The City Is Blinking

" Can't you see? It won't mean a thing to me I've been doing this too long Baby girl, I've felt it all So watch out If you try to play your luck Ain't nobody gonna care enough To catch you fall So don't you fall in love Don't make me make you fall in love Don't make me make you fall in love with a nigga like me Nobody needs to fall in love I swear I'm just a bird Girl, I'm just another bird Don't make me make you fall in love with a nigga like me Like me."   The Weeknd released three mixtapes in 2011. I have already written about why House of Balloons is so important and astonishingly beautiful here . It is important though not to sleep on the other two mixtapes that make up parts two and three of the Trilogy, as they are just as brilliant and daring as the first part. I find it somewhat hard to understand people who reject the later work of Abel Tesfaye as not being in keeping with the Trilogy mixtapes, as there is plent...

"Don't kill me! Don't kill me, man! Don't kill me! Don't kill me, man! " I'm not going to kill you. I want you to do me a favor. I want you to tell all your friends about me." " What are you?" "I'm Batman." Tim Burton's Batman, released in 1989, was the thing that began my love affair with The Batman, from the comic books to the wonderful Animated Series and of course the many cinematic adaptations over the year. I used to believe that Christopher Nolan did Batman best, and while he did some amazing work, these days I am inclined to believe that Tim Burton did it first and did it better. While Richard Donner's Superman was a big hit and laid the groundwork for every comic book movie to follow, the importance of Burton's Batman to the comic book movie cannot be overstated. A huge hit, with a killer soundtrack from Danny Elfman - that is still THE definitive sound of the character - along with a concept album a...

"Tell 'em this boy wasn't meant for lovin' Tell 'em this heart doesn't stay to one I'll be the same, never changed for nothin' It's all I know, never learned much more Mama called me destructive, oh yeah Said it'd ruin me one day, yeah Cause every woman that loved me, oh yeah I seemed to push them away That's real life, oh oh oh Real love, ooh Mama talking that real life, oh oh oh That real life, real life, real life, real life." Beauty Behind The Madness was released in 2015, just under two years after Kiss Land. It is the breakout album of The Weeknd, for how it elevated him to much more prominent place in popular culture and music. In spite of some issues with a few of the songs on the album, it features some tremendously strong tracks that elevated Abel, not only in terms of fame, but in terms of artistic achievement. When you consider the supreme quality of the Kanye West co-produced Tell Your Friends, it is quite unlike anyth...

" From the morning to the evening Complaints from the tenants Got the walls kicking like they six months pregnant Drinking Alize with our cereal for breakfast Girls calling cabs at dawn quarter to seven Sky's getting cold, we flying from the north Rocking with our city like a sold out show House full of hoes that specialize into hoe-in Make that money rain as they taking off they clothes Order plane tickets, Cali is the mission Visit every month like I'm split life living Let the world listen if our haters caught slipping Then my niggas stay tight Got my back like Pippen, fast life gripping Yeah we still tipping Codeine cups paint a picture so vivid Face try to mimic, get girls timid But behind closed doors they get poles so rigid   All that money, the money is the motive All that money, the money is the motive All that money, the money she be folding Girl put in work, girl girl put in work Girl put in work, girl girl put in work Girl put in work."   Ho...

" Record man play my song on the radio You too busy tryna find that blue-eyed soul I let my black hair grow and my weed smoke And I swear too much on the regular We gone let them hits fly, we gone let it go If it ain't XO then it gotta go I just won a new award for a kids show Talking 'bout a face numbing off a bag a blow I'm like goddamn bitch, I am not a Teen Choice Goddamn bitch, I am not a bleach boy Whip game, make a nigga understand though Got that Hannibal, Silence of the Lambo Hit the gas so hard make it rotate All my niggas blew up like a propane All these R&B niggas be so lame Got a sweet Asian chick, she go low mane You know me, you know man, you know me Every time you try to forget who I am I'll be right there to remind you again You know me, you know me." I remember the day that I first heard Starboy. I was waiting for a meeting with my tutor in Trinity College, Dublin, and I was incredibly anxious. I had my laptop with me and a p...

"I can't wait 'til I get you on the floor, good-lookin' Going hot, so hot, just like an oven And owww, burned myself, but just had to touch it She's so fine, and it's all mine Hey, baby, we don't mind all the watching ‘Cause if they study close, real close They might learn something She ain't nothing but a little doozy when she does it She's so fire tonight And as long as I've got my suit and tie I'ma leave it all on the floor tonight And you got fixed up to the nines Let me show you a few things All pressed up in black and white And you're dressed in that dress I like Love is swinging in the air tonight Let me show you a few things Let me show you a few things Show you a few things about love Now we’re in the swing of love Let me show you a few things Show you a few things about love." I first noticed Justin Timberlake in 2002 when he released his debut solo album Justified. In particular it was the incredible production by Ti...