Electrique Album #20: "808"
1st Sem AY 10-11
01 Enrique Iglesias - Ring My Bells
02 Kat DeLuna - Feel What I Feel
03 Jessica Folker - Crash Like A Wrecking Ball
04 M. I. A. - XXXO
05 Ke$ha - Take It Off
06 Utada Hikaru - Dirty Desire
07 Robyn - Criminal Intent
08 Britney Spears - Early Mornin'
09 Sugababes - Supernatural
10 Christina Aguilera - Monday Morning
11 Pet Shop Boys - Minimal
12 Lady Gaga - No Way
13 Kylie Minogue - Get Outta My Way
14 Adam Lambert - Pick U Up
15 Pink - Raise Your Glass
16 Katy Perry - Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)
17 The-Dream - Florida University
18 Taio Cruz - I Can Be
Despite its repetitive allusions to sexual attraction, "808" is an album more for the mind and less for the body. There is just something about the self-justifying lyrics which detracts the listener from enjoying the album in a purely sonic level.
-All Music Guide
The overly efficient arrangement of tracks gives "808" an engineered feel, making it less of a genuine expression and more of a product - the very same error which haunted its 12th album, "Gun".
-Los Angeles Times
"808" depicts a cycle: it invites, parties with abandon, gets dirty, sobers up to write notes on love and life, reveals bad emotional experience, recovers and bitches on ex, then parties some more. Perhaps not the most inspired of experiences to make an album about but it is a unique musical ride nonetheless, not to mention fun.
-BBC Music
"808" is Party 101, an 18-track course meticulously describing, analyzing and explaining the intricacies of "club philosophy."
-Uncut
There is absolutely no doubt that this 20th album is an astounding achievement in a technical sense - Electrique was able to produce a dance-pop album with a coherent theme, seamless track transitions, and vivid songs which do not lack in lyrical creativity - but somehow, it failed to represent what it really was about. One just cannot party with abandon without leaving one's school bags behind.
-Rolling Stone
Electrique did an admirable job in balancing mindless pleasures with exquisite sense. It may have resulted to something which feels half-baked, but really, I doubt anything more can be done to make this compilation better while still keeping its objectives intact.
-NOW Magazine
What "808" impresses upon its audience is that there is more to half-naked revelry than what is seen by the naked eye.
-Boston Globe
So focused on its message that "808" becomes less of an ordinary song album but more of a music-accompanied audio book on the musings of what goes on in the mind of the party animal before, during, and after the party.
-Entertainment Weekly
This album should come with a "parental advisory" label not because of its explicit lyrics (which is actually next to none) but because of its potential to convince close-minded bookworms into exploring what really goes on within the mysterious confines of a bar.
-Dot Music
"808" is unnatural in the same way as a fully-lit club. It ruthlessly exposes what the partygoers are desperately trying to hide from everyone and from themselves.
-Slant Magazine
"808" may lack the musical edginess of "Platinum Soul" but it is downrightly more coherent, more meaningful, and more captivating.
-Dusted Magazine
Electrique may have played it safe again with "808" by sticking with its radio-ready mass-friendly genre even if it did (as with "Runaway") muster the most out of it. Still, the daring innovation of "Reason", "Platinum Soul", and "Heart Like A Wheel" is sorely (and almost unbearably) missed in Electrique's more recent works.
-Pitchfork
What really sets "808" apart from its predecessors is its unwavering self-empowerment. A "give no quarter" outlook in life depicted in a club setting. This is the sound of an artist who lets himself be caught up in a euphoric moment yet is still consciously aware of his actions and reactions. Others may find "I Can Be" an awkward ending song for this party-themed collection, but that song really is what the album is about.
-The New York Times
An extremely good average album - its strengths lie in the details but the overall appeal is, well, mediocre. "808" does not move Electrique forward in an artistic level. Even the chosen artists were recycled from "Robotboy". A fashionable, very well-made dress made of old plain wool.
-Spin
Similar to "Heart Like A Wheel", "808" is an album for the intellectuals. Only the most astute listeners will be able to reap the deeper rewards of absorbing this musical journey.
-musicOMH.com
1st Sem AY 10-11
album #20, october 2010
01 Enrique Iglesias - Ring My Bells
02 Kat DeLuna - Feel What I Feel
03 Jessica Folker - Crash Like A Wrecking Ball
04 M. I. A. - XXXO
05 Ke$ha - Take It Off
06 Utada Hikaru - Dirty Desire
07 Robyn - Criminal Intent
08 Britney Spears - Early Mornin'
09 Sugababes - Supernatural
10 Christina Aguilera - Monday Morning
11 Pet Shop Boys - Minimal
12 Lady Gaga - No Way
13 Kylie Minogue - Get Outta My Way
14 Adam Lambert - Pick U Up
15 Pink - Raise Your Glass
16 Katy Perry - Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)
17 The-Dream - Florida University
18 Taio Cruz - I Can Be
Despite its repetitive allusions to sexual attraction, "808" is an album more for the mind and less for the body. There is just something about the self-justifying lyrics which detracts the listener from enjoying the album in a purely sonic level.
-All Music Guide
The overly efficient arrangement of tracks gives "808" an engineered feel, making it less of a genuine expression and more of a product - the very same error which haunted its 12th album, "Gun".
-Los Angeles Times
"808" depicts a cycle: it invites, parties with abandon, gets dirty, sobers up to write notes on love and life, reveals bad emotional experience, recovers and bitches on ex, then parties some more. Perhaps not the most inspired of experiences to make an album about but it is a unique musical ride nonetheless, not to mention fun.
-BBC Music
"808" is Party 101, an 18-track course meticulously describing, analyzing and explaining the intricacies of "club philosophy."
-Uncut
There is absolutely no doubt that this 20th album is an astounding achievement in a technical sense - Electrique was able to produce a dance-pop album with a coherent theme, seamless track transitions, and vivid songs which do not lack in lyrical creativity - but somehow, it failed to represent what it really was about. One just cannot party with abandon without leaving one's school bags behind.
-Rolling Stone
Electrique did an admirable job in balancing mindless pleasures with exquisite sense. It may have resulted to something which feels half-baked, but really, I doubt anything more can be done to make this compilation better while still keeping its objectives intact.
-NOW Magazine
What "808" impresses upon its audience is that there is more to half-naked revelry than what is seen by the naked eye.
-Boston Globe
So focused on its message that "808" becomes less of an ordinary song album but more of a music-accompanied audio book on the musings of what goes on in the mind of the party animal before, during, and after the party.
-Entertainment Weekly
This album should come with a "parental advisory" label not because of its explicit lyrics (which is actually next to none) but because of its potential to convince close-minded bookworms into exploring what really goes on within the mysterious confines of a bar.
-Dot Music
"808" is unnatural in the same way as a fully-lit club. It ruthlessly exposes what the partygoers are desperately trying to hide from everyone and from themselves.
-Slant Magazine
"808" may lack the musical edginess of "Platinum Soul" but it is downrightly more coherent, more meaningful, and more captivating.
-Dusted Magazine
Electrique may have played it safe again with "808" by sticking with its radio-ready mass-friendly genre even if it did (as with "Runaway") muster the most out of it. Still, the daring innovation of "Reason", "Platinum Soul", and "Heart Like A Wheel" is sorely (and almost unbearably) missed in Electrique's more recent works.
-Pitchfork
What really sets "808" apart from its predecessors is its unwavering self-empowerment. A "give no quarter" outlook in life depicted in a club setting. This is the sound of an artist who lets himself be caught up in a euphoric moment yet is still consciously aware of his actions and reactions. Others may find "I Can Be" an awkward ending song for this party-themed collection, but that song really is what the album is about.
-The New York Times
An extremely good average album - its strengths lie in the details but the overall appeal is, well, mediocre. "808" does not move Electrique forward in an artistic level. Even the chosen artists were recycled from "Robotboy". A fashionable, very well-made dress made of old plain wool.
-Spin
Similar to "Heart Like A Wheel", "808" is an album for the intellectuals. Only the most astute listeners will be able to reap the deeper rewards of absorbing this musical journey.
-musicOMH.com
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