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Special Event: atrlcritic | Ed Sheeran's new songs after the upgrade
Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,331
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Here's the current schedule:
Ongoing
Upcoming
Special
Drake - 'If You're Reading This It's Too Late' [March 3, 2015 - March 15, 2015]
Imagine Dragons - 'Smoke + Mirrors' [March 13, 2015 - March 25, 2015]
Kelly Clarkson - 'Piece By Piece' [March 15, 2015 - March 27, 2015]
Florence + The Machine - 'What Kind Of Man' [March 20, 2015 - March 27, 2015]
Voting for Throwback Albums 3 and 4 [April 1, 2015 - April 5, 2015]
Throwback Albums 3 and 4 [April 5 - April 20, 2015]
So Imagine Dragons start tomorrow, Kelly starts on Sunday, and Florence next Friday.
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,331
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No one has reviewed Drake yet. If March 15 rolls around and we still have 0-2 reviews, I'll extend Drake so that he ends on March 20 (when Florence starts).
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Member Since: 2/5/2014
Posts: 29,111
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How come Carly's score is so low? 
She deserved much better.
Edit: Never mind, I just caught it. I wasn't seeing one of the negative reviews.
The Top critic score though 
Also, next time I come in here, it will be for Drake.
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,973
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After 3 years, Imagine Dragons are finally back with a new album, Smoke And Mirrors. I have to say it was amazing watching them grow and conquer the world from their first EP to now.
But what I wanted to know was whether or not they will suffer the dreaded sophomore slump most artists with huge debuts go through.
Smoke And Mirrors opens with Shots, a Pop Perfection, a song that tells me that the boys don't give a **** about Rock purists and that they aren't afraid to embrace the Pop world that welcomed them and made them an arena selling band.
Polaroid is also another Pop song with Imagine Dragons signature drumbeat. I also love it and I love how relatable it is. There is a sadness to it that I love "Love is a Polaroid, better in pictures, never could fill the void" Dan signs melancholically. You can't help but feel for the guy. At the same time, the song makes you happy and is easy to sign along to. This is very Coldplayish.
Fortunately, the album is filled with bad asses Alternative songs like I'm So Sorry (already a fan favorite) and the title track, a chill song filled with poetry. It's a good track but it feels forced and sounds like Dan is trying to prove that he can write deep lyrics. When he belts "I wanna believe" in the chorus and throughout the song, I feel like he's trying to convince himself that he can handle all this pressure. However I adore the stunning guitar riff that ends the song. Breathtaking and I get goosebumps.
My personal favorite is Friction, a stunning track that starts out with a minimal production but turns into a bombastic rave by the end of the song. This song could be the biggest song this era and will certainly be insane when they perform it live. I'm already weeping imagining how wild the crowd will be at the concert.
The first single I Bet My Life, although good, is nowhere near as amazing as most of the songs. It grew on me and its catchy chorus has been inescapable but that's still the only redeemable part of the track.
The second part of the album is sadly not as interesting sonically. The songs start to sound the same and we start losing the energy of the first half. Most of these songs sound personal and some are beautiful (Dream, Summer) so I can't hold it against them.
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,973
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When Drake pulled a BEYONCÉ by surprise releasing his album on iTunes in the middle of the night, I wasn't really sure what to do. I love Drake but I wasn't the biggest fan of his last album which was filled with the word "pus***". I have nothing against swearing but it has to have a purpose. So I previewed the songs then after few reviews, I decided to buy it. And thank God I did. If You're Reading This It's Too Late is a gem. As far as Hip Hop albums go, it's not sonically groundbreaking like Kanye's Heartbreak or MBDTF and the verses aren't insane or jaw dropping like Azealia or Kendrick.
IYRTITL is however, a very pleasant album to listen to from start to finish. It also sounds fresh with the Rae Sremmurd inspirations in No Tellin' and PARTYNEXTDOOR's help in Preach which is my favorite song. I didn't like Tuesday but Preach is just on another level.
Jungle and 6PM In New York are also amongst my favorites and I laugh at the Kanye West dig in 6PMINY.
Another album highlight is Energy, a braggadocio track, he loves to show off. The simple beat and the lyrics are everything and almost inspirational. With a lot of success comes a lot of enemies, so the best thing to do is to feed off them and help yourself be better and more successful.
Company reminds me of Usher's I Don't Mind. In a society where strippers are looked down, these men are making sure to remind them that they are appreciated.
One thing I appreciate about Drake is that he always plays off his strengths and doesn't try to do too much, he also let the musical backdrop shine and he isn't afraid to show different emotions from insecurity (Now & Forever) to feeling like a God (Legend)
I also love You & The 6, a song for his mother, a brave woman who raised him all by her strong self. Reminds me of my mother.
Besides this, there isn't much to say, if you like Drake and his style, you'll love this album and him singing about sex, girls, money and how he is the coolest 28 years old rapper hasn't gotten old yet.
Drake is marketing this as a mixtape and he probably made it knowing this. For me, this strategy resulted in a simple, not overproduced and amazing album.
Score: 8/10
PREVIOUS REVIEWS
Drake's O To 100/ The Catch Up 6.5
Beyoncé & Nicki Minaj's ***Flawless Remix 10
Nicki Minaj's Anaconda 8
FKA twigs's LP1 10
Taylor Swift's Shake It Off" 1.5
Maroon5's V 5
Calvin Harris's Blame (feat. John Newmann) 6
U2's Songs Of Innocence 9
Lorde's Yellow Flicker Beat 3.5
Carrie Underwood's Something In The Water 7
Hozier's Hozier 10
Tove Lo's Queen Of The Clouds 7.5
Gwen Stefani's Baby Don't Lie 6.5
Taylor Swift's 1989 5.5
Imagine Dragons I Bet My Life 5.5
Calvin Harris's Motion 8
Ariana Grande's Love Me Harder 7.5
Azealia Banks' Broke With Expensive Taste 8
Selena Gomez's The Heart Wants What It Wants 8
Nicki Minaj's Bed Of Lies 3
Lorde's Pure Heroine 8
Kanye West's Yeezus 9.4
Beyoncé's 7/11 10
Nick Jonas's Jealous 10
Meghan Trainor's Title 2.5
Carly Rae Jepsen's I Really Like You 8.5
Imagine Dragons's Smoke And Mirrors 8
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 11/5/2011
Posts: 100,491
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Carly's score being dragged down by that one review 
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Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 34,855
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Ugh at me typing up a whole review for I Really Like You and forgetting to submit it. 
Though supaspaz and bluth already covered the bulk of the points I made, and much more eloquently at that, so
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ATRL Moderator
Member Since: 3/18/2009
Posts: 35,164
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Quote:
Originally posted by Sazare
Ugh at me typing up a whole review for I Really Like You and forgetting to submit it.
Though supaspaz and bluth already covered the bulk of the points I made, and much more eloquently at that, so |
Post it anyway! She needs justice for Lucas' troll "review."
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Member Since: 2/20/2012
Posts: 24,225
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Quote:
Originally posted by supaspaz
Post it anyway! She needs justice for Lucas' troll "review."
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!!!
A reviewer needs to consider the intention of the artist and his/her label when the music is put out.
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,331
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| Smoke + Mirrors - Imagine Dragons
Imagine Dragons | Interscope | Release Date: February 17, 2015 | Review Period: March 13, 2015 - March 25, 2015
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66 | Member Score
Generally Favorable Reviews
based on 5 Reviews | ddddd. | dddddd
8.0 | Experimental Top Critic Score
Universal Acclaim
based on 1 Top Critic |
| | dddddddddddddd | Summary: The second album from the Las Vegas-based band features lead single "I Bet My Life" and was produced by Dan Reynolds and Alex da Kid. | Record Label: Interscope
Genre(s): Pop, Alternative, Rock |
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| Member Reviews | | d | .iPositive: ████████████████ 3 | | d | ....iMixed: ███████████ 2 | | d | Negative: 0 |
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| | Top Critic Reviews | | d | .iPositive: ████████████████ 1 | | d | ....iMixed: 0 | | d | Negative: 0 |
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Member Since: 4/29/2012
Posts: 15,977
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A 69 for this Carly song 
It's funny how people think that extremely low reviews are troll reviews completely disregarding the reasons 
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Anyway I didn't mean to review Drake because I don't really have much to say about it but since nobody else is willing I might try to get one up
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I doubt this will get votes but I'll request the new Tame Impala song anyway.
Everyone who doesn't know it should definitely give it a listen because even though their music is not conventional by any means they always have a somewhat strong pop appeal. And we have to review FROOT of course 
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 37,384
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If I had remembered to review Carly I would've given her a negative score too 
Def doing ID for obvious reasons
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Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 34,855
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Hah, okay. Here goes.
Carly Rae Jepsen - "I Really Like You"
Like The Almighty One before it, "I Really Like You" is a perky, ebullient, crush song whose central charm lies in its chorus's quirky use of adverbs. But that's where the comparisons end. Where "Call Me Maybe"'s "maybes" serve to tone down the preceding words' directness as a come-on, "I Really Like You" uses "really" for emphasis, for assurance that while "this isn't love," it's the next best thing. And assure she does: the word is used 67 times over the song's 3:24 runtime. It's simple, it's repetitive, it's downright juvenile. And it's glorious.
Set to a pitter-patter of padded '80s drums, the song, with its barrage of "really"s, perfectly mirrors the frantic, giddy nature of crushing, where no number of fancy scripted words will suffice, where every feeling seems to gush out all at once in an uncontrollable bout of logorrhea. "Oh, did I say too much?" she asks in the post-chorus, realizing the weight of what she's just let out. "I'm so in my head when we're out of touch," before repeating herself: "I really (6x) like you. And I want you, do you want me, do you want me, too?," ending the chorus (and song) on that crucial question.
The verses are also adorable. Lines like "Late night watching television / But how'd we get in this position?" are double entendres only Carly could make seem so innocent.
9/10
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Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 34,855
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Quote:
Originally posted by Lucas32
A 69 for this Carly song
It's funny how people think that extremely low reviews are troll reviews completely disregarding the reasons |
Except your (scarce) reasons were completely baseless and mostly hinged upon the misguided notion that pop music needs to be "deep" or "meaningful." Pop music can be completely lighthearted and frivolous and that's perfectly fine. Some of the best pop music is by artists who don't take themselves too seriously.
When you worry too much about making "serious" pop with "artistic merit" you get ARTPOP or Electra Heart. And that's no good.
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Member Since: 4/29/2012
Posts: 15,977
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Quote:
Originally posted by Sazare
Except your (scarce) reasons were completely baseless and mostly hinged upon the misguided notion that pop music needs to be "deep" or "meaningful." Pop music can be completely lighthearted and frivolous and that's perfectly fine. Some of the best pop music is by artists who don't take themselves too seriously.
When you worry too much about making "serious" pop with "artistic merit" you get ARTPOP or Electra Heart. And that's no good.
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As I've said in the review even if you want carefree fun pop there are lots of better alternatives than this.
For example I would've rated songs like Uptown Funk or We can't stop way higher than this and they are in the category of light pop music because they aren't generic to the point where it hurts.
The song is the epitome of cheap,predictable and boring pop.If this satisfies you then so be it but I except a little more,even from carefree pop music.
Oh and despite its shortcomings both ARTPOP and especially Electra Heart are miles better than this for a multitude of reasons since they have better vocals,more varied productions and better lyrics(although you can't compare one song to an album).Utimately even if the ambition behind these 2 albums was bigger than the final output the fact that they tried a little more with pop is worth more than this song.
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 37,384
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Quote:
Originally posted by Lucas32
As I've said in the review even if you want carefree fun pop there are lots of better alternatives than this.
For example I would've rated songs like Uptown Funk or We can't stop way higher than this and they are in the category of light pop music because they aren't generic to the point where it hurts.
The song is the epitome of cheap,predictable and boring pop.If this satisfies you then so be it but I except a little more,even from carefree pop music.
Oh and despite its shortcomings both ARTPOP and especially Electra Heart are miles better than this for a multitude of reasons since they have better vocals,more varied productions and better lyrics(although you can't compare one song to an album).Utimately even if the ambition behind these 2 albums were bigger than the final output the fact that they tried a little more with pop is worth more than this song.
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This exactly
I mean there's a good kind of basic pop song (California Gurls, We Can't Stop) and there's a bad kind (this song). And there's nothing in the world that could make "I really really really really really really really like you" a redeemable line in a song.
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 13,761
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utter death @ california gurls and wcs being examples of good basic pop.
"i really really like you" is so honest and it perfectly captures this pre-adolescent, giddy, head-over-heels feeling which is so out of our grasp that we can barely express it.
i think you guys are failing to grasp the intention of the song and the effect the artist (or carly) wants to achieve. she nails this feeling so perfectly, and that's why it works.
on the converse, you have something like electra heart which is a bog standard pop record with mildly subversive lyrics in places masquerading as something much more than what it actually is. throwing in some vague commentary or a metaphor in your work doesn't make it 'unpredictable', 'daring' or 'great' by default, the work as a whole has to capture the feeling the artist wants to create. that is the only scale by which you can judge all music.
i even recall lucas giving style a low score and calling it 'immature'. i think you need to get over this rockism-esque mentality which immediately shuns anything so openly self-accepting as pop. there isn't anything wrong with music that aims to capture a feeling so sincerely.
ultimately though, you're more than entitled to think what you do about music. that's the beauty of an opinion. just adding my two cents
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Member Since: 4/29/2012
Posts: 15,977
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Quote:
Originally posted by bluth
on the converse, you have something like electra heart which is a bog standard pop record with mildly subversive lyrics in places masquerading as something much more than what it actually is. throwing in some vague commentary or a metaphor in your work doesn't make it 'unpredictable', 'daring' or 'great' by default, the work as a whole has to capture the feeling the artist wants to create. that is the only scale by which you can judge all music.
i even recall lucas giving style a low score and calling it 'immature'. i think you need to get over this rockism-esque mentality which immediately shuns anything so openly self-accepting as pop. there isn't anything wrong with music that aims to capture a feeling so sincerely.
ultimately though, you're more than entitled to think what you do about music. that's the beauty of an opinion. just adding my two cents
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Rockism has nothing to do with it as I love pop music but I can't get joy from songs like this or Shake it off and so I won't write a positive review about it clearly.
As I find Style immature you may not find Electra Heart daring.After all it depends on the perspective.
I don't agree with your line on judging music.I judge music by the lyrics,production and vocals and importantly if those lyrics have ambition/character and most importantly the feelings I get from ´listening to the music and I really like you gave me no feeling whatsoever. Obviosuly opinions on this differ but this is how I view music personally and you are obviously free to do it your way 
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 13,761
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 37,384
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Quote:
Originally posted by bluth
utter death @ california gurls and wcs being examples of good basic pop.
"i really really like you" is so honest and it perfectly captures this pre-adolescent, giddy, head-over-heels feeling which is so out of our grasp that we can barely express it.
i think you guys are failing to grasp the intention of the song and the effect the artist (or carly) wants to achieve. she nails this feeling so perfectly, and that's why it works.
on the converse, you have something like electra heart which is a bog standard pop record with mildly subversive lyrics in places masquerading as something much more than what it actually is. throwing in some vague commentary or a metaphor in your work doesn't make it 'unpredictable', 'daring' or 'great' by default, the work as a whole has to capture the feeling the artist wants to create. that is the only scale by which you can judge all music.
i even recall lucas giving style a low score and calling it 'immature'. i think you need to get over this rockism-esque mentality which immediately shuns anything so openly self-accepting as pop. there isn't anything wrong with music that aims to capture a feeling so sincerely.
ultimately though, you're more than entitled to think what you do about music. that's the beauty of an opinion. just adding my two cents
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There's a difference between capturing the giddiness and head-over-heels feeling of teenage love (songs like Teenage Dream) and a really lyrically weak, melodically basic song with a generic production (I Really Like You). Like you said we're all entitled to our opinions but I can't really see any good about IRLY, or Shake It Off, or Style for that matter 
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