Album: Beyoncé
Artist: Beyoncé
Born: Houston, Texas
Released: December 2013
Genre: R&B
Released without any fanfare right at the end of 2013, after many music publications had already gone to press with their end-of-year best album lists, Beyoncé's self-titled fifth LP is one of the great modern pop records and arguably the finest release of 2013. Like the best pop music, it blends great melodic hooks and the latest production techniques with more complex, adult themes. What I also find encouraging, as I come to the end of a blog charting the history of the best albums, is how Beyoncé puts such a high value on the LP as the defining artistic statement for musicians over singles, EPs and mixtapes. As Beyoncé herself says: "I miss that immersive experience, now people only listen to a few seconds of song on the iPods and they don't really invest in the whole experience. It's all about the single and the hype." The innovation with this record was that Beyoncé made the first truly visual album, with music videos accompanying all the songs, rather than just a few singles. Her release strategy was also highly innovative, relying on surprise, social media and iTunes, and there's a Harvard Business School case study that reveals the finer details. As with previous albums, Beyoncé adopts a specific persona for the songs, this time playing the role of the sensual and serious Yoncé, a seemingly more well-rounded personality than past personas, such as B, Bey and Sasha. Many songs are sexually explicit, but Beyoncé balances this approach with moments of reflection on motherhood and feminism, and the music itself is some of her most highly experimental. The first time I really appreciated Beyoncé as a performer was her headline show at Glastonbury 2011, but watching her perform these songs at the MTV VMA Awards in 2014 was even more jaw-dropping.
Opener Pretty Hurts is about the impossibly high standards of beauty that the media project to young girls (though some might argue that Beyoncé herself sets some very high standards of female beauty). Below are the links to the rest of the videos in the original album order:
2. Haunted - Inspired by Aphex Twin, Beyoncé raps about frustrations with the music industry.
3. Drunk In Love - Sexy, simple song featuring Beyoncé's husband Jay-Z.
4. Blow - Justin Timberlake, Pharrell Williams, etc help summon the spirit of Prince.
5. No Angel - Indie group Chairlift help to create some Beyoncé-style dream pop.
6. Partition - Hybrid R&B / hip hop song handled expertly by producer Timbaland.
7. Jealous - Power ballad with some of Beyoncé's best songwriting on the record.
8. Rocket - Soulful number inspired by D'Angelo and co-written with Timberlake.
9. Mine - One of the musical highlights, and best videos, featuring rapper Drake.
10. XO - Big electronic sound and lovely refrain ("Baby love me, lights out").
11. Flawless - Writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie delivers powerful feminist message.
12. Superpower - Frank Ocean stars and Destiny's Child make a cameo in the video.
13. Heaven - Gospel song containing elements of The Lord's Prayer in Spanish.
14. Blue - Beyoncé's piano-based ode to motherhood and her baby, Blue Ivy.
Three were three extra videos on the "visual" disc 2 - Ghost, Yoncé ("sneezed on the beat / and the beat got sicker") and Grown Woman (featuring home video clips adapted to lip sync with the lyrics). Beyoncé also reissued a Platinum Edition of the album exactly a year later. Whichever version you listen to, it's clear this is Beyoncé's defining musical statement.
Released without any fanfare right at the end of 2013, after many music publications had already gone to press with their end-of-year best album lists, Beyoncé's self-titled fifth LP is one of the great modern pop records and arguably the finest release of 2013. Like the best pop music, it blends great melodic hooks and the latest production techniques with more complex, adult themes. What I also find encouraging, as I come to the end of a blog charting the history of the best albums, is how Beyoncé puts such a high value on the LP as the defining artistic statement for musicians over singles, EPs and mixtapes. As Beyoncé herself says: "I miss that immersive experience, now people only listen to a few seconds of song on the iPods and they don't really invest in the whole experience. It's all about the single and the hype." The innovation with this record was that Beyoncé made the first truly visual album, with music videos accompanying all the songs, rather than just a few singles. Her release strategy was also highly innovative, relying on surprise, social media and iTunes, and there's a Harvard Business School case study that reveals the finer details. As with previous albums, Beyoncé adopts a specific persona for the songs, this time playing the role of the sensual and serious Yoncé, a seemingly more well-rounded personality than past personas, such as B, Bey and Sasha. Many songs are sexually explicit, but Beyoncé balances this approach with moments of reflection on motherhood and feminism, and the music itself is some of her most highly experimental. The first time I really appreciated Beyoncé as a performer was her headline show at Glastonbury 2011, but watching her perform these songs at the MTV VMA Awards in 2014 was even more jaw-dropping.
Opener Pretty Hurts is about the impossibly high standards of beauty that the media project to young girls (though some might argue that Beyoncé herself sets some very high standards of female beauty). Below are the links to the rest of the videos in the original album order:
2. Haunted - Inspired by Aphex Twin, Beyoncé raps about frustrations with the music industry.
3. Drunk In Love - Sexy, simple song featuring Beyoncé's husband Jay-Z.
4. Blow - Justin Timberlake, Pharrell Williams, etc help summon the spirit of Prince.
5. No Angel - Indie group Chairlift help to create some Beyoncé-style dream pop.
6. Partition - Hybrid R&B / hip hop song handled expertly by producer Timbaland.
7. Jealous - Power ballad with some of Beyoncé's best songwriting on the record.
8. Rocket - Soulful number inspired by D'Angelo and co-written with Timberlake.
9. Mine - One of the musical highlights, and best videos, featuring rapper Drake.
10. XO - Big electronic sound and lovely refrain ("Baby love me, lights out").
11. Flawless - Writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie delivers powerful feminist message.
12. Superpower - Frank Ocean stars and Destiny's Child make a cameo in the video.
13. Heaven - Gospel song containing elements of The Lord's Prayer in Spanish.
14. Blue - Beyoncé's piano-based ode to motherhood and her baby, Blue Ivy.
Three were three extra videos on the "visual" disc 2 - Ghost, Yoncé ("sneezed on the beat / and the beat got sicker") and Grown Woman (featuring home video clips adapted to lip sync with the lyrics). Beyoncé also reissued a Platinum Edition of the album exactly a year later. Whichever version you listen to, it's clear this is Beyoncé's defining musical statement.
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