Carncross Commentary: I wake up to Dawn FM

Just like student run 91.1 KAOR FM in Vermillion, The Weeknd’s latest album “Dawn FM” sends you through a mixture of emotions and feelings.

“Dawn FM” was released Jan. 7 after a two-year break from The Weeknd’s last album “After Hours.”

The Weeknd, more known for his solo songs, got features from Tyler, the Creator and Lil Wayne. He also grabbed actor and comedian Jim Carrey who plays a very important narrator role throughout the album.

The album starts with the song “Dawn FM” which begins with some bird chirping along with The Weeknd singing and transitions to Carrey giving a radio catchphrase which is just beautiful. At first, I did not know it was Carrey but when I did, it made me love the album even more than before.

The next two songs “Gasoline” and “How Do I Make You Love Me?” are some of my favorite songs in the album. I really enjoy the beats because they make me dance throughout the day. They are probably some of my most listened to this year.

The next three “Take My Breath,” “Sacrifice” and “A Tale By Quincy” are actually some of my least favorite songs. “Take My Breath” and “Sacrifice” are the two most streamed songs on his album which might be why I just skip them while listening. “A Tale By Quincy” is just boring and kind of depressing so I tend to skip that one as well.

I really love the song “Out of Time” because it is easy to memorize the words and is such a great beat. If you ever see me, I am most likely jamming out to this song. Even at the end you get a little cameo from Carrey which boosts it to at least number four on my chart.

“Here We Go…Again” is an alright song. I have no hatred for the song, but it is also just nothing spectacular. Tyler, the Creator’s part however saves this song. It is very different from what I know of his music. It just works perfectly.

The rest of the album is alright. There are some certified bangers such as “Is There Someone Else?” and “Don’t Break My Heart.” These songs quite literally make my ear worm happy. I just want to get up and dance. 

My favorite song on the album, hands down, is “Less Than Zero.” How can someone make a piece of pop music literally the most beautiful sounding song ever? I am not sure, but this is literally it. Every time this song comes on you know I am standing up and dancing and singing every single word. This song to me is the perfect song to take a drive with the windows down and the wind in your hair.

The last song which is just the cherry on top of everything is “Phantom Regret by Jim.” It is just Carrey saying things that made me quite literally want to rethink my life. I sat in my car and stared out my sunroof and just thought.

Overall, I think this song is a solid 4.5/5 on the Tavin Scale. If it had one more song that just made me want to rethink life it would’ve been perfect.

I’ll always remember the line from Carrey, “Bang a gong, get it on.”