kiddash3r

3y

I've been listening and re-listening to BBTM like crazy these past few days, and honestly, while it is definitely his weakest album overall, I really think some of the peaks he hit on this one are some of the best music in his career.

I know this is an insane hot take in the "community", but for me, Acquainted, Shameless and As You Are are absolutely the peak of this album.
Those three tracks encapsulate the whole era and the stage of his career up to that point so well, and that's just so mindblowing to me.

They are the perfect transition pieces between his earlier music and his reinvention, and I really hope they get some shine in the future.
I adore the singles from here but I don't really want to talk about them, as they've gotten a big spotlight in the recent years.

Also want to mention how unique and aesthetically pleasing this whole era was, from the album cover, to the music videos and art direction, to the whole persona evolving into this culturally omnipotent pop star that was still almost as faceless and mysterious as he was back in 2011.
Really really like and appreciate this album and era, man.

I've also been thinking about how dance music has blown up so much as soon as the pandemic "ended", people really needed an escape from the gloom and the charts are full of dance music.

That's really the main reason why AH and Starboy have been so successful recently.

But as every trend shifts, when this becomes oversaturated, I really think that people are gonna turn to BBTM and Dawn FM, as they did with SB and AH.

Same thing happened 12 years ago with RnB music so heavily relying on those awful EDM beats, and he came out with HOB.

kiddash3r

3y

gonna piggy back on this about Dawn FM later today, just had the nastiest epiphany

kiddash3r

3y

gonna piggy back on this about Dawn FM later today, just had the nastiest epiphany

kiddash3r

3y

I'm jumping right in:
Dawn FM is probably THE most important work of his career.
I'm not going to say that it is his best album, at the end of the day that is all subjective, but I truly feel that it is his most important.

How do you navigate next once you drop your most acclaimed and best-selling album of your career?
Try to go even bigger? Try to do it again?

I remember talking to Thomas just before the album dropped and he mentioned that this is the first truly "conceptual" Weeknd album, and that thought has stayed with me since then.
Not that being conceptual gives an album any more value, at the end of the day the project can be a collection of various songs and it can still be amazing.

What is interesting to me is how he decided to do this at this stage of his career.
It is clear that the original concept of Dawn was different, probably even more pessimistic and dark from what we know.
I think that it was around the TMB drop where he realized and decided that going that direction(bigger) was a mistake, career wise.
It seems that whenever he decides to scrap and remake, he always comes out on top.

The obvious parallels to draw here are in relation to Kiss Land.
Take your previous world, and expand it in a way that stays true to the past but rejuvenates the whole experience, don’t make it bigger just for the sake of it.

This is where he succeeded, and what makes Dawn FM THE Weeknd album.
Point blank, it’s gorgeous, and it showcases his skill set as a singer, artist, producer and visionary.

The way the music has marinated since the release, every new listen brings up different memories, new details, and more and more intricacies.
The soundscape of the album is BONKERS.
It goes everywhere, but never gets messy, as these things tend to(see Starboy).

The first 7 song run has been debated, discussed and praised on here so much that I don’t want to dwell on it too much, which is why I want to shine a light on the second half of the album.

It probably isn’t as good as the first half(again, objective stuff at play here really), but it is so full of life, emotion, vulnerability, playfulness, and he explores some concepts in a way that he never really has before.
The ITSE - Phantom Regret by Jim run is fantastic, and I honestly can't put it into words how high I think of it.

Also, a special, special shout out to “I Heard Your Married”. That song was the one that received the least positive feedback, but I personally think that what he did on there was insane.
It’s the perfect culmination of The Weeknd, mixing every single influence in his career into one perfect, silky smooth and drop dead gorgeous song.
I also love the Wayne verse, and how on topic he stayed whilst not taking himself very seriously.

Additionally, I want to highlight the art direction, whilst not as “cohesive” and thought out as After Hours, was still so evocative and expressive.
All of the videos were great, especially TMB, and a special shout-out to the Amazon live show, which adds even more value to the album.

Lastly, some last words on After Life.
It seems that everything he has done after MDM has lead up to this moment, and After Life has the potential to be his magnum opus (I hate this phrase but oh well).
In order for that to happen, he will have to do two things.
The first one is lay low, music wise. Build anticipation, let the people yearn for the music.
If I was him, I would honestly not drop any music until Fall 2024, and then drop the album.
The industry is in a kind of fickle space where you don’t want to be too absent, but you also don’t want to drop music all the time.
This will give him time to live, rest, recover and draw up a strategy on how to continue.

The second thing he needs to do is release all of his ideas with the Idol soundtrack.
What I mean by this is, he has been consistently making and dropping music for the past 3 and a half years.
At some point, no matter how and what you change, you will hit a creative wall.
That’s why I want the Idol soundtrack to be a kind of “all my creative stuff is now out of the closet”, and enter whatever you do next with a clear and fresh head.

This is honestly all irrelevant because I don’t know his headspace, how he creates, so I’m just speculating, but I wanted to add my two cents as an outsider.

leekers17

3y

This new Kesha album 👎

Sunroof

3y

fr not good?i heard good reviews

kiddash3r

3y

I'm jumping right in:
Dawn FM is probably THE most important work of his career.
I'm not going to say that it is his best album, at the end of the day that is all subjective, but I truly feel that it is his most important.

How do you navigate next once you drop your most acclaimed and best-selling album of your career?
Try to go even bigger? Try to do it again?

I remember talking to Thomas just before the album dropped and he mentioned that this is the first truly "conceptual" Weeknd album, and that thought has stayed with me since then.
Not that being conceptual gives an album any more value, at the end of the day the project can be a collection of various songs and it can still be amazing.

What is interesting to me is how he decided to do this at this stage of his career.
It is clear that the original concept of Dawn was different, probably even more pessimistic and dark from what we know.
I think that it was around the TMB drop where he realized and decided that going that direction(bigger) was a mistake, career wise.
It seems that whenever he decides to scrap and remake, he always comes out on top.

The obvious parallels to draw here are in relation to Kiss Land.
Take your previous world, and expand it in a way that stays true to the past but rejuvenates the whole experience, don’t make it bigger just for the sake of it.

This is where he succeeded, and what makes Dawn FM THE Weeknd album.
Point blank, it’s gorgeous, and it showcases his skill set as a singer, artist, producer and visionary.

The way the music has marinated since the release, every new listen brings up different memories, new details, and more and more intricacies.
The soundscape of the album is BONKERS.
It goes everywhere, but never gets messy, as these things tend to(see Starboy).

The first 7 song run has been debated, discussed and praised on here so much that I don’t want to dwell on it too much, which is why I want to shine a light on the second half of the album.

It probably isn’t as good as the first half(again, objective stuff at play here really), but it is so full of life, emotion, vulnerability, playfulness, and he explores some concepts in a way that he never really has before.
The ITSE - Phantom Regret by Jim run is fantastic, and I honestly can't put it into words how high I think of it.

Also, a special, special shout out to “I Heard Your Married”. That song was the one that received the least positive feedback, but I personally think that what he did on there was insane.
It’s the perfect culmination of The Weeknd, mixing every single influence in his career into one perfect, silky smooth and drop dead gorgeous song.
I also love the Wayne verse, and how on topic he stayed whilst not taking himself very seriously.

Additionally, I want to highlight the art direction, whilst not as “cohesive” and thought out as After Hours, was still so evocative and expressive.
All of the videos were great, especially TMB, and a special shout-out to the Amazon live show, which adds even more value to the album.

Lastly, some last words on After Life.
It seems that everything he has done after MDM has lead up to this moment, and After Life has the potential to be his magnum opus (I hate this phrase but oh well).
In order for that to happen, he will have to do two things.
The first one is lay low, music wise. Build anticipation, let the people yearn for the music.
If I was him, I would honestly not drop any music until Fall 2024, and then drop the album.
The industry is in a kind of fickle space where you don’t want to be too absent, but you also don’t want to drop music all the time.
This will give him time to live, rest, recover and draw up a strategy on how to continue.

The second thing he needs to do is release all of his ideas with the Idol soundtrack.
What I mean by this is, he has been consistently making and dropping music for the past 3 and a half years.
At some point, no matter how and what you change, you will hit a creative wall.
That’s why I want the Idol soundtrack to be a kind of “all my creative stuff is now out of the closet”, and enter whatever you do next with a clear and fresh head.

This is honestly all irrelevant because I don’t know his headspace, how he creates, so I’m just speculating, but I wanted to add my two cents as an outsider.

ABYSSUS

3y

How is everyone in the sxn, hope y'all are doing well Fam 💜🧡

BGFX

3y

Good to see you around again! Hope all is well for you as well

Blue Magic

3y

This is legendary man fckin Kevin Bacon 😂