Every Single Album - 'FutureSex/LoveSounds' | Every Single Album: Justin Timberlake

Episode Date: September 10, 2026

Let's go back to 2006. A time of flip phones and 'The Hills'—and when Justin Timberlake was at the pinnacle of his powers. In honor of its 20th anniversary, Nora and Nathan revisit Timberlake's hit album, 'FutureSex/LoveSounds.' They talk about how the pop star has evolved over the past two decades (1:00), the monster hits Timberlake had in "SexyBack" and "What Goes Around" (25:16), and why Timberlake is one of the few artists who could pull off this album (40:02). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan HubbardProducer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello and welcome to every single album. I'm Nora Princiotti, and I am joined, as always, by my friend Nathan Hubbard for a little trip in the way back machine. Come on, man. Back to 2006. We're going back in time today, Nathan. How are you feeling about it? I'm feeling great. This is exciting for me.

I'm so glad. And I love when we get to do a little retrospective because it does allow me to kind of like ask you to. help us parachute into a different era of your life before I knew you. And I always learn as much from that as I do in some ways from revisiting some of these great albums that we have chances to talk about here on this very podcast. Today, we are celebrating, investigating, spending time with. Yes. Future Sex Love Sounds.

the Justin Timberlake album for its 20th anniversary, which in fact, as we speak, as we podcast right now, recording on the afternoon of Tuesday, September 8th, it is in fact today. So I suppose by the time this episode is out, this album will be 20 years and a few days old, but it's the 20th anniversary week. And this is a big one, so we wanted to celebrate it.

I think it also really is a very, vehicle for us to talk about Timberlake, right? In this moment where Harry Styles is the definition of male pop star, we've gone through a lot of Bieber stuff together. We've talked a lot about one direction and the survival of whether more than one guy can be the guy coming out of a boy band. And a lot of that is because it was Justin Timberlake who came out of in sync and achieved these levels of superstardom that I just don't think anybody really understands at this point. I think most people now are thinking about him getting pulled over in the Hamptons and occasionally cringing out. But there was a moment in time when I went to see this motherfucker in 2006 on stage.

And he felt like the biggest star on the planet. There was energy in that venue that I just have never felt. I heard their two four had never felt in my life. I have felt energy like that before, but he was main character, Nora. Yeah. Well, and I think this, and this moment and this album is like

as imperial as it got for him. Yeah. And I think you're right that because, like Justin Timberlake, I think at this point is so known for being someone who had a big rise and then to some degree, like a pretty significant come down. And some of that is because of the music that he put out later on in his career. I would say more of it is because of a combination of some personal scandals, but also like, I think more than scandal.

It is a cultural revisiting of some tendencies of. white artists who had an interest in traditionally black music styles and how we think about that as a part of what Justin Timberlake pursued over the course of his career. Also how his relationships, both personal and professional with some women, namely in the personal Britney Spears, in the professional Janet Jackson, had seemingly more ram-vers. for them than it did for him or certainly more negative ramifications for them than it did for him. And I do think that like one of the things that's sort of interesting about revisiting this moment for him is like this is when Justin Timberlake is absolutely on top of the world. And this is also when Britney Spears is like absolutely falling apart. And those two things are not necessary. They're not only having to do with each other. But like that is the moment in which this comes out. But to your point, when I'm not.

I think of Justin Timberlake right now. I do think, as you said, like, I think of the whole arc and I think of the fact that we've arrived at a place that's a little bit down. This was all up. Like, this was, he was the biggest guy on the planet. Very little that he touched didn't turn to gold. I mean, he does multiple performances this year at the Grammys. This is an album that has three number one hits on it.

It has a fourth big big. mega hit. He's getting Scarlett Johansson to be in music videos. Like, he could kind of do anything. And I mostly had a good time kind of revisiting that and like trying to put myself back into that place. Obviously, when this happened, I was in, I was I in fifth grade going on sixth or sixth going on seventh? I was in middle school. What were you up to in 2006? I was like starting my work career in the music business. And so it's so interesting, isn't it, though? Like, you listen to this album and the thing that just like jumped out at me was it is so bravado testosterone male forward.

Right? It's this attitude that post-2010s feels inappropriate almost. And when you juxtapose Harry the ostensibly humble sort of, I don't know, he's not androgynous, but at all, but he's like. But he's not so like, he's not so, hey girl. Yeah, he's not so like, he's not doing call and response with the ladies in this way. Like it just is, it feels out of place today only because. this level of, yeah, male forwardness just doesn't fly in pop music today.

And there's a lot that's transpired between then and now over the last 20 years to shape that lot. You know, it's like, but there is a moment on this album when he does turn tender. And it, to me is like, it's the, it's like I love Stone, I think she knows, is like this weird transition moment where he becomes very vulnerable and there's a sweetness that you don't hear. And then it falls into what, I can't wait to have this conversation with you about what goes around and comes around. Because for all of the historical reasons that you talked about, honestly, the biggest thing

that I need to get out of today is whether you like what goes around and comes around, better than cry me a river. to cry Come me a River Or if Cry Me a River is a better song than what goes around and comes around

because they are absolutely connected cousins from my perspective they are two of the most interesting and best pop songs of the 2000s full stop.

They have a lot of baggage but that's what I got to get out of you today. Yeah, well and I mean Cry Me A River has more legitimate baggage and what goes around comes around actually has more just like culturally assigned baggage. What goes around comes around is a song

that was mistaken for being about Britney Spears at a time when the idea of saying what goes around comes around to this woman who he had accused of cheating on him who was really, really struggling in the public eye. I mean, Norie, you asked me what I was doing. I think I've told this story before on the podcast, but I had a business meeting in the bar at the four seasons,

and she was walking around through the bar, crowded 5 p.m. on a Tuesday or Wednesday during the week, in a full, almost ankle-length pink wig, like, and shoes, like, just by herself, pretending that she was looking for somebody, she wasn't. She was just there adrift, kind of looking for attention, kind of looking for help.

It was one of the saddest things I've ever seen with my eyes. she was unraveled to use Olivia's word in that moment in time. And so to say, like, the perception that Justin Timberlake was saying to that version of Britney Spears, what goes around, comes around is like absolutely part of the baggage of this song. Yeah. According to all involved, that was not the intent. He had a friend who'd been cheated on and he's singing from his friend's perspective. I just, I'm a defender of Britney Spears.

I'm a lover of Britney Spears. This song is badass. It's a great song. It's such a great song that it overcomes when you cheated girl, my heart bleated girl. No one has ever really described him as a poet. I mean, there are some things. In this way, he's a little bit more Bieber than anything else. And maybe Harry too. I mean, we joke sometimes about the hairy lyrical stuff as how deep does it get? I have actually been more impressed with Harry's lyrics over the last couple albums.

But yeah, it doesn't sound like, at least especially in this writing process, he's working with Timbaland. A lot of the lyrics are being made up on the spot. Almost none of them are being written down. Can I give you one more from the song that I'd totally forgotten about until I was like digging in more for this? Please God. Just a classic case, a scenario. Yes. A scenario. Like, that's coming from the like, so what, so what does scenario? Like, it's like such a, like, yeah. It's like, what's another word for it?

Yeah. It's the kind of thing that a white dude obsessed with hip hop would use. That is a word that made it sure. Yeah, and I mean, it's not even close to pinnacle or perhaps. nadier black cent Justin Timberlake on this album. I mean, your question is a hard one. I thought you were going to ask me something about like, do I think this is a great song? And that's an incredibly obvious answer. Is it better than Cry Me a River?

Like, I will attempt to get to an answer by the end of this podcast. What I do think about this song is that it is like, to me, this is almost the most Justin Timberlake has ever Justin Timberlakeed. is this song because it is like he is and this is mostly not a great thing

but like there is sort of a magic to watching it happen he is someone where like you're like how can he keep getting away with this and he just does and there's something about this song where like some of the lyrics are corny as all get out

there's something nasty about it it's this very like revenge fantasy song song, the music video. Scarla Johansson dies in the end. So it's basically like, you cheated on my friend, you whore, you deserve to die. And it fucking works. Like the whole

thing works and it's cool and you're bought in. And you could all, like, you could talk about it on a meta level too where it's like what goes around comes around is maybe to some degree the story of this guy's career.

And so like, I don't know if I think it's... My instinct is to say that I think I do think that it's the better of the two songs, but what I feel more certain in is that it is the more Justin Timberlake of the two songs. Look, we can get to that. I want to come back to a thing that you alluded to at the top, which is the complicated view on his relationship, with black music.

And this is a kid who definitely is from Memphis, Tennessee, and definitely has worked with some of the all-time greats who have worked across. Like, Timbaland is like an all-timer. And in fact, this album really, you know, in some ways grew his career in a whole. And also, I mean, also was like early-ish on Timbland. not necessarily at this moment in 2006,

but three years before when he did Justified, because this is sort of, if we exclude the Mickey Mouse Club for a second, which generally speaking, I do not like to do, but I think just in terms of taking him. How could you exclude the Mickey Mouse? Yeah. As a musical artist, this is kind of third-gen timber lake,

where InSync is one, justified is two, and then this is three. But justified, you know, when he worked with the Neptune, and like went to Virginia Beach in 2003 for a, you know, for a white pop artist coming from a boy band, that was a pretty savvy choice. And they did most of that album, but then he did Crime Me River with Timbaland. And like he was, he was for someone in that position also pretty early on, these are the sounds, this is where pop is going.

This is a more exciting thing to do than to continue. on this like Max Martin led much more Eurocentric sound for pop. So like just to underscore your point, there are ways in which he came by this honestly and he had had a really genuine interest in making music that sounded like the music that he ended up making. Is Justin Timberlake appropriating culture on this album? Undeniably.

It's not possible for a kid from Memphis, Tennessee. like working with a bunch of black artists to make this music and have it not be native? This album is indisputably appropriative. I think there is a different question. Like, there's an amount of knowing appropriation and respectful appropriation. That is, that's at minimum neutral, if not a good thing. Like, but that should be part of culture. I think the thing with Timberlake has been that, like, he hasn't always seemed like he really gets

it. He's not really always able to talk about it in a way that makes it seem like he understands that he's borrowing rather than inventing or rather than being native. It's not so much the borrowing in and of itself. It's sort of the understanding of the broader context that that comes in. And I don't know. Maybe he's gotten there eventually. I also think that there, like, part of the part of him being such a target of that kind of rethinking has been. that he's had some flops since this. Like, has been that we took Justin Timberlake out of this environment, and, like, he went to the woods and he did the trolls movie. Well, that, but the trolls movie put out his most stream song of all time. And that is an indictment of our culture and people's taste. With Farrell, by the way. I mean, I get Man in the Woods is probably,

probably not an all-timer. But, I mean, the 2020 experience is a badass album. And that took him six years, seven years to put out after Future Sex Love Sounds. So, I mean, that gap didn't serve him that poorly. he still was making some music that mattered into the 2010s. Yeah, I mean, there is... I actually don't need it to go... I find there to be things about, like, the Janet experience

that are really unfortunate. Yeah. I mostly find him to just come off as a little bit clueless. Like, you can see the guy described in the Britney Spears memoir who kept saying faux shizzle when he met Genuine. Right. Like, I believe,

I think this is a great album and I think that the byproduct of, or the product that was created when he worked with these producers is spectacular. Like, and this is an album about production. It is about Justin Timberlake. It's about his voice.

Like, he's at the center of a lot of this. It is definitely. not an album about lyrics. It is an album about production. And I think that's great. And I'm glad that he made it. And I think it's worth... You've seen him live?

No. Well, other than the Super Bowl halftime show where he mostly did the trolls stuff. I mean, I'm just telling you at this moment in time in 2006, 2007, I think that the heterosexual female contingent

between the ages of, let's just call it, 21 and probably 51, based on what I saw in these arenas, would have said that this guy was like the most, like, desirable dude on the planet. Yeah, I think that's, I believe it. And there's something about that bravado that comes through on this album that, like, culture moved past for some, like, just move past. And I think to your point, maybe he didn't, like, his superpower of walking around in a fucking denim tuxedo and denim cowboy hat and sunglasses and somehow that being like cool enough for the MTV generation, all of a sudden in 2020

and in some years before that, just like that was not how you do it, right? Well, and he's arrogant. And to some extent, I mean that as a compliment. Yes. When he promoted this album, he did a. a lot of promo being like, because he hadn't, he hadn't put out an album in three years since justified. And he basically was like, I got back and he'd said that he was a little like uninspired and not working and doing some movies and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And when he starts promoting

this album, he basically says, I got back into doing music because pop music right now sucks. Like, it's bad. And I'm the only one who can save. it. He did an interview with Dazed, where he said, he said music needs an enema. Whatever, man. He said music needs an enema. He did another interview with Rolling Stone where he described the, quote, sad state of pop music. He was basically like, all of you guys are stale, and I'm the only one who can fix it. And like that bravado and that swagger and also that arrogance and the sort of cluelessness that like has to come along with that type of arrogance,

it's like all part of his thing and it is extremely there in the sound of this and like the whole vibe of this. The live show is incredible. I saw him. I think I've seen him no less than maybe eight times. and he is an extremely talented musician. He is an A-A-A-A-A singer, and he is an A-A-A-A-A-dancer like showman.

Yeah, he's a showman. That's a really good word for it. And remember what, I mean, what happens from here, four years less than, or, yeah, four-ish years after he puts out this album, he's in the social network doing what's cooler than a million dollars, a billion dollars.

Like, that's his thing, right? He becomes this. I mean, this is the same year, or maybe it was 2007, but like right around this is dick in a box. Want to get you something from the heart. Something special, girl. It's my in a box. Right. And he is, that's exactly where I was going.

He's on his way to becoming a five-timer on SNL with Dick in the Box, with take it on down to what out, like his, his, his, his. SNL sketches were so popular. He just, there's this moment in time where he is cool and he is defining what is cool. Leading up to it, he was a little bit mocked with the frosted tips. He was kind of a little bit of the overly neon-y hyper poppy. I mean, you've written a book about this coming out of in sync. It wasn't quite clear whether that was cringe or cool.

But in this, in this half decade, he is. defining what cool is. And it's just that culture moved on and evolved and changed in ways that a lot of what was making him cool here was actually like not just cringy, but uncool. And in some ways, ultimately inappropriate. And so I don't, I think we put a lot on to Justin Timberlake and some of it obviously is for good reason and earned. And some of it to me, he seems to be a receptacle for all of this stuff. Yeah. And in some ways,

you call it a downfall. I mean, I don't know. It's hard to stay. I don't think it's that serious. I just mean that there's an arc and it goes up and then it sort of goes down. Yeah, that's for sure. And I do think that he is someone who has been like, the re, for someone without, and I'm not trying to minimize anything with the halftime show or, by the way, the halftime show

that I saw him out was not that one. Again, it was when he did the trolls soundtrack. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm not trying to minimize that or anything with Brittany. I do think that he is someone who has been where, like, the rethinking of Justin Timberlake is more, like, he's one of the people in culture who I think that has reshaped how people

see them the most over my lifetime. And I will say, like, I don't think that that's... Woodrow Wilson and Justin Timberlake for the two people who are... That's honestly, like, those are on my family feud answer board. Yeah. And I don't think, like, what I wish is that I could name you one interview or a podcast. Justin Timberlake, if you're ready to talk about this stuff, you want to come on it. I don't know if we're the right people with this, but come on every single album.

I wish I could point to one thing where he's, like, talked about it. And I've been like, oh, actually, like, I don't need to fault this guy for being a product of his time and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, because he sort of seems to get it. He just doesn't always seem to really get it. And I think that's the frustrating part. But I also agree with you that I think times have changed around him. in ways that he can be a little bit helpless too. I think we should talk about some of these songs specifically. Let's do it.

I mean, let's start with the biggest hit, which, to me, there's an obvious answer. It's sexy back? Yeah, it's sexy back. I'm bringing sexy back.

The motherfuckers don't know how to act. Hey, Dish. it still streams almost as strong as mirrors. I mean, it's one of his biggest period. I didn't realize mirrors was that. I like mirrors, but like I don't like mirrors like that. But apparently a lot of people do.

Yeah, and it was more pervade. Yeah, it was more. I listened to it today. I was like, fuck, this is a good song. suit and tie is a good song. Like that album has some good ass shit on it. And as long as I got my suit and tie, I'm going to leave it out on the floor tonight.

And you got fixed up to the night. I don't disagree, but I don't, like, it doesn't hit like this one. To me, at least, it doesn't hit like this one. This is like, this is as good as it got. So I think I would make the case that only Justin Timberlake, in this moment in time could have made this song cool

because you really had to buy in to get you sexy on like you had to like that is not a phrase that most people would be like fuck yeah let's roll with that like get you sexy

go get you sexy like there's something about his this song needed a face guy And Timbalin, you can hear his very classic beat stuff in the background. Like, he's got his hands all over this. But to sell these words, like, jammed into one another, like, taking... This entire album is taking multiple sentences and cramming them together in one word

or putting, like, a hash between them or ellipses or something. The phrase I'm bringing sexy back. Like, I remember there being this whole thing about... where did it go? Wasn't sexy here the whole time? Like the idea, but the fact that he could

kind of pull off being like, oh, you didn't know that this was missing, I'm bringing it back. And like, it was a little bit of a joke, but he's still credible singing this is his magic. And like the take him to the chorus stuff. There is this theme in a lot of his music. Like, Signorita is an example of where

there's a lot of call and response stuff. I love Siniurita. Yeah, well, yeah, how can you not love Siniarita? But this is basically four minutes of no chord changes. So you really have to be selling it and there's a chance

that this thing was not going to work. And it just fucking does. I just am arguing that part of his artistry as a showman was selling this. I will not forget when he came out and did his basically his first solo performance was on,

I think it was on the MTV Video Music Awards, it was on MTV, and it was Rock Your Body. And it was such, it felt like in the moment, I just remember like, it was such a Michael Jackson ripoff in the moment. And there was some like real question

about whether or not this guy actually could survive as a solo artist and be something that was its own. Now it turned out that the rest of that album had, Siniarita, had, me a river on and on that totally worked. But I don't know that it was guaranteed in that moment. By the time he comes out here, like he is, he's a face and you are, you are in this moment locked

into, well, if Timberlakes in, I'm in. And he just had that charm and ability to sell it to a broad audience. I just don't think, like, I don't know, could Usher have done this? Probably. Yes. But like, who else could have sold? No, it's that I think you, I think you just named the other person. Yeah. But that's, it is a, it is quite possibly a list of too. Again, I just, I find so much of the magic of this album is about look what I can get away with. Look what I can make cool.

Look what I can make charming. And I also think that like one of the differences between this album and justified, and we should talk a little bit about the form that a lot of these songs take. Because it's like fucking ridiculous. It's this sort of weird heat check of all of these songs being. like multi-part, what do you, like on the actual album version. It's all these like interludes

and stitched together and multi-part things and half of them are like six minutes long. There's only one song, like they're all at least four minutes long basically. And it's just so much to me about look what I can get away with. And sexy back definitely like is

a torch bearer for this. But one different between this and justified is there are very few, there are almost no ballots. Like there's almost no, there are very few moments where they slow it down. And part of how that works, I think,

is most of this music is designed to get people in a club to get in the middle of the floor and shake something. And there is like a populism to that because you make everybody get in on it. Like you make everybody get in on it. like you make everybody get involved.

And when the songs work to make people dance, then they're on your side. And then you can say, take them to the chorus, or you can say, I'm bringing sexy back. And everybody kind of tacitly acknowledges that it works because everybody is dancing to it.

And like, that's a lot of this to me. I don't disagree. I mean, by the way, I misspoke. Rock Your Body is one of the songs that, like, rocked off that album and was an actual song.

The first song that he played like I Love You, which was on the VMAs. But I, it's interesting that you say, that you look at it that way. I looked at these songs and I thought they buried a lot of vulnerability in between some of the bravado. Like Love Stone, I think she knows. Again, the back half of that, Have you heard the mayor cover of, I think she knows, John Mayer cover? Oh, no, I haven't, but I can only imagine.

It's fucking cool. Because the last two minutes of that become, like, it's almost like it becomes a snow patrol song. That's it, or a cold play song. It's a seven and a half minute song that at the like four, or 57 or five minute mark, here come those chords. And it's the first time where he has stepped back and again, he's, I think, and it almost felt like they had to sort of hide it in there because I don't know, in the moment it wasn't cool to be that?

I mean, sexy ladies is the third song on this album. Yes. I got sexy ladies. All over the flow. You're talking to one of the greatest. I think that song sucks, and I think it sucked 20 years ago. And it's the third song on this album. Like, Future Sex Love sounds, nope.

Like, nobody's playing that song back. It's definitely a setup. I think she's ready to blow. It must be for future. Future. Sex. No sound. Okay, sexy back hits, for sure.

Yeah. The back part of my love is, whatever, the medley, let me talk to you, my love. The opening bit, I think, sucks. But then again, at the, like, a minute 40 mark or something, it gets into, oh, damn. Like, that's why they play this part live. only that part. They don't play the, they don't play the beginning part of that shit.

See, all I want you to do is me my love, my love. But even through all of that, there's just, again, a lot of this, like, dick in a box. Like, honestly, it's like just, it's... There's my dick in a box. It's just dick forward stuff. And then you get to Lovestone, I think she knows, into what goes around, comes around. And there's a little bit more vulnerability. And it's almost like they just have to rescue that. by following it up with a 3-6 mafia song.

Okay, so yeah, I mean, I get what you're saying. I do want to interrogate the idea that there's like a ton of vulnerability on Lovestone. I think she knows just because at the very end, his vulnerability, I mean, he's still basically, basically being like, this girl's really hot. The way they did it, I just stopped the stairs, stairs, stare, stare, well, let's be clear.

He's just doing it in a softer musical packaging. This is the original mini bar. Like, I'm stoned, I think she knows. I think I'm high and everybody knows. That's what this is. And I'm gone, but hello. High and everybody.

Yeah, but she's got high because she's so hot. That she knows. I mean that she knows. Yeah. But she's got, but he's high because she's so hot. Yeah. Yeah. I got it.

There's a model. I mean, look, this thing starts with she looks like a model, except she's got a little more ass. And that's a totally reasonable lyric for this album. She's freaky and she knows it. She's freaky, but I like it. Yeah. Yeah.

But at the outro But at the But at the But at the Stringy bad I like it. This is a very It's a genius The second part of this song

I think is one of the most beautiful pieces of music from this album for sure but also like almost this decade. I still to this day, fast forward to that moment to like the 457 mark with those, yeah, like you said, Snow Patrol-ish guitars

and then bang that outro is one of the smoothest things I've ever heard. It's super smooth. It's super smooth. I'm just asking us to like identify how much we're claiming that Justin Timberlake is truly unburdening himself

of his deep inner truths. I think it. does contrast with a lot of what we had heard on the album thus far and some stuff that we're going to see. I mean, until you get to the last two songs, like, actually really the last three songs, right? Like set the mood until the end of time is this slow R&B jam with the, this one's for the lovers, like audience call and response stuff. This one's for the lovers. Losing my way, what the fuck is going on there? Truly didn't remember this existed. myself losing my way

I did not either If anyone else does not remember that this was a thing This is a song that starts with the lyric Hi, my name is Bob and I work at my job How my name is Bob and I work at my job I make 40-something dollars a day And it's about

I'm out immediately I'm out What's amazing is they don't even say what the job is It's just, my name is Bob and I work in my job. And Bob's story is not a happy one. Bob is addicted to crack. Yes. Bob is a meth addict.

But yeah, I don't know. Bob is a meth addict. He's not having a good time. And he's lost his way. And Justin Timberlake is singing about this. And at the very end, just when you're like, I can't believe they did this. I can't believe they did this.

I can't believe I did this even more because they bring in a choir. It's crazy. Yeah, it's not a good situation. I'm almost like I need to, like, and then the last song is this like weird crony piano ballad that Rick Rubin was involved in. If you thought you might try to love me. And I'm almost like I need to shoot that song into the sun instead of losing my way because I just need losing my way to exist as a historical artifact.

Yeah, I'm with you 100%. Another song all over again goes into the sun. How did Rick Rubin, like, allow this to happen? I don't, I'm just eternally confused about that. I do not have the answers you seek to that particular question. Okay. So look, those are the 12 songs on this. Will I. Am is on this album.

Three Six Mafia is on this album. Ti is on this album. Timbaland is producing it on the, either the extended versions or some bonus tracks, Snoop Dog is on a song. Missy Elliott is on a song. Beyonce is on a song. 50 Cent is on a song.

When we're going to see the 2020 album, Jay Z is obviously on suit and tie. It looks to me like Timberlake is to, maybe it's R&B in the way that Eminem was to rap, which is to say, white boy yes, real one yes. And the community of artists who worked with him to me is a co-sign that they felt like he was real. And I really think when you see that full live show, you walk away being like something flows through this guy. And maybe not today, but at 25 years old, it was a sight to behold. That doesn't, you know, I just, it's a very interesting question.

As an old white man, I have probably the least credibility in making this assessment. But I do think it's a really interesting question as we contextualize him with the peaks and valleys that we've laid out so far today. Absolutely. tons of people were incredibly eager to work with him. And I think that goes beyond just the fact that, you know, a song with Justin Timberlake in this moment was very likely to be commercially very successful. Like a lot of people were interested in being in the room with this guy.

And I don't think, I don't think that the conversation around him, true. I don't think that the conversation. around him has gone to a place where it's like, and actually Justin Timberlake was a no talent loser who didn't have any good songs and he was only successful because he was, you know, borrowing from cultures he didn't have any right to do that with. Like,

I don't think that's, I don't think that's what it is. And I think that would be a silly conversation because he's obviously, I think undeniably, a pretty special talent. I just, I think that he is, more than anything else, I think that he is just like a really helpful reference point because of situations that he's been in throughout his career.

But there is like a, you know that, there's always that chart of like the evolution of man and it starts with like the chimp and then slowly evolving to the upright man on two feet or whatever. Like he's kind of in that chart. it's sort of him handing the baton to Beber handing the baton to Harry is what it feels like to me. And there's guys before Justin Timberlake for sure.

But he is the evolution of the male pop star, one of those creatures. Totally. That is part of the way to standing erect on two feet. Totally. What I want to know how you feel about, well, first of all, let's just let's go through like the really, I want to make sure we go through.

through the really big hitters from this album. We've talked about sexy back. We've talked about what goes around comes around. Yes. Did we talk about what I want to make sure. We sort of talked about I know what goes around comes around. I don't know what happens at the five minute mark. Let me paint this picture for you, baby.

Because it gets weird. Like this is a seven minute song that the radio edit was not, did not include the back part. But like those two minutes on the end, like, let me paint this picture for you, baby. It's like, what? No. Get the fuck out.

of here. That's where the over, like, aggressive shit just gets in the way of, like, could we just leave it at one of the best pop songs ever written? No, we need to put a two-minute addendum on here, because that's what we did in all of these songs, was like, Barry the Good Stuff in some bravado? Can I just, I'll say my one additional piece about this song, which I know is not going to mean to you what it means to me. But in the first ever episode of Gossip Girl, when Serena of Anderwoods in shows up at Blair's house. Right. It's after she arrives at Grand Central Station to Peter Bjorn and John's young folks,

also an iconic moment in that soundtrack. But when she shows up at Blair's house and Blair and Nate are hooking up in Blair's room and then Nate hears Blair's mom say hi to Serena outside and then he stops and he's like, wait, Serena's here and it's just like totally establishes the whole dynamic. what goes around comes around is soundtracking that entire scene and it is unbelievable television. Well, it's not the last two minutes of this song.

No, no. It's like the chorus. And then there's a moment when you're going back out into the party and you see Kelly Rutherford as Zillie Vanderwitzen and she's talking to someone and she has the line of like

sort of background dialogue. I don't care. if it's a Murakami, it clashes with my sofa, and it's unbelievably good. It's so good. It was such a treasure. And that's important to me. It sounds like it. Timberlake soundtrack that for you. That's wonderful. And that was like 2007. I mean, it just like, it was a pinnacle of many things. Yeah. It's just, it really, we've given it its two. It's an all-timer anyway that you look at it. It's his little call Don't want to think about it

Nope No He's just so sick about it I'm just so sick about it Can't believe it's sending this way He's just He's just He is so in the pocket

on this song vocally The like high register stuff that he's doing in the pre-chorus The note and you know Like all that shit

Totally He is a the boy has rhythm and you hear it in some of the beatboxing that he's doing in the background to lay a bunch of the rhythm and percussion on a bunch of these tracks

and you hear it in his... By the way, also, beatboxing is another thing that seemed cool when Justin Timberlake did it in 2006 that if any... Like, if Harry Stiles was beatboxing on a song right now,

he would be mocked endlessly. Yeah. Well, Timberlake knows what he's doing on that front. He's musical and it's in this song. What else is great for you? I think it's the best song just to close. I think sexy back is the biggest hit. I think, but I think what goes around comes around is the best one.

I agree. And before this podcast is over, you're going to have to tell me if it's better than Cry Me a River. Okay. Another one that I fucking love is Summer Love. Summer Love. Yeah. You can't wait so bold enough.

This just can't be some enough. That song, great jam. Rules. Yeah, it really does. It's so, like, glossy and awesome. Yeah, and it also, like the, it feels like a club, doesn't it? It feels like the flashing lights, the strobe.

It's like if strobe light was a song, that's what this is. It's strobe-light, except it's not that fast. Like, it's, it is that except it's a little bit languid, which is cool, because usually you can't do those two things

at the same time. There's something about this song that kind of plods along with a little bit of patience, which is very like, you get this sense of being, you know, maybe you are in the American South, and it's the summer,

and it's kind of like sticky. It's a very sticky, sounding song in a sexy summer way. It's L.A. weather right now. It's humidity like the tropics and 95 degrees. It's, yeah, that's what it is. There's like some molasses to it. This is also one that I feel like, I mean, not that, you know, what goes around comes around, I think can go on a lot of stuff, sexy back and going a lot of, like, but there's something about summer love where I find this an incredibly easy song to playlist.

Like, I find it incredibly easy to, like, throw on in different content. It just sounds kind of, it works for any moment. It sounds good for almost anything. So, okay, I'm with you. There's a lot of stuff that sucks on this album. Yeah, there, yeah.

So is there more stuff? I mean, damn girl I can get with because it's his falsetto on display. It sounds more like what we're going to hear seven years later on 2020 experience. Will I Am is in the background of that. But like they're just, I feel I am super bipolar about this album. I'm either like in love with it or I am hating it. And depending on what I'm hearing in any given moment.

And sometimes it happens literally within songs. What do you, where are you on the title slash opening track? Me. Okay. I like it. I in general find this album pretty no skips until, um... Chop me up? Until chop me up.

Yeah. I mean, see, he's doing some like Michael Jackson. They do that Michael Jackson impression on the song and you're just like, okay, this is like not meta enough. Yeah, I mean, this is also like, like, the, some of the lyrics. Like, this is where I'm just like, I don't need to hear Justin Timberlake being like,

you got me fiending. Like, there's a little bit of, um, bullshit. Well, and also like, it makes me, obviously it's a different musical style,

but it makes me think of the Timothy Shalma and Pete Davidson, the like, yeet, skirt, skirt, um, not tiny horse.

That SNL sketch. I will say, the Let's Watch Sex in the City or Desperate Housewives Let's watch sex in the city or desperate housewives Simon says touch yours while you touch my

line which is not Timberlakes is really funny So I'll I'll keep it for that alone But no I That song doesn't really work for me Damn girl is like I like the falsetto

But I do find it to be pretty cheesy This is one where I wonder how it would have sound like I can't totally put myself back in time and experience him as kind of top of the world Justin Timberlake so I think I'm a little bit more sensitive to like oh god this is a little corny um then it's summer love incredible banger uh and then it's just like why are we still here and then it's just yeah the album we should have just stopped and and it's over it's over an hour long. Because all these songs are like seven minutes long.

You could have cut a few of these. Like they could have separated some of these things that they put together with the fucking hash and just, yeah, trim this fucking thing. Yeah, grammatically speaking, and in terms of punctuation stylings, I'll say it again, the audacity. Well, I'm sure, yeah.

Like, this was also, I do feel like this was a real mid-2000s thing where, like, every, like, pink was doing a lot of this. Timberlakes doing a lot of this. Everything has weird symbols and exclamation points and periods and slashes. Like, there's a lot going on on the keyboard in the nomenclature. I mean, is there, like, is there an argument to be made that up, Until the end of time, losing my way and another song. Like, do you think those maybe got in the way of him winning the Grammy for album of the year?

That's an, so, I mean, the Dixie Chicks win. I don't feel equipped. It's one I don't feel equipped to answer because I just don't, like, I'll turn it back to you. Do you remember the discourse around this album, including a sense of like, man, he was really on a heater until that last part? Well, you've got a lot of, I mean, first of all, yes. Second of all, you had a lot of tailwinds for the Dixie Chicks in that moment, or now the chicks, because you've got Bush's second term here. You've got, you know, all of this sort of political stuff that they went through.

And so that, I think, was pushing it. But you had Stadium, Arcadium by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. You had continuum by John Mayer. You had St. Elsewhere by Norrell's Barclay, which was really just like, crazy. And then you had the chicks. I mean, objectively. I mean, that's a big year.

It's a big year, but like this album belonged in that conversation. Totally. And I just wonder if some voters were like either he's too young or, you know, or not sort of ready. Because if you look at the other people who were in there was sort of an older crew. Or, I mean, I guess mayor was not. not much older, but still, like, or I just wonder if there's some stuff on this that felt just too shitty to be called album of the year, because there's stuff on here that, like,

give me an album full of what goes around, comes around, and sexy backs and summer love. And like, yeah, that that's pretty much, I mean, three number ones and a close fourth. That's pretty close at this point, any moment in time to album of the year. I think this is a really, really worthy album. I think it is one of the best albums of the decade. I think it is really special and like kind of an all-timer. I will, I also think that it might win now. Like I think, you know, we've talked about the Grammys so much and like,

interesting. Now it's, it's funny because like they have such issues to some extent, I think with, with like the hip hop community and now more so with country, I would say. But they've, they've sort of rated the relationship with pop mostly, whereas this is still in an era where I think someone like a Justin Timberlake probably had real trouble in a Grammy's context

or at least had some headwinds and so I can see that being a different like I think now it might win. I will say that if somebody was a Grammy voter that year and wanted to look me in the eyes and be like I cannot vote for

an album that includes the song losing my way and the lyric hi my name is Bob and my and I work in my job for album of the year, I would be like, no, totally fair. Absolutely fair point. Yeah.

I mean, no way. It's crazy. Yeah. I think for the chicks that year, not ready to make nice was the song. And it, like, it won them album of the year. I'm not putting down the rest of that album. I think that album's fine.

But I... Well, and also, like, if some albums are about, one song. And if an album is going to be about a song, that's a pretty good song for an album to be about. Anyway, I don't think it's bad that they won, but I also think that this is a very worthy album of The Year Contender. And I think if it didn't have some of its like crazy misses. Well, that's what I was asking. I think it might have had a better chance. I mean, look, but that gets back to, hey, we know that sort of, in quotes, black music historically has been overlooked at the Grammys,

the question was how were voters at the time looking at this? Right? Were they looking at this as like white pop star music or were they looking at this as like... So, it is a... It really, from a cultural perspective

is an important case study, isn't it? Yeah. I also, you know, I wonder I wasn't clued in enough, really, I think, to have my own answer to Yeah, to this. But I also wonder if, given that most Grammy voters are people who, you know, work in and around the industry, I wonder if the promotional tour of music needs an enema and everything sucks and I'm the only one who's going to make something cool. Like, that may also have rubbed some people the wrong way.

I can see that not being terribly helpful. It's possible. It just was a time in which all of our superstars were supposed to be pounding their chests. Yeah. And he also, like, in that same... In that same dazed interview, he also said, I aspire to get people's asses off the walls.

And, like, I think mission accomplished. I think he did it. Definite mission accomplished. There are some pretty incredible songs on this album in all kinds of ways. There are songs that are in the canon and that everybody knows, and there are songs that no one ever should have

forced to listen to ever. But I do think... Here's another unbelievably good line slash ridiculous line from my love. Would you date me on the regular? If I told you up, would you date me? Probably, yeah, on the regular.

Just saying stuff. Yeah. Look, I will say this. a poll of young 20-somethings right now will tell you that they don't really think about Justin Timberlake much at all. They don't even really think of him as much of a star. They know the Trolls song.

They know what goes around, comes around. They know Crimey River. They know mirrors, for sure. But they don't think about him as a big star. And this is a guy who was, again, not just he was a movie star, too. There was Oscar buzz about Justin Timberlake. It's hard to imagine

in 10 years, 20-something's feeling that way about Bieber or in 15 years, 20-something's feeling that way about Harry Styles. In part because the internet and social media are going to carry them as, as like, personas in ways that, you know, there were not iPhones on that 2006, 2007, Justin Tibolake tour. There's a lot less archival. than there will be. Certainly. And so now they, you know,

look, Bieber has had his, his, uh, highs and lows as well and seems to be in the, in the redemptive arc at the moment. By the way, did you see this interview that he and Haley

did for the inaugural issue of, um, double use magazine, which is called double youth. Okay. Do you know what I'm talking about? No. Okay.

I will send this to you. It is, I do not understand what's going on. W. Magazine is starting an offshoot magazine aimed at young people, which is cool. That's a cool idea. What a shocker. I haven't seen it. Well, yeah. I mean, this is sort of started to make the rounds on the internet because it's sort of

inexplicable. But Justin and Haley are the cover stars for the first. issue, which is cool. Like, they're not, they're not teens themselves, but they're both connected to youth culture, and I think that makes sense and their big names and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. The full issue has not hit newsstands yet, so maybe there's something else in there that I'm not yet aware of, and the internet is not yet aware of. But from all I can tell, what accompanies the photo shoot that they did for the cover is a Q&A, or not really Q&A, it's a list of some favorite things of theirs.

And every time something is posed to them, each one of them gives an answer more like completely monosyllabic than the last. The first thing is favorite artist of all time. and Justin answers, I couldn't say. And then Haley answers, I couldn't say. There's another question. They do not elaborate. There's another question where it's, do you have any hobbies? Haley says, I don't have any fun hobbies.

Justin says, golf. There's another one where it says, favorite holiday. Justin's answer, Christmas. Haley's answer? Thanksgiving. That's it. And then the Q&A is over. It's like 45 words total.

I have so many questions. I'll send it to you. This is a crazy thing. I don't even remember what we were talking about before. I just wanted to see if you had heard it. Well, but yeah, why are they doing this? They're asked with their favorite book. one of them is favorite book.

And Haley says, as a kid, Angelina Ballerina, and then Justin says, the Bible. Well, needless to say, I think that they may have a little more staying power. The rise and fall and, I don't know, is there a redemptive arc for Justin Timberlake? Yeah, do you think that he would ever, because he never did,

has he ever done a Vegas residency? No. he's never really done the greatest hits thing. I mean, he's got young kids, you know, he's trying to raise them. And I think he's made the conscious decision to not go out on the road and be away from his family, which is great. Totally. I mean, he's done some touring, but I shouldn't say that. He did do touring.

Recently, he was up on a giant cube, remember, and walking around us. I mean, he's done the touring thing. But he has not done the residency thing. He seems to not be quite so laser-focus. on staying in the public eye is really what I mean. Yeah, I agree with that. And it's, like, you know, he's got plenty of money. He's got kids to raise and all of that.

He's just, it is, it's, the question I'm asking myself is, could he at this point decide to do a bit of a greatest hits tour, residency, whatever? And, like, what would that mean in terms of him being, in the public consciousness with music that was really successful rather than the last couple of albums. I think that would probably go pretty well. I don't think that he may just not care that much and be choosing not to do that and that's fine.

But I think he probably could do that if he wanted to. And it might do something to reshape a little bit how young people think of him, look at him. I mean, I think he could probably do a lot for himself genuinely with, like, one good interview and a couple high profile moments where he plays the hits. Yeah. I was going to say, I think he's going to take some crazy role in like a Christopher Nolan movie or somebody's going to turn him into, like, they're going to try to do like Tom Cruise and Magnolia or something to, like, have everybody rethink his entirety, you know, his career. we'll see. Yeah, maybe.

I think it might come and film more than music. I can see that. Is there anything else about this album that you feel like we haven't? I think we've gotten a lot out here. I know, me too. It's a goody. I didn't really come in ready for the cultural touchstone conversation, but you obviously had that perspective.

And I understood like the rise and fall, the narrative arc, but I didn't really think about how important of an artist and an album this is, as we think about starting in 2000, music evolution over the last 25 years. Like, it's a very important, it just captures so many themes of politics and black and white and sort of the male ego in music and pop stardom and somebody who didn't quite, quite get enough archival footage captured by phones. Like he was just pre-mobile, right? He's the last pre-mobile superstar.

And the stardom, for whatever reason, didn't quite survive as a result. He's also, in fairness to him, and this is probably because a few of his brushes with fame and the media have not been great. He's also clearly made choices to keep some parts of his life private. and that is not something I followed him for.

This is definitely, this album is peak Justin Timberlake. For sure. This album and this year. The last thing that I will say is that I do feel that I would be remiss if I didn't point out that not only is the 20-year anniversary of this album upon us right now, the 20-year anniversary of Taylor's, Swift entering the collective consciousness and of her debut album comes less than two months after this one. And so it is, you know, it's an interesting album to revisit for all sorts of reasons and all of the reasons that we just spent this time talking about.

But like, there is always this little undercurrent, this little kernel in the back of my mind that it's like, this was the world. This was the musical landscape. and the cultural landscape where that happened as well. And so I think there's something sort of cool about revisiting a different album from 2006 right now. Good times. Do you have a grade for this album? Whoa.

Yes. My grade, I have a three-letter grade, W-TF. because that's what I think about every single song. Either like, what the fuck? This is great or what the fuck? It really is a heat check. Like, it really is a heat check of an album in so many different ways. I think, oh, I'm caught between A minus and B plus.

I think I lean A minor. I think I give it an A minus. Yes. The bad is bad, but the good. is spectacular. The good is unstopably good. It's a little bit of a

it's a bit of a cousin to teenage dream. Interesting. Just in the tons of mega hits. And some bullshit. And some absolute bullshit. I think the bullshit on this

weighs it down more than teenage dream. But. Yes, because I think this this, I mean, I think they made smart choices in like, there are radio.

single versions of the singles that are packaged in a way that's a little bit more digestible and could go to radio and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And, like, that was a smart decision. This album, at least in terms of the album cuts of these songs, it really asks you to listen to it as an album because everything is so chopped up and there's so many slashes and where does one song end

and da-da-da-da-da-da. So, like, I think it is asking you to stick around in a way that Teenage Dream seems a little bit more equivalent too. Your problem is Peacock on Teenage Dream.

That's what's going on for you right now. Teenage Dream has Teenage Dream last Friday night California Girls Firework, the one that got away

which is fucking peaking right now and that song rules. Yeah. Yeah. Like it's got more smashers

than this one does. This has basically four. Yeah. the back half of Lovestone is fucking awesome. Yeah. Did I say that enough on this pod? I think you did if you made yourself clear on that.

We'll leave it there. This has been every single album. As always, I'm Nora Prynciotti. He's Nathan Hubbard. Thank you to Kai McMullen for producing this episode and to you for listening. We'll talk to you next week.