ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 12/7/2008
Posts: 87,284
|
The Weeknd's album: 1989's male counterpart
Quote:
The closest recent analogue to ‘‘Beauty Behind the Madness’’ is probably ‘‘1989,’’ Taylor Swift’s pop coming-*out party from last year, which also pulses with 1980s pomp, and which Martin had a heavy hand in, too. Like Tesfaye, Swift spent the early part of her career cultivating a finicky audience and then cut bait and re-*established herself at the very center. But Swift had, in essence, been making pop music all along, in terms of subject matter and structural approach. Tesfaye’s transformation is a more precarious balancing act, reframing his past without abandoning it, teaching his hard-core fans not to mind when the new ones show up to cheerily sing along. So far, it seems to be working; when Swift played at MetLife Stadium in July, she invited Tesfaye out to duet with him on ‘‘Can’t Feel My Face.’’
As he sees it, he is walking in the footsteps of artists of previous eras who, from an R.&B. foothold, rocketed into the stratosphere. So it didn’t come as a surprise when Tesfaye was visibly (and uncharacteristically) thrilled to relate the story of how he first met the legendary producer Quincy Jones. The two were at a club called Drai’s in Las Vegas, where Tesfaye performs frequently. The owner introduced him to Jones, 82 years old but still spry enough for the club. The two sat down next to each other. ‘‘He knew about me,’’ Tesfaye said, beaming. ‘‘You couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.’’
|
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/08/02..._r=0&referrer=
|
|
|
|
