Maps of Music

Blurred Lines (2013)

Where the lyrics of Blurred Lines take you, and where it was really made.

The title track became Thicke's first Billboard Hot 100 number one, but in 2015 a jury found that it infringed Marvin Gaye's “Got to Give It Up.”

Key places

Glenwood Place Studios (2013)

Recording site The Enterprise (Burbank) — Listed as one of the studios where Blurred Lines was recorded. The pin marks the city centre of Burbank, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Studio Guillaume Tell (2013)

Recording site Guillaume Tell Studios (Paris) — Listed as one of the studios where Blurred Lines was recorded. The pin is set at the studio's building coordinates in Suresnes. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

The Hit Factory Criteria (2013)

Recording site The Hit Factory Criteria — Listed as one of the studios where Blurred Lines was recorded. The pin marks the city centre of Miami, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Jungle City Studios (2013)

Recording site Jungle City Studios — Listed as one of the studios where Blurred Lines was recorded. The pin is set at the studio's building coordinates in New York. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Blue Jay Studios (2013)

Recording site Blue Jay Studios — Listed as one of the studios where Blurred Lines was recorded. The pin marks the town centre of Carlisle, Massachusetts, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Luke's In The Boo (2013)

Recording site Bob Dylan's garage studio (Malibu) — Listed as one of the studios where Blurred Lines was recorded. The pin marks the city centre of Malibu, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Record Plant (2013)

Recording site Record Plant (Los Angeles) — Listed as one of the studios where Blurred Lines was recorded. The pin is set at the studio's building coordinates in Los Angeles. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

TDE Red Room (2013)

Recording site Top Dawg Studios — Listed as one of the studios where Blurred Lines was recorded. The pin marks the city centre of Carson, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Blurred Lines: sixth studio album by American singer Robin Thicke
• First released in Germany on 12 July 2013; released in the United States on 30 July 2013 through Star Trak Entertainment and Interscope Records
• Follow-up to Love After War (2011)
• R&B, dance-pop, and funk album
• Guest appearances from T.I., Pharrell, Kendrick Lamar, and 2 Chainz
• Produced by Thicke with Cirkut, Dr. Luke, Pharrell, ProJay, Timbaland, and will.i.am
• Preceded by four singles: the title track with T.I. and Pharrell, “For the Rest of My Life,” “Give It 2 U,” and “Feel Good”

Background

• Thicke said the album's concept came from the idea that most people live between straight lines rather than in a black or white world
• Thicke said he had taken himself too seriously as an artist and wanted to have more fun
• He said he and his wife wanted to be young again, dance, and go out with friends, and he wanted music that reflected that
• Blurred Lines Tour (2014): 33 concerts across North America and Europe
• Nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards
• In 2014, the family of Marvin Gaye sued Thicke, Pharrell Williams, and EMI April over similarities to Gaye's 1977 song “Got to Give It Up”

Recording

• Recorded at nine studios: Glenwood Place Studios, Studio Guillaume Tell, The Hit Factory Criteria, Jungle City Studios, Blue Jay Studios, Hansen Studios, Luke's In The Boo, Record Plant, and TDE Red Room
• Mastered at Sterling Sound

Cover

• Photography by Terry Richardson
• Art direction and packaging by Young & Sick
• Custom typography by Todd Russell

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ja.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Robin Alan Thicke, born March 10, 1977 in Los Angeles, California, is an American singer, songwriter and record producer.
• Son of actress Gloria Loring and actor Alan Thicke.
• Began career as a songwriter and producer for other artists before releasing his own music; signed with Interscope Records at age 16.

Career

• Debut album A Beautiful World (2002) was commercially unsuccessful.
• Signed with Pharrell Williams' Star Trak Entertainment in 2005; The Evolution of Robin Thicke (2006) peaked at number five on the Billboard 200 and spawned the hit "Lost Without U".
• Later albums include Something Else (2008), Sex Therapy: The Session (2009), Love After War (2011), and Blurred Lines (2013).
• "Blurred Lines" (2013) topped the Billboard Hot 100 and remains among the best-selling singles of all time.
• Has been a panelist on The Masked Singer since 2019.

Members

• Solo artist; recorded under his surname Thicke until 2005.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Blurred Lines received mixed reviews from music critics
• Metacritic: “mixed or average reviews,” weighted average 59 out of 100 from 22 critic scores
• Entertainment Weekly: Nick Catucci found the music predictable, with unadventurous “boutique-lounge grooves”
• Slant Magazine: Andrew Chan said the album has “an effervescent start” but that Thicke offers little to contemporary R&B
• The Guardian: Caroline Sullivan said Thicke's “blunt-instrument romantic technique” lacks dignity and keeps the album from being “a pretty good album”
• The Observer: Hermione Hoby called some songs “passable party pabulum” and said the lyrics make the album less entertaining
• Chicago Tribune: Greg Kot said the distasteful lyrics ruin the music's exciting mood
• Rolling Stone: Rob Tannenbaum called it an optimistic “near-perfect summer record” that improves on Thicke's previous albums
• The A.V. Club: Annie Zale praised the “sincere” songs and the playfulness of the less introspective ones
• USA Today: Brian Mansfield believed Thicke's braggadocio improves the sexual songs
• Spin: Keith Harris wrote that Thicke “exaggerates and sings the hell out of” the limits of his pickup artist character

Records

• US Billboard 200: number 1, Thicke's third US top-five album
• US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: number 1
• Billboard Canadian Albums: number 1
• UK Albums Chart: number 1; Scottish Albums Chart: number 1; Switzerland: number 1
• Germany: number 2; Netherlands: number 3; Austria: number 5; France: number 10
• Australia: number 4; New Zealand: number 5; China: number 30
• Certified platinum in Austria; gold in Canada, Mexico, France, Poland, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom
• Nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• “Go Stupid 4 U” includes excerpts from “Tive Razão” by Seu Jorge and from “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.
• In 2014 the Marvin Gaye family sued Thicke, Pharrell Williams, and EMI April, and on 10 March 2015 a jury found that Thicke and Williams had infringed the tune.
• Thicke said he had his wife Paula Patton's approval before shooting the video for the title track.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

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