Sexual tension takes center stage in Justin Timberlake’s latest music video for “TKO,” the second single off The 20/20 Experience 2 of 2. Elvis’ granddaughter actress Riley Keough stars opposite Timberlake as she takes him for a not-so-pleasant ride. The clip is visually stimulating but not nearly as engaging as JT’s previous efforts “Mirrors,” “Tunnel Vision,” and “Take Back the Night.”
Justin Timberlakemade a splash selling over 70,000 copies of his recent release The 20/20 Experience. Kid Cudi finally released the follow-up to his 2010 record Man on the Moon II with Indicud, a collection of tracks with notable featured guests and production by Scott Mescudi himself. will.i.am continues to prove he can exist musically without his Black Eyed Peas group with #WILLPOWER. Daft Punk elicits nostalgia of the ’70s with their highly anticipated album Random Access Memories. Ever heard of pop artists Mindless Behavior and the bluesy Beth Hart? You might want to check out their respective releases All Around the World and Bang Bang Boom Boom.
SpeakSonic delivers with this week’s bite-sized album reviews.
Justin Timberlake’s ten track The 20/20 Experience is out now. It’s available for digital download at iTunes for $10.99, but if you consider yourself a true JT fan you will make the trip to Target to purchase the deluxe physical version that includes two bonus tracks ($13.99). Oh and by the way, the standard version, the deluxe version, and the vinyl all feature different artwork. (And there’s more where this came from; Timberlake has confirmed that a 10-track sequel album is in the works to complete the “20/20” listening experience.)
Accompanying the grand total of 13 new tracks and the previously release music video for the Jay-Z assisted “Suit & Tie” is a new music video for the album’s second single “Mirrors.” The song is arguably the best cut off the release, and its music video does it the ultimate justice by telling a touching and engaging about an elderly couple exploring their long and journeyed relationship. The clip opens with a dedication to JT’s grandparents William and Sadie; his grandfather passed away last year after making it 63 years with his now-widowed wife. The Floria Sigismondi-directed music video does a fine job at interpreting the song’s lyrics:
Cause I don’t wanna lose you now/I’m lookin’ right at the other half of me/The vacancy that sat in my heart/Is a space that now you hold…And now it’s clear as this promise/That we’re making two reflections into one/Cause it’s like you’re my mirror/My mirror staring back at me, staring back at me.
That’s the hook and the actors who are portraying JT’s grandparents put on a believable performance as we watch their relationship blossom by a jukebox and a pool table. The video takes some twists and turns but by the end you should come to a realization of what it was all about: finding your soulmate and having the power to let go when the time comes (at least that is my interpretation). Intriguingly JT lets the story play out and is absent for the majority of the clip; he doesn’t turn up until the 5:45 mark when he catches the ring released by “his grandmother” (she’s letting go of her departed husband of so many years) to continue to legacy of love. He’s trapped in a fun house of mirrors and dances his way out of it in a fashion only JT can maneuver. A great song matched with a compelling music video; can’t really ask for more than that these days.
So how’s the album overall? For that I will guide you to SpeakSonic’s album review that covers the bases; spoiler alert: it garners a rave review.
Update (3/29): In its first week of sales, The 20/20 Experience quickly shot to #1 on the Billboard 200 selling 968,000 copies. This makes JT’s latest effort the best-selling album of the year so far outpacing Mumford & Sons’ Babel which has sold 658,000 to date. 20/20 also performed well in digital sales in week one with 452,000 downloads making it the third-largest debut indigital ever only behind Lady Gaga’s Born This Way (662,000 in 2011) and Taylor Swift’s Red (465,000 in 2012). JT’s third solo album is also his most successful debut, sales wise. His previous releases FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006) and Justified (2002) sold 684,000 and 439,000 copies, respectively, in their first week on the market.
Dropkick Murphys–the punk rock band who delivered the Celtic chant “I’m Shipping Up to Boston”–are back with their eighth studio album Signed and Seal in Bloodand it’s more of what fans are used to hearing from them. It seems like Kidz Bop has been going on forever just like its cousin Now That’s What I Call Music… but that’s for a good reason: even in its 23rd incarnation it manages to sell extremely well as its young target demographic eats it up. The Grammys air tonight; why not sample some of this year’s nominees in the award show’s compilation album. Destiny’s Child is back with Love Songs, their own compilation of romantic tunes that features one brand new track “Nuclear.”
SpeakSonic delivers with this week’s bite-sized album reviews.
Wiz is back in the rap game with his latest releaseO.N.I.F.C. Though his commercial hip-hop marketability cannot be questioned, what can be said about the actual substance of his rhymes? Can Bruno Mars live up to his widely successful debut album Doo-Wops &Hooligans with this year’s Unorthodox Jukebox? Spoiler alert: If you were impressed with his lead single “Locked Out of Heaven” you will surely enjoy the rest of the 80s synth pop-rock that flows from the talented crooner. T.I. has already proven he can perform at the top of the rap game. How does his eighth studio album Trouble Man: Heavy is the Head stack up against his previous efforts?
SpeakSonic delivers with this week’s bite-sized album reviews.
The month of November saw many artists return from musical hiatus. Aerosmith released Music from Another Dimension!, their fifteenth studio album and first to feature a new collection of songs since their 2001 effort Push to Play. Christina hopes to bounce back from her 2010 bust Bionic with Lotus, an album that features her fellow judges from reality competition series The Voice Cee-Lo Green and Blake Shelton. How does Kid Rock’s latest Rebel Soulfare against his previous records? Is Alicia Keys back in the game with Girl On Fire after taking a three year vacation?
SpeakSonic delivers with this week’s bite-sized album reviews.
Who is ZZ Ward? SpeakSonic will introduce you to her with a review of her debut album Til The Casket Drops. Also on tap is Taylor Swift’s fourth studio album Red and a Christmas-themed release from Cee-Lo Green Cee-Lo’s Magic Moment.
SpeakSonic delivers with this week’s bite-sized album reviews.
Zac Brown Band is back; does Uncaged stick to country roots or does it bring the genre to new heights? Joss Stone’s second volume of Soul Sessions is a self-reflecting effort that will please fans, but is it for everyone? Yellowcard released their eighth studio album Southern Air; do any of the tracks live up to their popular 2003 hit “Ocean Avenue?”
SpeakSonic delivers with this week’s bite-sized album reviews.
How does Chris Brown’s Fortune stack up against his 2011 offering F.A.M.E.? Is Living Things a return to the classic Linkin Park? SpeakSonic delivers with this week’s bite-sized album reviews.
If you haven’t noticed, [experience-it-all] has undergone some cosmetic changes, including a fresh new logo up top and a revamped sidebar that makes navigating coverage simpler and faster. The sidebar also features a new section called Partner Blogs; recently I teamed with SpeakSonic so that I can feature the site’s bite-sized album reviews right here at experience-it-all.com. The concept is simple, really. On a regular basis SpeakSonic will review newly released albums in 200 words or less and I will inform you when new ones go up. So without further ado…
A relatively new destination, SpeakSonic currently has three album reviews up: Maroon 5’s Overexposed, Justin Bieber’s Believe, and Usher’s Looking 4 Myself. Click the links to read the informed reviews and don’t forget to bookmark SpeakSonic and check back for more album reviews soon.