Slick In A Box
Me: i have a problem.
Brekke: Oh no. What?
Me: i have this thing where i stay in my bed, with my favorite three books and a few notebooks and my cellphone and my laptop.
Brekke: Sounds like lots of company.
Me: because ive got my laptop on my normal-sized bed, i dont have it plugged into my external hard drive. so ive been listening to futuresex/lovesounds because i spent some of my christmas itunes gift certificates on that album, and it's one of the only things directly on my computer.
Brekke: And why is this a problem? Shit's off tha chain.
Me: the problem is it's off the chain. i am, unambiguously, on his hype.
Brekke: Smoking Pandafy it.
Now, I was simplifying it a bit, because speaking in hyperbole is just such teenage fun but the littlest Mousketeer has something with FutureSex/LoveSounds. Justin Timberlake irks me for a few reasons but none of them have anything to do with his latest album. Futuresex/Lovesounds has been a heavily discussed album by music critics professional and amateur, drunk kids high school and college-aged, and when I went to Chevron to pick up some Marlboro 27s the guy from the 7-11 across the street was discussing it with the gas station attendant.
When I first heard "SexyBack", something about it reminded me of my high school days, recording in garages with ripped software and stolen equipment. The way Timberlake's voice scratched and buzzed was a throwback to intentionally roughing up the sound, taking a few more home-brew steps to producing the track while recording it. Though some bands plug their instruments straight into mixers and tack on effects digitally, expensive and/or illegally procured software can only take that sound so far. A condenser microphone optimally positioned to pick up the sound from an amp with tone and distortion set has a rich and authentic tone to it that is familiarly analog to the ears, irrespective of whether or not it can be identified. Justin Timberlake's vocals for "SexyBack" were, in fact, his voice recorded through a guitar amp and subsequently produced. Psh. Who says nostalgia is useless?
Good ole JayTee {it's not just the pronunciation of his initials, it's also his record company} has described the first single off of FS/LS {"SexyBack"} as "hip-hop on acid," with obvious pride. The Neptunes didn't have a hand in this latest album, but Pharrell and Chad's influence on Timberlake is undeniable, though luckily not pervasive. The highly synthesized melody and the tight, overtly-produced drum samples are well-paired with Timbaland's signature simplicity and ad-libbed interjections.
"SexyBack" is not my favorite track off this album by a long shot, but it was a smart lead single. FutureSex/LoveSounds is a fairly frivolous play all the way through, cleverly disguised by it's highly stylized concept. Timberlake must have wanted a record that could be described as "space-aged babymaking music", because basically that's the title paraphrased. This album is recycled and monotonous and clean enough for mass appeal, so it's obvious that Rick Rubin had a say in its production, but he couldn't break the momentum of the Timbs {erlake and aland}. "What Goes Around" is a catchy and bitter little anthem, "I Think She Knows" could be decent background music for a quiet heartbreak movie scene, and "(Another Song) All Over Again" is a forgettable enough ballad that ambiguously pulls at the right heartstrings. I'm not going to get into all the reasons I roll my eyes at Justin Timberlake, but the success of his latest album and the fact that he's tossing a coin between Scarlett Johanssen and Jessica Biel is enough to make me respect the guy for a while.
While we're still talking about J. Randall Timberlake, here's something that was just too weird to pass up: he and Timbaland are two of the producers listed on Duran Duran's May 2007 release, and he will be singing on a track titled "Night Runner". Wow.
post-script: if anyone out there knows how to cut an entry with a permanent link to the rest of the post, please holler at a player in the comments section.
When I first heard "SexyBack", something about it reminded me of my high school days, recording in garages with ripped software and stolen equipment. The way Timberlake's voice scratched and buzzed was a throwback to intentionally roughing up the sound, taking a few more home-brew steps to producing the track while recording it. Though some bands plug their instruments straight into mixers and tack on effects digitally, expensive and/or illegally procured software can only take that sound so far. A condenser microphone optimally positioned to pick up the sound from an amp with tone and distortion set has a rich and authentic tone to it that is familiarly analog to the ears, irrespective of whether or not it can be identified. Justin Timberlake's vocals for "SexyBack" were, in fact, his voice recorded through a guitar amp and subsequently produced. Psh. Who says nostalgia is useless?
Good ole JayTee {it's not just the pronunciation of his initials, it's also his record company} has described the first single off of FS/LS {"SexyBack"} as "hip-hop on acid," with obvious pride. The Neptunes didn't have a hand in this latest album, but Pharrell and Chad's influence on Timberlake is undeniable, though luckily not pervasive. The highly synthesized melody and the tight, overtly-produced drum samples are well-paired with Timbaland's signature simplicity and ad-libbed interjections.
"SexyBack" is not my favorite track off this album by a long shot, but it was a smart lead single. FutureSex/LoveSounds is a fairly frivolous play all the way through, cleverly disguised by it's highly stylized concept. Timberlake must have wanted a record that could be described as "space-aged babymaking music", because basically that's the title paraphrased. This album is recycled and monotonous and clean enough for mass appeal, so it's obvious that Rick Rubin had a say in its production, but he couldn't break the momentum of the Timbs {erlake and aland}. "What Goes Around" is a catchy and bitter little anthem, "I Think She Knows" could be decent background music for a quiet heartbreak movie scene, and "(Another Song) All Over Again" is a forgettable enough ballad that ambiguously pulls at the right heartstrings. I'm not going to get into all the reasons I roll my eyes at Justin Timberlake, but the success of his latest album and the fact that he's tossing a coin between Scarlett Johanssen and Jessica Biel is enough to make me respect the guy for a while.
While we're still talking about J. Randall Timberlake, here's something that was just too weird to pass up: he and Timbaland are two of the producers listed on Duran Duran's May 2007 release, and he will be singing on a track titled "Night Runner". Wow.
post-script: if anyone out there knows how to cut an entry with a permanent link to the rest of the post, please holler at a player in the comments section.
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