"No Strings Attached" is still my favorite of the three *NSYNC studio albums. I saw it in concert not once, but twice, so that explains part of the attachment. It was a really great show, believe it or not.
It's more than that though - it's got a more modern sound and better quality than the first one, and they hadn't yet ventured into the world of weird video game sounds embedded in tracks and all that kinda stuff.
Their sound was kind of big at this point, no longer "far away" as I had mentioned regarding the first album, which brings me to my first topic to discuss.
The band's music videos weren't just guys standing around being hot anymore. The dance to "Bye Bye Bye" was pretty memorable and had teen girls (and Thomas) trying to repeat it everywhere. Going a step further, they turned a playful concept into a hard hitting message in the video for "It's Gonna Be Me." For a song that had nothing to do with puppets, they portayed marionette versions of themselves, a statement about the way they were being treated and the way boy bands of that era (you could almost say any era) were run.
What do you think? (Here's the link to the video, embedding was disabled.)
You can see a progression from the first album. It seems like they're trying to be more hip and cool naming their tracks things like "Bringin' Da Noise," which is actually a pretty dumb song. I think for the most part is just made them look pretty silly.
I still really like the track "Space Cowboy," even though it's a pretty dumb concept. It's really catchy and upbeat and features TLC's Lisa "Left Eye Lopez." I also like the singles that came off this album. Though cheesy, "This I Promise You" still works for me. ;)
It almost seems like they were testing listeners with "Digital Get Down." The song is about cyber sex plain and simple, which is kind of appalling when you sit and think of the average age of people listening to this music back in the day. I would have been, what, 16? With lyrics like "We're gettin freaky deaky," "We can do more than just talk," and "I can't wait to see you touch your body girl" they were either trying to sex up young girls, trying to play to young girls they thought were already sexed up by society, trying to play to an older crowd or just flat pushing the limits to see what they could get away with. You know, are people really listening? Or are they just looking at our butts while we dance?
What do you guys think?
I'm wondering - do you think *NSYNC was doing anything new at this point, or were they, as David suggested, riding the wave of inevitability that is the boy band trend? Will anyone remember *NSYNC in the future for any reason whether good or bad?
Also, do you think they were influencing society in any way or just playing to the way society was (such as in the song "Digital Get Down")?
Moving onto album three, which I have not listened to as closely as the other two...
(Now all of you are supposed to make one posting about what you've noticed so far, or answers to any of the questions the rest of us have posed. On Friday, I'll post a week ending discussion and you guys can all comment, but I want to see what you think so far. Thomas, do you still like this stuff or are you finding that your tastes have changed?)
I really find it hard to think that the members of NSync themselves were pushing any sort of limits. Due to the fact that their songs were written and arranged by other people, I think they mostly had to just go with whatever was thrown their way. As far as breaking new ground, they didn't exactly make any groundbreaking artistic achievements, but they were still a progression from the other boy bands I'd mentioned in a previous post. Every successive generation seems to do something similar to the ones previous, but possibly adding something new to the mix such as risque lyrics which hadn't really been seen before in music such as theirs.
ReplyDeleteI agree that no strings attatched is the best of the albums. I found myself somewhat enjoying this album (with the exception of a few songs).After listening to this cd I has high hopes for the next album. Wheb I put in Celebrity I was very disappointed. The only two songs I really even tolerated on this cd was "Pop" and "Gone". I really like the song "Gone" and Thomas made a good point while we were listening to it by saying he thinks this song was what broke the group up. With Justin Timberlake singing all by himself on this song he was ready to make his solo career. All in all I am still not big into NSYNC, but there are a few songs that I always catch myself singing to.
ReplyDeleteBeing a self-proclaimed "music snob" I was severely dreading writing this BUT, I have gone in with an open mind and this is where I stand on Nsync.
ReplyDeleteBesides the singles that were clogging up the airwaves and MTV at the turn of the century, I had never listened to an entire album from these guys. I was surprised at the Adult-Contemporary feel that their self-titled debut displayed, I was expecting a heavy dose of "Disney channel bubblegum pop" which only accounted for maybe half the album. The Chris Cross cover of "Sailing" helped me appreciate that I was listening to pop music and why it's important to the music landscape. For me, pop music serves as a vivid roadmap through my adolescence. "Sailing" immediately brought me back to summer clothes shopping at TJ Maxx with my mom and hearing Chris Cross playing on the Muzak. I'm sure Nsync holds some distinct link to certain high school memories for some of you.
No Strings Attached was a lot harder to listen to, if I closed my eyes I could have sworn I was at the half-time performance at a middle school basketball game. Very over-done production i.e. "No Strings Attched" with very little lyrical depth i.e. "Just Got Paid"; this was obviously a money-grab following the success of their first album.
Celebrity features the song "Gone" which I deem their most tolerable. It just goes to show that the rest of the group was holding Justin Timberlake back. This album is more over-the-top, production wise, than their previous two. It showed musically no sonic growth besides the potential solo career of JT. All in all, these 5 guys are performers and not musicians (except JT but he didn't play any instruments on these albums). I'm assuming 99% of the songs were written by someone else, so I can't really judge them alongside people who write and perform their own original music. As with those who came before Nsync i.e. NKOTB I feel their most profound effect on us, through an economic standpoint, was the boost in economy through record sales, sold out concert arena's and merchandise(t-shirts, posters, etc.). Not to sound cliche but, their first album was the best and now I'm off to find a TJ Maxx.
I typically review all the studio albums of a group after they release a new album, so it has been awhile since I have actually gone through these. Overall, things were just how I remembered. The self-title album was quite cheasy. It seems like they came up with 4 radio friendly songs (Tearin' Up My Heart, I Want You Back, God Must Have Spent a Little More Time on You, and Thinking of you) and then through in a bunch of filler including two covers. Some songs are actually almost completely unbearable to listen to. These include I Need Love, Here We Go, and Giddy Up. My Favorite is I Want You Back, lease favorite is I Need Love and overall I would give this 2 out of 5 stars.
ReplyDeleteFor No Strings Attached, this brought me back to the day that Laura went out and bought 6 or 7 copies of the album to hand out to our group. I remember watching TRL just to see the Bye Bye Bye video, so this helped me remember just how comfortable with my sexuality I really was. I loved this album when it came out and still feel the same. I really enjoy each and every track with the possible exception of Just got Paid. My favorite tracks are I Thought She Knew and Bye Bye Bye. Overall I give this 3.5 out of 5 stars.
I did not listen to Celebrity until well after they released it. I heard nothing but poor reviews and really did not have interest as my boy band phase had passed at that point. Upon picking up the disc at Half Price Books for $1.00, I finally got to listen to it and actually did not think it was that bad. You can certainly hear how the band had matured and I feel that them letting Justin take on Gone Alone led to their ultimate demise. My favorites are Pop, Gone, Tell Me Baby, and Just Don't Tell Me. Lease favorites are all others after track 6. I give it 2.5 out of 5 stars.
Overall I felt that they should have just called themselves J.C. and Justin. I actually wish we could have heard more from Chris, Joey, and Lance. I think that if they concentrated on spreading the wealth instead of a few egos that they could have made a few more albums. The Backstreet Boys have several songs that feature each member of the group and I think that has helped them stay together. That and none of them are popular enough to make it on their own. This was a good blast from the past and a good pick by Laura to help expand our musical boundaries.
Beth, I'd add "Girlfriend" to that list.
ReplyDeleteThomas, I don't really think letting Justin sing solo on "Gone" was what launched his solo career. I do, however, think that both Justin and JC were planning solo albums somewhere in the middle of all this, because you can hear bits and pieces of the kind of music they would end up doing on their own on "Celebrity." i.e. "Gone" and "Girlfriend" could have easily been on Justin's first solo album, while "Pop" and "The Game is Over" bear similarities to the sound JC would try to achieve on his solo album. (And you're welcome for *N Sync week, I can't wait to hear your choice.)
Justin, I figured you might like "Sailing." Because it's a cover, they were able to showcase their voices and not have them hid by even cheesier music and lyrics. Also, I don't think the group was holding Justin back by any means. The way *N Sync was in the beginning was the way Justin was. In fact, he and his mother started the group. As the albums progress, you can listen to his voice progressing, and if you look back at photos and interviews, you'll see that he was always just a kid growing up. On "Celebrity" I think he knew where he was going with his solo career. As I said above, it's almost as if he was in his comfort zone as a "celebrity" (thanks to *N Sync and the fact that they came around when boy bands were hugely popular), testing the waters with tracks like "Gone" to see if that was the right sound for him and if fans dug the JT solo. I think JT is extremely talented, but I don't think he looks back on his career with embarrassment. *N Sync launched his career.