Album Factoids

Yeezus

Released: June 18, 2013 (oh hey, today)
Genre: Rap/Hip Hop
Label: Def Jam
Producers: Kanye West, Daft Punk, Mike Dean, The Heatmakerz, Hudson Mohawke, No ID, Rick Rubin, RZA, Travis Scott, Symbolic One, Young Chop

Week 87: Kanye West (pt2)

So, I had to do it.  Yeezus came out today (even though I've had it since Sunday, thank you internet), and I had to do it.  I reviewed Kanye's last album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy - hence the "pt 2" - and he's gone even crazier since then, so I had no choice.  I saw him in concert last weekend at Governor's Ball, and let me tell you, the man has lost his damn mind.  The first song he played, there were men in black KKK hoods on the jumbotron, and it was uncomfortable.  But that's Kanye - he's about the shock factor, and the wow factor, and all of the other how-can-I-get-people-to-notice-me factors.  I wasn't too keen on the new stuff I heard, but I'm gonna get into it a little deeper and see if I can find any redemption in his calling himself a God. 

This Weeks Album...

Final Grade: C+/B-

Well, this took me forever, but I had to get back to it.  I thought this album was ok.  Random Access Memories definitely had a couple bangers, namely the Pharrell tunes "Lose Yourself to Dance," and "Get Lucky," but I think that this album could have been much better.  I was very attracted by Daft Punk using real instruments on this album, but I don't think they did anything revolutionary with it.  There were a lot of odes to disco and sounds of the early 80s, but they could have gone with better grooves from those eras, as well as enhance them in ways to make them cooler.  I really didn't like "Touch," it was probably my least favorite song on the album.  I know that Daft Punk is super talented, and I was hoping that would translate with real instruments, but not as much.  I love "Get Lucky" and was hoping the rest of the album would be on par, but that was definitely the highlight of the album.  There are definitely a couple tracks I'll keep on rotation, but not the album as a whole.  Maybe they should just stick to electronics...

Get Lucky (ft Pharrell Williams)

Beyond

Motherboard

Fragments of Time (ft Todd Edwards)

Doin' It Right (ft Panda Bear)

Contact

Songs of the

Decided to go hard and review the rest of the songs on the album since I'm so fucking behind.  Got "Get Luck (ft Pharrell Williams)," "Beyond," "Motherboard," "Fragments of Time (ft Todd Edwards)," "Doin' It Right (ft Panda Bear)," and "Contact."  There's a reason that "Get Lucky" is the first single off of this album, and that's because it's the best track on the whole damn thing.  The groove is on point, bringing together a good blend of an old school groove with new school (electronic) elements.  Pharrell's voice works really well with the groove and allows the listener to have a better connection with the song.  The chorus is also hilarious, because who isn't up all night to get lucky?  Under normal circumstances, I would find the song to be a little long, but I like the groove so much that it really doesn't matter.  Definitely the highlight of the album - it's been on repeat all week!  The rest of the album is just okay.  I like the string opening to "Beyond," but I definitely didn't expect the groove that came in afterward.  I like the groove, it's super chill and the guitar riff is cool, but I think I would enjoy it more with an actual voice instead of the electronic voice - I think it takes away from the groove.  This is another groove that I think goes on too long with no change.  The groove is nice and chill, but it's not enough to keep my attention for the full 4:50.  Otherwise, it's a decent song.  "Motherboard" suffers from the same thing.  It's a relaxed groove, and I like that there's a gradual build, but it goes on for way too long without changing.  And then when it does change, it's not the B section it could be.  The transition section into the B section is kind of weird, as is the B section itself.  I feel like although the drums are cool in the B section, they're a little too loud and kind of cloud the rest of the groove going on.  But the rest of the groove isn't that great anyway, I'm not into the synth sound going on.  Not really into this one.  I would have been nice if "Fragments of Time" made up for the last two, but it doesn't really.  I like that this track gets back into an actual groove of sorts, but I think it's kind of corny.  I'm also not the biggest fan of Todd Edwards' voice, so that doesn't help much.  The groove in the verses is decent, but the chorus is pretty fucking corny.  I think it's a mixture of the chord progression and the sounds used that result in a corny groove.  The slide guitar is not helping anyone on this track.  Not a fan.  Luckily, "Doin It Right" makes up for it a little bit.  I dig the electronic, harmonized voices on this one, because they work with the groove since it's so minimal.  Panda Bear also works really well with this groove, so I dig the sound they add to the texture.  The simplicity of this groove is pretty cool considering it's by far the most stripped down groove on the album.  I do think the groove goes on a little too long though, but that's nothing new to this album.  Aaaaand we reach the end with "Contact," which I'm pretty disappointed by.  I dig the opening thing with the astronaut talking about seeing a UFO in space - I dig aliens - but I don't think the groove does the monologue justice.  It's cool that the whole thing is like a spaceship taking off, but I think it could have been executed better.  I really don't like the organ that comes in, I think it makes the groove sound very cliché 80s, which certainly could have been avoided.  I like the idea they had with the extreme drums, but I think it could have been reworked to have not been so isolated within the sound.  And the whole pick up is pretty annoying - I really don't like that sound that gets higher and higher.  Bleeeeeeeeh.  Not my kind of album ending.

Within

There's no YouTube video of it, so I used the grooveshark.

Instant Crush (ft Julian Casablancas)

Lose Yourself to Dance (ft Pharrel Williams)

Touch (ft Paul Williams)

Songs of the Day

Reviewing tracks 4 - 7 esta noche: "Within," "Instant Crush (ft Julian Casablancas)," "Lose Yourself to Dance (ft Pharrel Williams)," and "Touch (ft Paul Williams)."  The piano intro to "Within" is pretty dope, and the modulation into the motif is nice.  I'm a little indifferent to the talk box - I could have gone with it, or an actual voice would probably be cool too.  This groove could be so much better if the drum feel was different, I really am not a fan of them.  They made the song sound kind of corny when a different drum feel could have made it funky.  Coulda been betta.  Luckily "Instant Crush" has a pretty cool groove.  It's got this 80s rock/electronic-pop feel going on that I dig.  The pick up in the chorus is really funky and has a great upbeat feel that really makes you want to dance.  I also really like that the funkiness of the chorus is unexpected since the verses are a more low-key feel - it's a cool juxtaposition.  Julian Casablancas voice effect works for the song, so I dig it.  Solid song.  "Lose Yourself to Dance" follows right on with it.  I wouldn't have expected anything less since Pharrell is on it.  This is a pretty funky groove goin on.  The bass is holding it down, and I like that the guitar part is keeping it up.  The track has a really cool build to it throughout the tune, adding addition vocal parts that continually build the song up.  Love the guitar/claps break, and then bringing the groove gradually back in.  The last two are definitely my favorite tracks on the album thus far.  "Touch" is kind of a weird song, and I don't know how I feel about it.  The intro is pretty cool, sounds like we're on an alien planet, but like what people thought an alien planet would sound like in 1950.  The dude speaking gets pretty creepy, but the whole thing is pretty entertaining.  Was not expecting it to go to the opening feel.  This song is a compilation of five different styles of one motif, the first being low with the piano and Paul.  I'm not a huge fan of Paul Williams voice, I can't pinpoint it, but it's almost got too much of a (bad) Broadway feel to it.  Just doesn't fit with the album.  I like what it starts to go into, but I don't like the saloon piano sound in the second feel.  I think it makes it sound corny, and the groove didn't need it.  The much slower version in part 3 is pretty cool, and I dig the talk box harmonies, but I wish the choir wasn't added in the background.  The choir didn't provide anything beneficial to the sound.  Part D is pretty cool too, the strings sound really good.  The choir sounds much better on this feel, and I think it's really cool that it starts very much in the background and slowly comes forward in the groove.  The space shit that takes it out is cool, but I wish it just ended there instead of going to Paul.  I understand how the cohesiveness of bringing it back ties the song together, but I think going back to that really slow beginning brings the groove down when it was in such a high place.

Give Life Back to Music

The Game of Love

Giorgio by Moroder

Songs of the Day

Got the first three songs up for review tonight: "Give Life Back to Music," "The Game of Love," and "Giorgio by Moroder."  The intro to "Give Life Back to Music" kind of put me off, but I really like the groove it settles into, so all is forgiven.  The title had me hopeful (as it's a statement I fully agree with), and they stuck to it pretty well.  What more life can you give than some funk??  The guitar part is definitely solid, holds the groove down.  The talk box isn't my favorite on this, I feel like the groove deserves some solid vocals, but it's not the worst thing.  I'm also not a huge fan of the rockish feel build up that goes on every so often, but I'm not completely put off by it.  Fairly solid opening number.  "The Game of Love" is a pretty cool way to follow up.  It's slow, and funky, yet seductive - definitely a good combination.  It for sure feels like something out of the 80s, but not in a cliché way, so props on that accomplishment.  I don't mind the talk box on this one, because I feel like the simplicity of the track leaves more room for an electronic element like the talk box.  The only thing I don't like about this track is the length.  Being the same groove, same lyrics, it just gets a little too repetitive.  I would have chopped off about a minute (maybe more), which would still make it over 4 minutes.  Otherwise, I dig it.  "Giorgio by Moroder" is my least favorite song of the day.  It starts off with an intro by Italian record producer Giorgio Moroder (get it?), talking about his start in music.  He worked a lot with Donna Summer, so I was pretty surprised that the groove didn't go more in the disco direction (which is labeled as one of the genres for this album), and frankly, a little disappointed.  It starts out with a disco feel, but then it gets too electronic (the most of the songs today).  And I get that Daft Punk is an electronic group, and I get down with dope electronic music, this just isn't my favorite electronic groove.  This song is way too long, and even with all of the elements that come into play (especially towards the end with the drums, guitars and whatnot), I find it pretty boring.  It very much sounds like background music to an adventure video game - not something I particularly want to listen to outside of a game.  The keys solo in the middle is dope though, as is the groove that accompanies it - that's the groove they should've stuck with.  It's just a lot, and for as much as it is, I definitely lost my attention on more than one occasion.