"As an artist, Drake always struck me as good without ever being particularly great, but this year he..."

“As an artist, Drake always struck me as good without ever being particularly great, but this year he hit the charts with one of the most breathtakingly amazing pop songs that’s ever existed. “Take Care” is astonishingly good, almost too good for the pop charts, and certainly too good for Drake or Rihanna. I’ve never seen so much love, frustration, and anger tied up together so well. Drake promises to rescue her and that he doesn’t care about her bad reputation, and yet he’s let disappointment and resentment and defensiveness creep into his grand statements of love…He’s clearly been pushing and pushing and he’s gotten nowhere, and he just can’t take it anymore. And while Drake is great on this, Rihanna is better than she’s been in years, sounding tired, resigned, burnt by love, too brought down by reality to believe Drake’s promises. I’m almost embarrassed to talk about this song, I like it so much. This song is stone perfect. Everything about this just comes together. It is the best pop song of the year.”

- Todd in the Shadows, on “Take Care” by Drake featuring Rihanna (via rollickingspaceadventureguy)