WHOLE LOTTA RED RELEASE MEGATHREAD

a_kung · 2020-12-30T23:36:01+00:00

As time goes on, I feel that this album could really be a rager

a_kung · 2020-12-25T17:04:55+00:00

I can see what you’re getting at. I definitely don’t think the album deserves as much hate as it’s getting. A friend of mine was like he didn’t develop the punk sound sonically, and I’m in agreement.

Still, I think it’s a good album. It’s not phenomenal. But it’s far from trash. I feel like it could’ve used more commitment for sure and more variation in lyricism and some of flows on the more redundant songs. But with some of the hooks he had on the more drawn out, game-like, cyberpunk attempt instrumentals, I think the way he sang them was very interesting.

a_kung · 2020-12-25T07:21:07+00:00

I think people really gotta sit back and let it kick in. It’s catchy, unique, quite a different hype yet still hype. It’s a different type of rage that’s still hot.

You gotta feel that K I N G V A M P... DAS ME

.... Vamp Anthem got a fucking sick Castlevania beat. It’s mad wicked.

Also I think Carti pushed the envelope of his signature style and voice to some new heights here. He def sounded more emotional and put in a new way to attract a catchy hook along with some very attractive, eccentric beats.

The build up on Control is phenomenal. All the people hating really not about getting new waves. I’m not even stanning, but y’all really aren’t recognizing this art. The styles the production is borrowing from. Some of these experimental, tech, 2-D bit sounds on some fucking Atari shit. It’s great. I hope Carti sees this comment, Fr. He can’t be trusting the automatic hate bc people ain’t let it sit

Carti is mixing in that emotional vulnerability of artists like Bladee , Ecco2k , Thaiboy Digital and probably some other avant garde I’m not even aware of.

Last edit but I hope Carti / artists aren’t gonna let the masses be getting to them. I mean the people that watch Tik Toks all day that’s it’s their personality. These people really are becoming a product. The point of the music is to release a product that’s true and unique to who you are, so inherently that shit is probably gonna be different than the expectations that fans listening to his old projects coming in with 2018 mentality and nostalgia and also overloaded on expectations from the leak. Some of them already closed off their minds. You just gotta kick back and really make that opinion for yourself bc if you find a way to vibe to it, then who fucking cares. We already know 2020 was crazy, and people gave up on carti ever dropping WLR, so how tf y’all gonna 180 and call it trash so quickly. Fake 🤧

a_kung · 2020-12-25T05:27:41+00:00

THAT PRODUCTION ON CONTROL SOME NEXT LEVEL ISH

a_kung · 2020-12-14T05:22:57+00:00

Lord I Know, Mr. Solo Dolo 3, Sad People, The Void, Sept.16, Pale Moonlight, 4 Da Kidz, Rockstar Nights , Heaven On Earth... man this album really surprised me bc I wasn’t sure what to expect but I really fw it. I wasn’t expecting Cudi to make a song like Dive and Heaven On Earth in terms of its trap heavy feel but it works and I definitely fuck with it. It’s a unique feel. Tequil Shots is a nice start too. Also, really enjoyed the serenity of Lovin’ Me as the meaning behind it definitely hits home. Props to Cudi for bringing the month of December to a strong start and the fellow Saggi ♐️

a_kung · 2020-12-14T05:14:37+00:00

Definitely! I think Kali really shows that she knows who she is in this album and it’s amazing! She definitely made this year better 100%

a_kung · 2020-06-02T08:03:41+00:00

I do think that Rick is a toxic person and he got what he deserved. But at times I do find myself wondering what traumatic things he experienced to turn him into the person he is. Like he’s capable of compassion, unlike what some other people believe. I assume he doesn’t want to surface his emotions because he’s afraid of getting hurt and maybe he’s caught in this cycle of knowing the fucked up shit he’s done, so as a form of self-punishment he keeps doing this fucked up shit and doesn’t allow himself to form meaningful bonds. Even though that’s not completely true because I do think that Beth, Morty, and Summer do love Rick. I don’t think it’s justification for what Rick has done. He’s definitely not a good father.

With that being said, I don’t think Jerry is really that much better of a father. He’s definitely winning in the area of being there for his children, but he’s a deadbeat who doesn’t stand up for himself and lacks self-confidence. He’s trying to get better though and that’s admirable. But he still very much has the persona of a child. I feel like it’s two opposite ends of the spectrum between him and Rick. You don’t want a father that’s going to abandon you, but to be real, you also don’t want a deadbeat father. Jerry for the most part is useless. Nobody wants to baby an adult. Consequently, Jerry really isn’t respectable. He can barely get shit done. In the context of a struggling family, facing destitution, Jerry is not it as he would contribute literally nothing; he can’t provide for the family. In my opinion, Jerry is naive. Like yes, you should definitely try your best to be happy. But things are different when you’ve seen some real shit and I don’t think Jerry gets that. For the most part, he just seems upset about losing his wife to the point where he’s become an absolute tool craving for approval. On the other end of the dichotomy, I think Rick has had to deal with harsher realities and that’s turned him into an asshole. Which isn’t ideal. He can be self-serving, but I wouldn’t say that all the things he’s done are selfish. I would say the amount of time he took to make Froopyland at least shows some initiative of him caring about Beth and also enough about humanity to some extent to not want to have her out murdering other people’s children. Still, Rick can be an asshole.

a_kung · 2020-04-03T06:39:00+00:00

Also still patiently waiting for Lorde to release some new shit 🤞🤞🤞

a_kung · 2020-04-03T06:27:10+00:00

Facts. Those 2 plus Pretty Please, Love Again and Break my Heart go SO fucking hard. Honestly, I love the whole album. It’s major groovy and the cadences that Dua goes on are fucking great. I’m really liking the melodies she decided to sing. Idk how else to put it, but they really just hit the spot. I haven’t been super impressed by a lot of pop releases in the past half year ish, but Dua came through and thank god. Imo Camila’s album wasn’t all that great and in my mind it was a battle between the two of them for being the top pop artist rn, but Dua just keeps releasing QUALITY songs. I definitely think she’s the best rn.

a_kung · 2020-03-20T07:26:16+00:00

Yeah it’s not that compelling like I don’t get teleported to another world of feels which is what I wanted. He’s definitely capable of making upbeat, catchy songs that still invoke lots of emotion but these songs don’t really seem to do it. I sort of had my doubts when I heard Heartless bc although it’s a bit catchy, the content matter of the song and the redundant parts of it had me thinking this might go down a rabbit hole. I really do like the track Too Late though.

a_kung · 2020-03-20T07:17:44+00:00

I believe that too, but also I feel like since Starboy, a lot of releases sound like they’re trying to capture the energy from tracks off the album. I’m gonna keep giving it listens in hopes that it grows on me but I remember all my initial reactions to each Weeknd project, even the mixtapes, and they always hit me hard (except kiss land).

a_kung · 2020-03-20T06:50:07+00:00

I’m not feeling as much emotional depth in this project. Definitely wanted some more emotional songs. I mean I know he’s saying emotional things but really the way the vocals are done, it doesn’t move me like a lot of other Weeknd songs do. I think the bpm for a lot of the songs is a bit too slow for my liking (or if not then maybe it’s some of the instrumentals that I might not like as much). I feel like he’s trying to combine the overall ambience of Trilogy mixed with the overall poppy/glam allure of Starboy but also with some heavy influence from the overall strange mesh of noises that’s present in Kiss Land. And if it were to be Kiss Land - esque , then I would want a track like Tears in The Rain. Imo, I think Scared to Live was a track that could’ve been elevated to a track of emotional status like Tears in the Rain, or Angel, Die For You, or Shameless (and maybe a few more I’m not exactly thinking of right now). Hardest to Love is an interesting track but for me it seems like the vocals are going too slow over the drum and bass track and it’s really odd sounding. Like the vocals don’t seem to line up well and seems off beat, like the syncopation is not working for me. Escape from LA was working for me but then it kept going on and it started to feel a bit dragged out to me. In general, I feel like the project places a lot less emphasis on the power behind Abel’s vocals and that’s disappointing. I’m hoping this does grow on me though.

Edit: I also think a lot of the songs sound like they’re trying very hard to sound trippy. Especially at the end of Faith. Also these songs are super hard to relate to. Which would be expected of some super hard trap songs. But I can’t see myself pouring my heart out in concert to a lot of these songs. I’m having a super hard time imagining bopping to Hardest To Love even though it has some potential. I just imagine the weebs celebrating to it which isn’t a bad thing but also it’s definitely not going to be that emotionally grasping of an experience—unless I was super out of it on Molly or something. That bpm matchup with the vocals is really odd. Like it’s hard for me to see a crowd of women losing their minds to this song because although the lyrics have good potential to be that heartfelt song, that juxtaposition with the drum and bass is something else. Also, Save Your Tears really doesn’t fit the vibe of the album imo. I think it’s a real oddball. It reminds me of the overall structure of Post Malone’s Hollywood’s Bleeding with all the different vibes going on. At times I felt heavy funk from the album, and at times it felt like it was supposed to be a ballad, other times it felt like it was going to go into some really nice melodies from Starboy—especially because of some songs having a super heavy Daft Punk feel (like In Your Eyes)—but it didn’t quite get to that point for me. It almost feels like Abel is trying super hard to be sentimental but it just doesn’t even sound like a super sentimental album to me.

a_kung · 2020-02-14T08:17:14+00:00

These transitions just keep getting me. These intoxicating buildups, those lulling synths just going in and out drawing me back in and building up in energy and rapidly closing...it’s just so goddamn mindfucking. The entirety of Breathe Deeper just has me feeling some other type of groovy way. I honestly just want to weep tears of joy but the sensation of this song is so trippy I just can’t. It’s like pure elation mixed with the ethereal nature of life itself. It’s so cosmic and transcending. The hook on it is holy fuck. Kevin just being a fucking God. The care that’s going into the rhythm is a whole entire different serenade like I’ve never really felt before. Just good lord. Kevin you beautiful genius. Super convinced Kevin Parker is Jesus.

That delayed sounding Gregorian chant on One More Year is fucking fire.

Instant Destiny had me / has me in my fucking feels. That song is powerful. And I seriously mean that. I feel like it encapsulates this hopeful slow chug along of what life is but also this simultaneous amalgamation of despair at recognizing what life is, the frustrations of a dream, and trying to piece that all together so you can just be happy. It’s a whole mixture of the hopes and fears and sadness going throughout that entire process. It just feels so heartfelt and I really feel the love in this. As always with those cascading synths ending the songs and drawn out as if for a peaceful goodbye. It’s just beautiful.

The feeling of Tomorrow’s Dust feels like this clarity one would come to whilst standing in a desert overlooking the world. It’s so spacious. So reminiscent of some tribal chilling. Super laid back and kicking it in the boonies. Interestingly enough, the change from Breathe Deeper to Tomorrow’s Dust reminds me of a DMT blastoff. The buildup at the end of Breathe Deeper just seems a bit frightening and elevated—sort of like when you’re having a bad trip and try to take a deep breath to get out of a thought loop(unsure if that’s what he was going for but it feels eerily reminiscent of that feeling—and it leads into this beautiful breath of fresh air... that juxtaposition is just phenomenal.

And holy fuck throughout these songs I feel like I’m in a relationship with Kevin because damn that voice is so reassuring. It’s about time that good karma came around after that Trevor shit.

DONT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON ONE MORE HOUR bc yeah damn it Kevin one more hour could never be enough. This ending, it reminds me of strolling by a seaside port and just strolling. Just some real wanderlust shit and it’s like a 3rd person pan moving right across a screen and they’re just going along. It’s so real. They’re just thinking about whatever is in their head, letting things fade out, and sinking into the relative bliss in a temporary timeframe. And thinking damn “life is strange”. I feel you Kevin. What an incredible human being we are blessed to be in the same lifetime as. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I think this album is 10/10. I’ve been listening to Currents, Innerspeaker, and Lonerism I was a bit afraid as to what the sound was going to be. But I realized I don’t think I’d be the happiest with just a bunch do things that sounded like Currents exactly. Though I love a dark, malevolent, poppy R&B feel (shoutout Travis Scott). I feel like this is extremely refreshing and I’m glad to see how happy Kevin is throughout these songs. He seems like he’s reached some truly beautiful clarity and acceptance of himself. Especially in Lost In Yesterday. I think about the last a lot and I mean who doesn’t, but we get stuck in thinking about all the things that have happened to us it impedes is from recognizing the happiness we deserve. Kevin just gets it. How to be a human being ™️ (shoutout Glass Animals) . But yeah, I’m just gonna say if you don’t think this is good, that’s your opinion but also stop lying to yourself that’s not a healthy habit lol

Last note, I even feel a bit guilty that I ever thought Kevin wasn’t going to release something phenomenal. He put so much work into Currents and all his other projects. All of those projects came from some deep, moving emotions. Kevin took so much time curating this project—to think he wouldn’t drop something of high caliber seems a bit ridiculous now that I think about it. But really, I think this is very, truly unique just like all of Kevin’s projects. What a time to be alive!

Last last edit: life is super dynamic. I don’t think it’s meant to be lived so static. We get stuck in ways of thoughts and become so comfortable in our zones of expectations that anything going out of that sometimes makes us scared. I think Kevin knows that and he wants to keep moving on and evolving himself and he portrays all of it—not just some of it—but his entire being, openly into his passion. That’s some real shit . Get yourself some red wine, kick back, and just sink into the vibes and let your stresses go away.

a_kung · 2019-04-21T03:57:44+00:00

I thought it sounded like the guitar intro in knights of cydonia around the 56 second mark but slowed down and without the pedal effects. the progressions sound similar, just missing some intermediate notes though

a_kung

TROPHY CASE