exclusive: The Weeknd - Trilogy (bonus singles reaction) (Patreon)

Extra afterthoughts:

• Man. Re-listening to the Trilogy is tough. I honestly think EOS left such a bad taste in my mouth for Abel's character that it's hard to revisit the earlier chapters knowing there's no redemption in the end.
• On first listen-through, HOB was my favourite, but now I think it's Thursday! So much amazing production and so many of my favourite instrumentals on that one.
• A lot of the tracks have not offered a lot of replay value for me, but I'm curious to know what ones still stay in your rotation today! (I would also like to know if you listen through the entirety of like, Loft Music, for example)
• His vocals on all of these are so heavenly.
• Fun fact: "Twenty-Eight" was the 28th song released for the Trilogy. It was an itunes "free single of the week", which i think is fitting because most (all?) of the trilogy was released online for free to just spread The Weeknd's name around and gain traction.
• Such an emotional performance, I can feel the desperation here. People treat you different with fame, and Abel certainly wanted an emotional connection more than anything, and he felt used by this girl.
• I'm leaning less toward my original theory of this project being about one specific girl (Valerie?) but more as a concept of all the relationships Abel has been going through during his come-up as an artist. Telling his story using them as an anchor point. Also might be a general analogy to his fans in general??? Much to think about here
• Abel talks about finally taking accountability, but we don't see this yet throughout the Trilogy, so I'm not sure where its place is... maybe he just means in general, working on himself after the project.