fallow

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/news/03-01/27.shtml

I'm not going to post the article on here because it has too many curse words for me to take the time to change. Besides, going to the site will give you the full effect.

tofu

weird . .

Yancey

I think it's great, honestly. Maybe this will inject some life into the Flaming Lips again. I am a much bigger fan of Timberlake's record than I am of the Lips' Yoshimi.

fallow

I respect your opinion, but I don't think you can accurately compare the two because they approach music in two completely different ways. One is pop and one is...experimental, I suppose. As for injecting life into the Lips, mmm, Yoshimi may not be as great as Soft Bulletin, but its not that bad of a record. In fact, I like it very much.

Yancey

In what way is Yoshimi experimental? Strings? Electronic beats? Justified is a more "experimental" record (whatever that may mean) than Yoshimi, easily. The melodies of Yoshimi are pretty straightforward, the time signatures are constant, the chord progressions fairly typical. I would say the opposite with everything on the Timberlake record. But since the Lips are regarded as more of an indie act (despite having a Top 40 hit, having been on a major label longer than Timberlake and being on just as many magazine covers, I would wager), they have more credibility... And this is coming from someone who has always been a big Lips fan (admittedly not of the last two records, however).

fallow

That's why I tagged "I suppose" on the end of "experimental." I'm not sure that they can be pigeon-holed, but regardless to say, the Lips are more inaccessible than Timberlake (not to say that they are completely inaccessible, just more so than the latter). I haven't heard Timberlake's record...in what ways is it experimental?

Until then, I just don't see how a truly great comparison can be drawn between the two.

Yancey

The Timberlake record is "experimental" in the sense that Timberlake and Timbaland play with beats and melodies like legos, swapping them in and out at will, letting the song dangle precariously before tethering it back to a concrete sound again.

I certainly think the two are comparable because they are both pop records, and I think the Timberlake record is much more successful overall.

Heat

I don't like Timberlake's music, but I recognize that he is talented. Maybe if he changed genres he would do very well with the over-20 crowd.

Wasn't he a Mouseketeer along with Christina Aguilera and Brittany Spears? (and a few others, this would have been in the early to mid 90s)

Penny Lane

I'm just as surprised as the next guy about this collaboration, and I'm more surprised that I'm about to defend Timberlake.

As much as I hate his voice, and as difficult as it is for me to get into the style of music he sings and the things he sings about, he is a talented musician. He plays piano and guitar, and he can sing pretty well.

From what I've heard of Timberlake's album, though, it doesn't appear to be very experimental.

fallow

That could be applied to a lot of different, radio friendly acts. N.E.R.D. and Air both come to mind as popular artists that would also match that description. But I'm just going to leave it at that because I haven't yet heard the record.

However, let me point out - as a disclaimer - that I don't value the Lips over Timberlake because of indie-credential. In fact, I don't place a "value" on them...it just so happens that I own and enjoy their [The Flaming Lips] records. And by posting this I was simply point out how weird the collaboration was; the tone of the authors in the column do not reflect my own thoughts. I really have no opinion of Timberlake whatsoever.

Yancey

"Radio friendly" != "easy" or "boring" or "straightforward" in any way. In fact, hip-hop and R&B are two of the most forward-thinking genres around...

I wasn't coming at you with this whole thing, fallow, I just have an aversion to indie rage (see the corporate sellout thread).

fallow

I also do, and I had been posting in that thread.

On a side-note, I know you used to write for Pitchfork. Did you ever have any contact with Ryan Schreiber or any of the other writers in person?

Yancey

Only talked to Ryan on the phone. I personally know a few P'fork writers, all of them I've met after my stint there ended. Why do you ask?

Ralph Wiggum

I wouldn't call the Timberlake record "experimental." The Neptunes and Timbaland have been doing that type of music and getting those sounds for a looong time. It's a very tasteful album, but it is the lite version of what the producers have done in the past IMO.

Yancey

Within the Timbaland/Neptunes oeuvre, you are right. But that sound, as copied and overused as it has become by other producers (and even by the Va Beach contingent themselves at times), it's still much more forward-thinking than the Flaming Lips. I don't see the Timberlake album as being a "lite" version at all, I think it's just that we've become accustomed to Timba's style.

fallow

Just curious...of what I've read from his writing he seems like he'd be a pretty interesting guy to talk to.

Gdrlv

I'm not a fan of Timberlake's (although I do think that "Cry Me a River" is a brilliant tune), and I am a fan of the Flaming Lips. I think it's great that they collaborated. I love these weird collaborations and seeing Timberlake perform with the Lips has much more bizarro appeal than seeing Kid Rock perform with Phish (which I did see). Plus, I am gaining some respect for Timberlake. He's got more talent than every other member of NSync and Backstreet Boys combined and isn't afraid to take a chance judging by the looks of things.