sandbox r&b

i cannot wait to hear the anthony hamilton. loved his last album

i'm excited about this album, i love mr wrong

the robin thicke album is also pretty good on one listen - it mostly sticks to one mood, this kind of lilting, light-touch, bossanova-tinged seduction soul, but it does it really well. and it's not as if this year's fêted r&b releases aren't all about doing one mood over the whole album too. the oddest moment is "never give up", which apparently samples an orchestral piece that's based on traditional mexican dance

only thicke would think to call one of those soft, light songs "dangerous" though

Why did I just realize Anthony Hamilton is performing nearby tonight (aww man, too late for me to change plans and go)...

the last thicke was a little too heavy on cartoony bossanova slow jams, but i will definitely check for this one because something else is still a minor classic to me

oh it definitely doesn't add anything particularly new to the thicke aesthetic, apart from "never give up" and a kind of saadiqy retro exercise at the start that he pulls off pretty well. i think the thicke persona is becoming more palatable to me over time though, can't quite put my finger on why. at this particular juncture an album that's so listenable is rather welcome.

i like it too -- it's still goofy as hell, there's a hilariously odd but kinda fun protest song at the beginning -- but yeah it's very sunday morning, borderline jazzy background kinda music -- the song w/ lil wayne is the one that really stands out, oh and also there opener is 'something else' style soul -- i'm glad that there's no "shakin it 4 daddy" style songs on this tho

i like the new mary j just fine, too

worst cover, though

^^ I see what you did there.

Is it me or has that Blige album gotten no crossover promotional push? The last one also kinda sneaked out too. It's like she endures one- or two-album cycles of intense interest then recedes (e.g. The Breakthrough-Growing Pains got crossover promotion).

she's getting older and she and/or her label know it, plus straight up R&B itself barely every crosses over anymore. she's lucky to have retained as much of a fanbase as she has, frankly.

i'm fine with the cover image, it's very mary

but that font is retardd

wow this new k michelle song!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGd6x1fRUP0

i LOVE the perspective she's singing from. didn't think her commitment to real talk would lead this kind of wry, zen acceptance of the ecology of relationships.

loving your use of 'ultra fucking ratchet' in the first post btw

:)

the line "kreayshawn swag with an ass like serena" always makes me lol

loving your use of 'ultra fucking ratchet' in the first post btw

― gucc_ebooks (tpp), Thursday, December 8, 2011 4:45 PM (13 minutes ago) Bookmark Permalink

yesss

and that song is fire

the video is like half the length of the actual song, inexplicably (the song is ~out there~)

really quite surprised that this album turned out to be so good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTCYn7ZZnG4

"for my cinderellas" is soooo good!!

I DID IT FOR THEM HEARTBROKEN RIDE OR DIE CHICKS
THE ONES WHO SPENT THEIR LIVES PUTTING UP WITH HIS ISH

I DID FOR THEM FOR THEM MR RIGHT-WISHIN, GLASS SLIPPER-MISSIN, HAPPILY-EVER-AFTER CHICKS

oh yeah and this anthony hamilton album >>>>>>>>>>>>>>

the video is like half the length of the actual song, inexplicably (the song is ~out there~)

― degas-dirty monet (lex pretend), Thursday, December 8, 2011 6:03 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

what song?

the kalenna at the top of the thread i think

goddamn this robin thicke album knocks

man i'm so excited to listen to that and the a-ham when i actually have time

a-ham isn't on spotify but i am curious -- is it like anthony hamilton doing what he always does really well or is it actually something new for him in any way?

"a-ham"! i am curious abt the answet to mr. stevenson's question too btw

It feels pretty new to me. It's a much more contemporary record, by his standards. Everything about it, from the songwriting to the production, is just so immediate. Definitely the best soul record I've heard all year.

man i'm so excited to listen to that and the a-ham when i actually have time

― k3vin k., Friday, December 9, 2011 2:18 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Permalink

Gonna give ear to these this weekend for sure.

omfg you know how we've been bitching about the shitty mp3 quality of the dawn richard mixtape all year? she only went and uploaded the 320s at some point this year and didn't tell anyone - literally just discovered by chance now http://dawnrichardblog.com/

niiice

don't think it was the mp3 quality - think it was the mixing/mastering? are these mixed or mastered any differently?

sorry, but from streaming (not downloading) these sound just as shitty ;_;

maybe the downloaded ones will be better idk

Why would lex care about this? Confusing

Love this smooth CJ Hilton tune "Cold Summer":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn4jAkt43LA

Why would lex care about this? Confusing

― joey joe joe junior shabadoo, Saturday, December 10, 2011 2:54 PM (43 minutes ago)

it was literally hard to hear some of the parts of these songs

yeah in the dynamic range compression thread he thought we were all being babies

CJ Hilton has killed it this year w/ singles.

That CJ Hilton song is one J. Cole verse short of being "All I Want Is You."

are my posts just really unclear or is it deej's reading comprehension? dynamic range compression and mp3 quality are not the same thing. i can't deal with mp3s under 192 kpbs

btw, Miguel just played the Shrine in Chicago which is a big venue here for soul & hip-hop artists, and apparently Miguel wants to work with Pete Rock so I saw the shrine's twitter linking them up yesterday. i know pete rock has made some questionable collaborative decisions but imo it would be dope to see him getting involved in the 90s retro R&B thing, esp since it feels so much more vibrant than any retro 90s hip-hop thing has been in a minute

are my posts just really unclear or is it deej's reading comprehension? dynamic range compression and mp3 quality are not the same thing. i can't deal with mp3s under 192 kpbs

― degas-dirty monet (lex pretend), Saturday, December 10, 2011 3:08 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Permalink

dayo just implied that it looks to be a mastering issue, not an mp3 issue, but if you don't see how these could BOTH affect sound quality, you're the one w/ reading comprehension issues

Ah! He was in Chicago and I missed it! I would have made the drive had I known; I've wanted to see him all year... all the live performance clips I've seen from him have looked awesome

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yf5tBt9hB8s

I mean, that's just the soundcheck

dayo just implied that it looks to be a mastering issue, not an mp3 issue, but if you don't see how these could BOTH affect sound quality, you're the one w/ reading comprehension issues

dayo hadn't actually heard the 320 kpbs when he typed that o_0

I know I have cloth-ears b/c aside from happily listening to low bit rate radio sets, my only conscious response to the apparently-unlistenable poor quality of the Dawn Richard album is to turn up the volume on my earphones.

This is why while I agree with lex that dynamic range comprehension doesn't really bother me I decided long ago not to have a dog in that fight, my opinion is inherently unreliable.

i've listened to low-bitrate & poorly compressed stuff; I do have to overlook it though, consciously; part of my enjoyment of it is almost like, I'm hearing what the song could have been with better mastering

sometimes its so bad that I can't listen at all, but that happens more often in genres (pop punk, red hot chili peppers) that I don't really listen to

<3 "compass or map" on the thicke

yeah I was feeling until the rapping started

the annoying this is it seems like the whole LES IS MORE album is gonna be him rapping, which is like..... idgi.

lol @ him repeating "gold chains" three times

why does he keep rapping

― Guy with deep but still obviously homosexual voice (brains), Sunday, December 25, 2011 7:30 PM (1 hour ago)

lol i knew who this was before i even clicked on the link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1gbZTmPiYA
woah

I mean, the song is kind of corny but his voice is amazing

Some seriously great, vicious storytelling going on in this new Bei Maejor track.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z02glY0p7Lw&feature=player_embedded

i just heard a meshell song on the radio and can't believe i haven't heard her album yet. rectifying this soon

That Luke James track is solid.