bee
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Post by bee on Mar 17, 2024 10:03:13 GMT -5
I finally listened to the whole album. I'm glad he went back to what he's good at. MOTW was a disappointment. This is definitely a decent album that's full of energy. The only other genre I can see him doing well in is country.
I hate Memphis including the rap and the lyrics. The line "but I guess that's what you get for trying to make heartbreak pretty" makes me cringe. Starting the album with this was a weird choice.
Songs that'll be added to my playlist: Technicolor, Drown (probably my favourite on the album), Liar, Love & War, Sanctified, Flame, Selfish, Alone, Paradise and Conditions.
I love that he ended the album with the lyric "you are everything you thought that it could be," tying it into the album title.
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Active Aggressive
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Post by Active Aggressive on Mar 17, 2024 12:56:41 GMT -5
I've been pretty much reviewing albums in the same style since I've been a member here. "Target/Japanese/Swedish/Finnish/etc. Bonus Track" means it doesn't belong on the proper album, but maybe on some deluxe version somewhere. I need to get through this a full time on headphones. I don't want to overplay it before my vinyl arrives next week.
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johnm1120
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Post by johnm1120 on Mar 17, 2024 14:40:59 GMT -5
Listened to the whole album as well. I will say there are a few decent tracks, but parts of the album were easily forgettable. In some songs there needs to be an idea of "less is more," case in point, Memphis. The song was good for the first half, but the 2nd half was just unnecessary.
The standout tracks for me (not including singles) were Love & War, Sanctified, My Favorite Drug, Imagination, Alone & Paradise. I could see "Liar" being released as a single later on though.
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Night Senses
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Post by Night Senses on Mar 17, 2024 17:23:28 GMT -5
I've been pretty much reviewing albums in the same style since I've been a member here. "Target/Japanese/Swedish/Finnish/etc. Bonus Track" means it doesn't belong on the proper album, but maybe on some deluxe version somewhere. I need to get through this a full time on headphones. I don't want to overplay it before my vinyl arrives next week. Ahhh, thank you for clarifying, lol. It’s a kii now. Look forward to reading more of your reviews.
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avamaxstan
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Post by avamaxstan on Mar 18, 2024 21:38:48 GMT -5
52 on Metacritic. Yikes!
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Night Senses
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Post by Night Senses on Mar 19, 2024 8:31:27 GMT -5
A lot of those reviews seem very personal and unprofessional. Are we reviewing a person or an album? I don’t care who the artist is or what their reputation is, if you can’t be objective maybe you should pass the task on to someone who can. Not to say the album is a masterpiece, but it’s certainly no 52.
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SHOOTER
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Typical of those in power to stay worried about the *wrong* shit.
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Post by SHOOTER on Mar 19, 2024 10:07:14 GMT -5
Justified: #2, 439k
FutureSex/LoveSounds: #1, 684k
The 20/20 Experience: #1, 968k
The 20/20 Experience - 2 of 2: #1, 350k
Man of the Woods: #1, 293k SPS (242k sales)
Everything I Thought It Was: Top-5, 60-65k SPS [current projection]
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carriekins
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Post by carriekins on Mar 19, 2024 10:16:22 GMT -5
It's really interesting to see the difference between his sales/streaming and his tour sales - it's sold out in most markets, and he added a ton of dates as well.
Right now the only 3 songs I haven't added to playlists are Memphis, Conditions, and Alone. (Conversely, one of my friends listed Conditions as her favorite.)
I do think there is more coming with *NSync too. Next year is their 30th anniversary, and AJ from BSB is touring with Joey Fatone and keeps teasing "something big." I don't particularly want to share my *NSync reunion with BSB fans but I'll take what I can get. (A residency is #1 on my list though.)
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Daenerys
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Post by Daenerys on Mar 19, 2024 10:54:52 GMT -5
A lot of those reviews seem very personal and unprofessional. Are we reviewing a person or an album? That's always been the case for popstars. Look at the reviews Christina and Britney received in 2002 and 2003, on what could arguably be considered their absolute best albums and works. Almost all the reviewers talk about them pejoratively because of their sexual images and because they went to nightclubs when they were in their 20's. Justin skated by for years even though his music was doing the same thing his female peers were doing.
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myhouse911
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Post by myhouse911 on Mar 19, 2024 12:50:59 GMT -5
A lot of those reviews seem very personal and unprofessional. Are we reviewing a person or an album? I don’t care who the artist is or what their reputation is, if you can’t be objective maybe you should pass the task on to someone who can. Not to say the album is a masterpiece, but it’s certainly no 52. Agreed and to add on to this; Looking at the other side of this, there are plenty of artists who get heaps of praise/high critics scores for work that does not feel worthy - simply because of who they are. We really need to stop bothering with what the 'critics' say. More often enough they are not putting out their genuine opinion.
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Night Senses
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Post by Night Senses on Mar 19, 2024 14:41:11 GMT -5
A lot of those reviews seem very personal and unprofessional. Are we reviewing a person or an album? That's always been the case for popstars. Look at the reviews Christina and Britney received in 2002 and 2003, on what could arguably be considered their absolute best albums and works. Almost all the reviewers talk about them pejoratively because of their sexual images and because they went to nightclubs when they were in their 20's. Justin skated by for years even though his music was doing the same thing his female peers were doing. I’m aware. I’m a Janet Jackson fan. I’ve seen some of the worst publicity of all time. 90% of the reviews of Damita Jo were about the Super Bowl, her being old and promiscuous, and gloating about her industry pariah status. I would’ve been fine with negative reviews that focused on the content of the music and not her character. I’m aware of what they’ve done and still do. Doesn’t make it right for any artist. Just because Justin “skated by” doesn’t mean it should be tit for tat. I can’t co-sign that bitter energy. These so-called journalists need to do better for the sake of all artists. It’s disengaging to read a review that is so personal and railed with attacks, you’d think the artist actually harmed them. If there’s valid constructive criticism, that should be the standard. I just think these albums should be assigned to people who don’t have pre-conceived biases. Objectivity and subjectivity can co-exist. This is all moot because if there’s a bandwagon of hate and it starts to trend, that’s going to bleed into everything that artist does. It’s worse for women in pop music (poptism has certainly helped with giving once maligned albums a second look), but it shouldn’t be like that for anyone. Like you said, so many review scores are tainted because of these biases. But for me, I can’t say it’s not right when it happens to my faves, then shrug it off when I see it happen to any other artist. It’s a bad look overall and no one takes the reviews seriously. These are just hit pieces.
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Post by hitmakaontharise on Mar 19, 2024 14:56:03 GMT -5
Justified: #2, 439k FutureSex/LoveSounds: #1, 684k The 20/20 Experience: #1, 968k The 20/20 Experience - 2 of 2: #1, 350k Man of the Woods: #1, 293k SPS (242k sales) Everything I Thought It Was: Top-5, 60-65k SPS [current projection] Definitely not top 5 worthy. I believe if he put out a stronger lead single (imo i like the song but for the gp it fades in the background) that released late 2023, that could've build up more momentum, and would've steered away from his personal life. If he didn't release a week after Ariana Grande, which is overhauling everything atm. This could've been at #1 or #2 with 80-110k sales.
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Active Aggressive
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Post by Active Aggressive on Mar 19, 2024 14:57:27 GMT -5
That's always been the case for popstars. Look at the reviews Christina and Britney received in 2002 and 2003, on what could arguably be considered their absolute best albums and works. Almost all the reviewers talk about them pejoratively because of their sexual images and because they went to nightclubs when they were in their 20's. Justin skated by for years even though his music was doing the same thing his female peers were doing. I’m aware. I’m a Janet Jackson fan. I’ve seen some of the worst publicity of all time. 90% of the reviews of Damita Jo were about the Super Bowl, her being old and promiscuous, and gloating about her industry pariah status. I would’ve been fine with negative reviews that focused on the content of the music and not her character. I’m aware of what they’ve done and still do. Doesn’t make it right for any artist. Just because Justin “skated by” doesn’t mean it should be tit for tat. I can’t co-sign that bitter energy. These so-called journalists need to do better for the sake of all artists. It’s disengaging to read a review that is so personal and railed with attacks, you’d think the artist actually harmed them. If there’s valid constructive criticism, that should be the standard. I just think these albums should be assigned to people who don’t have pre-conceived biases. Objectivity and subjectivity can co-exist. This is all moot because if there’s a bandwagon of hate and it starts to trend, that’s going to bleed into everything that artist does. It’s worse for women in pop music (poptism has certainly helped with giving once maligned albums a second look), but it shouldn’t be like that for anyone. Like you said, so many review scores are tainted because of these biases. But for me, I can’t say it’s not right when it happens to my faves, then shrug it off when I see it happen to any other artist. It’s a bad look overall and no one takes the reviews seriously. These are just hit pieces. You support an unbothered, forgiving Queen, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you are taking the high road here and avoiding bitter energy, but it's still refreshing to see!
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