Beyonce - 4

Sorry about the unremarkable thread title. Can a mod change it when the album title is revealed?

Anyway, her new single has just leaked. Unfortunately, it has tags. What do you guys think?

I guess "Pon De Floor" is the new beat to sample from nowadays.

http://www.eastexclusives.com/2011/04/18/beyonce-girls-who-run-the-world-tags/

Can't believe I ever fronted on "Pon de Floor"

Yeah I heard Pon De Floor in a college mailroom last week.

One of those tracks I had to hear in a club to be like "oh ok hot damn"

accidentally started a different thread for this

i think that's just a demo, but tbh i'd be totally happy with it as the finished product - sounding pretty huge to me. really good to have a big-name pop single i'm 100% on board with instantly, after the britney/gaga whatevia.

also i love the riddimification of beats as great as "pon de floor".

― lex pretend, Tuesday, April 19, 2011 7:59 AM (34 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

that said i have some massive sleigh bells sized reservations about what's going to be on the album - seriously B, if you collab with them it is OVER BETWEEN US

― lex pretend, Tuesday, April 19, 2011 8:01 AM (32 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i'm glad she's back but idk this is just kinda okay to me -- i was never that hot on "pon de floor" anyway & this isn't nearly as good as "ass on the floor" as far as those things go

i hope her adventurism w/ collaborators doesn't lead to an utter fucking mess of an album, though i don't think it can get much worse than sasha fierce anyway -- i hope she got all that serious "artistic" bullshit out of her system & goes back to making "freakum dress" type joints

(and as long as i'm making arbitrary comparisons after listening to this three times, i will say that it's not better than "judas" OR "single ladies")

Okay I locked the other thread and changed the title in this one.

I'd be very suspicious about it as an overall direction but come on Beyonce has the potential to make one amazing rock song. Maybe not with Sleigh Bells though.

Looking forward to hearing the single, I thought 'Ass On The Floor' drained a lot of the energy from the 'Pon De Floor' beat, which I suppose was kind of the point, but an on-form Beyonce over the top of that could be incredible.

i would be interested in beyonce/sleigh bells as long as it didn't sound like beyonce doing sleigh bells karaoke

don't know what you guys are all up in arms about, B's been fucking with sleigh bells for a decade

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikOWQ9YIb-A

Ur a true dad, some dude.

lest we forget the definitive vocal of "pon de floor", though:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pE4EFFDCbNw

^^^I should probably avoid pop/r&b music websites for the next year. I can smell the trolls using this saying how much a "thief" Beyonce is because someone already put a vocal to the song.

well in fairness no one has heard that, so I'm pretty sure you're safe

is anyone else hoping for Beyonce to do a daggering video?

^^^Pop trolls are a sneaky bunch, you never what they will uncover to prove their point of hating an artists so much. I remember during B'Day, people slagged on Beyonce on the song "Resentment" because she apparently changed one word and got a songwriting credit. The song was already recorded by Jazmine Sullivan & Victoria Beckham with very similar song lyrics.

Back to the song, "Girls (Who Run The World)" is like a combination of Beyonce's shouty, attitude-driven B'Day voice and her explicit girl power anthems of Survivor. I hope it's not the finished version because Diplo's production is lazy if this is all he can come up with. Beyonce really does carry the song. Hopefully the final version's music will match her vocal delivery.

^^^I should probably avoid pop/r&b music websites for the next year. I can smell the trolls using this saying how much a "thief" Beyonce is because someone already put a vocal to the song.

― lilsoulbrother, Tuesday, April 19, 2011 1:01 PM (20 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

nah us trolls are still trying to find a way to call Diplo a thief while people are using drums from his gross cartoon Jamaican stereotype creation

^^^^Speaking of Diplo being called a thief:

http://www.racialicious.com/2011/04/13/it%E2%80%99s-complicated-djs-appropriation-and-a-whole-host-of-other-ish/

i don't know when everyone on pop websites started talking like some sort of drag queen parody, but i could live without seeing phrases like "wig-snatching" etc for a while. idk those people are mental, also really stupid.

i said on twitter how much i enjoy the riddimification of beats like "pon de floor" - princess nyah's far from the only one to have done it, there were a few others at the time and then obviously there's "ass on the floor". i like how that riddimification can enter mainstream pop rather than just being limited to hot mixtape cuts, too (and it's not like it's beyoncé's first foray into this world, cf "diva" which was basically reheated 'a milli" (another song that fared really well as a pop riddim)). anyway going on about how it's not a new beat is akin to shouting at lumidee for "never leave you" because other artists used the diwali riddim.

as for diplo, haven't there been articles about his appropriation for the best part of half a decade? they had truth to them then, they still do, he seems like a bit of a twat and i'll never be able to fully cosign him but he's not worthless by any means. still giving most of the "pon de floor" credit to switch though.

is anyone else hoping for Beyonce to do a daggering video?

YES

i don't know when everyone on pop websites started talking like some sort of drag queen parody, but i could live without seeing phrases like "wig-snatching" etc for a while.

my (ok largely uneducated) guess is since the new season of 'rupaul's drag race' started

still giving most of the "pon de floor" credit to switch though.
otm

Ahh yeah duh Switch!!!! I keep forgetting his existence though I like everything he does by himself. Just found out he co-produced "Girls..." so I have a little hope.

i don't know when everyone on pop websites started talking like some sort of drag queen parody, but i could live without seeing phrases like "wig-snatching" etc for a while. idk those people are mental, also really stupid.

Yeah it seems to be two modes for people talking about this genre. It's either drag queen parody or the hard gangster parody. It's really draining to read after awhile.

i said on twitter how much i enjoy the riddimification of beats like "pon de floor" - princess nyah's far from the only one to have done it, there were a few others at the time and then obviously there's "ass on the floor".

lol lex, I was just making a joke about no one knowing that Princess Nyah song! obv I agree conceptually with you 100% re: the validity of beat-stealing arguments (ie, they are stupid unless the song sucks, and even then the reason the song sucks is usually not because the beat was used somewhere else first)

how dare beyonce let lil jon scream shit all over hew new single!

http://gawker.com/#!5793560/beyonces-new-single-is-all-kinds-of-bad

ugh gawker really???

congrats Gawker for making me like this even more

also lol @ dude for complaining about Lil Jon... and then linking a version on the article that doesn't have the interruption he's complaining about

anyway as someone who lost the "Irreplaceable" argument, I feel I can authoritatively state that no one gives two shits about the quality of Beyonce's lyrics

Maura's take.

Gawker is the website version of the gay male/straight female doing a drag queen parody.

anyway as someone who lost the "Irreplaceable" argument, I feel I can authoritatively state that no one gives two shits about the quality of Beyonce's lyrics

Beyonce has always been about loud noise and anthemic chants. As the listener, you don't know who she is as a person.

Oh thanks for the mod who changed the thread title.

Beyonce has always struck me as being a really sweet, demure person who, if you displeased her, would shyly take your hand and slowly, lovingly pull off your fingers one by one.

but yeah, you don't really know who she is based on her songs

i dunno i feel like i've gotten a very good idea of what a beautiful, talented, soulful robot she is from her songs

i get the impression from her songs that beyoncé is a really private person who is determined not to let anyone see the "real her", and who's got the chutzpah to get away with that. and that she really, really loves money. not (just) in the flashy bling way that's pop's common currency, i mean really loves money like a hedge fund owner loves money. actually beyoncé is pretty much the hedge fund of the pop industry.

the best look into her personality imo is rich juz's concert video cut ups

idk she does ridic camp pretty well but i don't think she's as invested in it all like céline dion is (speaking of someone who rich's concert video cut-ups enabled me to see in a genuinely new light)

not but it at least shows that she has a sense of humor, which you would barely detect otherwise

the non-demo of this that incorporates those squealing synths from 'pon de floor' is better than the version that leaked last night

yeah the synths make it that much huger

Not a fan of this, it's overstuffed and kind of aimless...

"Judas" is definitely better, if we're comparing

call me a prude but i would argue against cutely bandying terms like riddimification around seriously for stuff that doesnt relate to either an actual riddim or evoke riddim culture however diasporic it may be. stuff jacking stuff is as old as the hills, there has to be some sort of effort of distinction to preserve the term's meaning, even if that meaning can seem liminal and instinctive.

I'll just wait for the Pomplamoose cover.

i don't know when everyone on pop websites started talking like some sort of drag queen parody, but i could live without seeing phrases like "wig-snatching" etc for a while. idk those people are mental, also really stupid.

― lex pretend, Tuesday, 19 April 2011 18:46 (1 hour ago) Bookmark

and lmao at battered ciara stans taking the high ground

it's not just "stuff jacking stuff" though is it, it's reusing the actual same beat. "riddimification" is just a handy way of clearing things up for people who think she's just copying/ripping off

she is though! and if the swag is strong, who cares?

i mean yeah ok i do see what you're saying though, but it's just a little too pricey as reductions go imo.

i tend to think of ripping off as something that people try to keep people from noticing, or don't admit to. born this way/express yourself. whereas that this song is beyoncé over pon de floor is the point of it, really.

it's not just "stuff jacking stuff" though is it, it's reusing the actual same beat. "riddimification" is just a handy way of clearing things up for people who think she's just copying/ripping off

― lex pretend, Tuesday, April 19, 2011 3:33 PM (14 minutes ago) Bookmark

and by afaict equating just the snare drum pattern with the entire "beat" (i.e. all of the instrumentation) you're either willfully bending the truth or demonstrating an inability to tell the difference

lol @ gaga trying to "get away" with biting a gigantic iconic hit but beyonce using a bit of a bloggy niche dance hit is all about low key transparency

um...

the entire "Pon De Floor" beat is in there; the clavicle, the sub bass drum, all of the sound effects... the only thing missing is the lead synth line

my "afaict" was an insufficient CYA move for not bothing to re-listen to both songs before posting, i see

lol

although fwiw my point stands that if there is a prominent musical element like a synth line added or subtracted from one track to the next "riddim" is probably not the right term to use

i havent heard the CDQ version yet but...

the non-demo of this that incorporates those squealing synths from 'pon de floor' is better than the version that leaked last night

― J0rdan S., Tuesday, April 19, 2011 8:20 PM (39 minutes ago) Bookmark

so then Wayne Wonder, Lumidee and Sean Paul didn't all use the Diwali riddim?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFnwBtLrIYI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09qDvl4tB1c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmxD7jDuPR0

note that prominent musical elements (synth lines) have been added/subtracted across all three songs

aw i really want to hear this and it's gone from youtube and i'm not going sketchier than that at the office

(ftr I don't think this is a "riddim" either, but that is mostly because there is zero connection between Beyonce and dancehall; it seems a lot easier to make that argument that it does to make easily-disprovable-via-legit-riddim-examples arguments)

yeah - is there a term for rappers rapping over existing beats on mixtapes?

beat-jacking, r|t|c already alluded to it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vsLcNJdF9k

can we not all save ourselves the bother and just agree that there are many shades of grey to the matter, too many to enumerate, and that i am probably right

lol dude I think were already at that point

at least, I was

am with brainwasher so far on this tune anyway

coincidentally enough wrt to this beat, my steady u__u in the face of much energy expended is reminding me of listening to 'lose my breath' for the first time

yeah that's a very good comparison point, i had a deja vu of Beyonce trying way too hard feeling listening to this that probably came from that (and not "Deja Vu," which was not trying enough)

this song is kinda nutty :)

saying that, i think if i were an exec i would have released this first too - if the video proves suitably spectacular then a refamiliarising bey waterboarding is all the people want for starters anyway, and this is that

it's nice that she went with a song title that'll easily feed into the "omg b hates rihanna" blog narrative too

"lose my breath" is still amazing

hopefully the video from this stays far the fuck away from m.i.a./"rude boy" territory

"lose my breath" is still amazing

― lex pretend, Tuesday, April 19, 2011 1:45 PM Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

rly tho

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTlWtG8qXvo&feature=player_embedded#at=20

^^^Lol. Maybe I'm getting a little older, but really is the song that bad??? Also, this is like her 4th solo album, and her 8th or 9th overall. The woman can only make so many "classics"/"bangers" consecutively. I think she can afford to experiment or stumble at this moment of her career.

This also reminds me of how her rabid fans hated "Deja Vu" and tried to create a petition for it and the video to be removed. In addition, I would like to know how more women/girls thinks of the song. We already have Maura who is the most balanced critique so far. The others have been gay men, and well we already noted how drag queen parody can go into full effect.

To clarify, I'm not saying that gay men don't have the right or the perspective to analyze/review pop music by female artists. If anything, gay men's critiques are highly valuable. But with forums like popjustice and the likes they can be quite shrill and remind me that despite the social connotations of being gay, we are still men at the end of the day.

I'm just saying I would like to see more women's/girl's reaction to the song, and yes even straight men too.

I don't think this song is all that but lsb otm

I don't necessarily mind Beyoncé's brand of feminism so much - it's an essential part of who she is as an artist and probably as a person - but I do feel as though it's steadily regressed over the years, from being pretty sophisticated and smart back at the beginning of Destiny's Child ("Hey Ladies", "Bug A Boo" & others) to now just being peurile hollering like "Single Ladies" and this, which seems to be her most basic female empowerment anthem to date.

Though when she says "Who runs the world? Girls!", I think the "girls" bit is just being used to cover up what she's really thinking: "I run this motha!". Letoya, LaTavia and Michelle for starters know Beyoncé doesn't care an ounce for empowering womankind in general.

And that's what I love about her.

Yeah, the "Girls!" makes the whole song sound kind of silly for a grown-ass woman to be singing.

Poor LaTavia...

i get the impression from her songs that beyoncé is a really private person who is determined not to let anyone see the "real her", and who's got the chutzpah to get away with that. and that she really, really loves money. not (just) in the flashy bling way that's pop's common currency, i mean really loves money like a hedge fund owner loves money. actually beyoncé is pretty much the hedge fund of the pop industry.

This is pretty OTM.

Also: Celine Dion doesn't "do" camp intentionally. Dion doesn't know what camp is -- she married an septuagenarian with the foulest mullet ever created.

and that is the most camp thing of all!

which is how camp should work!

SO basically this is Beyonce's "Hollaback Girl," then?

Poor LaTavia...

I don't know if this is snarky or not, but she actually did go through a hard time after the Destiny's Child break-up.

No snark in the least. Of all the ex-members, I have the most sympathy for her after her appearance on Real Housewives of Atlanta. Matthew Knowles really did a number on those girls and Beyoncé and Kelly aren't exactly innocent in the purging of the "bad seeds" as Beyoncé so aptly put it. As some of you mentioned upthread, she really does have a love affair with money and comes from a hardcore capitalist family. Something about her has always rubbed me the wrong way, but I don't question her abilities as a performer. The "Single Ladies" clip is still as impressive as the first time I viewed it.

Beyonce recently fired her father as her manager after all these years. Also, Latoya stated that she is on civil terms with Kelly and Beyonce. I'm not saying Beyonce is trying to reform, but for someone who is known to have a hard, capitalist shell there has to be some chinks in her armor.

Either that or she is a very calculating businesswoman. Then again, did any of us cared when a male artists like Jay-Z dismantled Roc-a-Fella?

I know I didn't. A matter of fact, I felt like Jay-Z (like Beyonce) know when to jump ship at the right time.

whole lot of people ARE butthurt about how Jay did the Roc or disappointed in how he handled it though

Oh I know the hip hop world hates it. I was talking about "us" specifically on ILM.

wow.

did any of us cared when a male artists like Jay-Z dismantled Roc-a-Fella?

I did!

What a surprise Switch did something similar for Christina Aguilera for Bionic. The instrumentals are essentially the same:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ2niKaeW74

Dion doesn't know what camp is -- she married an septuagenarian with the foulest mullet ever created.

and let's not forget her anne geddes calendar

That X-tina cover reminds me of this one Mega Man game where after you defeat a boss Mega Man is standing there and half of him is see-through robot circuitry.

Also, yay Beyonce! I've had a thing for her since the first time I heard Destiny's Child, and it's definitely not going away w this song.

This is a straight up banger but I hope the final version cuts the bit where Beyonce appears to wander off in a different direction before remembering where she is and what she's supposed to be doing.

this is brilliant

and by afaict equating just the snare drum pattern with the entire "beat" (i.e. all of the instrumentation) you're either willfully bending the truth or demonstrating an inability to tell the difference

"All of the instrumentation" isn't actually the beat though, the beat IS the snare drum pattern and the other percussive noises around it, and it's there in its entirety.

I was using "the beat" in a modern hip hop parlance where it means "the instrumental track" and not "the percussion."

In which case telling someone they're "either willfully bending the truth or demonstrating an inability to tell the difference" is kind of a dick move when what they were saying was technically correct.

(Fwiw I don't really care about the concept of "riddimification" and don't think it's really applicable here)

I am perplexed by this tune. If tune it be called. Beyonce went to more effort on her "In The Club" "riddim" cut and didn't even release that.

it still hasn't quite settled for me, i must admit - i'm feeling the energy and the yelling, i don't remotely mind the lack of tune, but it does make me want to listen to princess nyah instead

I think the decision to get rid of Afrojack's "uh uh uh uhhhhh" hook but not replace it with much maybe was flawed, but then the first few listens I thought "Never Leave You" was too sparse too.

Beyonce already has proven she can do yelling in fine form time and time again, at this stage I'm not certain I can see what the yelling amounts to here.

Surely this isn't particularly surprising to anyone that's heard Ring The Alarm or Single Ladies? It's a superior call-to-arms ladies banger than Single Ladies certainly.

Also this is still the demo we're listening to, right?

okay I am in love with "Bobblehead", how did I miss this

oh right, most of the singles from that album were terrible and I never listened to it

It's a superior call-to-arms ladies banger than Single Ladies certainly.

On what criterion? I dunno, whether you like it or not Single Ladies is basically the "call-to-arms ladies banger" of the past 5 years.

well, it certainly raises the "call to arms" stakes by using what sounds like a marching band drum cadence as a foundational beat

I think the decision to get rid of Afrojack's "uh uh uh uhhhhh" hook but not replace it with much

yeah i definitely miss it (didn't really know how to describe it though, "uh uh uh uhhhh" will do!)

Also this is still the demo we're listening to, right?

the radio version's emerged, it's much fuller-sounding

this is definitely better than "single ladies" which may be a pop cultural monolith but is only an average song

dan, the other track off the xtina album you should hear is "monday morning" - glorious new wave amazingness, bafflingly also relegated to bonus track status

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

that picture is weird -- it looks like they've extended her face well beyond the confines of her face

re: "Bobblehead", there's some more Major Lazer connection going on here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHZEtGS9XFo

(obv not nearly as connected as "Girls"/"Pon De Floor")

I was using "the beat" in a modern hip hop parlance where it means "the instrumental track" and not "the percussion."

― some dude, Wednesday, April 20, 2011 7:51 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

In which case telling someone they're "either willfully bending the truth or demonstrating an inability to tell the difference" is kind of a dick move when what they were saying was technically correct.

― Matt DC, Wednesday, April 20, 2011 7:54 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

well, i was talking to The Lex, who i feel i can safely assume was speaking in the same terms as i was. and anyway DJP already poked an actual hole in my argument and i'd dropped it, so i'm not really interested in hashing it out further just because you decided to bring it up again.

On what criterion? I dunno, whether you like it or not Single Ladies is basically the "call-to-arms ladies banger" of the past 5 years.

Yeah but it's had years to grow into that role (and in fact managed it in months). It didn't have that status 48hrs after leaking, in fact there was a general underwhelmed shrug when it first emerged. See how this new one fares after several months of being caned on dancefloors everywhere. I already like it more than Single Ladies (which I like but don't love).

eh, I don't know about all that; it seemed to me that around these parts, the instant a lot of women heard it they went "OMG ANTHEM PUT A RING ON IT FUCK YEAH" and sprained their wrists doing that hand-flick move from the video

Yeah I was mostly talking about people on the internet, not the real world (where this new one hasn't actually impacted yet).

eh, I don't know about all that; it seemed to me that around these parts, the instant a lot of women heard it they went "OMG ANTHEM PUT A RING ON IT FUCK YEAH" and sprained their wrists doing that hand-flick move from the video

I'm not betting against that happening now either. I mean the worst I could say is that she's kinda cynically going for exactly the same effect but that's not to say it won't work.

"Single Ladies" definitely didn't seem immediately like it was going to be as HUGE as it was -- "If I Were A Boy" seemed to get more promotion and discussion initially and then when the "Single Ladies" video dropped that really solidified it as a smash.

Were they released simultaneously?

(lol I could look that up)

"i was a boy" was first by a small margin iirc

the ironic thing is that there was a lot of pre-video buzz about the "if i were a boy" (beyonce was a cop or something?) whereas the "single ladies" video kinda dropped as an instant classic

According to Wikipedia: released simultaneously, "If I Were A Boy" hit #3 in November and "Single Ladies" hit #1 in December

yeah one might have hit the net like a few hours or a day or two earlier but they were pretty much simultaneous releases. totally makes sense that "Boy" peaked earlier as far as i remember things.

obv i'm talking about the "if i were a boy" video in my last post

yeah i was responding to the one before that

i know i was just clearing up the fact that i omitted the word "video" from my post

ok i didn't get that that post was about videos since it was a response to DJP who clearly wasn't talking about videos but that's a pretty mild misunderstanding to hash out over several posts haha

well i was sort of going off your point about "if i were a boy" having more discussion/promotion initially

the video iirc was hyped as this big thing where beyonce plays male roles whereas the "single ladies" video is the antithesis of that stylistically & it's just funny how things actually turned out

weirdly the stats don't even totally show that big a gap between the 2 songs -- "Single Ladies" only has twice as much iTunes sales as "Boy" and 115 million YouTube views vs. 70 million, where it really feels like 10 times as popular

Why can't she make an album that sounds as good as the Control scrap? That was such a great track, I listen to it often.

i think its way weird ppl on here like this more than 'single ladies' -- this sounds like directionless garbage imo

I like the egregious vocal overdubs on this more than "Single Ladies" but I'm not 100% convinced it works as a song.

As a swaggering sound collage it's fucking great, though; almost like Beyonce listened to some old Severed Heads shit and said "hey Switch, I want you to do this, only use my voice and make it all sparkly and day-glo".

i think its way weird ppl on here like this more than 'single ladies' -- this sounds like directionless garbage imo

― geeks, dweebs, nerds & lames (D-40), Wednesday, April 20, 2011 11:40 AM (39 minutes ago) Bookmark

Matt DC and lex pretend said this is better than "Single Ladies" but i can't imagine they speak for a ton of other people, if anyone

I think a non-negligible number of ppl around here liked "Get Me Bodided" more than "Single Ladies" so I don't think it's really that much of a surprise that some would also like "Girls" more.

Those are the two best songs she's done imo

"Bodied" and "Ladies", not "Girls" obv

"Ring The Alarm" and "Crazy In Love" imo

I think a non-negligible number of ppl around here liked "Get Me Bodided" more than "Single Ladies" so I don't think it's really that much of a surprise that some would also like "Girls" more.

― fat fat fat fat Usher (DJP), Wednesday, April 20, 2011 12:25 PM (16 minutes ago) Bookmark

well i'm captain of the GMB fanclub and think SL is just ok and derivative, i'm not saying it's a shock if anyone doesn't worship SL over all else but i felt like D-40 was turning 2 opinions into a 'consensus'

"single ladies" is a great jingle

you know how pop songs are usually enhanced if they work in communal settings - "single ladies" is one of those that ONLY works in communal settings, when you're drunk.

bear in mind i think "baby boy" and "ring the alarm" are better than "crazy in love" too

What a surprise Switch did something similar for Christina Aguilera for Bionic

...isn't this really just what he's been doing for m.i.a. since whenever

i dont love single ladies or anything either but its 10x the song this is imo

agreed

I dig the anarchic incoherency of "Girls"; I don't necessarily think that makes it a good pop single.

i kinda hate the snap-judgment listening culture when it comes to big pop singles - it's very often the case that something that seems underdone or a bit of a mess at first ends up resolving itself - often you find yourself looking in the wrong place for your thrills based on expectations. that's actually been the case for a lot of B's lead singles - i was underwhelmed by "déjà vu", "if i were a boy" AND "single ladies" when i first heard them! and now i basically love them all, to varying degrees.

it works the other way too, sometimes big production or a big hook can fool you into thinking that a song will grow on you despite its flaws.

thats an otm post, i just think im right this time lol

my official position is that i haven't made up my mind either way until my lizard-brain instincts either kick in or don't - i'm pro the idea of this, but either it ends up being addictive and on loop 20 times a day, or it doesn't

it's not a good pop single because it's not a pop single, it's a rehashed tropical bass track with beyonce wailing over it. also, i'm starting to notice no lay unorthodox daughter in this, were there hints of that in pon de floor?

being a pop single and being a rehashed tropical bass track with beyonce wailing over it aren't mutually exclusive things

except in this case

even if you don't think it's a good pop single (which i'm not sure if i do), a bad pop single is still a pop single and it seems on some silly DEATH TO FALSE METAL shit to say otherwise?

still bummed that Why Don't You Love Me? didn't become the breakout hit I wanted it to be. oh that video!

well i'm captain of the GMB fanclub and think SL is just ok and derivative

otm. still mad at jhoshea for talking shit about get me bodied at some point on ilm

everyone i know irl hates "ring the alarm" it makes me feel like i'm taking crazy pills :(

when it came out, I thought "Single Ladies" was just "Get Me Bodied" redux, but I was so so rong

well no, it isn't as good for starters

Key to "single ladies": the "oh oh oh" hook syncopated in time with the beat. If this requires a communal setting to click with it's because you're all not listening with your bodies while sitting at the computer and liveblogging.

"girls" has nothing do thoughtful that I can discern at this stage.

Nothing so thoughtful, I mean.

I disagree on music nerd grounds; the ridiculous amount of overdubbing and close harmony she's doing is entirely my hook into this song (and part of why I think it's more likely to be a "Deja Vu" in her catalog rather than a "Single Ladies")

yeah there's a ton of stuff packed into "girls" - is a vocal hook syncopated to the beat really anything particularly noteworthy?

Not noteworthy, effective!

Whereas "a ton of stuff packed in" is the symptom of our age.

My use if "thoughtfulness" refers not to big risks or brash ideas or bold displays, but an underlying understanding of how what you're deploying will operate on your audience. The charm of "single ladies" is that each element punches well above its weight in terms of kinetic effect - it's not so much "wow the singing matches the beat", rather "this makes me want to dance on the beat so much more." watch people's legs and hips when it gets to that part of the song, it's not just about girls vamping and spraining their wrists.

"girls" has a better beat, but squanders it by comparison.

the final version of "girls" has enough switch-ups that work in much the same way

i'm too lazy to find lex's posts from the day "born this way" dropped but let's just that remember when reading his post from upthread

anyway i don't see what's wrong with posting one's initial reactions w/ the general unspoken rule that gasp people can change their minds! anyone who cares about pop music & hears it outside of what they explicitly choose to listen to should know this -- i have no problem saying that i don't really dig "girls" that much & don't think it will grow on me but who knows, i don't think that needs to be spelled out tho

Maybe because I'm the type of listener who gives chances to music I don't initially "get", I find initial reactions to be annoying (Yes even my own). With the exception of this year listening to the first big singles by Britney, Lady Gaga, and Beyonce, I usually ignore the reactions and the songs until months later because people expect the next coming of Jesus when these songs come out. I guess this year I wanted to know how it feels to be in the midst of things.

However, I guess being on the internet for so long, people changing their minds feels like a cop out, especially when their initial reactions are stated so loudly and dogmatically.

Like when Usher - Confession came out, I didn't listen to the album until like 6 months-1 year after it was released because "Yeah" was freaking everywhere and I just couldn't deal with the hype.

Same with Lady Gaga - The Fame.

tbh when i tried recently to think of a pop single in the last few years i'd done a complete 180 on from my initial impression, i really couldn't. sometimes i'd go from indifference to love or from hate to indifference or whatever but swinging between total love and total hate is very rare.

albums or artists in general are a different deal because there's a lot of songs and other factors at play, but a 4-minute song can only sound so different between the 1st listen and the 100th listen.

Weirdly enough, most of my favorite albums of 2010, were albums that were finally released after multiple delays (and leaks) or were marketed with a constant stream of artists released songs or mixtapes pre-album release. I much prefer an artist do that nowadays.

The whole big pop single opening day is so draining and is feeling out of date to me.

with a constant stream of artists released songs

^^^meaning Kanye's GOOD Friday songs.

it's not like there wasn't a similar dogpile of opinions the day "Power" leaked

personally i find the incessant delay culture of major label music really tedious. if the album is ready, put out the single and stick to your release date, instead of nervously pushing it back and trying to make more hits if the first thing you realize isn't an instant smash.

"girls (run the world)" was co-written by terius? i didn't see that one coming

and is apparently called "run the world (girls)"

http://static.popdash.com/gallery/6923068_run-the-world-girls.jpg

well at least she can make a better cover than gaga

here's the final version & it's on itunes in an hour.

okay YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES

"Pon De Floor" has some serious instant-appeal-to-lizard-brain effect on me, I'd probably like a Bieber song with this a the foundation

haha i give it 6 months til that theory is tested

okay those comments are the best

I particularly like the one deriding this as a horrible trend-chasing ego trip that contains the sentence "In the famous words of Aretha Franklin 'Who’s Zooming Who?'"

i will eventually get sick of this but it's pretty cool right now

putting the original synth line back in is a VERY GOOD LOOK

"Pon De Floor" has some serious instant-appeal-to-lizard-brain effect on me

same here - this works exactly like the best sort of mixtape beat-jacking track. i don't think that's mutually exclusive with a lead pop single, either.

putting the original synth line back in is a VERY GOOD LOOK

yup

Okay this to me just sounds like Beyonce singing over "Pon De Floor", which I've sort of always heard as this goofy Tim-and-Ericy type thing and can't really take "seriously" or whatever. This just reminds me of that one LFO song ("Shove Piggy Shove") that Bjork just sang vocals over top of and released as her own ("I Go Humble"). Like, this isn't a Beyonce song.

"I Go Humble" was great! There is nothing in principle wrong about turning someone else's instrumental into a song.

more than anything i guess it just seems strange that with her infinite resources and infinite collaborators they couldn't come up with anything more compelling than...this?

No I mean I LOVE "I Go Humble" but, like, it's not really her song... I mean this song is fine and everything but it just feels like some Beyonce acapella mashup. I mean, it IS just a Beyonce acapella mashup.

brb, looking up "I Go Humble"

also in technical terms, a song is a piece of music performed by the voice, so there is no way that these COULDN'T be Beyonce's/Bjork's songs since the vocal lines are what make them songs

i had no idea that "i go humble" was an lfo track! all these years!

Whoa that is cheap! Yeah

also in technical terms, a song is a piece of music performed by the voice, so there is no way that these COULDN'T be Beyonce's/Bjork's songs since the vocal lines are what make them songs

what?

A song is defined as a piece of music performed by the voice. Bjork's and Beyonce's vocal additions are what make these songs, so it doesn't actually make sense to say "it's not really her song".

Basically I'm just being annoying.

Oh, jesus, I never realized the term "song" was voice-specific. Or maybe I did and I forgot?

I think it definitely throws a monkey wrench in how people her or perceive a song if it contains prominent elements of a song they've heard before. It's almost like you're being invited into the creative process and thinking about X + Y whereas you might otherwise just take it all as a package deal.

the only thing I'm objecting to here is misuse of the word "song"

Right, I figured as much, but I feel totes sonned now :(

Album is to be called 4... which is better than Bidet and that Sasha Fierce thing I guess.

Whatever, this video is gonna be insane
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3x_yiRm9K4&feature=player_embedded

!

anticipating

A brief questionnaire from Billboard:

http://bit.ly/la9g2K

It doesn't sound like it will be on the album but I would've at least like to hear the sessions of this:

I started off being inspired by [Afrobeat music pioneer] Fela Kuti. I actually worked with the band from "Fela!" [the hit Broadway musical based on his life] for a couple of days, just to get the feel for the soul and heart of his music; it's so sexy, and has a great groove you get lost in. I loved his drums, all the horns, how everything was on the one. What I learned most from Fela was artistic freedom: he just felt the spirit.

Yeah, she was talking about her love for Kuti in the same article where she posed "blacked-up".

At 0:28 in the video when the horse kicks up on his hind legs...that should be the lp cover!!

or not.

It's a cool bit, though.

haha this always happens with pop artists, you hear their new album title/see the new cover and your immediate reaction is THAT IS SO AWFUL, WHYYYY, and then you remember how bad all their previous titles and covers were

i'm really not sure how i feel about this run the world song

like i'm not offended by it but

yeah it sort of came and went without any impact.. extremely forgettable

if I was her I'd just scrap it and make it a "bonus track" or whatever... NO ONE likes it

it's just like was that a comeback

i like it!

imo it's kind of sad when people run from their own singles at the first sign of resistance -- good song or bad, if she put it out in the first place she should stand by it, work it for at least a month or two before moving on to something more radio-friendly

if I was her I'd just scrap it and make it a "bonus track" or whatever... NO ONE likes it

I actually like it. I was lukewarm on the demo but since they added the synth line from the original "Pon De Floor" it has improved the song big time. Plus, a lot of people hated Deja Vu and the accompanying video but I thin it's been accepted by as a solid song in her catalog.

it's just like was that a comeback

How can you call this a comeback when she has been working consistently since 1997? I'm not trying to act like a devoted fan but I feel like using hyperbole language like that doesn't base discussion of music in reality or context. Plus, since she has worked since 1997 the girl can be excused if she wants to experiment or a song doesn't hit right away.

*but I think it's been accepted...

I don't hate this song but Deja Vu >>>>

imo it's kind of sad when people run from their own singles at the first sign of resistance -- good song or bad

I still hate Nicki for bailing on "Massive Attack." It wasn't perfect but god damn it was the best Missy Elliot song that wasn't Missy Elliot in a long time.

I don't hate this song but Deja Vu >>>>

As a former bass player, that Deja Vu fucking owns!!! Darkchild should've kept that sound around before going all electro a la "Telephone."

If people still released albums every calendar year, comeback talk would hopefully go away and each new album would feel like less of a make-or-break event. That'd be good for pop music, imo.

xp both those songs are great tho

jf otm

I still hate Nicki for bailing on "Massive Attack."

SERIOUSLY

what would have made it perfect: kick sean garrett off the chorus, get busy signal on

If people still released albums every calendar year, comeback talk would hopefully go away and each new album would feel like less of a make-or-break event. That'd be good for pop music, imo.

This is the exact reason why I went through a 60s/70s Motown phase after college. I was so impressed that a label could steadily churn out albums and singles that were innovative and listenable. Even if the song or album didn't hit, they just went ahead released the next one with no big public crisis.

Even during the 80s/90s, when pop was really making money, a pop star could take 2-4 years between albums and not have the public (the media/industry is a different story of course) wait to see them fail or "comeback harder" (whatever the fuck that means).

imo it's kind of sad when people run from their own singles at the first sign of resistance -- good song or bad, if she put it out in the first place she should stand by it, work it for at least a month or two before moving on to something more radio-friendly

Generally I agree with you, but "Run The World" has no real redeeming qualities imo, and the reaction to it has been so cold that I can't really see it turning around. For the first single from a Beyonce album to be out of the iTunes 100 two weeks after release is kind of shocking and speaks to the quality of the song.

Of course the video could turn everything around, but I don't really see that happening tbh.

It's not like Beyonce hasn't had flopped singles before. Her very first single "Work It Out" flopped and she survived. She'll churn out another "Irreplaceable" and people will be all over her blond weave again.

well yeah, obviously

That's too bad because "Irreplaceable" has always blown and will always blow.

Both "Work It Out" and "Check On It" ended up being bonus tracks on their subsequent albums (although TBF both were also film tie-ins, from memory) so it's not like there's no precedent for Beyonce quietly demoting a track's status.

That's too bad because "Irreplaceable" has always blown and will always blow.

I always hated that song and never understood why that became the big hit but "Ring The Alarm" and "Deja Vu" were so alienating at the time. I've said it once and I'll say it again the R&B audience have shits for brains sometimes.

Both you guys are crazy incidentally.

it's fitting that this thread has led us into arguing over which beyonce singles are the most mediocre (hint: all of them except like four)

Add me to the chorus of Irreplaceable haters.

it was really weird hearing her remake of "get me bodied" on the radio

Destiny's Child should really reconvene with A+ producers/writers and blow the roof off.

yeah Beyonce is consistently underwhelming

but it is totally obvious why "Irreplaceable" was a huge hit and "Ring the Alarm" wasn't

Both you guys are crazy incidentally.

I'm known as crazy on ILM???

"Irreplaceable" is Beyonce's best single. I get why people don't like it but it's not "mediocre".

it's at least her best single since her first album

Still don't see it.

Or hear it to be more appropriate.

do we need to do a Beyonce single poll, or are we above this

let's do a lloyd singles poll instead

I'd place "Crazy In Love" and "Baby Boy" only very marginally below "Irreplaceable".

Off the top of my head:

"Irreplaceable" > "Baby Boy" = "Crazy In Love" > "Ring The Alarm" > "Single Ladies" > "Sweet Dream" > "Work It Out" = "Check On It" > "Video Phone" > "Deja Vu" > "Naughty Girl" > "Ego" > "Diva" > "If I Were A Boy" > "Me Myself & I" > "Girls (Who Run The World)"

Am I forgetting anything? Ordering of the last 8 or so is on potentially faulty memory.

What about Why Don't You Love Me? which is totally massive and wonderful and I didn't even know was a single until recently (or that it existed) but GODDAMN so good.

Both "Work It Out" and "Check On It" ended up being bonus tracks on their subsequent albums (although TBF both were also film tie-ins, from memory) so it's not like there's no precedent for Beyonce quietly demoting a track's status.

― Tim F, Wednesday, May 11, 2011 6:57 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

yeah they were both off soundtracks a good 9-12 months before the albums, so it's not a matter of demotion, they were never part of the proper promotional cycle for those albums. also "Check On It" was a huge #1 hit so there's no parallel there.

anyway sometimes people say "comeback" in the dramatic sense of oh an artist has been away a long time or is coming off of a flop, sometimes they just mean lead single of new album, which is clearly all surm meant

I can be very literal which repels hyperbole language. My mind is still stuck in the concept of "comeback" like Tina Turner came back a la Private Dancer after all her life situations, previous albums not doing well, and playing supper clubs.

Beyonce's "Why Don't You Love Me?" was released last summer so she still was around, plus considering that it can take time to create an album she didn't "comeback" from anywhere, she was working.

yeah but there is still a symbolic importance to the lead single from a new album, especially for an artist of her stature -- there's kind of an expectation that she's going to come with a "Crazy In Love"/"Single Ladies"-level megahit right out of the gate.

although, as i said, i think it's totally fine to not hit that mark every time it's expected -- not that i think Beyonce is the visionary or risk-taker her Billboard interview implies she thinks she is, but with every other artist in R&B running scared that if they drop the wrong single their album will never get a release date, she can at least afford a left turn or an unpopular 'statement' song here or there without her career really being at stake.

i never knew "work it out" was considered a flop, it was a solid top 10 hit here (and also i love it). always thought the beyoncé strategy of leading-not-leading her albums with ~soundtrack singles~ was quite canny, maybe she should've done it for this one.

lol "why don't you love me?" has been purged from her wikipedia list of singles. you can't fool my memory, b. (weirdly it was one of those songs i didn't give a second's thought to as a whatever bonus track, but started to really like when it had a video etc.)

baby boy > irreplaceable > ring the alarm > get me bodied > work it out > crazy in love > if i were a boy > déjà vu > diva > sweet dreams > run the world (girls) > check on it > halo > naughty girl > broken-hearted girl > why don't you love me? > single ladies (put a ring on it) > ego > video phone > me, myself & i > green light > beautiful liar

w/r/t "baby boy", i can't believe it took me until last year to realise she was singing "baby boy, let's conceive an angel" towards the end, which made me love it even more

i'm struggling to imagine a world where "crazy in love" isn't beyonce's best single by a mile

Hearing 'Diva' in a club the other week reminded me how exceptionally shoehorned and clumsy a record it is.

yeah that song is garbage. imo:

get me bodied > irreplaceable > crazy in love > check on it > naughty girl > halo > ring the alarm > ego > sweet dreams > video phone > single ladies > baby boy > run the world > deja vu > diva > work it out > me myself & i

irreplaceable > baby boy > single ladies > ring the alarm > deja vu > if i were a boy > check on it > naughty girl

rest i don't like / care / recall

i'm struggling to imagine a world where "crazy in love" isn't beyonce's best single by a mile

― uberweiss, Thursday, 12 May 2011 11:30 (4 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i'm struggling to imagine a non-menopausal world where people still get excited when it comes on

http://stan-wars.com/

you guys ever see this btw, serious lolz

MY FAVOURITE THING EVER.

it is from the author of the best blog of all time obv

http://wigcrypt.blogspot.com/

http://www.beyonceonline.com/us/sites/beyonce/files/imagecache/preview/photos/B4_SNDRD_COVER_FINAL_CMYK_0.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBmMU_iwe6U

project redeemed xp

i'm struggling to imagine a world where "crazy in love" isn't beyonce's best single by a mile

― uberweiss, Thursday, 12 May 2011 11:30 (4 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i'm struggling to imagine a non-menopausal world where people still get excited when it comes on

― r|t|c, Thursday, 12 May 2011 10:50 (1 week ago) Bookmark

lol

also damn @ album art

For reals. I <3 that cover.

yeah

album art looks more like a magazine photoshoot than an album cover (i've scrolled past it 5 times today and each time assumed it was a photoshoot)

video is GREAT

does look more like a mag than album cover but not a bad thing. quite like it. they shd have made it a proper fake-magazine cover with dates etc on it.

she looks almost like britney on it tho

Yeah, i thought it was Britney on first glance. Did a total double take.

The bit in the video with the giant dogs = A+++++

over the last few months i've found myself liking "halo" more and more...i believe the ilx phrase is "ambushed my unexpected emotion"

or was about 11 years ago

are they hyenas?

i was even inspired enough to do my top 5 moments of this video http://alexmacpherson.tumblr.com/post/5633514514/i-dont-know-when-the-mainstream-media-started

xps

Would be happy with this as an album cover also:

http://newsodrome.com/celebrity_news/beyonce-4-album-preview-exclusive-25641017.jpg

that pose epitomises beyoncé

the "my persuasion" breakdowns give me a Martin Gore vibe.

this song really doesn't have any tune at all :(

No but it's easier to ignore that when beyonce is putting so much effort into distracting you with visuals.

It's like if Missy had left Ciara off "lose control".

which was second-rate missy to begin with!

the single is just annoying after a while. seems like empty energy. like the yellow outfit though. do love pon de floor but its a weird riddim in that it never really finds its groove exactly. which prob doesnt help in crafting a tune around it but then im not sure beyonce has ever been much of a tunesmith, shes more of a idk, a hooksmith?

rihanna is number one now, and not just because she's my lover.

Since when does a Beyonce single need to have a tune?

I dunno, mostly they've had them before now??

Yeah but at the same time 'Ring The Alarm' and 'Diva' and 'Get Me Bodied' and even 'Single Ladies' aren't exactly what you'd call melodic. I don't think it's exactly a prerequisite.

Still trying to work out whether I actually like the new one as much as I think I do or it's misplaced joy than Pon De Floor is getting a wider listenership.

"run the world" doesn't have any less of a tune than most beyoncé singles, stop this geirish fixation on melody

crazy in love was more or less tuneless.
single ladies was melodic (check on it was kinda melodic and catchy too) but her melodies generally dont linger or really develop, her songs just tend to sledgehammer through.
shes all about catchy hooks really.

part of me thinks using pon de floor as yr first new single from a big 'name' artist like beyonce is actually a bit boring/dissapointing.

(the other part doesnt give much of a fuck)

Going by the common definition of "tuneless" (god I hate that word) every single Beyonce single is tuneless, y'all should really stop fronting

well actually "Halo" isn't tuneless but it is horrible, so tomayto/tomahto

i was even inspired enough to do my top 5 moments of this video http://alexmacpherson.tumblr.com/post/5633514514/i-dont-know-when-the-mainstream-media-started

xps

― that's my hair no horses up there (lex pretend), Thursday, May 19, 2011 5:21 AM (3 hours ago) Bookmark

URLs very much in character

tagged version of "till the end of time" leaked and it sounds rather great

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEyjIKOe5X0&fmt=18

lol twitter:

"Wait. But why did Till The End of Time leak right before the End of Days? Beyonce and her marketing ploys. Not here for it."

much better than "run the world"

this sounds like a very 80s approximation of 'world music' to me -- not that i'm complaining

wow "till the end of time" sounds great

very 80s approximation of 'world music' is some of my favourite shit tbh

I like the little bit of intro to run the world than the actual song itself

thank god for a music video that doesn't feel the need to cut every 1/2 a second but it does seem to make the song seem slower than it is

love the album art but it makes me want people to appreciate cubic zirconia's aesthetic more

long over the song but the video is sick - apparently she enlisted kwaito dancers tofo tofo from mozambique to help her choreographers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wmJzUMDVuo

(re: run the world)

no tags: http://soundcloud.com/3xs/tteotb

Oh this is great.

Yes. So great!

her performance of 'girls' at billboards was pretty amazing imo

yes very amazing

also lol at dream's contribution to the 'say nice things' video beforehand

that whole thing was just hilarious, even by narcissistic pop musician standards

"amazing" or "hilarious" or both? The animation that was added was hilarious imho-- red javelin in her hand or something...

Song may not prove popular enough to merit a Saturday Night Live version of that appearance

ya the javelin bit and the drumsticks were kinda corny, just because they required a little too much precision to "work," but i thought everything else was phenomenal. hope more awards shows will try to do video stuff like that in the future

http://beyonce.columbiarecords.com/4/images/splash/bg.jpg

YES!!!!

can always count on her to serve it visually, at least

she's performing a new song titled "1+1" on Idol tonight.

Also, tracklist:

http://www.columbiarecords.com/beyonce/4/images/splash/tracklist_1.png

http://www.rap-up.com/2011/05/25/new-music-beyonce-11/

^ link to 1+1 stream

wow, this is really good. Sounds like something Alicia Keys would do, really soulful...off of the back of this and "End of Time" I'm really excited for this album now.

yeah this is great

wonder who did this -- sounds like something r kelly would write

damn, miss info says it was written by terius

this really totally could've been on 'love letter' tho

really excited about this

considering how terrible the ballads were on the last album, this is exciting news imo -- she sings the hell out of this

wow wouldn't have guessed Terius wrote this

into all three of these tracks now

she just killed it on idol

Yeah, the Idol performance was w0w!

there's something p hilarious & diva-ish about beyonce slaying a ballad on the final night of american idol

fuck, this song

btw how is this the first song on the album

I have to assume that "I Care" will be a banger.

thx for that soundcloud btw; so good.

Listening to that now. Not convinced it's better than just the piano/vocal arrangement she did on Idol (but still very nice).

here's the idol performance

http://www.mrworldpremiere.net/2011/05/beyonce-11-american-idol-live.html

"im so dead right now she is everything"

think i've said this a dozen times but i so can't wait for her to get really fat and kick into a whole new gear

Not convinced it's better than just the piano/vocal arrangement she did on Idol

Now that I've seen the Idol performance a second time, I AM convinced the album version isn't better. Too bad. Would've been great to open the album with just a piano/vocal song—especially this song.

idk i like the gospel undercurrents of the recorded version

1+1 is really great!!

lol @ the ad on that video page

http://guru.sitescout.netdna-cdn.com/52e714ff_12-12_davidson_belly-881bdb1.gif

btw this is not the thread for this but i think a really great way to prevent piracy is to name all of your songs stuff like "1+1" that are impossible to search rapidshare fore

It's already on Soundcloud, which means it's out there for anyone who wants it. (Of course, searching Soundcloud isn't always the easiest way to find things.)

This is the type of song I've always wanted from Beyonce - this is a total, stadium-packing power ballad! From the three tracks we've heard so far this looks to be her most experimental album, but at the same time she's making a move towards more traditional R&B stuff... "1+1" wouldn't sound out of place on a Jazmine Sullivan record!

Don't know how this will work as a single though, pop radio will not touch this at all.

i'm on my knees sobbing atm

yeah can't see this getting much radio play

damn

I've p much always thought she's a terrible balladeer, but she really pulls this off

btw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4ZBeUR0UhI

sorry if we already did this; haven't been following thread closely

She's great at slow jams tho, she just never does them.

i love how slow it is & yet so percussively sparse

time stretched thin

She's great at slow jams tho, she just never does them.

― skot gigz - moombah pimpin' (The Reverend), Wednesday, May 25, 2011 11:19 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

are "My Myself & I" and "Dangerously In Love" slow jams? h8 those.

auld smang syne

I love "Me, Myself & I"! Also, "Speechless" and "Signs" from the first album are good slow jams.

I was thinking in terms of "Speechless" and "Yes" from the first album, both of which are epic and amazing. "Dangerously in Love" is the prototypical terrible Beyonce ballad. I think of "Me, Myself, and I" as midtempo, but I've never had any use for it either.

i always thought beyoncé used to be terrible at ballads (in both the DC days and on her first album), but "irreplaceable" was a turning point - i actually like most of the sasha fierce ballads. "if i were a boy" is still better than "single ladies".

this new one sounds great on first listen - closest comparison from within her own catalogue seems to be "that's why you're beautiful"...

wonder who did this -- sounds like something r kelly would write

yeah it's those sudden high "you"s

hey
i don't know much about guns, but i've -
i've been shot by you
hey
and i don't know when i'm gon die but i hope
that i'm gon die by you
hey
and i don't know much about fighting, but i -
i know i will fight for you
hey
just when i balled up my fists, i realised
i'm laying right next to you

I really hate If I Were A Boy, but that might be because it seems so blunt and clumsy when you compare it to Ciara's Like A Boy (which is basically the only song you need with that subject matter).

bey
i don't know much about enunciation, but i know
i don't say algebra like you

1+1 is effin dope

SO GOOD

great song, but yeah, I kept thinking I was hearing it wrong, and then on American Idol she pronounced it like "albgerbra" or something

going into show business instead of high school catches up with you eventually

lol

hey
and i don't know much about fighting, but i -
i know i will fight for you

hey
just when i balled up my fists, i realised
i'm laying right next to you

damn

haha wow.. starts off so quiet and intimate, then you get that watery 80s flanger effect on the deliberate, pacing guitars, then the big electric solo squeals erupt, then the string stabs and suddenly we're in stadium prince territory

yeah def got a Prince vibe off it

jeez watching the idol performance and like, this lady knows how to sing on stage huh

Fuck this song is glorious. Love all 3 songs from this project so far, and I'm not usually a huge Bey fan.

"if i were a boy" is still better than "single ladies".

smmfh

of course it's got a Prince vibe - Terius wrote it!

Terius has gone for some Prince vibes in his day, but I can't recall him going for that particular Prince vibe.

if i were a boy spanish version is where it's at obv

lmao @ how to dress well dude dissing this on twitter

https://twitter.com/#!/HowToDressWell/status/73804992661831680

not a herb alpert fan i guess

if you like "if i were a boy" you should jump off a high building

if you are in the band how to dress well & you don't like "1+1" you should also jump off a high building

What if you call her "BOOyance" on twitter

least of his crimes

You can hear The-Dream's demo of 1 + 1 here
http://www.billboard.com/column/the-juice/beyonce-performs-new-song-1-1-watch-1005204892.story#/column/the-juice/beyonce-performs-new-song-1-1-watch-1005204892.story

someone get kevin k some tissues

his version is p good

more interestingly, the soundcloud wave looks exactly like a syringe

^^^yes

oh my god this song is beautiful

yooo

this song is the shit!

You can hear The-Dream's demo of 1 + 1 here
http://www.billboard.com/column/the-juice/beyonce-performs-new-song-1-1-watch-1005204892.story#/column/the-juice/beyonce-performs-new-song-1-1-watch-1005204892.story

― Number None, Thursday, May 26, 2011 9:05 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

someone get kevin k some tissues

― J0rdan S., Thursday, May 26, 2011 9:08 PM (Yesterday)

HOW DOES ONE DOWNLOAD A SOUNDCLOUD

If you're on Firefox, go here: http://www.downloadhelper.net/

http://tinyurl.com/3q5gtw7

That's cool, but I seriously recommend that plugin...good for mp3 streams just about everywhere.

I've said this a half dozen times, but everyone should seriously take a google at audials tunebite

That looks like it records the stream, though. DLHelper grabs it straight from its non-hidden or hidden location on the server.

all that and a bagga chips honestly

what is a how to dress well?

Honestly, I love B's vocal performance on 1+1, especially the growly gritty bits, but Terius pulls off the awkward octave jump "YOU!"s in a way that doesn't sound totally at odds with the song. Smoother phrasing or whatever. Can't decide which is better. (Also, this was supposed to be on Love King? And got left off? WTF?)

Also, the guitar solo on Terius' version is A++.

I assume it was left off because Terius wanted to make some money out of it.

yeah i think he tends to have a pretty good idea of whether a song works best for him or would work better for another singer

if i were a boy is one of the most disney songs to come out in the past few years, which i guess is why i hated it at first, but i kind of appreciate how it makes no mistake in trying to be something else. that's just what it is. kind of love it now.

beyonce's vocal cadences are much better than terius's

she really slays this

between this and the current Melanie Fiona single i love, it'd be nice if big bombastic stadium soul ballads became a thing

i'm on my knees sobbing atm

― J0rdan S., Wednesday, May 25, 2011 11:14 PM (2 days ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I92jENTzk2g

^^yo

i have listened to "1+1" 18 times since yesterday nbd

yeah i'm so happy that rehearsal video exists

thx jay-z

thank you based j. hova

She finally does a relatively traditional r&b song right. :)

This song is amazing, and Terius was definitely right to judge that it needed a better voice than his, Beyonce slays it. It's a traditional R&B song *and* a rock power ballad.

Wondering if this might be the "better than Umbrella" song that Terius has been trailing for a while.

Ha, he says that all the time. "Hard", that song that ended up being a bonus track on the Diddy album

didn't that turn out to be the worst song on Last Train To Paris? xpost

Didn't he also say "Take Care of Me" was the best song he'd ever written or something

Haha okay yeah he's full of shit really.

"Hard", that song that ended up being a bonus track on the Diddy album

that was "change" (but yeah, that was the one he was referring to) (and it's not even that good)

What i meant was he said that about "Hard" and about "Change". Poorly constructed sentence.

Have any of you non-Jukebox dudes checked out Reba McEntire's version of "If I Were a Boy"? Pretty excellent.

but "'laying' right next to you"? come on terius

loving that video

I like the arrangements/prod of "1+1" but the song itself doesn't seem that great and strong to me. it's good though. I've tried to d/l beyonce's version but couldn't so far. anyone got a link ? I think dream's version lacks some personality. and of course, definitely a pricne vibe alhtough I couldn't tell what song precisely, beside purple rain...

i think this is the first 10/10 song of the year for me

sorta agree

ehhhhhhh

i think it's my #1 song of the year right now narrowly edging out GUCCI GUCCI

u_u

listened to this song six times on repeat as i walked home drunk last night

10/10

i think it's my #1 song of the year right now narrowly edging out GUCCI GUCCI

― J0rdan S., Monday, May 30, 2011 8:33 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

haha glad u came around here

this is def a sudden top ten contender for me although i still like 'motivation' more

official 2nd single:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwMsWjrlu54

her vocals this era are insane!!

wow. so excited for the rest of this album

damn

"sucks to be you right now" lolz

this song!!

this song ... sucks

Love "1+1" and grew to not hate "Run the World," but this is just horrible imo.

she had to beat Gaga to the Bruce Hornsby revival

when did she get a decent low range

Love the vox, don't like the sub-Vanessa Carlton Lillith pop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMT2jq-suyU

Everything about 1+1 is awes.
It reminds me of SOTY-era Prince where the songs were "OK" but the performance/production cured diseases

Don't care for the other one.

Yeah, Vanessa Carlton was the first thing I thought of when I heard this one too.

"A Thousand Miles" is way way better though

It is, though it's still terrible.

agreeing with some dude and Eric here; she can sing it but that doesn't really make it worth singing

"1+1=2" is hot tho

lol or whatever it's called

Worst thing you will ever read about the Run The World video

I especially like the line "In real life, there's nothing fun or sexy about getting your head kicked in by the pigs".

Anarchist philosopher and revolutionary feminist Emma Goldman is rumoured to have written that she didn't want to be part of any revolution if she couldn't dance. Well, we all know who can dance! That's right, Beyonce!

die

ARGH.

Let's not get too snooty. In some ways, it's great that the idea of revolution is going mainstream.

is this woman six years old

clueless pop culture commentary bingo: final point somewhat undermined by getting the quoted lyric completely wrong. irl facedesk

Hahah I saw it was a New Stateman link and then closed the tab immediately.

That article reminds me of this blog entry from the Wig Crypt blog that r|t|c posted not too long ago:

http://wigcrypt.blogspot.com/2011/02/educated-basic-bitch.html

I especially like the line "In real life, there's nothing fun or sexy about getting your head kicked in by the pigs".

― Matt DC, Wednesday, June 1, 2011 3:25 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

Yeah this line is just unbelievably terrible.

And not to get all captain save a cop but her casual reference to "the pigs" really pissed me off.

http://www.ilxor.com/ILX/ThreadSelectedControllerServlet?boardid=77&threadid=76529

Still loving "End of Time"

i still haven't heard that because it's so difficult to search for that song without getting a lot of results about the similarly titled Justin Timberlake song that Beyonce appeared on a remix of

it was posted upthread:
http://soundcloud.com/3xs/tteotb

There's actually some genuinely interesting & relevant criticism of the "Run the World" video around the web:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p72UqyVPj54
http://feministing.com/2011/05/24/behind-every-strong-man-there-is-an-even-stronger-beyonce/
http://clutchmagonline.com/2011/05/is-beyonce-the-face-of-contemporary-feminism/
http://jezebel.com/5804710/beyonces-girl-power-rings-hollow

that new statesman article however is complete horseshit. and what is this problem with sadomasochism all of sudden - it arose with rihanna's song too.

obv it's not "all of a sudden", just surprised people get that freaked about it in this day and age. & I don't remember the commotion when Justin was singing about it in Sexyback.

More "Run the World" thinkpieces:

http://begirlmanifesta.wordpress.com/2011/05/23/why-i-like-my-feminism-gray/
http://nunezdaughter.wordpress.com/2011/05/24/whereby-beyonce-breaks-the-internet-and-kismet-drinks-some-of-the-koolaid/
http://bitchmagazine.org/post/in-defense-of-beyonce

Haha this song is MOR and corny as hell but I like it - it's sort of like a weird cross between 'That's Just The Way It Is' and 'Dreams' by Gabrielle.

i like hearing corny balladry put to vicious, kissing-off use!

THANK GOD YOU BLEW IT
THANK GOD I DODGED A BULLET

also the title makes me imagine it as a kiss-off to drake specifically

that song is a bunch of great quotes sung well in one of the worst fucking songs in the world

this was written by babyface!

that said i was getting serious tedder vibes from it, think i broke out in hives for a second there

Tedder doesn't tend to write lyrics with such specificity. He's more one for the big, empty metaphor.

i wasn't really paying attention the lyrics tbh & usually that's the least of my problems w/ tedder

agreed

http://youheardthatnew.com/2011/06/beyonce-ft-andre-3000-party-prod-kanye-west-consequence/

okay this is already my favorite beyonce album

<3 it.

not crazy about the bullshit "For Your Love" throwback production but everything else is nice.

OK, I like this one a lot. "Best Thing I Never Had" sounds like the only total dud so far.

another one! half this album has leaked now right? CIARA'S REVENGE

http://www.immaculate-backtalk.com/2011/06/new-music-beyonce-countdown.html

yup we have 6/12 standard edition songs now. and one of the remaining ones is a ryan tedder/diane warren ballad so...that can stay unleaked.

actually the whole thing leaked supposedly O_O

Where did you hear that?

orly? xp

ok it's definitely real O_O

wow love countdown

i am beginning to become very excited about this album

"love on top"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This album is total late 80s/early 90s R&B, pre-new jack modern soul smoothness.

can't wait to hear what Andy K thinks of this

can't wait to HEAR this

do you check yr webmail?

i check mine!!

:D

my webmail might not be working but there's this other email address i know about it's called anitalianmale at gmail dot com

great email address

hope you guys enjoy that kelly osbourne heatrock

:D :D ty

:) love you!

BALLADS

could someone help a brother out ?

Oh wow @ "I Care". These are like ballads done properly for the first time ever?

Google blog search beyonce leak and you will find it.

i would like some kelly osborne plz

"love on top"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"love on top"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"love on top"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"love on top"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"love on top"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"love on top"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"love on top"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

when i need you everything STOPS

No duds here this far except Best I Never Had, and that feels less terrible and more of a minor misstep in the context of the album.

Of course I haven't heard the Ryan Tedder track yet.

on one listen it wasn't egregious though i think i was still in "omg love on top" mode at that point

on first impression how does this compare with sasha fierce (and dare i say b'day)?

Um. On first listen this is better than I Am... and of a totally different vibe than Sasha Fierce. It's not quite as amazing as B'Day but it's in the universe of B'Day rather than I Am or Dangerously in Love. It's probably as good as the Sasha Fierce half of the double album.

I much prefer the style of balladry going on on this album than any of the earlier ballads she's tackled.

Start Over is pretty awesome, and manages to have a totally vulnerable bridge, without sacrificing towering verses and chorus.

Trying to figure out what "Rather Die Young" reminds me of

hum sounds exciting. could anyone tell me where to dl this or send it to me ?

omfg "starting over"

"start over", even

"i miss you" is so gorgeous

I want two or three of the bonus track to be this gorgeous so I can switch out Best I Never Had, I Was Here and possssibly Run the World, which is an awesome song but does not belong here.

i like "best I never had" :(

Not feeling the andre track. Kanye doesn't have a subtle bone in his body

i'm really excited about the inevitable "worst kanye west verse of 2011" poll

i like that track tho

Like how wack does a producer have to be to drain the fun from a ladi dadi sample

Run the World, which is an awesome song but does not belong here.

it's so glaringly out of place - do we think it was intended to be a red herring all along or was the album track listing completely rejigged after its disappointing reception?

methinks it might have originally been Track 2. Would make sense following up a slow burn like 1+1 with something like Run the World, but then it fell flat on the charts and they dropped it in at the end.

Has Beyonce been on one a lot recently? The sense of coming up in the second half of this album is kind of astonishing.

i can't get over "love on top"

wow, breathless

If Run The World fits anywhere it's probably between End of Time and I Was Here, there's a pretty obvious sense of build there. The run from Love On Top (amazing, very Stevie Wonder) and its ridiculous pile-up of key changes at the end, through Countdown (those horns!!!!) and then through The End of Time is incredible, such a rush.

The first half is good as well - agree this sort of balladry suits Beyonce a lot better than most of what she peddled over I Am. The only real clunker is Party, I know this is sort of the peril of the mid-paced club track but almost everyone concerned sounds bored (although I was relieved when Andre 3000 started rapping not singing). There should be some kind of independent international tribunal to determine whether songs are worthy of having the word 'party' in the title.

Love On Top (amazing, very Stevie Wonder)

it's very solange!

A little bit, I sort of think of Solange's retroisms as reaching even further back though.

u guys i haven't heard the album yet but i heard Party and i really really like it

like a lot

loving the way she sings along with the guitar solo on "I Care"

production/writing credits for like half these songs still aren't out there yet are they?

1st few listens i like 'countdown' & 'end of time' the most; basically prefer the back half definitely

i think people are overthinking shit if they think "Run The World" was shuffled to the last track after and as a direct result of its underperformance as a single. it's not a bonus track or anything -- if anything that's a prestige spot in the sequence! just like "Edge of Glory" on the Gaga album. but really nobody cares anymore where a single falls in the running order of a pop album, it's not like the '90s when the first three singles were often tracks 1-2-3.

me and my boo, and my boo LIP LOCKIN
all up in the back cuz the chicks KEEP FLOCKIN

"Rather Die Young" is BLOWING MY HEAD

Trying to figure out what "Rather Die Young" reminds me of

― Number None, Tuesday, June 7, 2011 12:08 PM Bookmark

the guitar runs remind me of "And Your Bird Can Sing"!

I feel like it may take me a while to get past this song.

OK fine, I'm downloading this now.

Oh shit the "Uhh Ahh" sample on "Countdown".

Totally loving this album. Wasn't sure I would.

I think it was a general Delfonics vibe or something i was getting from it. I can hear the guitar thing now you say it though.

Yeah, I didn't think that was what you were trying to get out, it's just what jumped out in my mind.

Oh shit the "Uhh Ahh" sample on "Countdown".

yesssss

I also like "Party" btw. I mean the beat is a bit chintzy or whatever but i love B's vocal.

that song is singlehandedly slowing down my motivation to listen to the album a 2nd time

cant stand party. so hamfisted

its channeling 80s/90s R&B the way someone excitedly shows you a childhood cartoon theme song on youtube does

You people are crazy. That song is great. Hamfisted or not, I'm glad someone in her statue is referencing that era of r&b.

has that era gone away?

i think its just kanye that puts me off tbh

theres no subtlety to it rlly obvious & cmon, the slick rick sample + stilted drums + synthesizer riff .... its ott referentialism. some tumblr marketing ish

yeah that era has been evoked in a lot of recent R&B and usually much better than on that song (both by other artists and by Beyonce)

not that i have any idea what tumblr marketing or youtube cartoons has to do w/ it

i just mean that it seems like really heavy-handed reductive caricature of the era rather than, like, a reinvention

I'm really grooving to "Love on Top," which boasts a subtle horn chart.

deej do you like "love on top"?

So Frank Ocean co-wrote "I Care" huh? Can't wait til Tyler jumps on a remix

deej do you like "love on top"?

― The Brainwasher, Friday, June 10, 2011 12:22 AM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i think its good mostly cuz of her performance, less the songwriting/arrangement which is mad retro

tend to lose grip of my sanity during the last minute of 'love on top'

yeah it def builds to an unexpected thing

i mean i think it has to be that way for it to work

only bey is 4real enough to throw in that extra psychotic keychange and she wants you to know that

Yeaaah that keychange is great.

think this album just gets away with 'party' by the skin of its teeth, it's really kind of a feat

more impressive when you consider it's doubtless some bullshit that's been sitting round since the dark days of 2004 and someone had a eureka moment

i may be young
but i'm
READEHHHHHH

Dunno if this is bullshit or not, but..

http://www.musicboxmix.net/2011/06/09/beyonce%E2%80%99s-new-album-%E2%80%9C4%E2%80%B3-pushed-back/

Word is that Columbia has pushed back Beyonce’s album until September, because of the leak, and the Queen “B” is not feeling it at all.

Reportedly, the record label made the decision late Wednesday evening in an emergency meeting. Record executives at Columbia Records felt that a leak of the 3 weeks was too severe and would hurt record sales. Columbia records cancelled all printing orders for the album until further notice.

Also, it looks like Jay Z who is reportedly head of Beyonce’s new management team agrees with the record label but Beyonce does not. Beyonce reportedly called her own emergency meeting in London. Word around Beyonce’s Camp is that Beyonce is now contemplating making an emergency trip back to the states to personally plead her case to Columbia Records.

Sources say that Jay Z wants to pick an entire new set of songs (minus the singles that have already been released). However, Columbia wants Beyonce to redo the entire album over because they feel the other songs Beyonce turned in are too concept edgy and extreme and fear they want play well in America and Beyonce, sources say is worried about making the Grammy’s September deadline.

I mean, the weak hang on the English language the author has doesn't help the story's case.

Also, taking the details of this "report" into consideration, Columbia and Jay-Z had to be completely aware this album would leak. No album escapes a leak until you yourself sit on it until release day (Radiohead). I assume they probably worked the inevitability into their release plans. Now, if they're REALLY considering pushing it back, it's because of how the singles have underperformed.

yeah, i'll wait for something more concrete than musicboxmix.net's sources

i cant imagine 1+1 underperforming tbh

Most of this is really good, but "Countdown" is almost like a parody of Beyonce.

But, yes, the B2M snatch is a nice surprise.

tend to lose grip of my sanity during the last minute of 'love on top'

the key change!

but it actually ends too soon, like about half a minute too soon

You mean, the key change(s)!

(I know it's not fair to compare anything to "Golden Lady" and "Summer Soft," which are the gold standard for this end-of-song progressive key changes thing, but the seams kinda show on "Love On Top.")

Yeah there are like five key changes, it's so ridiculously unabashed in its sense of piling icing upon icing upon icing.

I think Countdown is phenomenal, the brass is superhero theme worthy.

"Countdown" is def the song that sounds most typically like "a Beyonce song", but nothing wrong with that imo.

Meh, I've just never been moved much by the Creole marching band stuff.

Also, taking the details of this "report" into consideration, Columbia and Jay-Z had to be completely aware this album would leak. No album escapes a leak until you yourself sit on it until release day (Radiohead). I assume they probably worked the inevitability into their release plans. Now, if they're REALLY considering pushing it back, it's because of how the singles have underperformed.

― Johnny Fever, Thursday, June 9, 2011 11:45 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

3 weeks IS a pretty early leak, though, name the last major album that leaked well over 2 weeks before the release date and i'm sure that resulted in a lot of handwringing too

"1 + 1" isn't actually getting a single push, is it? afaict it's just a song that was released in between the first two singles ("Run The World" and "Best Thing I Never Had")

She performed out live on network tv. I'd be shocked if it wasn't a single

*it

Graduation? xxp

kl0pper was pleased 12 days before Graduation's release date

Dang

The "swagu" crap in "Party" is soooooo lame. stfu Kanye.

Yeah, the track could do without that in fairness

"swag surfin'" and "swag splash" already gave swag unpleasant fluid associations for me, now kanye's "swag goo" has immortalized swag as a synonym for ejaculate

can we inundate ASCAP with letters asking them to revoke Kanye's publishing royalties for it?

http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lmhx3joLQH1qgov1ko1_500.jpg

obligatory

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITelIN1piYQ

yeah, ^^^ was the immediate association in my head

I don't really have any problem with Kanye's bit. If it was random producer dude #22, rather than THE KANYE WEST, no one would give a fuck. Song is a fun jam anyway.

yeah i had "party" in my head all day and i think it's entirely by virtue of beyonce's phrasing?

cause tonight's the night!—uh-uh-oh-oh—that i give you everything/music knocking till the morning light!

and then of course andre

Yeah, I don't usually think of Beyonce as having great phrasing, but her phrasing all over this album is pretty good.

people would TOTALLY make fun of anyone else going "you dripping swag goo" at the beginning of the song, it's just a little extra rmde and very much in character that it's kanye

it's "swagu"!!

apex of an unpleasant bit of slang; glad it has reached apogee and may now subside into "bling" and "i'd hit that" status

McDonald's new Swag Supreme

lol yea 'swag goo' nvr even occurred 2 me & i wish i could unread that

I can't get over how lazy that Kanye verse is on what will be one of the two biggest pop releases of the year. The song itself is merely underwhelming but Kanye actually manages to tip it over into being actually terrible.

I don't really hear it as a verse. Just a little intro.

lol yea 'swag goo' nvr even occurred 2 me & i wish i could unread that

― johnny crunch, Saturday, June 11, 2011 11:57 AM Bookmark

same here

I can't get over how lazy that Kanye verse is on what will be one of the two biggest pop releases of the year. The song itself is merely underwhelming but Kanye actually manages to tip it over into being actually terrible.

― Matt DC, Saturday, June 11, 2011 2:57 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark

i think you're looking for the katy perry thread

I don't like it but it's hardly a "verse"

ha J0rdan otm

that it's only like a 4 bar into and is STILL so horrendous that it's all anyone talks about the song speaks volumes. like i can barely remember anything about the Andre verse or whether it's good or bad.

also "swagu" is actually worse than "swag goo" imo

according to wiki, "i miss you" was written by frank ocean

i was kinda hoping that "party" would be something closer to john legend's "green light" -- not sure the mid-tempo works for it

>>> "Green Light"

no!!

If anything, John Legend doesn't work on an uptempo cut like that.

no, that is the best song

I liked "Green Light" at first but it wore through really fast.

if "Party" recalls any "Green Light" it's the one on B'Day -- funny how the most uptempo songs on this album recall the most flimsy lightweight songs on that album

yall are mad, "Party" is a jam

according to wiki, "i miss you" was written by frank ocean

Yeah that's him on the intro i think

party is not as good a song as green light.

thank u forks

the slick rick sample feels so awkward, it's like offbeat chattering

I don't care if I have to stand alone on this, fuck it, I feel strongly.

i feel like there's too much winking going on w/ its retro-ness ... thats what i meant by the tumblr stuff ... like, intentionally off-beat drums, big obvious synth melody, slick rick sample -- its a build-it-yourself THROWBACK that draws too much attention to its throwback qualities at the expense of an overall song

like all those tumblr graphic design ppl who post stuff for capturing the overall vibe of 'an era' & thats the sole purpose

I don't really get an overly retro vibe from it? A bit, but it doesn't seem like the focus, certainly not as much as something like say, Lloyd's "Girls Around the World".

that partic slick rick sample was on like 200 songs in 1992. there's no way its anything but retro

girls around the world was just the beat loop -- nothing else about it was retro -- thats what made it feel more lighthearted & fun, bringing a single element forward

this just feels like -- and im sure its aggravated by kanye's presence -- an attempt to, i dunno, wear cross colors and put them on backwards and say 'catch wreck'

im probably overstating how 'bad' this is, i seem to be more strident in my 'dislikes' lately, when really its just, like, average, but i dunno, its just not my thing

also to be fair im coming at this from probably the wrong angle -- a star as big as beyonce & i'm only intermittently familiar w/ her albums so im bringing a kind of R&Bism / chart popism combo to it, instead of a Pop Star angle, so

deej you're prob being a bit harsh -- anyway i think it's pretty easy to evaluate it outside of the context of its sampling & just say it's kinda drab

I don't really get what's retro about this other than the Slick Rick sample tho. I don't get the whole dress-up thing aspect you do at all. "Girls Around the World" had a Slick Rick sample too btw and begins with someone saying "The year is '88" ffs.

(Not saying those are strikes against it, to clarify)

Oh, and Debarge lyrics!

hmm yeah ill have to think more on why it grates here but not elsewhere. i mean there are examples where old skool stuff just seems fun & other times it seems overly reverent (saadiq, say -- not the case here) or overly serious (this is not a test-era missy, say) but neither of these seem like the issue i have here. i think maybe its just a kanyesque laziness about its arrangement that bothers me

And at any rate, the "Ashley's Roachclip" drums by themselves seem way more "of their time" than anything going on in the Beyonce song.