I don’t mind too much its placement between “I THINK” and “RUNNING OUT OF TIME”, but it’s the equivalent of reading a third of a book then skipping 200 pages ahead-it’s giving away what’s to come in the story. I kinda feel that if it had to be there, it should’ve been placed later in the album (but the track listing is perfect and I couldn’t bring myself to change the run of songs from “NEW MAGIC WAND” to the end) or included it as a hidden track that you have to wait 10 minutes to hear. “BOYFRIEND” essentially serves (sort of) as a clarification tool in IGOR’s narrative, yet now that it’s there, the story loses some of its mystique. Tyler himself continues these themes in his pitched-up verse, most notably with “I’m tryna be more than a friend/My heart’s on the run/I wanna be your boyfriend, cause you are the one.” The biggest revelation in this song is the lyric, “I’m tryna be your boyfriend, but it’s damaging cause we the same.” It now helps further answer the question of why IGOR and this male lover couldn’t sustain a relationship, but it also opens up more questions, most notably: how much of a role did the overly similar personalities play, versus the other man’s ex-girlfriend who eventually won him back? And we still don’t know if, in the end, IGOR and the other man were able to maintain an ordinary friendship (though based on the closing of “ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?”, I assume not). Wilson’s part, written by Tyler, includes the lines “Like compliments to smiles or the light to sun, this feels natural” and “I can’t buy you the world, but my time is yours.” These lyrics provide even further detail into the IGOR character’s longing for a romantic relationship with the male subject and, due to the unfiltered nature of Wilson’s voice (unless there’s some Autotune, but my sensitive ears can’t hear any), in a purer than usual way. “BOYFRIEND” features guest vocals from Charlie Wilson (who also provides backing vocals on “EARFQUAKE” and “I DON’T LOVE YOU ANYMORE”) and dense, distorted production akin to Cherry Bomb-era Tyler with parts a bit reminiscent of Kanye’s epic Yeezus closer, “Bound 2” (which coincidentally also features Wilson I detailed the similarities between Yeezus and IGOR in my initial review of the latter). In other words, it’s the same thing as George Lucas changing old Star Wars movies whenever a new video format hits the market.) In the end, however, I happily ordered the $13 German-manufactured CD (packaged in a nice “digipak” gatefold sleeve with extra artwork and a lyrics booklet), despite having already spent crazy money on this album and its associated merch this year (don’t worry, it’s worth it). Other artists who’ve TLOP-ed their albums include Travis Scott, Young Thug, Trippie Redd, and hilariously enough, Taylor Swift. Kanye West pioneered this move with his 2016 masterpiece The Life Of Pablo, affectionately abbreviated as TLOP. (TLOP-ing, for those who don’t know, is the act of making significant changes, such as changing lyrics, noticeably remixing, and/or adding and subtracting songs on an album already released to the public. You know that “ah shit, here we go again” meme? That’s exactly how I felt about Tyler TLOP-ing a flawless album, meaning I have to (sort of) review it again. Excited because it’s a new Tyler track on one of the greatest albums of all time, but unhappy because he changed the album after I’d already done an extensive, albeit incomplete (I could’ve written 1000 more words had I found the patience and time to do so) IGOR narrative dissection.
In the physical track list, “BOYFRIEND” takes the place of the 14-second spoken interlude “EXACTLY WHAT YOU RUN FROM YOU END UP CHASING.” That piece, narrated by comedian Jerrod Carmichael, is tacked onto the end of “BOYFRIEND,” which fits right in with the album’s narrative (more on that in a minute).Īs the news began to spread about “BOYFRIEND”, I became excited yet a slight bit unhappy at the same time. As advance copies of IGOR’s CD edition circulated, word spread that Tyler quietly dropped a physical-only (vinyl, CD, and cassette) “bonus track” entitled “BOYFRIEND.”Ĭalling it a bonus track, however, isn’t the most accurate description. I got a bit of exclusive information from Jack White about “ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?”, which I reported on, but even more happened with this LP.
TYLER THE CREATOR BOYFRIEND UPDATE
My initial plan was to follow the original 3500-word review with a later update on the vinyl edition’s sound quality, but plans change.
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