Seeing Sounds - N.E.R.D (2008)
It's been a long time since I've thought about N.E.R.D. Frankly speaking, I've felt done with Pharrell since the late 2010s... it seemed like he was inescapable. No man, woman or child could avoid the advent of 'Happy'. 'Get Lucky' was making the playlists of all the weddings that I attended and concurrently giving me a slight ick (i mean, great song, but like, your parents are right there).
It seems that Pharrell's pop streak has slowed - Wiki says that he's been composing OSTs (possibly a continuation of the Despicable Me work) and designing for LV now. I wonder what happened. A further google indicates that he had a big fight with his Neptunes (and N.E.R.D. bandmate) Chad Hugo - ostensibly, they aren't speaking anymore.
I'm not sure that it's fair to say that winding it back to 2008 is a particularly significant period of time for N.E.R.D/The Neptunes/et al. The Neptunes had had such success in the early 2000s. N.E.R.D.'s first two albums were critically acclaimed, with two more to follow. It seems that this group was cresting the wave of their success, on their way up. Perhaps things still seemed malleable, and they had the tools to shape what it is that they wanted to see come to life.
Some thoughts on my listen through:
The first quarter of the album is solid.
'Time For Some Action' is a well-chosen introduction to the album.. The sound is smoky and soft, so it feels like easing the listener into this album and then setting the tone of the album with the transition into funk and noise.
'Everybody Nose (All the Girls Standing In the Line For The Bathroom)' is a standout for me. This refrain was made for Pharrell's voice. I also really like that the song is broken down into different segments - it's fast, then slow, then builds up again - it really engages the senses. It also makes me think of like, metal? In the sense that one song can be many many different things at once, which this song is. It's impressive how they managed to tie it all together.
'Windows' - The guitar riff at the start sounds like something off a Pink record. Very early 2000s. The refrain gets stuck in my head for a couple of hours after each listening, reminds me of Bruno Mars - maybe it's the whole 70s funk thing? Which. also makes me feel annoyed because in 2026, this sound has been done to death.
'Anti-Matter' - This is still such a fun song. I love the drumbeats - Idk, are they samples? Also, who is the lady on the chorus?! I can't find any information abt it. The sound of the rapping is so nice and clean - it reminds me of kanye on graduation. it feels original, and it feels of its time.
'Spaz' - This is the song that made me realize that I've probably listened to this album before (I wrote "I forgot about this track"). A visceral memory, because hearing the intro made me sit right up. I like how the chorus is jazzy but also kinda hardcore. Found a reddit post that said this song plays amazing live - I can imagine.
The later half of the album is... meh.
I didn't care for "Sooner or Later" or "Happy" - Pharrell's vocals are grating for me.
Neutral on "Kill Joy" - The freneticism reminds me of something Red Hot Chili Peppers might do, which is fun. I can also see this song working for live performances. I think they should have gotten someone else in for the vocals.
"Love Bomb" - I did like this song, especially the switch to a BIG sound on the chorus. It doesn't feel like a Pharrell sound per se... I wonder if this is the Neptunes at work.
"Laugh About It" sounds like Justin Timberlake track. Once again, very early 2000s. Trademark Pharrell? It feels like a Pharrell thing. Not really a N.E.R.D thing.
I skipped quite a bit of the later half - 'Lazer Gun', 'My Drive Thru' and the two remixes of earlier songs.
As a closing thought, I will say that SIXTEEN tracks is too long (for my attention span - esp. for a hip hop album). I will continue to put on 'Everybody Nose' and 'Spaz' every now and then, it has so much going for it that it scratches my brain.
I do find it quite sad that Pharrell seems to have stopped making music with this original group of friends. No news on the Chad Hugo and Shay Haley recently (at least according to Wikipedia) - other than legal dramas. If they ever make music together again, I think it would be pretty exciting... I also feel pretty sad that it's not likely that I can see a live version of these songs being performed (!!) What a shame.
for now, the mantle for the mainstream has presumably been passed on to the young 'uns. Who ARE the young 'uns? Perhaps my next listen should be something more recent? That would be cool. But first, I need to find a platform to discover new artists, that isn't Spotify. Sighs...