Chuck Klosterman recently said about Chinese Democracy will be the last album conceived as an album opposed to just being a collection of songs. Now I respect Mr. Klosterman a lot, but he couldn't be more incorrect. Not only does Chinese Democracy sound like a bunch of songs hobbled together (and not an album), but the songs themselves sound like a bunch of ideas that have no flow or consistency within the same song. Which leads to what I'm really thinking about (it sure the hell isn't Guns N'Roses); 808's & Heartbreak. It was pointed out today that this record took about 14 weeks from conception to completion instead of the 14 years Axl wasted. This is an album that does flow from beginning to end and sounds like it was conceived as an album, meaning most of these songs would sound out of place on other Kanye West albums.
Public opinion seems to be mostly unfavorable, however critics seem to be a little kinder. Many have called it self-indulgent. That's redundant, what about Kanye West isn't self indulgent. There is way too much auto-tuner on the vocals. Now that all of the obvious comments have been stated, I can say that this is definitely the most ambitious album of his career. Yes, the auto tuner is in vogue in the hip hop world. My guess is that he wanted to sing more instead of rap and is self conscious about his vocals. It is however hard to believe that Kanye would be self conscious about anything. The lyrics seem to be less about bravado and more introspective, almost like his version of Here My Dear (the break-up part, not the contractual obligation part). Musically, he's taking his Daft Punk and Coldplay influences further and borrowing German prog rock, african tribal beats, and a Tears For Fears song along the way. Supposedly the idea for the album was conceived out of the Phil Collins albun, Face Value. This initially sounded ridiculous (who the hell tries to emulate Phil Collins), but after the idea was planted in my head, I hear In The Air Tonight's influence all over this record.
808's & Heartbreak is a brave move for one of the biggest artists in the world to make an album which does not fit the mold. Not that it is avant-garde or anything like that, it's still melodic and catchy, it just might not be as instantaniously evident. It will be interesting to see how the album fares commercially and if it really will end up being one of those failures picked up later down the road.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
lately when i listen to pop records, i find myself asking the question: for whom is this made? with the new kanye, i have no idea.
i remember a few months before graduation came out, i saw the video for can't tell me nothin on the imf and i was blown away by the fact that it didn't have a "real" hook to it, yet still managed to draw me in with its hypnotic flow.
when i heard the new one, which i call "flunking the g.r.e." i thought that t-pain had found the worst crack in the world and decided to smoke it. honestly, besides for a true audiophile like yourself, who is this album aimed at? despite the term 808 in the title, it isnt a club banger. it isnt really a traditional hip hop record a la de la soul. and even the singing parts pale in comparrasson to the latest lil wayne, who seems to have stolen kanye's mantle as the most innovative songsmith in modern popular hip hop.
this album finds kanye struggling and failing in his attempt to catch up and leaves me with the feeling that the zeitgeist may have just passed him by in the same way it has every other hip hop artist after their 5 year reign of hotness is over.
That's what I find so interesting about it, is that it doesn't sound like a club, hip hop or neo-soul record. Being only for audiophiles was the same notion attributed to Pet Sounds. Of course none of this would matter if I thought the album sucked. But like Pet Sounds, I find it catchy, while being a new path for the respective artists.
I'm ok with the idea that he made it for himself. So much popular entertainment either panders to the lowest common denominator or is test-marketed to the point that any individuality has been sucked out of the project.
As far as Lil' Wayne goes, the song he contributes to is my least favorite on 808's. The singing parts on Carter III are mostly done by guest stars. Not that I dislike Lil' Wayne, but I don't think he would be capable of making this album. I know, most people would say "thank god".
Post a Comment