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POPGAF |OT3| Geo Da Silva > nails on chalkboard > Taylor Swift

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K

Kyon

Banned
RT

Bladenic said:
Stop listening to that trash and join the Church of Chri$t.
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K

Koodo

Banned
RT
Marius_ said:
Here is the review you wanted

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/17369-unapologetic/
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Pitchfork said:
Toward the end of her turgid seventh album, Unapologetic, Rihanna sings a grim rhetorical: "What's love without tragedy?" But the real question that she and her songwriters seem to be posing on Unapologetic is, "Who is Rihanna without Chris Brown?" The album is designed to engage our perception of Rihanna the Pop Star and Rihanna the Victim, and the source of its fascination is the dissonance between the two. Its narrative, about a woman's miserable obsession with a man we know to be her abuser, flouts expectation of the traditional survivor's tale; we want to see a woman learn from that pain and leave it, not rut in it.

It was already difficult to separate Rihanna the pop icon, whom we think we know from her glamorous image and her songs, from the "real" Rihanna, whom we think know from the bruised "Robyn F." of her 2009 LAPD police report. Unapologetic courts this confusion. We see the singer as self-possessed ("Good Girl Gone Bad"), a superstar isolated by her fame ("A Girl Like Me") who is full of sexual brio ("Rude Boy"). This constructed image of power doesn't jibe with her purported rekindling with Chris Brown, who is most notable for Top 40 R&B diarrheatics, a decent MJ impression, and, infamously, beating the living **** out of Rihanna.

Much has been made of the couple's duet, "Nobody's Business", which is, unfortunately, one of Unapologetic's high points. They pledge their eternal fealty, suck face in a Lexus, and let the world know that the love between them ain't nobody's business but theirs. MYOB is a tall order when your boyfriend once had to do an apology tour that included a stop on "Larry King Live" with his mom. The song's upbeat tempo makes it a shoe-in single with cross-platform playlists in its sights; she wants everyone to get the memo. But ultimately, it's a bubbly pop tune that conjures up historical memory of women defending men who have hurt them.

The rest of the album is a synth-pop slog that plays like the companion piece of Nan Goldin's "The Ballad of Sexual Dependency". She's frozen in a relationship with a bad person and tangled in a toxic situation that feels out of her control (SOUNDS FUN, RIRI!)-- themes that are mirrored in Unapologetic's surplus of minor-key treacle. The perfunctory Ibiza thump of "Right Now" reflects badly on both her and producer David Guetta while "Fresh Off the Runway" is capitalist braggadocio (nonsense grade) so static it borders on unmusical. The Auto-Tune on Future's "Loveeeeeee Song" feature calls to a mind a dog vomiting while Rihanna, in turn, sounds like she's been roused from a medicated slumber.

Rihanna's stature has been built on undeniable singles like "We Found Love" and "The Only Girl in the World", but tracks of this caliber are nowhere to be found. Lead single "Diamonds" mixes simile, cliché, and metaphor, serving as a potent reminder that someone thought this was the best the album had to offer. Oú est ma "Umbrella"? On "Power It Up", she sounds alternately robotic and narcotized as she sings about how she's so rich she can pay for a $100 valet service and a night at the strip club and doesn't need friends. Plaintive piano ballad "Stay" is Rihanna inhabiting the post-Florence pop landscape, all chiaroscuro and natural voice. It is pretty.

The album closes with songs that are more potently disturbing than the attention-grabbing "Nobody's Business". With production from The-Dream and Carlos McKinney, Rihanna devotes nearly seven minutes-- a pop aeon-- to "Love Without Tragedy/Mother Mary", where she sings, "Who knew the course of this one drive/ Injured us fatally/ You took the best years of my life/ I took the best years of your life/ Felt like love struck me in the night/ I pray that love don't strike twice," over a riff that copies from the Police's "Message in a Bottle". It then becomes a florid song suite, mixing prayer and star-is-born autobiography. "Let's live in the moment/ As long we got each other…" she sings, pausing before the stunning "I'm prepared to die in the moment." It's a curious choice of words in a song that seems to address her life in the long shadow of her abuse: she told police that Chris Brown said he was going to kill her during the beating. The tracks that follow, "Lost in Paradise" and the awful "Get It Over With", further underscore any concern one might have for the pop star's romantic choices.

It's difficult to understand why Rihanna expects her fans to hang in this dark space with her (and Chris Brown). The album is unapologetic but it's also airless, nearly hookless, and exudes a deep melancholy. Given these qualities, it's hard not to wonder where else the album might have gone. Would it fare better if the topics were the same, but set to songs as combustible as "Don't Stop the Music"? If her pain and shame and can't-quit-you-babe motif was delivered with some humor? If she kept her personal drama to herself and sang about rolling fat joints on her bodyguard's head and did more duetting with the dude from Coldplay?

On one hand, it's tempting to give Rihanna props for broadcasting her all-too-real shortcomings. She's quite a distance from the tidy narrative we'd like, the one where she's learned from her pain and is back to doing diva triumph club stomp in the shadow of Beyoncé. Unapologetic rubs our faces in the inconvenient, messy truth of Rihanna's life which, even if it were done well, would be hard to celebrate as a success. But the measurable failure is the album's music. On a track-by-track basis, the songs make for dull labor, not worth our time and not befitting Rihanna's talent.
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B

Bladenic

Member
Cynosure said:
littering popgaf with talk of Ke$hit should be a bannable offense.

Mehrius made an appropriate tra$h bin for such wa$te




yassss
the only acceptable illuminati vessel


iA09yHgNm1eIi.gif





WHAAAAAAJFVHFJHVFJVSHSFJVDJNHJDHVSNDDTTTTT NOWWWWWWWWWWWWW
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1. Do you even go here anymore?

2. Not praising Rihanus and shading Ke$ha.

3. Far worse is discussed here than Ke$ha. Also I can understand hate for Animal/Cannibal but Warrior is on a different level. At listen first. If you still don't like, well, enjoy the (one of few) purchased copy of Cactus.
 
K

Koodo

Banned
<+)O Robido O(+> said:
They do a good job of making all these songs reflective of her life, even though she didn't actually write any.
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Are you arguing a song titled Nobody's Business, featuring Chris Felony Bruiser, is not meant to reflect on diaRIHa's personal life despite the lack of a writing credit?
 
B

Bladenic

Member
<+)O Robido O(+< said:
Preach sistren. Give it a week tho, they'll forget all about her and be on to the next artist. I hope Ke$ha enjoys all the success she deserves.
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Bye, she'll be ruling the singles charts for months to come.

I do hope it sells well though. It's worth noting that only two Rihanna albums have outsold Animal in the US, and Loud only barely. Teehee.
 
<+)O Robido O(+>

<+)O Robido O(+>

Member
Bladenic said:
Bye, she'll be ruling the singles charts for months to come.

I do hope it sells well though. It's worth noting that only two Rihanna albums have outsold Animal in the US, and Loud only barely. Teehee.
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By all means, aim for the low hanging fruit. How did her singles do, since we're comparing?
 
B

Bladenic

Member
<+)O Robido O(+< said:
By all means, aim for the low hanging fruit. How did her singles do, since we're comparing?
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She hasn't has one single not chart in the top 10, and 2 #1's already, soon to be 3. Rihanna didn't achieve the same number of top tens until the tail end of GGGB, and only with the repackaged version.

And not you saying "low hanging fruit" but stanning Rihanna. Give it a rest.

Edit: and Tik Tok, yep.
 
<+)O Robido O(+>

<+)O Robido O(+>

Member
Bladenic said:
And not you saying "low hanging fruit" but stanning Rihanna. Give it a rest.
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I thought it was well established fact that Rihanna was a singles artist? Sorry for basing my statement on that. I'm not a stan in the sense that I'll be bothered that Rihanna doesn't sell the most. I happen to enjoy her music, and that's about that. I won't be dragging in her name because I'm well aware of her short comings.
and I'm not good at it. lol
I will, however, question why Rihanna, for all her perceived horribleness gets dragged, while Ke$sha, even worse IMO, gets hyped. But I think I know the answer.
 
B

Bladenic

Member
<+)O Robido O(+< said:
I thought it was well established fact that Rihanna was a singles artist? Sorry for basing my statement on that. I'm not a stan in the sense that I'll be bothered that Rihanna doesn't sell the most. I happen to enjoy her music, and that's about that. I won't be dragging in her name because I'm well aware of her short comings.
and I'm not good at it. lol
I will, however, question why Rihanna, for all her perceived horribleness gets dragged, while Ke$sha, even worse IMO, gets hyped. But I think I know the answer.
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Ke$ha does get dragged A LOT though. More than Rihanna I'd say, I guess just not recently.

It's all in good fun though, we can like whomever we want :)

Also I honestly think Warrior might change some people's minds on her, but if not, oh well.
 
K

Kyon

Banned
<+)O Robido O(+< said:
I thought it was well established fact that Rihanna was a singles artist? Sorry for basing my statement on that. I'm not a stan in the sense that I'll be bothered that Rihanna doesn't sell the most. I happen to enjoy her music, and that's about that. I won't be dragging in her name because I'm well aware of her short comings.
and I'm not good at it. lol
I will, however, question why Rihanna, for all her perceived horribleness gets dragged, while Ke$sha, even worse IMO, gets hyped. But I think I know the answer.
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I love The Forehead even though she stole from me is with Bruises. I drag her because its fun. I have 0 against Ha! I am #Navy (though not as hardcore as in the past RIP)

Although I can c why ppl can dislike her. The whole #ThugLife thing, getting back with Bruises(I don't know why ppl are surprised or give a shit but everyone see's it in a different way), the whole OVER SATURATION thing releasing an album every month and a single every week. (Hyperbole but you know damn well it's true). Other than that idk what to dislike her for.



People drag Ke$ha because she is a DIRTY CUNT and uses AUTOTUNE for everything. Also she doesn't SING... That's the only thing I see why people would hate her. She is the least in your face/pretentious out of most of the new generation Pop Royalty. She writes and releases a SMASH and just wants everyone to dance. No BAGGAGE basically
 
B

Bladenic

Member
Kyon said:
I love The Forehead even though she stole from me is with Bruises. I drag her because its fun. I have 0 against Ha! I am #Navy (though not as hardcore as in the past RIP)

Although I can c why ppl can dislike her. The whole #ThugLife thing, getting back with Bruises(I don't know why ppl are surprised or give a shit but everyone see's it in a different way), the whole OVER SATURATION thing releasing an album every month and a single every week. (Hyperbole but you know damn well it's true). Other than that idk what to dislike her for.
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How about Unapologetic being shit? :p

Edit: except Ke$ha did the exact opposite on Warrior. Which is why I think some people could warm up to her. Idk, we'll see.
 
K

Koodo

Banned
<+)O Robido O(+> said:
I thought it was well established fact that Rihanna was a singles artist? Sorry for basing my statement on that. I'm not a stan in the sense that I'll be bothered that Rihanna doesn't sell the most. I happen to enjoy her music, and that's about that. I won't be dragging in her name because I'm well aware of her short comings.
and I'm not good at it. lol
I will, however, question why Rihanna, for all her perceived horribleness gets dragged, while Ke$sha, even worse IMO, gets hyped. But I think I know the answer.
Click to expand...
Cum$hot used to be dragged to the absolute pits. I would know, I was part of that movement.

Unlike Rihlapse's consistent subpar quality and persistence on rushing out albums as if a bowel movement was hinging on the completion of the project, Ke$ha has improved her craft and taken extensive time to ensure her albums at least appear professional. Thus why opinion on the Chri$t is on the upswing while Rihanus continues stagnating in crossfire.

Sure, Rihfund's relationship with a felon has given us plenty of fodder to shade, but her ass wouldn't be getting raked across the coals if her output were consistently good.
 
K

Kyon

Banned
Bladenic said:
How about Unapologetic being shit? :p

Edit: except Ke$ha did the exact opposite on Warrior. Which is why I think some people could warm up to her. Idk, we'll see.
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Oh yeah forgot to say

Rihanna does release hits of course but her ALBUMS as of late are pure filler trash(besides the singles of course). Last cohesive album was LOUD. GGGB is still the superior album in her disco tho
 
<+)O Robido O(+>

<+)O Robido O(+>

Member
Kyon said:
Although I can c why ppl can dislike her. The whole #ThugLife thing, getting back with Bruises(I don't know why ppl are surprised or give a shit but everyone see's it in a different way), the whole OVER SATURATION thing releasing an album every month and a single every week. (Hyperbole but you know damn well it's true). Other than that idk what to dislike her for.
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My fave, Prince, has been releasing AT LEAST, an album a year since 1978! So i've come to appreciate a yearly release.
 
K

Kyon

Banned
<+)O Robido O(+< said:
My fave, Prince, has been releasing AT LEAST, an album a year since 1978! So i've come to appreciate a yearly release.
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Sorry like I said in the post before yours I meant to add that the overall quality is just not there besides the singles when it comes to her albums as of late. That is why people see the releases as negative because the quality decreases almost every release. She needs to at least take 2 years or 1.5 years and THINK of things she wants to do. If she wants to so these yearly releases she should maybe do mini albums with 3-5 songs. This would decrease the amount of filler.
 
R

royalan

Member
Bladenic said:
NO SHADE, but hasn't Prince's albums been mostly shit since the 90s, but especially in the 00s? I thought people just use his 80s stuff still.
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Not entirely true.

Definitely not high profile albums, but Prince still makes some decent funk. I think he was up for some Grammys not too long ago.
 
C

Cosmic Bus

pristine morning snow
Koodo said:
Solange's album has leaked and it's boring as fuck.
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idk about you sometimes, Koo. My only complaint with the EP is that it's too short! Four minutes of BOP and then twenty minutes of sultry jams.

and huuuge lolllolololollllolololollls at Roy's "indie" complaint. I'm sure you're a lovely person, Roybert, but good Christ, sometimes your attempts at dragging are like a blind person flailing down a stairwell.
 
R

royalan

Member
Cosmic Bus said:
idk about you sometimes, Koo. My only complaint with the EP is that it's too short! Four minutes of BOP and then twenty minutes of sultry jams.

and huuuge lolllolololollllolololollls at Roy's "indie" complaint. I'm sure you're a lovely person, Roybert, but good Christ, sometimes your attempts at dragging are like a blind person flailing down a stairwell.
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Care to expound on that, Cosy-poo?
 
K

Koodo

Banned
Cosmic Bus said:
idk about you sometimes, Koo. My only complaint with the EP is that it's too short! Four minutes of BOP and then twenty minutes of sultry jams.
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I'd have to give it another listen, but I was literally snoozing off while the album was playing.

I still use Losing You though.
 
C

Cosmic Bus

pristine morning snow
royalan said:
Care to expound on that, Cosy-poo?
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Beyonce's not black enough, and now Solange is too indie because... ? Like, I literally can't even figure out where you're coming up with that accusation. Something to do with the look of the video? Is the afro some sort of ubran counter culture effigy now? Does the production on "Losing You" -- the only song on the EP done in this style, not that you'd know since you already dismissed her entirely without ever listening to the music -- not fit your preconceived idea of what a black woman should be working with? Do tell.
 
R

royalan

Member
Cosmic Bus said:
Beyonce's not black enough
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Show me where I even insinuate this or quit while you're ahead.

and now Solange is too indie because... ? Like, I literally can't even figure out where you're coming up with that accusation. Something to do with the look of the video? Is the afro some sort of ubran counter culture effigy now? Does the production on "Losing You" -- the only song on the EP done in this style, not that you'd know since you already dismissed her entirely without ever listening to the music -- not fit your preconceived idea of what a black woman should be working with? Do tell.
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I'm fascinated by your idea that I think Solange is an Indie wannabe because she's not making the kind of music a "black woman should be working with." Whatever the hell that means. I think she's an Indie wannabe because she churned out yet another halfhearted attempt at musical relevance, only instead of the Pop-R&B of her "debut", and the torch/throwback Pop-R&B of Sol-Angel, she's now released a limp-dick collection of Sheila E b-sides.

I have listened to Solange's latest work of neaux1curr. I started listening to it when Koodo announced that it leaked, and I agree with his sentiment that it's a bore of an album that doesn't know what the hell it wants to be: a showcase of urban-tinged minimalism, or proof that she can abuse chromatic runs like her big sister.
 
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