canyonmoon

This is her best song. I know everyone speaks about songs in numbers, chart placements and Grammy nominations now. But irrespective of that, this is one of those songs where you just immediately know it's an artistic peak. The songwriting is stone-cold in its self-awareness, sharply observed and emotionally gut-wrenching. While it's recognizably Dan Nigro in terms of production, there is also enough progression here so that their dynamics still feels fresh.

AOTY for me, no contest. It gets better every time I revisit it, and I already loved it on first listen. David is such an outrageous closer. It sends me to ******* outer space every time.

Maybe the writing was on the wall after I didn't care for Midnights and TTPD outside of a handful of tracks. But I was excited for this and it was a big letdown. Some decent songs, some 1989 and Reputation rejects, overall nothing truly noteworthy. Production and melody wise nothing holds a candle Max's work on 1989 and lyrically it's still a mile away from folklore/evermore and other earlier work.

Lorde is always worth the wait. Building a discography for the ages. Brick by brick.

It's been really gratifying to slowly see this album take form through the release of these three songs. To me it feels like her most ambitious yet, and the pieces started to fall into place with Hammer, the intro to the project. Instead of choosing to pursue mainstream pop success at all costs, she is in it for the long haul and for the art. If this turns out the way I expect, I think Bowie would be proud—never do what everyone's expecting, after all. Melodrama is a masterpiece, and she could've kept that going, stuck with Jack for the foreseeable future despite diminishing returns (ahem), but she's choosing to evolve. That she's impossible to pin down is one of her greatest strengths. I loved Solar Power too, even if the lyrical messaging and satirical elements didn't always land for me. And I can't wait for Virgin to supplant it as this summer's soundtrack.

Coincidence is my little gem. Those Joni guitars. There's something both refreshing and so retro about it. Love it.

Oh well, we'll always have Shawn Mendes (2018).

This song is so vintage Max Martin. Not what I expected, and probably not what Abel should've done now. But I'm a sucker for vintage Max. Parts of this could easily have been an early 2000s Backstreet Boys song, it's shameless. It's not gonna take over the world like Blinding Lights, and it will barely be a footnote in his discography, but a cute introduction to the new era nonetheless.

If anything it's the opposite of a flop. Great reviews, for one. 91 on Metacritic is insane. Add to that a #1 lead single, a #1 album, and good sales. There were plenty of people predicting she would fail spectacularly at following up her debut with the same success, yet here we are. Anti-fans are left nitpicking about how this doesn't feel like a new era, that it's too similar to her debut, as if that's not the norm rather than the exception. Very few artists reinvent the wheel between their first two albums, and this stan obsession with distinct "eras", well, that's all it is. She's exactly where any artist would wish to be after their second album has released. Anything else is just stan noise.

hottie durags can be great for asian hair

Y'all Americans are something else. Again. "I'm so glad I'm cut so I don't have to wash my dick as much. Never mind consent! Also a completely normal, natural ***** is UGLY actually!"

Whether you think it's "genital mutilation" or not, the lack of consent is a problem. Infants can't consent to an unnecessary, cosmetic procedure.

Good for them - but knetz will be insufferable about this.

It's so funny how she's been dragging John Mayer for a decade only to essentially get together with a British version at 34.

Iconique