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Music News: Christina Aguilera's 4th studio album: 'Bionic'
Member Since: 5/27/2010
Posts: 119
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Originally posted by maxie
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hahahaha =) like i mean the music to the song is cool but i feel like with the sound of it all, it's just better without words and as an instrumental. i just listened to it again, in full and it still isn't really doing much for me lol... i like songs that have parts that just stand out to me, no matter if its the lyrics or the music and that song doesn't have anything that leaves me 'in awe' lol
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Member Since: 8/24/2008
Posts: 40,932
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Member Since: 9/7/2008
Posts: 12,807
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Recent pics:
American Idol [Backstage]
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Member Since: 6/17/2006
Posts: 6,541
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I don't get the hype for elastic love.
It's like the worst track she ever recorded.
Wtf?
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Member Since: 9/7/2008
Posts: 12,807
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Quote:
Originally posted by Rihannafan
It's May 27
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They closed the May thread... 
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Member Since: 9/7/2008
Posts: 12,807
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Member Since: 9/7/2008
Posts: 12,807
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Member Since: 1/27/2006
Posts: 51,546
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"You Lost Me" really helped on Amazon.
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Member Since: 2/18/2007
Posts: 12,501
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June is the moment
Bionic June 8th 
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Member Since: 3/15/2008
Posts: 1,516
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Some reviews of Bionic:
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Well, you’ve got to give her credit for picking an honest title, anyway. Christina Aguilera called her latest album Bionic, and she meant it — this is an hour of machines awkwardly mingling with their human host, and in the end, it smells like a sweaty Lee Majors.
Okay, okay, so it isn’t that bad. In fact, parts of Bionic are really sort of fun — but not enough of them, and when the album works, it often works for reasons that don’t have an awful lot to do with Aguilera. Why is one of the more soulful and expressive young pop singers on the market so eager to bury herself under sheets of frozen plastic? And when, goddammit, will she finally reach the point in her career where she cares more about songs, and using her voice, than dumb club bangers?
Don’t look for answers anywhere in Bionic’s 15 tracks (it’s actually 18 if you count the three between-song “interludes,” but we won’t). You do get a whole hell of a lot of music — now, as always, Aguilera subscribes to the “take too long to record one overstuffed album so you can pretend it’s AN EVENT” philosophy practiced by Michael Jackson after Thriller — but most of it could have been recorded by anybody. As a teenager, Aguilera enthusiastically embraced the two modes of expression available to young pop singers — which are, for the record, loud narcissism and horniness — but as an adult, she hasn’t figured out how to move past them. The result is an album elaborately constructed to feel big, but which has nothing at its center to hold the damn thing together. Christina likes to get dressed up. She likes to dance. She likes to have sex first thing in the morning. Stop me if you’ve heard this before.
“Okay,” you might be saying. “So lyrically, Bionic is warmed-over Janet Jackson and Madonna records. So what? The important thing is the music, man. Specifically, the cool quotient of the producers and/or collaborators she hired. So tell me something good.” To which I respond: “M.I.A., Peaches, Switch, Polow da Don, Tricky, Focus…, Linda Perry, and Le Tigre.” In other words, this is one of those records that’s supposed to sound futuristic in the most retro way possible, and on that front, it’s a success, loaded up with farting synths and chintzy drum machine beats, not to mention odes to cunnilingus (“Woohoo”), fashion (“Glam”), and herself (“Vanity”) torn straight from the pages of the late ’80s/early ’90s Madonna songbook, as well as one nifty track (the M.I.A. collaboration “Elastic Love“) that sounds a little like Art of Noise rubbing shoulders with, I don’t know, Cyndi Lauper in 1985.
“Elastic Love” is probably Bionic’s best track, a creamy blend of slip-slidey synths and boomy, treated vocals that sounds nothing like anything else on the album or, for that matter, anything Aguilera’s ever done — and if Bionic were shorter, it’d be something more than a distant memory drowned in filler by the time the album drew to a close. As things are, though, you’ve still got 11 songs to go when “Elastic” fades from your speakers, including a terribly ill-advised bloc of five ballads that runs from the droning “Sex for Breakfast” through “You Lost Me” before yielding to the stomping Katy Perry wannabe “I Hate Boys,” which is sure to kill at least as many Top 40 brain cells as whatever the Black Eyed Peas are doing right now. (Also, if anyone at RCA still has a brain, the Peaches/Le Tigre collaboration “My Girls” will be a summertime single.)
As you might have guessed, Bionic is sort of all over the place, which is what happens when an artist like Aguilera tries to have it both ways. The album has the length of a major statement, but it says nothing; it’s pop Top 40 spumoni, a patchwork blend of juvenile double entendres like “Woohoo” and AC singles-in-waiting like “Lift Me Up,” a Lifetime-ready inspirational ballad that Bette Midler could have knocked out of the park 20 years ago. Are we supposed to believe in either of Aguilera’s poses? When are we supposed to take her seriously — when she’s crooning about being naked and vulnerable, or when she’s barking stuff like “I’m not cocky, I just love myself…bitch”?
I’m guessing the answer Aguilera’s most committed fans — and maybe Aguilera herself — would offer is that we aren’t supposed to take any of it seriously, that it’s just a pop record. And that’s a valid point, at least for the half of Bionic that smiles at itself in the mirror while shaking its ass on the dance floor. But that still leaves those AC ballads, which feel awfully crass next to stuff like “Sex for Breakfast,” and the interludes, which suggest Aguilera thinks we’re listening to something important here, rather than the machine-assisted flailings of an artist prematurely past her prime. Next time, she’ll be better off if she concentrates on the human element.
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http://popdose.com/cd-review-christina-aguilera-bionic/
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Well, it’s eagerly anticipated and hyped: the return of Christina Aguilera to the music scene. After a long absence, she’s coming back on June 8 with her new album ‘Bionic’. With such a long break in between albums and with how much effort she claims to have put into her new material, you’d really expect something out of this world and mind blowing, right? Well, I was! Unfortunately, ‘Bionic’ is just the little album that couldn’t. It’s not firing on all cylinders, if it is indeed “bionic” then it is due for some heavy maintenance and servicing because this is, in my opinion, Christina Aguilera’s worst album to date. Even worse than her self-titled debut. It makes ‘Back to Basics’ stand out for the gem and artistic piece of work that it was.
There’s been a lot of talk about how Christina Aguilera is either jealous or gunning for Lady GaGa’s popularity. With the release of her video for “Not Myself Tonight”, GaGa fans and others were quick to point out how Aguilera seems to be fixated on copying everything GaGa. I can tell you now, the comparisons will stop with actually listening to this album because we’d be so fortunate for Aguilera to try to go where Lady GaGa has gone musically with her one and half albums. ‘Bionic’ is a let down on so many levels. First, you buy a Christina Aguilera album because you want singing, over-the-top vocal runs, showstopping performances. ‘Bionic’ is devoid of Aguilera’s usual vocal theatrics. For the most part, she either talks through the lyrics in a rhythmical manner, whispers the lyrics or just butchers her voice by relying on computers to manipulate and make her voice sound robotic. This is Christina Aguilera – a performer whose belted out hits like “Beautiful”, “Fighter” and “Hurt”. That performer though seems to have checked out of his album. In her place? A rapper wannabe and an artist that sounds completely confused about her image and musical direction.
There’s no real ‘pop’ moments on the album. Image wise, she seems to be going for a cross between GaGa, Gwen Stefani and Madonna circa ‘Erotica. Musically, she reminded me more of M.I.A. or an artist that’s just arrived on the scene. In many ways, this album attempts to ignore ‘Back to Basics’ and return Christina to her ‘Stripped’ album: provocative, sexual, edgy. Well, she fails miserably at recapturing that edge and musicality from the ‘Stripped’ album and has definitely lost that vulnerable and personality that went into the ‘Back to Basics’ tracks. For the most part, ‘Bionic’ is weak simply because there’s no real consistency to it. It just sounds like a collection of songs she’s slapped together in a hurry. There are a lot of tracks about fashion/image including ‘Glam’, a runway/modeling type songs celebrating high-end labels and getting done up; “Vanity” about how she’s very much into herself and tooting her own horn, even to the disapproval and dislike of others; and then there’s “Prima Donna” which is all about partying and being on top of the world. Then there’s a lot about sexuality and sex in general with tracks like “Not Myself Tonight” which boasts of experiencing carnal pleasures with men and women; “Morning Dessert” and “Sex for Breakfast” describing in great detail how she likes to ‘get down’ with her lover, “Desnudate” where she commands (very much like her former rival Britney Spears) to ‘get naked’; and “WooHoo” that’s all about the power of a great vagina. Really … what the hell? What’s happened to our great chanteuse Christina Aguilera? A lot of these tracks seem like B-sides and simply beneath an artist like Aguilera who has proven herself to be vocally talented and (usually) pretty good at standing out with great choices with her music.
I’ve bitched about how much ‘Bionic’ is lacking but there are a few good points to Aguilera’s new music. First, there are a few tracks that features her putting aside her desire for fashion and sexual conquests and has her returning to just belting out hits. Still, she sounds very reserved and none of her ballads/slow tracks stand out like her past hits. “Lift Me Up”is, in my opinion, the best track on the album. It’s very classic Christina: she sings soft, she hits her high notes and it oozes of sadness and vulnerability. The album also features two duets – one with Nicki Minaj that’s somewhat reminiscent of “Can’t Hold Us Down” with Lil’ Kim in that when both of them are paired together, the result is a pretty fun, off-the-wall female anthem (even though “WooHoo” is all about sex rather than “Can’t Hold Us Down” being about female empowerment). “My Girls” featuring Peaches is another light, fun track that features a little mini rap by Peaches that breaks up the album’s rather mediocrity. “You Lost Me”, a track that was penned by Sia and Aguilera, is another stand-out performance. It’s a very stripped-down, simple ballad that has a very old-dated feel with it’s doo-wop treatment. Besides that, I like the art direction of the album. Done by D*Face, it’s very artistically motivated, somewhat based in graffiti and some in illustration and I definitely feel more effort was put in the visual aspect of the album than was put into the actual music.
In all, was ‘Bionic’ worth a four year wait? Absolutely not. Is it worth all of the hype? I don’t think so. Obviously some of the GaGa vs. Aguilera beef that came with the “Not Myself Tonight” video and the comments Aguilera’s made in interviews (including her spread in ‘Out’ magazine) was drummed up by Aguilera’s label and camp to compensate for a pretty weak album. Where’s the voice, the performance, the art that Aguilera usually brings into an album? The music of ‘Bionic’ could have been done by just about any other artist out there. I expected much more from Christina Aguilera and think ‘Bionic’ will definitely be one of her weakest efforts. I hope she’s gotten the whole ‘futuristic’ sound out of her system down that she’s done it with “Keeps Getting Better”, “Dynamite” and this album. Every artist is allowed to deviate off course and do whatever they fancy but I already dread having to wait another 4 years or more for her to put out a proper studio album.
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http://decaptain.wordpress.com/2010/...-album-bionic/
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Member Since: 3/15/2008
Posts: 1,516
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Also WooHoo debuts at #79 on the BB Hot 100 chart.
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Member Since: 5/11/2010
Posts: 92
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Quote:
Originally posted by Martin
I don't get the hype for elastic love.
It's like the worst track she ever recorded.
Wtf?
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thats exactly how i feel, i saw a lot of people love this song, but its just didnt work for me...its totally not christina...i just cant stand singing while diving thing!  its the only song i skip... :P
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Member Since: 10/8/2009
Posts: 35,527
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i also cant stand 'Elastic Love'.
Imagine if she had dropped 'Glam' as the lead single like planned? 
however, it is overall a strong album. I don't like it as much as Stripped but it is very good, i'd say 7/10. I do think a lot could have been cut out though, it would make the album better. 'NMT' makes so much more sense as the first single now that i'v heard the whole album.
WooHoo/Bionic/Lift Me Up/Desnudate/You lost Me for singles.
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Member Since: 10/28/2008
Posts: 22,771
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Her first album that I can proudly say "I LOVE THIS ****" but something about the atmosphere of the whole album that suggests lack of originality.
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Member Since: 5/11/2010
Posts: 92
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Quote:
Originally posted by arkl
Her first album that I can proudly say "I LOVE THIS ****" but something about the atmosphere of the whole album that suggests lack of originality.
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Mayb bcoz its been 4 years and we expecting something more amazing, and imo the album is amazing (stripped way much better), but the music a bit out of date since entire industry hv change when she rest...and imo the ballad actually save this album...
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Member Since: 11/13/2009
Posts: 2,725
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Those two reviews are making me worried about her sales
:-/
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Member Since: 1/21/2010
Posts: 2,175
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ELASTIC LOVE is freakin' fire! I love it!
The song shows off her collaborators in ways that none of the other songs do... Some of the other "pop" songs are fairly predictable.
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Member Since: 8/6/2004
Posts: 3,189
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Quote:
Originally posted by ZeroGravity
Those two reviews are making me worried about her sales
:-/
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Why because of reviews from a blogger, random ones at that. I dont think so.
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Member Since: 6/28/2009
Posts: 6,960
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Quote:
Originally posted by ZeroGravity
Those two reviews are making me worried about her sales
:-/
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There reviews from irrelevant bloggers, don't worry. 
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Member Since: 6/28/2009
Posts: 6,960
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I'm getting tired of that hairstyle. :/
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