Category Archives: Random Thoughts
Three Things: 20/20 Edition
Yeah the album cover would have been more appropriate, but he looks cute here so….
I feel like I have been writing a preface to these things far too much lately but I really feel like this one is needed. So before I write my three thoughts on the 20/20 Experience I must tell you that I love Justin Timberlake and have loved him for YEARS. Seriously people like since I was 13! I even enjoyed his foray into acting because (as someone stated) for what he is Justin is a decent actor. At the very least he tries to be good and he has greatly evolved and I honestly think that is the most we can expect from him. Now I say all of that to let you know I am a long time true fan because I don’t want people thinking what I’m about to write comes from any dislike of Justin. I like the guy, but 20/20 sucked ass and here are my three reasons why:
1. Wake me up when it’s over.
I’ve listened to JT for years and I have always been able to enjoy his albums completely, but 20/20 is not like that. My biggest complaint is that it plays like one long song and there is very little differentiation between the individual tracks. One of the best things about JT is his ability to create an album with a great mix of booty shakers and ballads. I can’t pick one song that struck me as standing out more than the others and to be honest I couldn’t tell you which song is which.
The biggest offense is that the album is actually middle of the road. 20/20 is actually not really bad (it’s pretty listenable) but it’s not really good either. I can listen to it (I am right now) but I don’t want to buy it and if I wasn’t writing this I doubt I would ever reach for it. The album is standard, bland, and lets face it pretty boring. I think a lesser artist could have put this out and it would be passable, but Justin Timberlake the man who’s sophomore album broke out with this shit…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz1BXF7bVpM
We expect more from him especially after 7 years. Not to say this effort was lazy, I genuinely think he worked hard on it but he missed the mark. Maybe he lost his touch after that crazy long break….
2. Would the real Justin please stand up.
I don’t envy musicians job because what they do is complicated. They are expected to both be true to themselves and evolve as artists, be both classic and trendsetting, and appeal to an ever-changing audience. There are a lot of places where artists can fail which is most likely why almost all of them do at some point. Up until this point Justin has been a master at not failing. With his first solo outing he brought the pop of his boy band days mixed with some new sounds and he succeeded in creating his own sound. Then in Futuresex/Lovesounds he broke the mold and tried something new, but managed to keep his unique Justin like touch throughout the album.
In 20/20 Experience I feel like he’s trying to do the old school thing like D’Angelo, Bruno Mars, and Adele with his special touch, but he gets kind of lost in there. I know what to expect from Justin and I know that he likes to change it up so I expect some surprises in there too. When I listen to 20/20 I can’t help but wonder where the Justin I’ve grown to know and love disappeared to. It plays like something written for several other artists that they compiled and passed along to Justin to make work. He’s a talented guy, but not enough to make this set of songs work.
3. I know where we are going, but we never quite make it there.
I get the feeling Justin is attempting to make a complete album with a very specific kind of cool old school meets new school vibe. It’s supposed to be smooth and chill and in a way it is, but more so in the way that it makes good background music rather than something you are actively listening to. You won’t really want to sing along but you don’t mind it playing.
I would describe 20/20 this way, it feels like Justin took you on a date and told you all of the awesome things you were going to do that night. Then you go on the date and you keep waiting to do some of the stuff he told you about, but nothing happens and at the end of the night he’s laying there thinking he just blew your mind and you are left unsatisfied and pretty much wondering what the hell just happened.
You want it to be amazing, but it falls short.
And that people are my thoughts on the 20/20 experience. You should definitely head to ITunes where it’s steaming for a limited time and check it out for yourself.
Later ;0)
Let’s Talk: Influenster
So if you don’t already know what Influenster is, it’s basically a service where you can go online and earn badges for information about the things you like and use. After some time you can earn these things called Vox boxes witch are basically boxes with products for you to try and rate. I personally have not been through the entire cycle with influenster, but I recently qualified for my first item and am anxiously awaiting it.
Any who the site just did a major update and it is in my opinion a quite good one. I have used both the old and new sites and I can say that I find the new site more user friendly and aesthetically pleasing. I also spend more time on this site and I love that there are many more components to earning badges because it gives you more to do and I feel like that’s always a good thing for getting people to come to a site regularly. I also really looking forward to being able to experience the process of receiving and reviewing a product on the site.
I’m still kind of new to the site and still learning how to use it, so if you would like to check out the new Influenster and be on your way to earning a voxbox just click here. And of course I will let you know about the voxbox as soon as I get it.
Later ;0)
Shame
I have bad taste in men, the proof…
I once thought this man was the definition of perfection.
STOP LAUGHING!
I had good reason I promise. He always struck me as a really sweet slightly misunderstood über talented guy and that in my book made him excessively attractive. Plus admit he is kind of cute.
So what changed?
The last three or four years is what changed. From the Taylor Swift incident (which I overlooked), to the questionable taste in women, to (the worst offence in my book) the fashion obsession Kanye lost much of his appeal. I mean how can the man who made some of my most beloved albums have seriously put this…
out? I mean I like it, but I like it in the way I like Kesha songs… enough to listen to constantly but no way near enough to admit my love publicly. I have NEVER been ashamed of a Kanye song. Also my Kanye may have briefly hooked up with Kim K. but he sure as hell wouldn’t legit date her and he definitely would not be on her reality she fixing her closet and utter the most annoying word on the planet, babe.
Oh and my Kanye sure as hell does not wear leather pants in fucking Hawaii!
What happened? Can we get the old Ye back cause I liked him, I respected him, and most of all that Ye made music I wasn’t ashamed to like.
SMH
If 25 Habits was 10 Times Shorter and 100 Times More Intelligent
Yes I borrowed the title from Cracked’s 10 times shorter and 100 times more honest series, but it worked for this so give me a break people.
I recently saw this video on ClutchMagazine.com and it was described as being something positive and helpful to women, so clicked it expecting to find something I could nod my head in agreement with. Unfortunately that is not what I got from this video…
Instead I would describe what I saw as 25 somewhat dated misogynistic tips on how to be a woman from a woman attempting to sell etiquette books and classes to other lost women. Not that I am putting down the women that listen to her, I want to make that clear, we all need guidance and we all have our own beliefs. If what she says works for you by all means listen to her, but if you are buying into what she is saying just because you feel lost or lonely or depressed than my suggestion to you would be to take the money you were going to shell out to her and invest it in something else. Want to be a domestic goddess? Take a cooking class, watch cooking and home renovation shows, or buy some books (or go to the library/internet). Want a better life or want to get out of a rut? Ask yourself what you really want. Suffering from a case of the mean reds?
Find your own Tiffany’s, buy something cute, get some great food, and go out on the town. And if you are still in need of a list of woman tips I have (as the title states) created a list both 10 times shorter and 100 times more intelligent, which was pretty easy to do considering like 75% of these were ridiculous hygiene tips that left me feeling the creator spent a little too much time thinking about they way other women’s lady parts smell (kinda weird people…kinda weird).
Anywho here we go, 5 Woman Tips:
1. Be Authentic
- Rather than fake smiling your way through life or pushing yourself to be positive 24/7 always seek to find true happiness within yourself and remember it’s okay if you feel like crap, you can have days where you complain and are annoyed. That’s kind of part of being a human and it’s healthy, just try not to let those days take over your life because at some point it stops being healthy. Also you reserve the right to smack any asshole who tells you to smile on a bad day (they have it coming).
2. Seek to be both a student and a teacher.
- Quiet doesn’t equate to intelligence any more than loudness does and considering as the woman who advices you to keep quiet makes her living lecturing other women I highly doubt she buys into that. Instead of learning to shut up an listen all people should seek to become both great listeners as well as great speakers. A person dominating a conversation with nothing to say is very different from a person with a lot of interesting things to say. One is giving something to those around them and the other is taking away. Do you see the distinction?
3. Take Care of Yourself
- Nope I’m not telling you how much you should bathe or how you should keep up your body, I find that both condescending and rude. We all know to be active, get enough sleep, and eat decently, but also try to keep your stress low and learn to make time for yourself and find the things that allow you to escape. Movies and TV marathons are faves of mine, but as I said earlier we all have to find our Tiffany’s.
4. Seek to build good relationships with those around you.
- It’s not about keeping some BS woman’s role or being submissive it’s about being a good person, having respect for the people you come in contact with, and creating healthy relationships. No one can or should tell you what that looks like because it is up to you to define…
which leads me to my next point…
5. CREATE YOUR OWN DAMN WOMAN HABITS!!!!!
- Don’t let someone tell you what type of woman (or person) you should be!
To quote the great Dr. Seuss
“Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you.”
Truth ;0)
Something In the Way You Are
Ever run into somebody that was either a complete stranger or someone you didn’t know very well and have an immediate reaction to them? Like your senses wake up and you have an instant crush. I would describe it as being like that moment in Amelie when she runs into the guy in the train station and has an automatic connection with him. You don’t know anything about them but when they look, speak, or stand near you, you get nervous (the good nervous). This is happening to me and it’s really odd.
I’ve known this guy for ages and always had a bit of a reaction to him, but then a week or so ago I had a dream and he was in it. I hadn’t seen him in ages and I wasn’t even thinking about him, but he just sort of popped in my head randomly and then a few days later I ran into him. We were alone on an elevator and of course I got super awkward and nervous and said absolutely nothing the whole ride (again odd for me I’m generally relaxed at least) and then he goes to leave and turns to me and says bye looking me dead in the eye and I turn into a mumbling smiling schoolgirl. I don’t even know what the fuck was up with that.
I act like that every time I run into this guy and I am seriously getting annoyed by it. I get so rigid and out of it that I have almost run into shit, which is a completely new experience for me. I NEVER get like this about guys especially ones I don’t even know and I have no idea where it’s coming from. And the thing is I’m not even expecting anything to come from all of this. It’s so damn frustrating!
(BTW I have no ending for this, I just wanted to vent… thanks)
Later ;0)
