Ariana Grande - AG4 (2018 album)

Yeh best one on here

Word from Ari and her peeps is that she’s recording new stuff, and there may even be another album before end of year.

https://news.avclub.com/and-they-said-it-wouldnt-last-pete-davidson-and-ariana-1829752437

hmm, at this rate it won't be long before she won't be able to perform any of her Sweetener material due to painful associations

("Raindrops" should probably be cancelled next on the grounds that Frankie Valli is an asshole)

more like "sucksessful"

― princess of hell (BradNelson), Monday, August 20, 2018 4:38 PM (one month ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah, successful is the worst track on this album

only thing close is that sheesh backing vocal on sweetener, which is like aural brain rot

i tolerated it for 5-10 listens but now it's got to go

the town hall one, on the other hand, i've grown to like

feel the same

I think the title track is strengthened by the bizarre ad-libs. They’re like an artistic “distancing technique” that subliminally focuses yr attention on the rest of the track, or some shit...

(Also, “Successful” is excellent y’all!)

I know Pharrell mostly sounds like Pharrell; but those tracks also do something for me aesthetically that’s similar to Bitter Tea-era Fiery Furnaces (if that makes sense).

blazed reminds me of rock your boddy (which neptunes produced in tandem with timbaland) - though not as good obvs

Rock Your Body was just The Neptunes

AH Shit i meant timberlake not land

Blazed is soooooo much better than Rock Your Body

insane

he’s a stan he has no perspective

LOL -- fp'd Brad for anti-stannism!

Even putting the performers aside(...) -- "RYB" is a loping, lite disco-funk groove; "Blazed" is a hard, tight beat with acoustic bass stabs. Whatever floats yr boat...

when i’m a stan for anyone i have no perspective either

It's weird, I've honestly never been like this with an artist before.

he’s a stan he has no perspective

― princess of hell (BradNelson), Tuesday, October 16, 2018 2:05 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yep!

la grande illusion

Lol - je ne regrette rien.

i mean were all stans for some artist even when knowing that some material is shit (see tori amos for me) but like that missy elliott cameo on borderline is so pointless, what a non-starter

My (predictable) response: I love that rap, I think it’s great! :D

Goodnight N Go is amazing

― alpine static, Sunday, October 14, 2018 6:27 PM (one week ago)

Update: I did not realize this is a cover until 2 minutes ago.

Tour dates announced!

Ariana grande on BBC1 tonight at 8

Where do you see that? The BBC site has an Ariana interview + performance for next Thursday.

Aw...yeah, silly Saturday papers telling me stuff for later in the week...

Sorry about that. The paper did just say '8pm', in their recommended list, and I foolishly assumed it meant tonight.

The BBC's website is geo-blocked, but non-UK viewers can watch the special here (the performances are excellent): https://consequenceofsound.net/2018/11/video-ariana-grande-at-the-bbc-special/

Here's one performance the BBC did make available on YouTube:

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

Bonus props to her for not pretending to know fuck-all about superheroes (in response to an 8-yr-old's question)

Breaking... The new album (supposedly out before end of year) is titled “Thank U, Next.” #AG5

so is the...new single!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OeR5XBEahU

I like this more than anything on Sweetener.

wow where did this come from, i love this, so much better than nearly all of Sweetener

she’s the greatest

Very nice song. Smooth and catchy. The lyrics are pretty good too.

Have any other popular songs expressed this particular sentiment? (Not looking to play “who wore it better,” just curious...)

ever? in history? lol

props to her on breaking loose from that hideous cave-troll comedian

xp Sure

(Or within ILM’s usual parameters when we list songs that work a particular theme, etc.)

this song is brilliant

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")

The song is so disarmingly plainspoken and unpretentious; it feels like an artist simply and directly expressing something real and immediate (which it is).

(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

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

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.

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.

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