You don't even go to work. Shut up. Well, I hope that my musings will help you all through each dreadful Monday. These musings can be anything! Album reviews, editorials, and if I'm feeling gutsy, maybe a song parody. This Monday I'm doing an album review, and my first target is Pharrell.
I gave "Happy" kind of a middling review when I first tackled it, but since then my opinion has improved, especially after hearing much, much worse happy-happy joy-joy songs. Pharrell's got a certain groove about him, and today, I'm going to go through his latest album, G I R L, track by track, to see if he retains his groove for an entire album. Here we go!
All the songs can be found on that video above.
The album starts off with a string section, leading into the dancey yet desperate "Marilyn Monroe". What's interesting about this song is that the song doesn't glorify Marilyn Monroe. In fact, it acts as quite dismissive of the blonde bombshell. He wants "a different girl", not one who you might expect. But the search for this girl proves difficult. He describes himself as a helpless romantic. But the search is not impossible, as he finds someone, and is mesmerized by her.
Dear diary, it's happenin' again
This energy, like I'm 'bout to win
I just close my eyes and visions appear
She's everything I want, and it's crystal clear
Overall, an excellent opener for the album. And just in case Pharrell didn't convince you that he's charming, he brings in Justin Timberlake for the second track, "Brand New". Actually, can I be honest here? Listening to this song, I think Timberlake detracts from it. Pharrell can carry a song by himself, and Timberlake doesn't do much to differentiate himself from Pharrell except sing in a higher octave. This might have been better without the guest vocalist. Also, there's only so many times you can listen to this:
You got me feelin' brand new
Like the tag's still on me
before it just starts sounding stupid.
Okay, a less-than-impressive song. The next one is called "Hunter". It returns to Pharrell going solo, and he uses hunting as a metaphor for having sex. I think he goes a little too far with it.
Taxidermy is on my walls
With the full description of the killin' calls
Not exactly the sexiest of imagery...?
Furthermore, "Hunter" just doesn't seem to fit Pharrell's persona. Maybe if he used his lower register, it might have worked, but the tone and subject matter of the song don't match up. It's... it's kind of a mess. Sorry.
The next song is "Gush". The first few songs appeared to be about meeting the girl, convincing her to sleep with you, and the foreplay that ensues, and now we're into the sex phase. I'll give this album this so far: it does decide on a theme and sticks to it.
As for the song? Ehh... it's okay. It's kind of misguided with the string instrumental, which just doesn't strike me as "sexy" so much as "romantic". It's a subtle distinction, I realize, but there is a distinction. Nevertheless, the song appears to keep a steady, believable tone throughout it and it works.
So I guess after sex, there's a certain emotion you feel. No, it's not regret. It's "Happy"!
Well, I tried to make it work, but this song doesn't really fit into the album's structure. I could see this as a good opener, or even a solid finisher. But smack in the middle? No, I don't think so. It's a good song on its own, but I don't think it fits into this album. But who knows? Maybe once the album finishes, I'll see the bigger picture.
The next song is "Come Get It Bae" featuring Miley Cyrus. And you know what? Let's give Pharrell credit where credit is due; he is a great producer. I mean, you'd have to be to make Miley Cyrus sound good. This song works great with the two of them, and fits right into the album's tone.
Next up is "Gust of Wind" featuring Daft Punk. Seems only fair to return the favour, after Pharrell collaborated with Daft Punk for one of the biggest hits of last summer. This song rocks. Then again, pretty much everything Daft Punk touches is gold to me. There's something about robot voices, I guess.
Now we have a song called "Lost Queen". This song gets a little too silly at parts for me:
Get your motor runnin', runnin', vroom-vroom
You really have to listen to the song to get the full extent of the silliness of "vroom-vroom".
But the music is great, and sets the mood for an exotic place. Kind of an "Amazon queen" vibe. By the way, it's worth noting that Pharrell meant for this album to be feminist to solidify his attitude towards women. Worth doing after collaborating on a track like "Blurred Lines". So far, no song highlights this attitude more than this one. He does get a little off track by talking about how he was a "player" at points, but most of the song is just showing his devotion and worship of this woman he meets. It's not disgusting or douchey, like a lot of R&B is nowadays. It's just sweet. Good Guy Pharrell.
Next is the hidden track called "Freq". This one's interesting. It doesn't have a lot of lyrical content, and does get repetitive at times, but it does set a dreamlike mood, which both adds and detracts from the song. What I meant by that is some of the lyrics work with it, and some don't.
You see I'd rather be a freq than not bein' me
Individuality makes life better
I can see these lines having a tune like "Happy", but it doesn't really fit into this song. The other lines do, though, so the song's okay.
Now we have "Know Who You Are" featuring Alicia Keys. Now this is definitely a feminist song, and Alicia Keys being on the track is just the icing on the cake. Pharrell and Keys work magic together, and this is probably my second favourite song on the album, next to "Marilyn Monroe".
Finally, we end the album with a song called "It Girl". It's okay, but not the greatest finisher I've ever heard. Honestly, I would have preferred if this was left somewhere in the middle, and "Know Who You Are" finished the album, which is a much stronger track. Not that this is a bad song, but there's just not much here. It also doesn't help that I think of Jason Derulo when I hear "It Girl". Uuuuuugggghhh.
Overall, this is a solid album, but not excellent. For the most part, it does seems to stay true to its theme, and there are some standout tracks here. But Pharrell loses me at points by getting too silly or just not hitting the notes quite right. The guest stars work great, except JT, who honestly should have been left off of the album. I would cautiously recommend it for casual R&B listeners who are looking to shake things up a little bit. And that's that. Seeya Tuesday with another new segment!
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