brassy'n'sassy and not getting there (partly because, yes, she sounds so much like a certain blood relative who does that so much better).

i dont think it fails at all-- it achieves the exact vibe it's going for it's just a little boring i think. it goes for "personality" in a juno way imo and it gets that but it just tries a little too hard imo. it's a good song, promising more than anything probably, but i can't get excited about it like other ppl in this thread

imo

lol juno

is that a bust on solange's teenage pregnancy a few years back?

a dude who regularly listens to softbatch indie rock should not be accusing retro R&B bangers of sounding 'juno'

i don't like the freemasons mix, it's totally unnecessary and fucks up the vibe of the song

haha wait me or j0rdan? cause he seemed to say it in a not-all-the-way critical way and i merely laughed at it, noone really accusing. (xpost)

it's a good comparison i think

i mean if you look at someone like tiffany evans she gives off as much as if not more personality in the "im grown" video (which is a better song fwiw) as does solange in "i decided" but it doesn't come w/ this whole INTERESTING AND DIFFERENT vibe

no not really

im not accusing her of sounding juno, which would be awful, im accusing her or her people of trying too hard to make her seem like she is more than just a faceless teen r&b singer in the same way juno-- the movie and character-- just is a little too quirky. lil mama and evans are good examples of girls who just do them and are still totally rad. im just saying idk if solange needs this whole vibe to stand out.

the freemasons rmx doesnt sound 'different' or 'off' at all tho, its totally trad and melodically predictable, in the best possible way imo

why can't she be more than just a faceless teen r&b singer?

im not talking about the freemasons rmx which i thought was aight but nothing great

im not saying solange could or could not be a faceless ten r&b singer, merely that i don't think she needs this retro vibe to do it. i dont think there's much of a market in 08 for something like "i decided"

i think hes saying hes not buying it and that it reeks of trying too hard

i dunno if i agree, i just hate when arguments get to that "but what you hate is what i LOVE" maginot line thing

and fm remix is GREAT

i think hes saying hes not buying it and that it reeks of trying too hard

i dont think this was that hard to deduce guys

i mean it's more indie pop than r&b anyway. does she really need to go there is all im saying

she already tried the faceless teen r&b singer approach and flopped

the only reason it sounds like indie pop is because indie pop has been ripping off old r&b

I've heard "i decided" on the radio

lots of people I know who like just radio/106 stuff love it...

and there is a market post- Amy winehouse

and what if she's just doing what she wants to do?!?!

my only issue with the song, and I realize I'm tipping in dan perritory here, is that is seems like she can't really hold notes

im not saying at all that is this is all marketing cuz it would be awful business, just that they thad had an idea and took it a little too far maybe

lol i too am in dan perritory here, hi neighbor

next thing you know we'll start on an endless stream of vagina jokes

i think hes saying hes not buying it and that it reeks of trying too hard

i don't think it does at all, i think she pulls off her wackiness without getting too latter-day outkasty on us. kelis is a good comparison. tiff evans and lil' mama (and keke palmer) are totally difft cuz they get to pass their wackiness off as just "aww kidz".

'sandcastle disco' and 'champagnechronicnightcap' are both loads better than 'i decided'

also a lot lot lot less "interesting and weird" or "INTERESTING AND WEIRD"

also rtc can eff off innit

i dont think there's much of a market in 08 for something like "i decided"

Retro girl pop is one of the biggest musical trends of the moment tho (Winehouse, Duffy, etc)

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)

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