Justin Timberlake is probably the only straight up pop artist to appear in my top 100 albums. There is a very simple reason for this. This album is almost single handedly responsible for opening me up to the genre. Another explanation being that pop music is usually built around singles rather than albums. Looking at this list, you may think I’m not a big fan of pop music. That is definitely not the case, its just that the albums usually seem more filled with throw away tracks. I’ve mentioned it before but I grew up on rock and metal with the exception of one wonderful man, Michael Jackson. Over the years, I stopped listening to MJ though and went exclusively towards rock and metal. In high school, my mind was finally opened to music that would be closer to pop music: mainly Depeche Mode and The Beatles. I got into both bands because I fell in love. When you fall in love, a whole world of music opens up to you. In high school I would attend the occasional house party and that opened me up to certain famous pop hits of the age that I wanted to dance to. However, I still would not pursue pop music on my own. Everything changed in 2006 when I saw Justin Timberlake bring sexy back at the MTV Video Music Awards. Maybe it was the dance moves, or the style, but something woke the love for MJ in me from my early childhood. I picked up the album and was shocked at how much I loved almost every song on the album. The album succeeds for a few reasons. The first is that JT really did bring sexy back. Not only that, he was just so loveable. Keep an eye out for every little falsetto vocal trill. The second is Timbaland. His production on this album is astonishing. He is as much responsible for my interest in pop music as JT was. He taught me to follow the producers when you like pop music more so than the artists. There are so many little sounds put into every song that changed the way I viewed pop music. I never knew pop music could be intelligent. The use of guitars, bells, and some crazy electronic sounds sucked me in. And the interludes! Every song has an intro or an outro of some kind that serves to bridge the songs in a way that makes listening to the album as a whole, more rewarding than simply listening to the singles. This isn’t to say pop music wasn’t good before Future Sex/ Love Sounds, so much as it is to say that it was this album that opened my eyes to the wonder of pop music.
What does it make me feel like?
Like I’ve got game. I’m sexy. Girls might actually be attracted to me. I am Justin Timberlake.
What to Listen for Track by Track
– The opening beat to FutureSex/LoveSounds when Justin is rasping “You know what you want.” The whole first verse is just so sexy and then… When the chorus hits!
– I think Sexyback really emphasized the “future” side of the album. The beat is just so other worldly. I love all of Timbaland’s little inputs. Best part is definitely the little bridge at 2:25.
– The funky keyboards and bass on Sexy Ladies!
– My Love remains to this day, one of my favorite love songs. And that opening beat!!! AMAZING! I could listen to this for hours and sing along in falsetto. Trust me, I’ve done it.
– All the little guitar parts in Love Stoned. This is what I’m talking about with intelligent pop music. You can tell a TON of work went into this song and it really shows.
– What Goes Around is ultimately the song that put JT in the perfection zone for me. This is my all time favorite JT song. I think it mostly has to do with the lyrical content. Around the time this song came out, I was in a scarily similar situation to the song. I must have listened to this song 1000 times and it secretly consoled me. I knew it wasn’t in my best interest to try to get revenge and that instead, I should just let her go while reminding her that what goes around comes back around. This is where the song gets it 100% right. If the song ended at the 5 minute mark as it does in the single version, it would simply be about a guy leaving justice in hands beyond his own. The part that made me eternally fall in love with the song happens at that 5 minute mark. The music changes. It goes from passive to aggressive. A remix of the original beat but one that changes everything. It’s at this point that the bad act has come full circle. The woman who cheated on him is now cheated on herself and he finally gets his I told you so. For me it remains the perfect revenge song. He doesn’t have to do anything. Justice comes apart from him. Especially when he confronts what she did “You cheated girl, my heart bleeded girl”. I know it isn’t perfect grammar but every time I heard that line, I knew EXACTLY how he felt. My heart bled to and at the time, knowing that “What goes around, comes back around” helped me get through probably THE toughest time in my life. This song is perfect.
– One again, Summer Love’s beat won my heart over like no other.
– I’m a huge sucker for songs with a story and Losing My Way is one of my favorite on the album as it deals with a struggling crack addict’s cry for help. The song is full of little production moments, and by the gospel breakdown at the end, you know this is a song you wont be able to forget.
Example Track
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