It's time for a Let's Argue, where I go on the internet I take your hot takes, your unpopular opinions, your tough questions, I respond to the best ones, and that's what I'm doing. Let's do it.

"katy's new album deserved a 0" - @nathudgens

You're really going to make me defend the Katy Perry album? Seriously?

While it was bad, I don't know if it was that bad. A zero is for a record that is so relentlessly offensively awful, uniquely awful. And that's the thing about the Katy Perry record – It's very bad and it's very mediocre and it's very underwhelming, and at points, lyrically, it's even quite cringe and vague and just too nonspecific –But by that same token, it's not bad in a uniquely special way. I feel like a zero should be reserved for albums that are so awful, they're in my nightmares. They really keep me awake at night.

"I feel like your review of Manning Fireworks really missed the mark, not that you have to love the album but I was surprised at how dismissive you were toward the vocals/lyrics. The scattered and dejected tone contribute a lot to the vibe much like bands like Wilco and Silver Jews" - @TervoPatrick

The vocals were not that good. Not impressive in any way that vocals could possibly be impressive in terms of the technicals, the range, or even how expressive they were. They were actually quite flat and lifeless a lot of the time. Lyrics, the lyrics were laughable. Not funny in a ha ha he, I'm laughing with you way. Like, embarrassingly bad. The scattered and dejected tone, they didn't really feel dejected to me. They just felt lifeless in a very apathetic way.

Contribute a lot to the vibe, much like bands like Wilco and Silver Jews – But see, here's the thing. David Berman was actually quite witty and clever with his lyrics. His vocals did actually convey a profound sadness. I don't feel like that was the case on Manning Fireworks at all. Wilco, by comparison, I think is a lot more hushed, a bit more entrancing. As far as instrumentals go, I think the instrumentation on Wilco's records is actually quite tasteful and impressive and nuanced, which is not the case for Manning Fireworks.

I feel like you guys need to recognize that just because something lands in a vibe or an aesthetic that is similar to something like good or classic, that doesn't mean it's actually filling in those shoes or performing as well as those classic artists and records. While I do agree, I think those artists are probably a point of reference and inspiration for Manning Fireworks, that doesn't mean it's pulling it off well.

"Pablo Honey is the most overhated album of Radiohead's whole discography. And I've grown quite fond of it personally, like sure, it's just early '90s alt rock, but it's enjoyable, and for a debut, I think it's quite good. I'd give it an 8/10, at least but ppl are going to call me stupid." - @ALLTH3YW4NT3D

I mean, while I agree that the record is maybe a little more hated than it should be and that it should be accepted on the terms of what it was doing and the lane of rock music it was inhabiting at the time of its release. Sure, to your point, for a '90s alt rock debut, it's not that bad. But the songwriting across the record is inconsistent.

There are other '90s alt rock records that people don't just crap on just because they come from that era or that they're dated. There are lots of great '90s alt rock records that have withstood the test of time and very much sound like they're a part of that era, the same era that Pablo Honey does. It's just that, I mean, Radiohead, I don't think was particularly great at writing songs at the point of that album.

I mean, for sure, there are a few classic standout tracks that are still very solid listens to this day, but there are just as many misses as there are hits, and I think it pretty much ranks up there as one of the band's most disappointing albums, along with King of Limbs.

"There are no male equivalent to the biggest female pop stars today. And don't try to convince me that The Weeknd is on the same current level as Swift or anyone else for that matter." - @its_LEAKIM

The Weeknd is continually breaking streaming records and stuff. Didn't he just rack up a certain amount of songs that have a billion streams each? Number one, that's insane. Number two, he's doing that without even having a new album out.

Meanwhile, Taylor Swift as popular as she is, in order for people to be continually streaming and talking about her stuff, she needs to keep reissuing and rereleasing the same album over and over and over. Meanwhile, how many versions of Dawn FM have been released in the last month? None. No versions of Dawn FM have been released in the last month.

I'm sorry, people are just streaming all of those old Weeknd tracks because they really like them. Regardless of what you think of the guy's music, it just has some serious staying power, and everyone seems to like a lot of his songwriting and his vocals. I think you're BSing yourself if you're to tell me, 'Oh, there's no male equivalent to all the female pop stars out there.' Like, what?

"Kendrick performing at the Super Bowl is redundant and unnecessary. We already got to see him belt out his hits & take jabs at Drake on a performatively large scale, (i.e. the pop-out concert), it was well received as it should have been. Ought he not to focus on releasing new music?" - @TheSchoolRush

One, Kendrick typically likes to take periods of in between album cycles. I don't know if we're on track for a new Kendrick album quite yet. Mr. Morale is or at least should be still pretty fresh in our minds. On top of that, I think you need to account for the fact that the Super Bowl is a much wider, a much crazier, and a much normier audience than what you're going to get out of an Amazon-streamed Kendrick Lamar pop-out show.

I mean, obviously, that concert was huge. A lot of eyes were drawn to it. And the Kendrick Drake beef was one of the biggest moments of cultural singularity that we've had in the past year. But simultaneously, it is the Super Bowl. What the fuck do you do as an artist when you approach to play the Super Bowl? You're just like, 'I don't know. Maybe next year. Can I work on my album for a little bit longer and then maybe play the Super Bowl?'

When you're asked to play the Super Bowl, you play the fucking Super Bowl. I don't see how the Super Bowl would necessarily prevent Kendrick Lamar from making new music or working on new music or conceiving of new music. Thinking about new music and writing new music is something that can be done in a myriad of different contexts, especially when you have access to the level of resources and help and the producers that Kendrick Lamar does. He could be working on music at his home, in the studio, on a spaceship, underground, in a sewer pipe somewhere. Who the fuck knows? He could be working on music anywhere, anytime.

Again, I don't see how the Super Bowl would get in the way of him writing new music. In fact, it might lead to experiences that down the road inspire some new music, so why not?

And finally, I think a lot of people are needlessly worried about the whole beef that he had with Drake and "Not Like Us" and how much of a role that's going to play in the midst of this whole performance. Frankly, I think Kendrick had his moment and he had his victory relap with all of that, which he didn't even really go into that deeply with even the song that he just recently released about the party being over and so on and so forth.

There are just a lot of people who are worried that he's going to get up on stage, and I could be wrong here, but that he's going to get up on stage and play not like us 20 times and just jam it on stage as much as he possibly can. But I don't think that's going to be the case. I mean, for sure he's going to play the hits, and that song is a hit, which makes it likely that he'll play it. But the the idea that hating Drake is going to be the primary focus of this whole performance, I think, is just overstated. It's not going to be likely.

Look, the fact of the matter is right now at this moment, commercially and artistically, Kendrick Lamar is just riding a high. He is very popular. He's very in demand. He's doing well. Jay-Z has a lot of cultural sway at the NFL at the moment, especially when it comes to stuff like who's playing the Super Bowl halftime show. Kendrick Lamar is exactly the artist that for sure Jay-Z, being who he is creatively, feels like better represents the current day and the future of hip hop. Drake is exactly somebody who, artistically speaking, I would imagine Jay-Z probably doesn't mess with that much, and probably doesn't listen to the music of that often. In that respect, Kendrick just kind of makes sense, and he's a bit of a no-brainer.

Look, in addition to all of that, from his numerous tour dates to other public performances, he's given on very, very, very huge televised stages with theatrical backdrops and dancers and collaborators and so on and so forth. Kendrick is a next level, a top top tier performer who is undoubtedly going to pull off some crazy shit at the Super Bowl. Very crazy, very creative, very challenging stuff. He undoubtedly is going to do something on that stage that is far more interesting than Drake or a number of other contemporary rappers would do.

That's going to be it. I'm done arguing with you.

Anthony Fantano. Let's Argue. Forever.