Album of the Year 2018 #13: The Weeknd - My Dear Melancholy, - HipHop

Album of the Year 2018 #13: The Weeknd - My Dear Melancholy,
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Album of the Year 2018 #13: The Weeknd - My Dear Melancholy,

Posted: 15 Dec 2018 09:33 AM PST

Artist: The Weeknd | Album: My Dear Melancholy,

Listen: SPOTIFY | APPLE MUSIC | TIDAL | GOOGLE PLAY | YOUTUBE

Deriving his stage name from "leaving home one weekend and never coming back," singer Abel Tesfaye managed to enter the R&B world in 2010 with a sound that hasn't seemed to leave since. Tesfaye was born in 1990 to Ethiopian immigrants in Toronto, being primarily raised by his mother and grandmother. There, he was raised learning Amharic, his native tongue, which opened his breadth of early musical influences from Amharic singers all the way to Michael Jackson and Prince. Tesfaye would end up dropping out of high school to pursue music, while living in a one-bedroom apartment with friends. The years spent here would cultivate the dark subject matter of his early work, surrounded by flagrant drug usage and rampant sex. It wasn't until 2010 that he would link up with producer Jeremy Rose, who envisioned a dark R&B project. Together, they made "What You Need", "Loft Music", and "The Morning", all of which were uploaded to YouTube by December under the name "The Weeknd." These tracks would garner some attention online, skyrocketing once they appeared on Drake's blog, receiving further cosigns in the form of tweets. This relationship would soon materialize in the form of five collaborations on Drake's next studio album, Take Care. Tesfaye's first three mixtapes released in 2011 would later culminate in the collection known as Trilogy, his first compilation album upon signing with Republic Records in 2012. Collectively, these tapes would solidify his stance as an alternative R&B juggernaut, shifting the soundscape to atmospheric trip-hop accompanied by a diaphanous voice. The explicit content, slowed tempos, fogged production, and general anonymity of The Weeknd lent to the clamoring for more of this sound.

Where the Trilogy era depicted Abel's life in Toronto, his debut studio album Kiss Land would "symbolize the tour life, but it's a world that I created in my head." Unfamiliarity and fear encompassed his mind while recording, likening the project to a horror movie. While the dark and brooding atmosphere did retain continuity through some of this project, certain tracks came off brighter than Trilogy, lending to the pop realm. This would serve as a prelude to his next studio album, Beauty Behind the Madness. In the time between these two projects, The Weeknd's fanbase grew exponentially from dropping a remix to Beyonce's "Drunk in Love", embarking on his first headlining tour, collaborating with Ariana Grande, and releasing "Earned It", for the highly anticipated Fifty Shades of Grey film adaption. His efforts in expanding his sound proved fruitful, as Beauty Behind the Madness was then sponsored by two massive #1 singles, "The Hills", and "Can't Feel My Face". Marked by cleaner instrumentation paired with familiar subject matter, certain cuts such as "In the Night" drew clear-cut comparisons to Michael Jackson, and truly distanced this project from his previous work. It would only be a year later in 2016 that he would follow up this commercial success with another reinvention of himself, in the form of Starboy. This time featuring two collaborations with Daft Punk, production dipped into electronic elements, bolstered by flashy synths and autotune used throughout. While this did garner him his third #1 solo single and plenty of sales, many fans felt this was a rather washed-out, almost sanitized version of The Weeknd, claiming he could never provide that Trilogy sound again. Likely a reflection of his personal life, The Weeknd had been in relationships for the majority of 2015 through 2017, where he made both of the latter albums. Pairing with Bella Hadid in early 2015, his relationship with Hadid seemed to end due to conflicting schedules. He would soon become romantically involved with Selena Gomez just after, and ten months later would breakup with her as well. As Gomez would soon be seen with former boyfriend Justin Bieber, this seemed to fuel inspiration for new music from The Weeknd. Acting as the catalyst for heartfelt lyrics as opposed to the braggadocio side of Starboy, the anticipation for his next project rose even with no release date in sight. All of this guessing was halted in March when The Weeknd dropped his first EP, My Dear Melancholy,

Review by /u/Kitchen_Ur_Lies

The EP begins with "Call Out My Name", a steep departure from the electronic soundscape found across Starboy. Sampling his own smash hit "Earned It", we're driven by keys engulfed in white noise along a low bassline reminiscent of his older mixtapes, only to be interjected by panning vocals covered in reverb. Abel recounts the emotional pledges he made to Selena during their time together, marking a sheer contrast from the almost numb, playboy-esque persona he portrayed during his Trilogy period. He reflects on finding themselves in each other's company as a means of coping with heartbreak, stating that this was nothing more than a mistake made at a vulnerable time in his life. The comfort he felt within another person was not evenly exchanged, even as he pushed his own boundaries. In the process of falling in love, he openly expressed his affection through public appearances together, social media postings, and otherwise binding moves to be made by a celebrity of his stature that cement the public's current perception of his personal life. While he previously had similar outings with Bella Hadid, the following lyrics ensure the song is largely focused on his more recent breakup with Gomez:

I said I didn't feel nothing, baby, but I lied

I almost cut a piece of myself for your life

Guess I was just another pit stop

Til you made up your mind

You just wasted my time

Relationships do involve both emotional and physical commitments, but this portion can be interpreted quite literally. Gomez suffers from lupus concentrated in her kidney area, and Abel offered his own kidney to save her life. Beyond the physical implications made by such an offer, he found himself at a mental state his 2011 self would never consider. Donating his organs to save a girl is a far cry from only allowing a girl to see him on Thursday. Furthermore, he found himself as nothing more than a vessel for her to get over her previous relationship, which makes for more uncharted content in his music. Only days after making it public that they had broken up, Selena was pictured rekindling with her ex Justin Bieber. Abel was clearly devastated that she still hadn't chose who she loves more, while he gave her his full affection. This theme is far more relatable to the average guy or girl whose relationship ends because there's "another person", but for the guy that wrote songs about convincing a girl that he's the better man, it's hard to imagine this resonates with him. For many of us that have felt the larger toll in a breakup, it feels a bit better knowing even Abel found himself in our shoes. Pain of heartbreak is felt not only through lyrics, but with inflection by the second chorus' distortion of,

So call out my name (call out my name baby)

It's the audible equivalent of the anguish brought to him by this breakup and makes for one of the most memorable musical moments I've found this year. The EP instantly sets itself apart from the rest of his material through the opener alone, exploring the vulnerable side of a playboy growing out of his old ways. The next track "Try Me", brings into question when Abel wrote most of the EP, as he's swapping roles from the last one. Now, he's back to his old ways in trying to persuade a girl in a relationship to try him instead. Attempting to remind her of the love they shared, he's ready for her to relive the times, so long as she's ready. The contrast between this song and his Trilogy approach is that he doesn't want to end an otherwise healthy relationship. Being on the receiving end of this love-triangle situation, he's softened the lust-driven persona he typically carried and wouldn't want to cause someone else the same woe. The start of the lone verse didn't premiere with this EP, rather coming from a freestyle he performed on stage back in 2014,

I didn't know you were down for him finding out

I thought you had some kind of love for your man

Well, I'm not tryna break up something

You've been workin' out, you've been steady

But I'm ready to go all the way if you let me

The chorus plays on rhyming "try me", with "notify me", and "remind me". Abel wants to be reminded of their old times, but she can't try him until she notifies him that she's ready. She must put her pride aside first, and in this instance that would be the relationship she's been working on working out. For those of us that don't have the bravado of Trilogy Abel and have been in pursuit of women that are already in relationships, it's painfully accurate how these thoughts have come about and lingered. Before ending the track, he delivers a melodic bridge with rather meaningless syllables that still manage to encapsulate emotion in their earworm inflection, hitting notes that most new wave R&B artists imitating his sound could never hit. Next up is "Wasted Times", where we see the EP make a slight shift in sonic direction, with an even larger shift in audience, now speaking directly to Bella Hadid. Produced by Frank Dukes and Skrillex, this track offers an electronic-pop flair reminiscent of Starboy, and could have very well been placed on that project. Of course, that only holds true if you ignore the almost direct shots at Selena who he was with at the time of Starboy. Opening the song by claiming he wasted his time with someone who wasn't even half of Bella, it's almost certainly Selena. There's something to be said of the unequivocal love we'll show for someone no matter what they ended up doing to us, simply because of the time already invested in each other. Even if they put us through emotional distress, the fond memories are what drives us back, for we choose to selectively remember those more. While Abel feels Bella put him through hell, she hasn't quite left the crosshairs of his love. If the timing of the release doesn't confirm he's talking to Bella, the next lines surely do,

These girls only want you when you're winnin'

But you've been with me from the beginnin'

Typical tropes of famous people finding love can include the struggle in discerning real affection as opposed to monetary reasons. However, he knows Bella is into him as she's been seen tweeting his lyrics since 2012 and attending his shows. He then drops,

You were equestrian, so ride it like a champion

And to further confirm this track is aimed at Bella, he references her initial ambitions to become an Olympic equestrian, likening her riding skills on a horse to riding him. Summed up by the song's catchy chorus, Abel just wants to catch up with a former lover and make up for lost time. As of this writing, it seems to have aged gracefully because they are indeed back together, coming full circle. His relationship with Selena reflected on his work with Starboy as a blissful time in his life, while the internal turmoil caused by their breakup reflects in My Dear Melancholy. So even if Abel feels here that this was "Wasted Time", the fans can enjoy the music brought forth by the catharsis. Sentiments on wasted time are carried over onto the next track, "I Was Never There". For the first of two collaborations with French DJ Gesaffelstein, blaring horns over a pronounced drum break set the tone to the auditory expression of a horror movie. Acting as one of the darker songs on the EP, The Weeknd confronts his tribulations with thoughts of suicide and intoxicating himself to cope. Crying and contemplating suicide are direct causes of the realization that the happiness his relationship brought can only be temporary. He takes a unique route in expressing this, by speaking to the heart breaker in third person and transitioning to spouting the lessons he's learned from his point of view. Repetition is the key here with these lines resonating throughout,

When it's time, when it's time, when it's time

It won't matter

It won't matter

It was like he was never there

Time can make the end of a relationship bitter, because once it's over you're back to your life before it ever happened. This makes the initial separation hard as it feels you've wasted all the time during the relationship to end up where you started. Abel seems to be in this stage of grief, signaling that this probably was one of the first recorded. As we transition to the second half, the production exudes the feeling of drifting off into a void. Once Abel begins venting, he fixates on letting us know he's somewhat relapsed into medicating himself. Venting,

I feel my mind is slowly fadin'

If I keep going, I won't make it

If I keep going, I won't make it

This creates a duality between relationships and drugs, expressing how their brief euphoric moments are otherwise causing a toll on the body and mind. If Abel felt he was in a toxic relationship, he continued until he felt nothing, as he's recounted in the past with his egregious drug habits. But none of that is his fault to him, for it's all because of a partner that isn't meeting his needs. Even if we don't necessarily share the same coping methods as him, we can surely connect to the vacuum of emotion following a split. And Abel surely doesn't wish this on anyone, as he doesn't want to "Hurt You" for his second collaboration with Gesaffelstein. Reflecting on the time before Bella and Selena, along with their individual conclusions, he realizes,

And now I know relationship's my enemy

So stay away from me

He doesn't find himself suitable for a relationship anymore because of the inevitabilities realized throughout this project. Knowing most won't materialize to anything more than few years of commitment, he thinks it'll only harm the both of them. Reverting to the womanizing ways of before, he only asks that she thinks of him when intimate with her new man. However, he keeps it frank that he doesn't need nor want an emotional connection any longer. "Privilege" delivers a succinct closure to both the EP and his relationship with Selena. Returning to the hazy, reverb-centric vocals that introduced us to this project, Abel tells Selena to return to her normal, privileged life in the most heartfelt way possible. In his perspective, she is the privileged one not only for her fortune, but because she isn't leaving the relationship into self-deprecating heartbreak. As he toiled with supporting her through her battle with lupus by offering physical and emotional aid, she still finds herself suffering. Abel is incredulous to hear that she still has any sorrow remaining and offers her a way to find out what it meant for him. In one of my favorite double entendres of the year,

I got two red pills to take the blues away

Blues away, way, way

For anyone that hasn't seen The Matrix, the main character is given the option of a red pill where he learns the truth and escapes the matrix, or a blue pill which returns him to normal life. Abel is referring to red oxycodone pills which are only meant to deal with physical pain, however they can have mental effects if abused. Conversely, the blues or sad times can be overcome using the red pills. With presenting these options, she can learn the toll that supporting her had on Abel, or choose to live in blissful ignorance. Since there's no indication that they've fully reconciled, it would appear she chose the latter.

Regarding this project as a whole, it does nothing less than prove The Weeknd is one of the most interesting characters in the R&B genre since he entered the realm. As time went on and imitations of the Trilogy sound became prevalent, seeing the originator return to his own sound was incredibly gratifying. Many may consider it a return to form, but I wouldn't discount it as just that. My Dear Melancholy conveys the maturation of Abel Tesfaye from a lustful libertine to a vulnerable, damaged lover. And even there it's not strictly the Trilogy sound, with him dabbling in elements and lyrics touched upon in Kiss Land and Starboy. Furthermore, he's now found himself back in a relationship with Bella Hadid, meaning this project's role as therapy following a breakup has served its purpose. As a standalone EP, My Dear Melancholy sits high in The Weeknd's artful contributions to the R&B world.

Favorite Lyrics by /u/Kitchen_Ur_Lies:

I want you to stay even though you don't want me

Girl, why can't you wait? (why can't you wait, baby?)

Girl, why can't you wait 'til I fall out of love?

"Call Out My Name"

Catchin' feelings

These girls only want you when you're winnin' (winnin')

But you've been with me from the beginnin' (ooh, yeah, yeah)

And I know right now that we're not talkin' (not talkin')

I hope you know this dick is still an option

Cause I'll beat it up (I'll beat it up, yeah)

I took my time to learn the way your body functions

You were equestrian, so ride it like a champion (ride it baby)

"Wasted Times"

So, I poison myself again, again

'Til I feel nothing

In my soul (in my soul)

I'm on the edge of something breaking

I feel my mind is slowly fadin'

If I keep going, I won't make it

"I Was Never There"

And I'ma fuck the pain away, and I know I'll be okay

They said our love is just a game, I don't care what they say

But I'ma drink the pain away, I'll be back to my old ways

And I got two red pills to take the blues away, oh

"Privilege"

Talking Points

Where does this rank in his discography?
How do we as fans accept that an artist's best music may be made when they are at a low point? Should we wish their spirits are lifted or that they continue feeding us amazing work?
Why do you think he named it My Dear Melancholy, with the comma, was this supposed to be a series of EPs? Did his reunion with Bella ruin it?
If we know he's capable of giving us this sound again, will we receive his next project differently if it shifts away?
I've been sad the last week listening to this over and over to make this writeup, does R&B depend on us being in a particular mood more than hip-hop for us to like it?

submitted by /u/Kitchen_Ur_Lies
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Posted: 15 Dec 2018 10:04 AM PST

If you're looking for a recommendation give a description/music link/artist so that other people will know what you want.

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Look through past posts here

ALSO please check out this thread for a list of some of the most popular recommendation requests and the suggestions provided

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