User:Tomica/Sandbox/Sources

What Goes Around... Comes Around

 * http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/9197/Justin-Timberlake-FutureSex-LoveSounds/ - The third of the treble of fabulous songs is “What Goes Around…/…Comes Around” which has been labeled “Cry Me a River Pt. II”, and quite rightly. Timberlake has claimed it isn’t about Britney, but considering she’s married to a guy like Kevin Federline… it’s about her. No, seriously.
 * http://www.theguardian.com/music/2006/sep/08/popandrock.shopping8 - Meanwhile, What Goes Around Comes Around aims another kick at his most famous ex: "You're living a lie," he wails. "You got what you deserved." Four years ago, Cry Me a River's Britney-bashing had a certain gossipy compulsion. Now it seems needlessly sour, given she's the one whose career is in freefall and who appears to have married Jed Clampett by mistake, and he's the one who's boffing Cameron Diaz.
 * http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/justin-timberlake-futuresex-lovesounds/946 - The song's prelude features the Tims trading rhymes with each other similar to "Promiscuous," and many of the album's interludes play less like transitional pieces and more like extended, multipart versions in the disco 12" tradition, particularly the string-laden "Love Stoned/I Think She Knows" and "What Goes Around…/…Comes Around," an ostensible sequel to "Cry Me A River," both lyrically and musically (though Timberlake denies it's about his famous ex).
 * http://blogs.villagevoice.com/statusainthood/2007/02/justin_timberla_1.php - video and composition
 * http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1568745/justin-timberlakes-bruising-around-video-vma-lens-recap.jhtml - video
 * http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1532765,00.html - Superior tracks, like LoveStoned and What Comes Around, suggest a happy middle path, where Timberlake can equally embrace Timbaland's canny beats and his own vocal helium.
 * http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/hw8c - "What Goes Around" has a very slight Bollywood flavour, and whilst Justin will never be a profound lyricist, he does do a nice line in falsetto harmonies underlined with flowing violins.
 * http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/music_box/2006/09/justin_in_timbaland.html - FutureSex/LoveSounds includes a sequel of sorts, "What Goes Around … /Comes Around Interlude," a roiling revenge symphony with lyrics that once again seem to take aim at Britney (and her ne'er-do-well husband): "You spend your nights alone/ And he never comes home/ And every time you call him/ All you get's a busy tone/ I heard you found out/ That he's doing to you/ What you did to me."
 * http://blogs.villagevoice.com/statusainthood/2006/08/justin_timberla.php - And it's an incredible lead-in to "What Goes Around," this album's answer to "Cry Me a River," the sad-tender-angry breakup song. But now, Timbaland is using some of the same organic warmth he used on Bubba Sparxxx's Deliverance, winding an acoustic guitar through strings and drum-snaps and vaguely Eastern synth-figures while Timberlake moans about the girl who cheated. He's saying in interviews that it's not about Britney, that it's completely non-autobiographical, but kids all over the world are going to be calling bullshit, especially when he gets to the next interlude, where he gloats when the girl finds out her new guy's been cheating. If it is about Britney, it makes perfect sense; who doesn't dwell on bad breakups, even years later, even when everyone has moved on?
 * http://www.ign.com/articles/2006/09/14/justin-timberlake-futuresexlovesounds - Additionally, despite the annoying MJ-influenced falsetto, "…What Goes Around…Comes Around (Interlude)" presents some intriguing ambiance thanks to echo vocals and swirling synth.
 * http://www.northbynorthwestern.com/story/album-review-of-justin-timberlakes-futuresexloveso/ - And because it is a Justin Timberlake album, there is always speculation about a Britney-inspired song. “What Goes Around…Comes Around (Interlude)” certainly gets the rumor mill going with lyrics like “You had me in the palm of your hand/So why your love went away/I just can’t seem to understand,” but according to published reports, Timberlake denies that the song is a rehash of “Cry Me a River,” saying he drew from a friend’s experience instead. Nonetheless, Timberlake’s voice conveys a bitterness that feels real, and so you keep listening to the song on loop, trying to catch all the nuances of his betrayal.
 * http://www.popmatters.com/review/justin-timberlake-futuresex-lovesounds/ - the ingenuity of incorporating strings and violins in “Lovestoned” and “What Goes Around…”,
 * http://www.411mania.com/music/album_reviews/45343/Justin-Timberlake---FutureSex-LoveSounds-Review.htm - A slower ballad that's again done well. The chorus is addicting and gets stuck in your head. The two songs blend into each other with a slight bridge in between. The only difference is that towards the end is a bit faster, but not by much. It works.

Stay

 * http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/17369-unapologetic/ - Plaintive piano ballad "Stay" is Rihanna inhabiting the post-Florence pop landscape, all chiaroscuro and natural voice. It is pretty.
 * http://www.billboard.com/articles/review/1066751/rihanna-unapologetic-track-by-track-review - Stay (Feat. Mikky Ekko) - As premiered on last week's "Saturday Night Live," "Stay" is Rihanna at her most intimate - a piano-backed duet with Brooklyn singer-performance artist Mikky Ekko with a 70s AM-radio melody that recalls Elton John or Billy Joel. If this is Rihanna indulging her adult-contemporary side, she couldn't have picked a stronger ballad to demonstrate it.
 * http://www.nme.com/reviews/rihanna/13899 - The highlight, the gorgeous piano ballad ‘Stay’, puts a vulnerable spin on the Brown situation, repeating another theme of the album – failing to resist true love.
 * http://www.vibe.com/article/unapologetic-review-rihanna-sorry-shes-not-sorry - There’s vocal improvement (or at the least, experimentation) in her ballads, both in tone ("Half of Me," "Diamonds,” "Stay") and in their ability to transport you to her emotional spaces. fun and intimacy (“Pour It Up,” "Stay")
 * http://buzzworthy.mtv.com/2012/11/19/rihanna-unapologetic-track-by-track-review-in-gifs/ - Rihanna already wowed us with her gorgeous acoustic performance on "Saturday Night Live" last week, and the album version proves equally impressive: "Not really sure how to feel about it, something in the way you move/ Makes me feel like I can't live without you," Ri cries out. Indie rocker Mikky Ekko's crisp vocals blend beautifully with RiRi's, resulting in a devastating torch track that once again proves that Rihanna is way more than just a radio-friendly pop princess.
 * http://www.contactmusic.com/album-review/rihanna-unapologetic - Likewise, Echo's contribution to the slow ballad 'Stay' is welcome because it, for once, provides the sense that we're listening to a human creation and not some kind of faceless pop droid.
 * http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/album-reviews/id.2005/title.rihanna-unapologetic - "Loveeeeeee Song," "Stay," and "Get Over It" are bright R&B moments for Rihanna, as she figures out how balance her innate ability to sing Pop songs with R&B arrangements.
 * http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-11-19/entertainment/chi-rihanna-unapologetic-review-20121119_1_album-review-rihanna-chris-brown - In the stripped-bare piano ballad “Stay,” Rihanna sings, “Funny, you’re the broken one/But I’m the only one who needed saving.”
 * http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/20/unapologetic-review-rihanna_n_2165718.html - When Rihanna slows it down, she's still on point: Her duet with singer Mikky Ekko on the piano-tune "Stay" is touching;
 * http://www.avclub.com/articles/rihanna-unapologetic,88921/ - It’s too heavy on the sort of milquetoast ballads that have never been Rihanna’s specialty (“What Now,” “Stay”)
 * http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/review/a439292/rihanna-unapologetic-album-review.html - The same goes for 'Stay', the LP's most underproduced track that includes the lyric: "Not really sure how to feel about it/ Something in the way you move makes me feel like I can't live without you" - a line that sounds even more poignant when offset by Mikky Ekko's angelic vocal.
 * http://theurbandaily.com/2012/11/18/rihannas-unapologetic-triumph-review/ - A few albums ago no one would have paid attention to a beautiful piano-ballad like “Stay,” but now you can’t deny the ballad’s power, not because we can’t rid ourselves of all of Rihanna’s dramas (and outfits), but because of how honest and emotionally-connected her vocals now sound.
 * http://edition.cnn.com/2012/11/20/showbiz/music/rihanna-unapologetic-review-ew/index.html - But the album is far less defiant than its title suggests, with just as many lovely moments by the piano (Stay)
 * http://www.nzherald.co.nz/hamilton-news/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503360&objectid=11082174 - However, we also get introduced to a raw, softer side, particularly on Stay and Mother Mary, the second half of a two-part track which starts with Love Without Tragedy.
 * http://music-mix.ew.com/2012/11/15/rihanna-new-album-unapologetic-revie/ - And she’s experimenting with more ballads, tapping into her Thom Yorke side by the piano (the SNL-approved ballad “Stay,” which features Mikky Ekko)
 * http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2012/11/19/album-review-rihannas-unapologetic/ - Only two songs on Unapologetic shimmer with promise — Stay, a wistful piano ballad featuring Mikky Ekko; and No Love Allowed, which lets Rihanna play with her Barbadian accent à la her very first single, Pon de Replay, from 2005’s Music of the Sun.
 * http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/music/rihanna-s-unapologetic-review-relapse-1.4230952 - The ballad "Stay" captures the uneasy feeling of falling for someone you know you shouldn't.
 * http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/music/2012/11/20/review-rihanna-unapologetic/UgTykP59XzyCjxR6LzHnXN/story.html - On “Stay,” her chemistry with Mikky Ekko, her duet partner, is magnetic.
 * http://drownedinsound.com/releases/17359/reviews/4145777 - ‘Stay’ is a decent stab at a restrained ballad written by Justin Parker, a.k.a. the bloke behind ‘Video Games’, and performed with a rare vocal solemnity.
 * http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/21/arts/music/rihannas-album-unapologetic-makes-most-of-her-talent.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 - The songs that are the least texturally confrontational are also by far the least successful: “Stay,” a dull, piano-driven duet with Mikky Ekko
 * http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/nov/19/music-reviews-rihanna-kid-rock/?page=all - The album’s saving grace is a cameo appearance by Mikky Ekko, a poppy, avant-garde songwriter who isn’t even popular enough to have his own Wikipedia page. The two sing in unison on the surprisingly moving “Stay,” a tender ballad on an album filled with calculated club bangers.
 * http://www.mtv.co.uk/music/urban/7675-album-review-rihanna-unapologetic - Other mid-tempo ballads including ‘Stay’ featuring Mikky Ekko and ‘Love Without Tragedy/Mother Mary’ also showcase Rihanna’s true vocal ability to good effect on this album.
 * http://blogs.montrealgazette.com/2012/11/18/new-music-review-unapologetic-rihanna-universal/ - the instantly unmemorable slow-tempo duet Stay
 * http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/music/2012/11/20/rihannas_unapologetic_album_works_in_familiar_ways.html - Of the latter, current single “Diamonds” and its lingering, uplifting chorus stand as the moment to beat, while the goopy pile-up of “Stay,” “What Now” and “Get It Over With” in the back half eventually inspires much the same sentiment as the latter’s title.
 * http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/music/album-reviews/8291967/Album-review-Unapologetic-Rihanna - It's ironically the weakest of her collaborations, which includes a far more touching moment with Mikky Ekko on Stay while Eminem adds a typically bragged-edge to Numb.