Review Summary: The voice of a generation; one that hopefully may fizzle out sooner than later.
Sometimes it's difficult when you're sitting in that particular moment. Your stomach knows that it's time to commit yourself to the act and you realize that you may not have the courage to actually do it because you are well aware of what you had eaten the day before. You place yourself firmly upon the rounded surface and work diligently to remove all excretory waste products from your system. You reach for that tree based utility at your side; you suddenly realize that there's nothing left. A fit of rage engulfs your body as you begin to understand the context of your situation. You begin slamming your head against the side of the toilet in a powerful burst of rage and disappointment as manly tears stream down your face (men can cry, it's perfectly acceptable in this modern age). Women get out this same frustration by tossing tampons in the water to entertain themselves. This outburst of mental angst for both genders is followed by that awkward moment where you have to ask a family member or roommate in the house to gather up some more of this material for your practical use.
Enter Justin Bieber, an artist that somehow has gained international fame and critical acclaim simply by posting videos on Youtube. It's always interesting how we open ourselves up to the sell out factor. Let's consider that Justin Bieber at his best may be a talented RnB singer, but even then he's going to be limited to catchy hooks and love ballads as we are all aware that another talented voice has been forever lost in the annals of popular music. I'm not going to rant about my discomfort with the current state of music, but I will say that even Bieber is not living up to his full potential. If you're going to maintain a popular sound, at least have the dedication to make your beats interesting and the choruses catchy. Despite the growth in popularity of dubstep, I've yet to see Bieber utilize this style yet (but then again why even put that much effort in?). As long as we're on the marks of crucifying pop culture, we might as well attack the critical aspects of Bieber's album too. The album opens up with "All Around The World". The electronic beat that is utilized here smells like spoiled milk on a warm summer day and Ludacris dropping a couple of mediocre rhymes only contributes to the stereotype that Hip Hop is a lost genre at this point on the mainstream level (thanks for helping our cause Luda). Big Sean apparently needs to be slapped around a little bit by his label boss Kanye West after being featured on the song "As Long As You Love Me". Not only does Big Sean lower his lyrical standards one again but he too contributes to yet another stereotype for haters of rap music to employ in the near future. I can only hope that our fellow Sputnik followers are more educated on the true talent this genre has to offer. As a guilty pleasure, I did appreciate the song "She Don't Like The Lights" on at least some artistic level (if that appreciation can be counted as rotating the dial on your local radio station to find a better song). The point of course is not to crucify Bieber by any means, but maybe a young teenager might happen upon this review and gain a better understanding of why there really is a general hatred for the young man. Let's analyze these great lyrics shall we.........
It didn't matter how many times I got knocked on the floor
But you knew one day I would be standing tall
Just look at me now (Believe)
You gotta love the double entendres that Bieber utilizes here; he truly is a genius lyricist. I can't dismiss Bieber altogether though as he may become the lead singer of one of the most talented RnB groups to grace the genre some day or even the frontman of the best modern alternative rock band to ever step foot on stage (highly doubt it but why not right?). There's really not a great deal that I can say about Bieber though at this point. Popular artists like Michael Jackson didn't fizzle out in a couple of years as they actually applied the talent that they had. There was a serious amount of effort put into those tracks regardless of what your personal sentiments are on who America considers to be "The King of Pop". You can still hear the chants of "Thriller" being voiced when the song comes on in the family car or even within your personal headphones. However, I think it's safe to say that you won't exactly be hearing the voice of Bieber ten or fifteen years down the road. Bieber will likely take on a title similar to the one those Backlane Dudes accepted a couple of years back. Who were they again?
