How Do I Make You Love Me? is really good ngl

Album Rating: 3.5

This thing fucks.

Album Rating: 2.0

'@wildcard [2] because the production on here is v good but also @gyro [2] b/c accurate'

I'll (2) that (2)

[3]
"this is what happens when you wave critical credibility to these boring boring pop artists" [2]

Album Rating: 3.0

can you feel your face when you listen to this?

Album Rating: 2.0

I can feel it in my fingers

I can feel it in my toes

The Weeknd has always enjoyed positive critical reception but I have noticed that aggregates from larger publications have been higher in the last several years, particularly for mainstream artists.

It was once quite rare to see new album releases score in the 85+ range, particularly 90 on websites like Metacritic. Now it seems every year there are a handful of albums within this range. I'm not sure that mainstream music is 'getting better'. There's always good music and it's hard to quantify whether it is improving or stagnating in quality.

I think it's more to do with public perception of music but journalists seem to have certainly warmed up to mainstream music more in recent years. At least, from what I can tell.

Album Rating: 2.0

I think target audiences might have something to do with it: if the general perception is that mainstream music is becoming more liked amongst the masses (that's the music-loving masses, rather than the 'wider' masses who might catch a few songs on the radio), then publications will cater to it.

Call me cynical but I believe they generally write what people want to see / read, not necessarily what the individual writer truly thinks. If they have a renegade in their midst, that's a situation that can easily be overcome (in time) as well. Tendencies can be 'ironed out'... or they'll simply find someone else.

There are smaller publications (or individuals) who will buck the trend, but Metacritic isn't a good indicator of anything imo, especially as don't the larger publications pay to have additional 'weight' in the overall calculations?

I'm not sure how those weightings are divided but you are right in that some publications carry more weight than others on Metacritic. Pitchfork, for instance, can shift an aggregate pretty effectively when their reviews are added to Metacritic. AlbumofTheYear seems to have a more even balance, and draw from a larger set of publication, I think.

I think you are right in that publications seem to write what people want to read. Sure, Ed Sheeran is an incredibly successful artist who doesn't need critical praise to do well. The general fan doesn't really take stock in what they write, so they write anything.

On the other hand, a lot of artists like Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey and Ariana Grande seem to have very engaged fans who actively participate in the numbers game. Of the many albums and artists who appear on MC, the ones with the highest volume of user scores are generally pop artists. In a way, it reminds me of the number culture surrounding video games, and their relationship with sites like MC.

Album Rating: 5.0

"His first 3 mixtapes were only good because of the dude who helped him produce them."



That dude only produced like 3 songs on house of balloons lol. Yeah it sucks how he got done dirty but thems the breaks in music sometimes and he was out before anyone even knew what Abel looked like.

Album Rating: 3.5

Gasoline, How Do I Make You Love Me?, Take My Breath, Sacrifice, and Less Than Zero are all very good... the rest is forgettable tbh

I liked 'Gasoline'. I'm not very familiar with The Weeknd's discography before the more popular and recent releases but I liked that one.

Album Rating: 3.5

House of Balloons still goes off, check that

Yes, I have been recommended to listen to his early mix tapes, so I think I will do that.

Album Rating: 4.0

mixtapes are his best for sure. House of Balloons is my favorite too but all three are mint

Yeah first mixtape is still his best

it sounds nothing like this lol

i still remember how weird it was when this dude started getting mainstream hype lol

Album Rating: 4.0

ya they couldn’t be more different

Just listen to the title track on Balloons. That is the vibe of the entire tape

Album Rating: 3.0

"i still remember how weird it was when this dude started getting mainstream hype lol"





the fact that it happened because of the Fifty Shades of Grey movie is the wildest part