4 hours ago, Relampago. said:

Tanking Season is probably the 2nd-3rd worst song on the album for me but that's kinda like being the ugliest girl at Miss Universe so  

Please the downvotes  

 

Y'all were mass-dragging it not 2 days ago, don't act brand new. It's a 7 in a sea of 8s on this album

Just now, DollyPardon said:

The way that this is being treated critically is actually the most surprising to me. I knew the #s wouldn't be strong but the way it's not been afforded "poptimism" is surprising. 

 

Like...Endless Summer SNORE was received more warmly, as were a lot of other 2023-24 pop albums. Is Poptimism over? 

 

Yes Taylor made sure of that

 

Also pop is no longer en vogue rn so it's going to get lashed harder 

1 minute ago, Relampago. said:

Please the downvotes  

 

Y'all were mass-dragging it not 2 days ago, don't act brand new. It's a 7 in a sea of 8s on this album

It's an 8 out of 11 on the tracklist ranking for sure.

1 minute ago, Relampago. said:

Big pop moments on FN: Levitating, DSN, Physical, Love Again

 

Mid-mega flops on FN: GIB, BBWB, Cool

 

Big pop moments on RO: Houdini

 

Mid-Mega flops on RO: N/A

 

Idk, I kinda get it.

I'm not talking about 'big pop moments' only, Pretty Please is not a 'big pop moment', yet it's a perfect song and occupies the perfect placement right in between Physical and Hallucinate to give the listener a light breather just after and before two uptempo dance bangers. When the songs has that trickling sound and she sings 'trickle down my spine' THAT's an eargasm moment. The album opens with her ACTUAL most alternative song in which she is brassy and confident, singtalking in a heavy British accent about wanting to change the game and sleek 70s architecture (which was then seen as incredibly modern and now as nostalgic), the same way she's landscaping the sound of early 20s pop music

 

EOAE tries to emulate that but just sounds like a Britney soundtrack song circa 2002 when Britney was in her early 20s, it sounds juvenile. Sure it's an enjoyable track, but it's also not showing any of the growth Dua's been talking about during this press run 

 

There's nothing at stake here, she seems like a rich girl going on some dates, but it's absolutely not clear that this was a life altering period for her like she keeps talking about. None of the lyrics indicate ANY of the radicalness the album title alludes to, there is no urgency anywhere

 

There are no 'higher highs and lower lows', the album is just mid all the way though, whereas FN is GREAT and then it's a little less great, but at least there's distinctions to be made there and an entire album to discuss 

Maria deserves to be heard by the GP somehow.

Just now, Relampago. said:

Yes Taylor made sure of that

 

Also pop is no longer en vogue rn so it's going to get lashed harder 

Don't get me started on TTPD and the "meh" I felt listening to it. What a bloated mess IMHO. 

 

I actually think RO is worth a lot more than fans and critics are giving it. I fear I may be losing taste lol.

 

 

19 minutes ago, Cain said:

I'm not talking about 'big pop moments' only, Pretty Please is not a 'big pop moment', yet it's a perfect song and occupies the perfect placement right in between Physical and Hallucinate to give the listener a light breather just after and before two uptempo dance bangers. When the songs has that trickling sound and she sings 'trickle down my spine' THAT's an eargasm moment. The album opens with her ACTUAL most alternative song in which she is brassy and confident, singtalking in a heavy British accent about wanting to change the game and sleek 70s architecture (which was then seen as incredibly modern and now as nostalgic), the same way she's landscaping the sound of early 20s pop music

 

EOAE tries to emulate that but just sounds like a Britney soundtrack song circa 2002 when Britney was in her early 20s, it sounds juvenile. Sure it's an enjoyable track, but it's also not showing any of the growth Dua's been talking about during this press run 

 

There's nothing at stake here, she seems like a rich girl going on some dates, but it's absolutely not clear that this was a life altering period for her like she keeps talking about. None of the lyrics indicate ANY of the radicalness the album title alludes to, there is no urgency anywhere

 

There are no 'higher highs and lower lows', the album is just mid all the way though, whereas FN is GREAT and then it's a little less great, but at least there's distinctions to be made there and an entire album to discuss 

I think it just comes down to personal taste because the low lows of FN really get to me. I like my albums to be ALBUMS, I don't like having to skip songs. I get the criticisms of RO but I kinda just take it for what it is, a fun, summery pop album that can play and be inoffensive to pretty much anyone. FN wanted to be a big moment, and it definitely was, but it doesn't "flow" like RO does. The greatness of FN's best tracks really make the errors stand out so much more for me, and maybe that's unfair for me to hold it to different standards but that's just how the album works for me, especially with the intent behind how the two albums were crafted. I don't think RO was made to be a big blockbuster album like FN, for better or for worse. But for that reason, I get what you're saying that Dua's not pushing herself here and there isn't anything really at stake. But I enjoy her feeling pretty comfortable with this album, I'm able to connect with the "laid-back" vibe she's giving here.

 

Also for me, BWBB/GIB are so bad that they aren't just less good, they're quite literally unlistenable garbage for me, and the fact she thought it was a good idea to include that on what is so clearly a blockbuster album really taints the album for me. If EOAE is childish, then GIB was a stillborn. If Falling Forever is a swing and a slight miss, BBWB is a plane crash into a forest fire. I won't include NMP in this since it's a deluxe but… I hope she doesn't even think of repeating something like that for an RO deluxe. 

 

All that being said, I wouldn't blink twice at someone saying FN is better. There's simply more to latch onto with that album. It's a classic for a reason.

Edited May 9, 20242 yr by Relampago.

13 minutes ago, Relampago. said:

I think it just comes down to personal taste because the low lows of FN really get to me. I like my albums to be ALBUMS, I don't like having to skip songs. I get the criticisms of RO but I kinda just take it for what it is, a fun, summery pop album that can play and be inoffensive to pretty much anyone.

Not you said "I'm pissed off FN has 2 mid songs, I prefer RO because it's entirely mid" 

5 minutes ago, Post Malone said:

Not you said "I'm pissed off FN has 2 mid songs, I prefer RO because it's entirely mid" 

7-8s aren't mid but a certain song everyone cites as pop perfection on FN is, I won't name names

 

Hint: It's not Cool!

1 minute ago, Relampago. said:

7-8s aren't mid but a certain song everyone cites as pop perfection on FN is, I won't name names

 

Hint: It's not Cool!

It's Physical wbk

 

2 minutes ago, Relampago. said:

7-8s aren't mid but a certain song everyone cites as pop perfection on FN is, I won't name names

 

Hint: It's not Cool!

It's definitely Boys Will Be Boys

1 minute ago, Post Malone said:

It's Physical wbk

 

I'm able to put my biases aside for that one, she's objectively a talented girl who changed the course of Dua's career

 

It's actually the song people swore had the potential to smash over Goditating and was replicated and done better on RO  

2 minutes ago, DollyPardon said:

It's definitely Boys Will Be Boys

Show me the people who call that pop perfection so I can get them their state-sponsored lobotomy

2 minutes ago, Relampago. said:

Show me the people who call that pop perfection so I can get them their state-sponsored lobotomy

Fine. 

 

Rearrange my thoughts.

I hope this queen is having a good day and streams the album multiple times throughout each day

 

 

1 hour ago, Relampago. said:

Please the downvotes  

 

Y'all were mass-dragging it not 2 days ago, don't act brand new. It's a 7 in a sea of 8s on this album

Training Season is 10/10 since it was released, and 3 months later my favorite song of 2024 so far

3 minutes ago, mike_int said:

Training Season is 10/10 since it was released, and 3 months later my favorite song of 2024 so far

I feel the same way! 

8 minutes ago, SayIt said:

I feel the same way! 

Standard Future Nostalgia: 11 tracks with 2 100% skips with Boys Will Be Boys and Good In Bed but the highs are higher.

Radical Optimism: 11 tracks with 0 100% skips but the entire album is more consistent.

 

The way you guys dragged Good in Bed for 4 years only for her to release an album full of filler. At least half of these songs don't have the quality/personality that GIB has 

Edited May 9, 20242 yr by makeme

Oh naur I got the 1% of listener thing from Spotify and I've only listened to the album like 6 times. 

Idgi, to me End of an Era, These Walls and Watcha Doin are all highlights. Then you have Houdini and Maria which are super solid as well. 

"Good In Bed" is not bad song at all, its playful Lily Allen-esque pop, issue is it doesnt fit musically on FN and would fit better on DL1

 

 

Also good luck to all of RO's album tracks trynna reach GIB' streams

 

3 hours ago, Relampago. said:

Big pop moments on FN: Levitating, DSN, Physical, Love Again

 

Mid-mega flops on FN: GIB, BBWB, Cool

 

Big pop moments on RO: Houdini

 

Mid-Mega flops on RO: N/A

 

Idk, I kinda get it. I do think this needed 1-2 more Houdini level tracks, but I think I prefer the consistency of RO over hearing pop perfection then lazy songs tacked onto the end of FN that seem so much worse in comparison to the excellence I heard before them. If she does RO again for DL4, I'll be annoyed but I'm satisfied with this as a follow-up to FN.

Thing is it's the highs that end up defining you to the GP, in that sense the lows fade into the background eroded away in the memory leaving the high peaks.  Consistency is ok ish for fans but you need the highs more. I think FN and RO are cases in point. 
 

Take her old mate Elton John: 31 original albums ( I looked it up!) 10 sound tracks, and yet largely his (huge) legacy boils down to the 90 mins or so he did at Glastonbury last year. Nobody in the real world really cares what some obscure 3rd track on the b side of some 1976 album is do they?