The Beginning
The Beginning
sort of picks up where The E.N.D. left off, but branches off into many more
styles and is a lot more experimental.
There are a lot
of cute 8-bit pictures in the album jacket, but there’s also a shot of the group
in chibi or super-deformed cartoon form with their actual faces superimposed
on! So sorry about the fold there...
There’s more
computerized talking starting out the CD, but not nearly as long.
Time of Your
Life (Dirty Bit) – I question
the use of the Dirty Dancing song in this one. The two songs aren’t even talking about
the same thing! I think the song
could stand on its own without the sample.
Still it’s very popular right now, so I could be wrong.
A bit more
talking and then Light Up the
Night. This song should be a
radio favorite because there’s basically just 4 different sections to the song
that repeat. The music occasionally
pauses, and there’s this one constant beat and the “ayyy-ohhh!” The last minute
has some cool techno music.
Seamless
blending into Love You Long
Time. It’s softer but holds up
well. What is the sample here?
Will trades
rapping for singing. It might annoy
some people, but I like it.
Everyone is autotuned to levels that Cher could only dream of,
though
XOXOXO –
This is my
favorite new song. It must be hard
to find so many words that end in “-o”, and sure enough, there are a few
repeats, but who cares? The beat is
infectious! The chorus is very
80’s, too. It’s a very high energy song.
When BEP had a poll on Dipdive for the next single, I voted for this
one. I wish everyone else did,
too.
Seamless blend
into Someday. This song goes back to the “rock-hop”
style they liked on The E.N.D. I
just love the variety of the songs here.
I also like the message – “I’m gonna get it right someday”. I think they did.
Whenever – See, this
isn’t what you were expecting. This
is the first Fergie song, where she has a much bigger part. She’s really embracing this rocker chick
stuff. Fans are probably going to
be really confused. Either that, or
everyone will suddenly start including ballads in their rap albums and claiming
they thought of it first.
Ah, some 70’s
funk with Fashion Beats. Actually, a better way to describe
this song is “Rapture 2.0”.
Seriously, Fergie’s part even sounds like Debbie Harry with the loooong
chorus and the spoken word rap featuring French!
Back to dance
party music with Don’t Stop the
Party. More consonance with all
lines ending in “-le” or similar. I
believe that’s Fergie in the chorus – but what did they do? Instead of raising her voice like they
usually do, they lowered it!
This song runs
for a very long time. I believe
it’s the longest on the CD.
Do It Like
This – BEP actually
released a promo “teaser” video for this song. It’s animated and colorful. It’s also one of the few places to get
song lyrics. Now, the lyrics
themselves are a bit racy. It’d be
interesting to hear a radio cut.
They are also pretty funny, though.
I like the
music, particularly the “no-no-no-no-no”
beat that is sometimes used.
About 2:55 in though, turn down your sound! Trust me! It suddenly morphs into this loud,
pulsing, aggressive dance section.
The
Situation (bonus) – the
first bonus track and my favorite of the bonuses. It’s rock again. Is this a different band all of a
sudden? Fergie mostly resembles
Dale Bozzio of Missing Persons here (look them up). I can’t wait for her to go solo
again!
The
Coming (bonus) – The
chorus is just an echoing “Here I come-come-come”. The verses are aggressive and there is
very little music. I don’t like it
much.
Now we come to
Own It (bonus). This song is beautiful. If you look past the autotune, you will
notice the lyrics manage to inspire without being too preachy. It’s probably the best “message” song
BEP’s done. If you’ve heard Will’s
Sesame Street song, it’s a lot like that.
The Best One Yet
(The Boy) – pretty ballsy
giving a song a title like “the best one yet”. I don’t think it actually is. It’s got
another good rock-hop beat, but it’s not as notable as other songs on the album.
Just Can’t Get
Enough – Fergie starts
out nice and sweet – then the song
beats into more traditional hip-hop.
Almost 3 minutes in, it switches to something harder and robotic. The only problem with this song is that
it’s too short!
Finally, we end with Play it Loud. Again we start off gently, but this song picks up a lot faster. Inspirational, but not in the same way as “Own It”. No Fergie at all. The same beat and guitar throughout reminds me of Madonna’s “Ray of Light”, actually.
The album ends with a bit more computer talking. That’s it. There’s only one disc this time. I still think it’s worth getting. I wouldn’t say it was better or worse than The E.N.D., just different.