Rihanna - ANTI. Having never listened to a proper Rihanna album, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect here. As far as I know, she just sings "Umbrella" and the hook for about 50 million rap songs. The hit (already a #1 and also hot on streaming because Drake is on it) is "Work," which sounds like her just saying the word "work" three hundred times before she forgets how to pronounce those letters and just starts smearing the words into werwerwerwerwerwer as Drake mumbles.
Her voice is interesting - she actually has an original sounding voice, as opposed to all the other pop princesses out there right now. It's that reggae-ish, dancehall, Caribbean thing she has going on, and I enjoy it on songs like "Desperado." Also liked the "Never Ending" bit that sounds like Dido. I won't say I care for some songs, like the Kanye-from-808's sounding "Woo." But the best bit on the whole album for me was when she pulled off a straight up cover of Tame Impala's "Same Ol' Mistakes." I'm still trying to get off of that album, so hearing it pop up here like that was sweet. I have to say I'm surprised overall by the album, this doesn't sound like dance/pop music much at all. I won't keep this album around, but it was an interesting look into what millions of other people are listening to.
Brothers Osborne - Pawn Shop. Generally good country rock/Americana heavy on the banjo. The only track that I had recognized on here is the Buffet-esque "Rum," a slinky, laid-back little ditty about doin' nothing with some rum in your glass. Their most popular track is called "Stay A Little Longer," and has a legit 19+ million streams on Spotify.
I'm less of a fan of that track compared to "Rum" or "Pawn Shop," its a little more slicked up, and loses the banjo in favor of lite rock electric guitar strummage. This shouldn't be the big hit. I even like the Lee Ann Womack-assisted "Loving Me Back" better. I like bits of this well enough, but its also got some weakness that isn't going to cut it for me. I won't keep it around.
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - Paper Mache Dream Balloon. Weird ass psych, heavy on flute/sax and old school 60's sounds. Kind of reminds me of the jokey tunes that Ween put on Chocolate and Cheese. I think I found my way to these dudes because they are from Melbourne, and as I was researching Tame Impala their name came up as fellow freak rockers. This stuff doesn't quite rock out or groove enough to lock me in. In case you want a taste, here is the most listened-to track on Spotify, "Sense."
Not going to hold on to this album. I'm sure these songs will pop up on indie movie soundtracks and I'll have a vague recollection of this band name, but I have no need to keep listening to these tracks.
Punch Brothers - The Wireless. A short little 5 song EP from the Punch Brothers that kicks it up a notch past what their last full length does with a little more verve and energy. I love the instrumental on "The Hops of Guldenberg," dig the offbeat announcer voice in "Sleek White Baby," and enjoyed the slow burn of "Clementine," but its the album opener, "In Wonder," that I thought kicked it off right.
Starts off slow, and then fires up, with the usual fine noodling of the mandolin and Chris Thile's smooth vocals. If you've read this blog before, then you know I love me some Punch Brothers and Nickel Creek and think that Thile is about as good as it gets. I'd love for this collection to be a full album, but it looks like this was a set of extras left over from the last album. I wish the whole of Phosphorescent Blues would have sounded more like this. Fine little EP.
Fascinating story in the New York Times about experiments locating the portion of the brain that fires up when music is heard. This kind of stuff is truly amazing to me - how the human brain works and how music fires up different brains in different ways. I actually had a thought this morning in the shower that kind of ties into this article, about whether or not the data nerds at Pandora have been able to identify the perfect attributes of a song for the commercial audience. I bet they could use people's likes and dislikes, analyze that data, and figure out the right key or the right BPM to dominate the world. And if they have, has anyone used that to dominate the airwaves without our knowledge? My first thought was that band called Big Data.
5 Seconds of Summer - Sounds Good Feels Good. Well hell. I cracked this album with the full expectation to hate it. I just read a cover story about the band in Rolling Stone that made them out to be party boy Aussie kids with a deep and abiding love for Good Charlotte. Which is confusing because I had been expecting that this would be a One Direction-type thing, in light of the insane love these dudes get from the teen girl crowd. And then I find myself singing along and enjoying myself after a few listens. I'm not going to sell you on this being life-changing material or anything, but if you ever liked the pop-punk movement, then you are likely going to enjoy this stuff. The hit from the album is "She's Kinda Hot."
QUICK ASIDE: They played this track at my kid's elementary school dance the other day, leading me to feel very old and frumpy by disapproving of the DJ's music choices. Although, to be fair, I was more in old-person disapproval about "I'm Sexy and I Know It" and "I'm a Barbie Girl" than this song, but none of those are winning points from me at this stage in life.
Anyway, you've got 45 million listens on Spotify and 28 million plays on YouTube, so this track is well-known.
Guitar-based pop - I think calling it punk is generous - that has enough harmony and boyishness to seem very much like a boy band. The track that I liked the most is called "Fly Away."
By the way, searching for these dudes on YouTube is crazy stuff. There are piles of videos out there of people covering this song, but there are also a bunch of videos of people "reacting" to this song. I know I'm one to talk, as I just write out my reactions to songs, but this is a whole new level of weird. The one I just watched it literally a girl crying and hyperventilating while listening to "Fly Away." God, I hope my kids never use the Internet. Anyway, surprisingly good album that I enjoyed. I will now hang my head in shame and listen to "Hey Everybody!" one more time.
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Through the Cracks. A B-Sides and rarities collection that was apparently only available before if you bought an old box set. I think my favorite is the demo for "The Apartment Song." Overall, this is a little more bluesy and loose, and the demo versions are just a bit less polished than the final versions of these songs. Probably only a necessary listen if you are a total Tom Petty obsessive. Nothing else on here is that interesting.
Erykah Badu - But You Caint Use My Phone. Back when I lived in Dallas, my roommate and I would frequently sing lines from Badu's "Tyrone," which includes the line for the title of this album. I honestly have no clue why we would tell each other "You betta cawwll Tyroyeone!" But thats what we did anyway.
So here, you've got a mixtape from Badu with songs that almost all involve the telephone, including Drake's "Hotline Bling" and Usher's "You Don't Have to Call." She's also got some rap with Drake (so nasal!) {EDIT: that apparently is not really Drake, but somebody called ItsRoutine who sounds just like Drake} and her baby daddy Andre 3000 on there. It is a weird group of tracks, and she keeps it weirder by saying "squirrel" repeatedly on the tracks (best example, in Usher's tune, instead of "You don't have to call, its OK, girl," she goes with "You don't have to call, its OK squirrel."), but it still works and I found myself enjoying it. I think my favorite is "Phone Down."
Such a great lyric for a sexy ass song. Nice groove, and let's all put our phones down and get it on. Right now! She samples "Hotline Bling" frequently on here, and its kind of awesome. That jenky little Casio beat just works for me. Cool mixtape that I've enjoyed for a few weeks.
Steve Martin & Edie Brickell - So Familiar. Steve Martin has always gotten this interesting fascination from the world by virtue of being a world class banjo player. After he conquered stand up and Hollywood, he's come back to it and started seriously putting out bluegrass music. This is the second of their collaborations, and it is really well done. Brickell handles the vocals (If only they could have brought Edie's husband out to add some vocals!), sounding no older than the classic days from Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars, while Martin plays the crap out of the banjo. Is there a happier instrument? I don't think so. The title track is the most listened-to on Spotify, with just over 75k streams. Here is "So Familiar."
Martin isn't blazing a new path of extreme banjo sheddage or anything, but that is a fun little melody and solid playing. Not entirely sure about the robot voice echoing Edie later on in the song, but it doesn't ruin the entire tune for me. This is comfort music. Feels like I should listen to it while vacationing in Maine this summer. Maybe I just will.
If you want to go back through all of my ACL predictions for 2016, go to the ACL 2016 Tab up above for the collected links. Its time for a little more prognostication on the ACL Lineup for 2016. I have some crazy stuff coming after I spend a few more hours cranking on a crazy-pants spreadsheet of festival data, but for now, I have a few more predictions and an ACL-junior lineup to consider.
Groups who are doing the festival circuit this year (i.e. Outkast in 2014).
The bands who are playing Lollapalooza.
Buzz bands or those with new music out.
Bands that C3 books/manages for their other venues.
After that initial post, I have a few more that fall into those last two categories:
The Struts - Playing the Parish on April 20 and a bunch of buzz for those dudes. Their EP is pretty kick ass too, so this would be a fun get. Their only other Texas tour date for Texas hits Corpus Christi (of all places?!?) but then the tour peters out on July 22, so they've got the space in their calendar to make this happen. The album comes out March 4. This one makes sense to me.
Jack Garratt - big debut album just came out and the Brits are in love with the dude. Not sure he does it for me yet, but I'm still giving it a chance. Playing a few other festivals and his tour is over in July as well, meaning he's got space for Lolla and ACL Fest.
Lissie. Playing Emo's in Austin on April 8 and her tour is over in late July. Perfect to keep her big year going with some festival dates in Austin.
Wolfmother. I'm testing out the new album now, and its pretty solid so far. Their tour takes them through Dallas, Houston, and El Paso, but no central Texas dates, and ends in May, leaving them time to play Lolla and ACL.
Cage the Elephant. New album is great, buzzy with a big Rolling Stone article. Touring with Silversun Pickups (who I think are coming) and Foals (who are another band I should think is coming), including a date at Edgefest in Dallas and Hangout Fest. Last date on their calendar is July 10 at Telluride Music Festival, so they've got time for ACL and Lolla. Count it.
Foals. Just won an NME award at an Austin ceremony, hot band with a good new album on the shelves. Playing Emo's on April 29. Playing Shaky Knees, Hangout Festival, but have a perfect gap in their concert schedule to play Lolla at the end of July and ACL at beginning of October. Count it.
I thought of another category of guesses, although I think this one is going to be really hard. Every year, we get a Nostalgia Pick (or three):
2013: Cure, Depeche Mode - this was the year the headliners went retro.
2014: Outkast (being that they had no new music for years), The Replacements, Jimmy Cliff
2015: Billy Idol, Brand New, (and I'd say The Strokes, since they have no new music, but not sure they match).
Thoughts about this year's Old School Acts making the comeback trail (most of this is just my wishful thinking):
Obviously, LCD Soundsystem will match up with this category if they end up coming. No new music and they have purportedly "retired."
Guns n' Roses. They are doing the big comeback for Coachella (and their "tour" doesn't make it past those dates), but I don't see it happening. Hell, I kind of doubt they'll actually get their shit together to play Coachella.
R.E.M. I have zero information or knowledge about this, but they're one of my favorite bands of all time and I'd sell a kid to see them join back up and jam ACL. This article looks suspiciously like clickbait, and this interview sure seems definitive that they are done. But a guy can hope, right!?
ZZ Top. Wouldn't that be perfect? They are touring their ass off still, so I know they aren't dead and gone, but I can't believe they don't play this festival. Many moons ago, when they were all about the Eliminator roadster and the long beards and the video babes, these guys were way cheesy, but they are actually some really bad ass classic blues rock. Go jam Tres Hombres if you want a taste. Good Texan boys who would fit in just right at the show.
Tool. Their website looks like it was last updated in 1998, but if I am reading it correctly they are on a tour now that will take them to San Antonio, Houston, and Dallas, but no Austin. The lead singer's other band, Puscifer, is starting a tour right after that, which goes through June 16 and never brings them back to Texas. No clue about this one, but I'd enjoy this show.
Jane's Addiction. Playing the Shaky Knees Festival in May and then some European festivals this summer, but the last of those is on June 19 in France. Would leave time for them to make Lolla and ACL. Since it is the 25th Anniversary of Lollapalooza, would make total sense for dear old dad Perry Farrell to be on the top of their bill. They also played Fun Fun Fun last year in Austin, but I think this one feels right.
Finally, there is a new addition to the Austin City Limits family, and while it is a little bit weird to see ACL (Auckland City Limits, get it?) in someplace other than Austin, Texas, the C3 folks have fired up a little brother festival in Auckland, New Zealand for one day in March. ACL's Auckland Lineup: (my comments behind, bold ones that I think are likely)
Kendrick Lamar
makes good sense, need a big name rapper, he hasn't been in a year, coming off rap Grammy domination.
The National
I guess, but I keep hearing the lead singer's side project on the radio, El Vy. But El Vy has no gigs listed on their site, so maybe not. The National have a tour that ends before ACL, so maybe so?
Fat Freddys Drop
Never heard of this in my life. They are a NZ-based reggae-ish band, so I doubt they'd cross over to Austin, but who knows?!? They are doing a world tour this summer, so I guess they could be included.
Modest Mouse
Would be fun, but they were just here last year and are playing Austin in July with Brand New. Doubtful.
Shapeshifter
Another New Zealand-based band, doing EDM stuff. I'd guess they don't come here, and their website only links to two shows, both in NZ.
Action Bronson
Sure. His last tour date is July 10, so he's got time to do Lolla and ACL.
The Naked and Famous
Doubt it, with no new music out and since they are from NZ. Pretty sure they played here before but I'm failing at the Internet today.
Broods
New Zealand band and no new music, so I doubt it.
Ladyhawke
New Zealand band and no new music, so I doubt it.
Cold War Kids
Yes. Playing Brazil Lollapalooza and this Auckland CL, as well as Coachella and Shaky Knees. They have a gap in their calendar for Lolla and ACL. Book this one.
Jarryd James
Australian R&B guy, fresh single, and he's a Live Nation guy. Playing Bonnaroo as well, so I'm going with a yes here.
Grace Potter
Yes. New album out last year, played a well regarded set here in Austin recently, also playing JazzFest and Bonnaroo, and then has Lolla and ACL sized gaps in her schedule. Book it.
Shakey Graves
Doubt it since he just played ACL Fest.
The Phoenix Foundation
Another New Zealand band, so I doubt it.
Highly Suspect
Yes, fresh off a Grammy nomination and a new album in 2015, I bet they'll make the festival rounds this year. Also playing The Parish in May. Tour ends in May, so they've got time for ACL.
Lord Huron
Doubt it since he played last year.
St. Paul & the Broken Bones
No brand new music, but they fit right into the wheelhouse of tunes that should come to ACL. Alabama new soul/rock sound and lots of charisma. I think yes.
Houndmouth
Doubt it, played last year.
Che Fu & the Kratez
No music available on Spotify, but is apparently "New Zealand's leading exponent of soul/hip hop climbing to the top on DLT's 'Chains'." No clue what that means. Doubt it.
Kamasi Washington
Crazy good jazz saxophone player, played on Kendrick Lamar's new album, so sure, why not? Maybe he'll come with Kendrick to play in his set, and then go do his own thing in the Tito's Tent.
Tami Neilson
New Zealand version of Amy Winehouse. Doubt it, but who knows. She has a song called "Texas," so maybe so! But only tour dates are in NZ. Going with no.
Gang of Youths
Aussie indie. Album in 2015, no tour, doubt it.
Maala
At first I thought these last three were one band name - Maala Kinetic Racing. Sounds like a badass Japanese video game. New Zealand artist, so I doubt it.
Kinetic
Another New Zealander, so I doubt it. Also, very bad music. So there's that.
Racing
Doesn't even come up on Spotify. Going to go with a no here.
I'll get back to work on my big spreadsheet sometime soon, and when Lolla is announced I'll have more fodder to tweak my predictions, but this is good fun.
Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats - The Night Creeper. I have no clue where I found this one, but it reminds me of the Beatles, if they decided to make psychedelic metal. I can't decide whether I like it, which likely means I don't especially like it. The droning/fuzz boxed voice and repetitive crunch of the music leaves me a little wanting by the end of each listen. The most listened-to track on Spotify is the album opener "Waiting for Blood," but I think this one ("Melody Lane") showcases the band the best.
I feel like I should like this. But nothing in any of the songs turns me on - I never sat up in my seat at my desk today to take note of a particular song or turn of phrase or riff. So I'll likely let this one go.
Various Artists - Revenge of the Dreamers II. A song from this album/mixtape popped up the other day while I was listening to a rap-based radio station on Spotify, and I liked it enough to grab the album and throw it into my New Stuff playlist to check out later. The album has several cuts featuring J. Cole, and then a bunch of people I've never heard of, like Bas, Cozz, Lute, Omen, Correy C, and Ari Lennox. Those people need some marketing help with their rapper names. No one is going to remember those names, at all. The album is not bad, not great, but I think my favorite track is the one from Omen and Donnie Trumpet called "48 Laws."
I dig that beat, got that Jazzmatazz feel. Lute's "Still Slummin'" is my second place track on here. Not an amazing album, but a welcome little 9 track set to break the monotony for a bit.
Shining - IX / Everyone, Everything, Everywhere, Ends. I want to say that the person who suggested this to me sold it as chilled metal. Not so much. The opener makes me think of that weird Trans-Siberian Orchestra thing that we have to hear every December for some reason, but then the super metal scream quadruple-time-drum attack kicks in and all you can do is wonder what language is being spoken. I don't think you should listen to this album. In case you are interested, here is "Vilja & Drom" (which is named "Vilja & Dr" on Spotify, likely because the umlaut breaks their system?)
Yep. Cookie Monster knows Westrobothnian.
Scott Weiland and the Wildabouts - Blaster. Good ol' Scoot Weiland. He still sounds great on this album even if nothing on here is up to par with his best songs from STP. I think my two favorite tracks are the T.Rex cover "20th Century Boy" and the album closer, "Circles." This is an album where you can tell they got a big bump in listens from people only morbidly interested in the music. Everyone tried out the first song, maybe the first three, and then turned it off. Play totals go like this: 81k, 60k, 40k, 32k, and then most of the album is in the 20k range. Just kind of generically pleasant rock. Here is my favorite, "Circles."
Nice little banjo-fied love song. I feel a little bad not loving this album as a posthumous gift to my man Scott, but it isn't great. Also isn't bad, just an OK listen for a few days.
Welcome to part three into my personal dive into the depths of what makes current hip hop lame. I ought to give a short aside and mention that there are still some new hip hop artists and songs that I am enjoying - everything isn't terrible. But when I find a new track that I am enjoying, a lot of that is a visceral pleasure from a cool beat, or a quick metaphor/turn of phrase, or maybe actually good lyrics. It is really hard to find anything that puts all of that together into one package.
Before Kanye lost his way.
If you haven't read part one, go here. And then part two, diving into the beats behind eight songs, is available here. This time, we are going to get into it with the lyrics of those same eight songs. Data Point Number Two: Lyrics Why do you want to listen to hip hop in the first place? A big part of that, for me, is the beat. I want to feel something fun and funky and interesting that will get me moving or bobbing my head. But right behind that beat is the lyrics - especially these days when beats aren't sampled and get created by the same cats over and over. What do I want in my lyrics? I want metaphors/similes, double entendre, and realistic storytelling. Something clever that sounds like it took a guy some time to figure out. The Geto Boys talking about losing their minds and punching on the concrete. The Beasties on a spree goin' 120 plowin' over mailboxes. Biggie tying up and robbing an NBA star after tagging his girl. Kanye turning a mayonnaise colored Benz into a Miracle Whip. Wayne's real G's move silent like lasagna. Some are even goofy but they are funny anyway - LL's "Hollis to Hollywood" or Geto Boys' "Cereal Killer." My point is that I think a track sound be crafted and intentional to be great - and never rhyme a word with itself. This may not work as well as I want it to, but let's give it a shot and look at the first verse from each of those eight songs. There are probably better lyrics in each song I could cherry pick from, but I'm trying to make this unbiased to the extent that is ever possible in a subjective exercise like music commentary. 1989: "Me, Myself & I" (De La Soul) "Mirror mirror on the wall, Tell me mirror, what is wrong? Can it be my De La Clothes, Or is it just my De La Soul? What I do ain't make-believe, People say I sit and try, But when it comes to being De La, It's just me myself and I." Not that strong. Kind of nonsense, although I feel like the song was intended to be a little nonsensical. And from reading about the song, part of the point of this was to address the "hippie" label that had been foisted upon the group and to just say you should be you. The rhymes are a stretch except for "try" and "I." "Fight the Power" "1989 the number another summer (get down), Sound of the funky drummer, Music hitting your heart, cause I know you got soul, (Brothers and sisters, hey), Listen if you're missing y'all, Swinging while I'm singing, Giving whatcha getting, Knowing what I know, While the Black bands sweating, And the rhythm rhymes rolling, Got to give us what we want, Gotta give us what we need, Our freedom of speech is freedom or death, We got to fight the powers that be, Lemme hear you say, Fight the power" While the real incendiary stuff is in verse three ("Elvis was a hero to most, But he never meant shit to me, Straight up racist, the sucker was, Simple and plain, Muthafuck him and John Wayne!"), this one is about as real as hip hop comes. Railing against the powers that be, gathering up all the people together, equating freedom of speech with freedom or death, this is the real deal. And the beauty of it is that people actually reacted positively to these words. This was and is real. About the closest we get today is a weak reference to Fergeson or holding up your hands. 1999: "Hot Boyz" "What's your name, cause I'm impressed, Can you treat me good, I won't settle for less, You a hot boy, a rock boy, A fun toy, tote a Glock boy, Where you live, is it by yourself, Can I move wit' you, do you need some help, I cook boy, I'll give you more, I'mma fly girl, and I like those [Hot Boyz]" Uh, damn, Missy. You just straight up begged to stay at this guy's house and you don't even know his name. He has a gun, man. You might want to get some more details before you offer to move in and cook for the guy. Not much of a lyric. Welcome to the 90's. "Wobble Wobble" "You already know what's happenin' when I step in this bitch, And I know you've heard of me, Cause I'm right there off of GT and Derbigny, You've been 'bout serving it, every since you heard my song, I got you bucked up, you want that camouflage love, huh, You got me fucked up, I just want to see you wobble, like your momma's won that lotto, Like your daddy full of that bottle, Like your brother when he caught them hollows, Like them G.T. bitches, them Saint T. bitches, my No Limit bitches, Them boss bitches who 'bout they riches, and it ain't no secret, They want that soldier dick that you only get from that soldier clique, That Whoa! bitch I told ya' dick, 'welling up, We drop it like it's hotter, from the dance floor to the Ramada, Giving up them peso's, I thinks nada, look" First of all, nope. Of all the 504 Boyz, you, Mac, are the one sorry bastard no one has heard of. I even remember Silkk the Shocker, for crying out loud, man! So all the bragging about knowing who you are, get serious. I'll note that the bit in the middle, about three images of people wobbling, is pretty good. The rest is that stream of consciousness garbage that I associate with most current rap. Hey guys, you know what rhymes with "bitches?" "Bitches!" I just figured this whole rhyming thing out, yo! GROUNDBREAKING! ED. NOTE: Mac is currently in the slammer on a 30 year sentence for manslaughter. Totally just kidding about your raps being lame. Love 'em. Can't wait for the come back. I live in Canada with a bunch of special forces dudes. 2009: "Best I Ever Had" "Know you got a roommate, call me when there's no one there, Put the key under the mat and you know I be over there, (Yup) I be over there, shawty, I be over there, I be hitting all the spots that you ain't even know was there, And you don't even have to ask twice, You could have my heart or we could share it like the last slice, Always felt like you was so accustomed to the fast life, Have a nigga thinking that he met you in a past life, Sweatpants, hair tied, chilling with no make-up on, That's when you're the prettiest, I hope that you don't take it wrong, You don't even trip when friends say, you ain't bringing Drake along, You know that I'm working, I'll be there soon as I make it home, And she a patient in my waiting room, Never pay attention to the rumors and what they assume, And until them girls prove it, I'm the one that never get confused with, cause" Holy crap. Old Drake had some really good lyrics! I feel conflicted, because I want to keep hating on Drake, but that is some really nice imagery. Dammit! Its a little cheesy, but he does a good job in here of painting a picture. Too bad the beat for this track is so boring... "Run This Town" "We are, yeah, I said it: we are, This is Roc Nation, pledge your allegiance, Get your fatigues on, all black everything, Black cards, black cars, All black everything, And our girls are blackbirds riding with they Dillingers, I get more in depth if you boys really real enough, This is la Familia, I'll explain later, But for now let me get back to this paper, I'm a couple bands down and I'm tryin' get back, I gave Doug a grip and lost a flip for five stacks, Yeah, I'm talking 5 comma, 6 zeroes, dot zero, here Doug, Back to running circles round niggas, Now we squared up, hold up" Ah, thank you Jay-Z for making sure to pull out the worst lyrics of this entire exercise. Brag brag brag, yawn yawn yawn. This right here is my beef with the current lyrics. Nothing interesting, just trying to create excitement for his personal brand. 2016: "Me Myself and I" (G-Eazy) "And as far as I can see, I just need privacy, Plus a whole lot of tree, fuck all this modesty, I just need space to do me, Give the world what they're tryna see, A Stella Maxwell right beside of me, A Ferrari, I'm buyin' three, A closet of Saint Laurent, get what I want when I want, Cause this hunger is driving me, yeah, I just need to be alone, I just need to be at home, Understand what I'm speaking on, If time is money I need a loan, But regardless I'll always keep keepin' on, Fuck fake friends, We don't take L's, we just make M's, While y'all follow, we just make trends, I'm right back to work when that break ends" Thanks to G-Eazy for making vapid, pointless lyrics for me! I was getting worried after those Drake lyrics! Like the Jay-Z action above, he's just spitting out labels and taking about how he makes the trends for others to follow. So lame. Look, I know that rap has a long history of rappers big-upping themselves and bragging, but this proves my point as well. It used to just be one bar that was about how awesome Mike D or Dres were, and then they went on with something else interesting. Now, the new school never leaves that self-flagellating zone and just keeps riding their own dick for an entire track. "Summer Sixteen" To do what you couldn't do, Tell Obama that my verses are just like the whips that he in, They bulletproof, Minus twenty we in Pitfield, That Kai's kitchen in a Canada Goose, Famous as fuck but I’m still in the cut when they round up the troops, I’m just a sicko a real sicko when you get to know me nigga, I let the diss record drop, you was staying right below me, nigga, We must have played it a hundred times, you was going to bed, Why would I put on a vest? I expect you to aim for the head, I coulda killed you the first time, You don’t have to try to say it louder nigga, Trust, we heard you the first time, It’s nothing personal I would have done it to anyone, And I blame where I came from, And I blame all my day ones, You know Chubbs like Draymond, You better off not saying nothing, Them boys they a handful, Then I hit ‘em with the Hotline, Chris Breezy with the dance moves, Mo-G with the dance moves, Ave Boy with the dance moves, Jimi Hendrix with the solo, Those the strings that you can’t pull, Yeah, and I could really dish it out, Come and get it from the source, Fuck with all the word of mouth, Golden State running practice at my house, Nigga, what am I about?, You gon’ really feel it now, I’m out here…
Mediocre. This song is apparently yet another diss track for Meek Mill. Which is one of the strangest beefs around right now - Meek Mill is garbage. Has he ever made anything worth listening to? I can't stand his vocal tone - its just short of yelling at all times and sounds like crap. And yet Drake, in the top two or three for famous rappers right now, is still making tracks about Meek should keep his mouth shut and back down? Some OK stuff in here, but loads of better diss tracks out there, and this one just has some loose junk lyrics lying around for no reason. Prime example: "Golden State running practice at my house," is just dumb. Is Drake trying to get hits from google searches or something? I know the Warriors are good at basketball and all, but that line makes zero sense in the context of the rest of the verse. If he'd followed it up with something about shooting treys or got Curry on yo face or making bullets go Kerr-plunk in yo face, but nope. Just pointless.
Final verdict: Unfortunately, that Drake track throws off my thesis of all bad lyrics in the modern age. "Fight the Power" is probably the strongest lyric, with "Best I Ever Had" up there right behind it. I'd probably order the rest as De la Soul, "Summer Sixteen," 504 Boyz, G-Eazy, "Run this Town," and then "Hot Boyz." So if you rank those in order, giving points for their order (with 1 being the worst), you get the following ranking:
1989: 14 points
2009: 9 points
2016: 8 points
1999: 5 points
Another win for 1989. Speak up if you think that I'm organizing this in the wrong direction, but so far this seems obvious to me. We'll look at longevity and impact next.
For the first time in forever, I actually sat down and intentionally watched the Grammys last night. Other than the boring pre-show interviews and the millions of commercials, it was actually damn fun. I also tried out Twitter for the first time to see what that would be like to use, and had a good time giving instant reactions to what was going on in the show. You can see those thoughts at @dulljackmusic on Twitter.
Best Performances:
Gary Clark, Jr., Chris Stapleton, and Bonnie Raitt. Freaking sick tribute to BB King. So freaking good. Go check it out here.
Alabama Shakes. Fine, straight-forward rendition of "Don't Wanna Fight."
Kendrick Lamar. Holy crap, man. He brought that fire and didn't hold back punches. Excellent, intense, and a little overwhelming. I wish he could do those things and still be a little more fun, but I suppose we need someone to be serious these days.
Lady Gaga - I enjoyed this David Bowie tribute. Can't say I care much for Gaga in general, but I thought she tore this thing up, really hitting the different sounds and looks of Bowie while furiously trying to jam as many songs as possible into their slot. Nice tribute.
Hamilton. I would pay a large amount of money to go see this musical right now. If they would have done the Ten Duel Commandments song, I might have bought tickets to NY last night and liquidated the kids' college funds to make it happen.
Adele - I would have given her higher praise if it wasn't for the jacked up piano and weird noises going on behind her that kind of jacked up the performance. But I just love the full-on emotional way that she belts this stuff out. You really get the feeling like she is about to break down and cry in the middle of the song.
Eagles and Jackson Brown - Take it Easy. Solid rendition, although I thought they were rude to interrupt a speech to start it up.
Tori Kelly and James Bay - surprisingly awesome. Kelly's voice is great, and James Bay made his song sound interesting and not soul-crushingly boring. Well done.
Taylor Swift - Out of the Woods. Well done, can't say that is my favorite of her songs, although my kids were enthralled.
Little Big Town's Girl Crush. The wife surprised me on this one with a strong opinion liking this song. I was pretty blah about it, but after listening to her take on it I recognized that this rendition was great and the song ain't bad.
Miguel doing Michael Jackson. Fine. Pretty true to the original.
Andra Day and Ellie Goulding. Day has a great voice, but I couldn't get behind this mashup. Mediocre.
Pentatonix and Stevie Wonder. Wish it could have just been Stevie on his own.
Justin Beiber and Jack U. Beibs did just fine on the guitar by himself. I wish they would have played the song as it normally sounds. The rock and drum mix was pretty weak.
The Weeknd - I Can't Feel My Face and In the Night. ICFMF was pretty good, but I couldn't tell if he was trying to do effects and tremolo on his voice in the "In the Night" performance or if his voice was crapping out.
Hollywood Vampires. The camera work made me want to vomit, all fast cuts and slick pans, and the music wasn't all that much better. I bet that they are all great on the guitar and whatnot, but it just felt underwhelming and contrived.
Lionel Richie medley. John Legend killed it, the rest was underwhelming. Although I kind of enjoyed watching Mark Ronson singing along in his seat behind Richie. I bet that was kind of annoying.
Sam Hunt and Carrie Underwood. Underwhelming, not a very interesting show, and Hunt's voice seemed off.
Pitbull. This just felt strained, like the Grammy people decided they needed to have a Hispanic person perform so no one would tweet that GrammysSoWhite. If Chris Martin or Kendrick Lamar had jumped on stage with a kids song that just said the word Taxi over and over, wouldn't people have destroyed it? Why does this clown get a pass? I did love the fact that people obviously started walking out during the performance, but seriously, couldn't there have been a better closer?
Love that Alabama Shakes went home with a stack of trophies, as I love that album. Was disappointed that Courtney Barnett lost the Best New Artist trophy to (ineligible) Meghan Trainor. Was surprised that TayTay won album of the year over Kendrick. Was super excited for Chris Stapleton to win Best Country Album. Glad to also see Jason Isbell won for top Americana album, and I'll have to check out the Steeldrivers for their win in Bluegrass. I've never even heard of Ghost B.C.
Good night of music though! Loved watching and look forward to doing it again next year. Does anyone know why they do it on a Monday night?
I am a total Twitter neophyte, which is likely a little amazing in 2016, but it is true. I think I am going to give it a shot for things that are even shorter and quicker than what I have been doing here so far. But don't worry, I still plan to keep going on the long form thing... Going to give it a kickstart tonight during the Grammy awards. Check it out.
I got started on this rabbit trail earlier this week, and here is the first section of "data" I am going to use to make my point that old rap was superior and new rap is weak in comparison. I'm going to select some songs to use for the research, and we'll introduce those eight songs here. Before we get in to that, let me show you why sampling is so great. I'd play you the entirety of Paul's Boutique, but for brevity's sake, here is the unstoppable Ice Cube's "Jackin' fo Beats"
Seriously, a Ford Aerostar minivan? Heavy duty gangsta move, Cube.
Data Point Number One: Sampling/Beats Classic hip hop used samples to create awesome beats. Now, I know that the super old school stuff (Grandmaster Flash or Kurtis Blow) used basic beats instead of samples, but by the time "Rappers Delight" hit, sampling was the way to make a good track. According to Billboard, the top song on the Hot Hip Hop chart on July 12, 1989 was "Me Myself and I," and on August 14, 1989 it was "Fight the Power." I randomly chose those dates using the earliest stuff available on that Billboard interactive tool.
According to the Internet, "Fight the Power" sampled 20 (TWENTY!!!) songs, including classics from James Brown and the Isley Brothers. "Me, Myself & I" meanwhile sampled only 6 songs, including the obvious (Funkadelic) and the not so obvious (Snow White and the Seven Dwarves). But both of those songs, and other top tracks from that era, create the coolest sounding stuff from pieces of old music. To me, when the DJ adds in recognizable bits, that makes the new composition even cooler - when you can hear a snatch of James Brown, Funkadelic, or Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, that is kind of exciting. But since that Biz Markie court decision, you still get some Funkadelic (because George Clinton and his posse are willing to license their stuff) but amazing things like the Beastie's Paul's Boutique or the Bomb Squad's 20 sample pastiche just disappeared. Well, Girl Talk still exists, and his musical collages are amazing, but I think he gets around it by giving his music away for free. This guy thinks he gets away with it because the labels are scared of the fight, but I'm not so sure. If he was the number one selling album and there was a pot of gold to go after, I bet the labels would sic their lawyers on him. Honestly, after thinking about this for a bit, I wish they would go after him, lose, and Ice Cube's next album would be 100% sweet soul samples and James Brown.
So, on to the second pair of songs. I had to slightly move the dates because exactly ten years after Me, Myself & I was July 12, 1999, and the number one song was some group called Sporty Thievz with a song called "No Pigeon," a really crappy answer to/re-make of TLC's "No Scrubs." WTF is this garbage? Anyway, I pushed out a few months and the most popular track on November 21, 1999 was Missy Elliott's "Hot Boyz," then the next track was the 504 Boyz's "Wobble Wobble."
In both of these, you get that Dr. Dre-style interpolation, without recognizable samples. Missy's song was produced by Timbaland, and according to WhoSampled, it does not sample any other song. The 504 Boyz track samples one other song. Remember when Master P was a thing? UGGHHHHH! Now look, I'm not saying those songs are necessarily bad, but if you were to think of a Missy song, is that the first one you would think of? "Hot Boyz" is not in her top ten on Spotify or top 20 on YouTube, so likely not unless you were a big fan. Can you describe the beat after you listened to it? I'm re-listening to it right now and I can barely remember. Clicks and bass? Meanwhile, I could immediately sing you the tune to Me, Myself & I. I know, this is still all subjective, but I'd wager that more people would find the old beats superior to the new. Taking it out another decade farther to 2009, Drake's "Best I Ever Had" was the number one song on the Hot Hip Hot chart for months, and the next number one was Jay-Z's "Run this Town." While the Drake track actually contains a pretty hefty sample of a song, I still think it proves my point because the sampled song sucks and the sample is so very generic it could have just been cooked up by a guy with a Casio and 15 minutes. Here is the Drake tune and the tune it sampled:
When you hear that, no one is thinking it is a sample. You're also not thinking it is a hot beat. You're just thinking that some producer with a confusing name cooked up that beat with a drum machine in his basement and managed to get noticed by Drake. Of interest, Wikipedia says Drake got sued by Playboy over the sample. Pretty garbage sample to get sued over. I wish Drake would have fought it and won. Sadly, no, he punked out and paid up. Jay-Z's "Run This Town" interpolates a song - some crazy ass Greek tune - into that signature guitar riff used throughout, but I don't think that is a true sample. Hear for yourself:
Now, I think that track has a better beat, without a doubt, than Drake's song. But I also think that military drum sounds cool (and that Jay's verse is tragically lame). But even if that beat is slightly better than its contemporary, I'd still prefer the old school. Finally, let's look at today. I couldn't just pick the top two tracks because the "Hot Hip Hop" chart now includes hot R&B, but the top two rap tracks today are "Summer Sixteen" by Drake and "Me, Myself & I" by G-Eazy. That is some cool symmetry with bookended MM&I's. On the Drake tune, WhoSampled says they sampled this weird track called "Glass Tubes." Listen to the Drake link, and about 1:55 in, you'll hear some piano sneak in under the beat. Not much of a sample. But it is definitely there.
And, if I'm being honest, I actually like Drake's beat. Super simple, very clean, pretty sweet. Even if that hurts my thesis I'm writing here, I like the beat. But, do I like it better than the classics? I don't think so. Did Future use it last week on a different cut and you can't tell the difference? Probably. There is nothing recognizable in that beat to differentiate it. "Me, Myself & I" is apparently a HUGE hit - 119 million listens on Spotify is legit. Not my favorite, G-Eazy's "I Mean It" and "Random" are more my speed, but apparently the world is into it. But, WhoSampled has nothing about the song, and a Google search turns up nothing, just production by Michael Keenan, Christoph Andersson, and G-Eazy himself.
I don't get the appeal. The hook makes me think of something - not the Jenga Bus song from the Six Flags commercials, but something equally annoying. Not the greatest beat, just piano, snare, and some synths. If someone else used that beat, without the hook in the middle, you'd never even notice. So, over the period of 27-ish years you go from artists getting to use the most amazing old school soul and funk tunes, and digging into crates to find new sounds and snippets they can use, to the modern version of interpolating unknown Greek music or just using synths to create generic sounds that any rapper can use. I just listened to the "Rap Caviar" playlist on Spotify for an hour or so, and it is actually kind of interesting. The new-style beats are remarkably similar - I bet the data geeks at Pandora could decipher exactly how similar, but it is mind numbing after a while. I think the data points to old school winning here. Sure, the new beats can be nice, you can bob your head along to them, but is there anything in those beats you'll remember tomorrow? 27 years from now? I'd argue no. Let's try a ranking with points: I think the beats rank in the following order: "Fight the Power," De la Soul, "Run this Town," "Summer Sixteen," "Wobble Wobble," "Hot Boyz," "Best I Ever Had," G-Eazy. Giving the most points for the top of that list, that plays out like this:
We have talked before about current hip hop suckage. I know I'm old, but at least one friend 10 years my junior has some of the same thoughts about this. Classic rap just has more lyricism, better beats, smarter samples, the whole thing. But, today I ran into this article from the Austin Chronicle and felt like it was time to get deeper into the subject. I think the author has a great thesis - Hip Hop has suffered because it used to be influenced by pre-rap black culture - the blues, R&B, soul, etc. - but now it is only in a terminal loop of being informed by itself. New rappers weren't raised on Motown and James Brown, they were raised on Death Row and Bad Boy. One thing that the author laments is the lack of data to back up the generalized claim that "hip hop sucks nowadays." Obviously, there is no gauge to actually measure suckage, but I wonder if there aren't at least data points, maybe available in that cool infographic thing I wrote about the other day, that could shed light on the changes over time. First, no doubt, Spearman is correct that the fear of sampling classic music changed the sound of rap music. The case cited - Grand Upright Music, Ltd. v. Warner Bros. Records Inc. - came out in December 1991. The case found that Biz Markie illegally infringed on Gilbert O'Sullivan's copyright for his song "Alone Again (Naturally)."
The usage is obvious - this isn't one of those like "Blurred Lines" where the judge just has to get a feeling of the original, you can hear the sample and the copied lyrics right away. But isn't this is just a fair use of the original? Seems like a new interpretation of the song. I dunno copyright law at all, but my personal feeling is that this kind of thing should be allowed in music so that we get cool new music (like Girl Talk, who is kick ass). But without a doubt, since that ruling, the general underlying sound of rap music has changed. More to come as I get time to write about it, but I'm going to dive into why hip hop now has suckage. At first blush, there are the data points I think I'll dive into:
Sampling/Beats
Lyrics
Longevity/Impact
I may figure out other ways to look at and measure suckage, but those are the ones I have in mind so far. Stay tuned.
Eagles of Death Metal - Zipper Down. Of course, by now, everyone knows about the Eagles of Death Metal. Stupid asshole terrorists attacking their show in Paris has put EODM on the map for all the wrong reasons. Before all that had gone down, I had heard of them because of Josh Homme's involvement in the band but never paid them much mind. I think I listened to Death by Sexy and dismissed it because it wasn't as hard as the Queens. In the aftermath of the attacks, one moron preacher called out the attendees of the concert, saying they had it coming because they went to see death metal. Idiot. Instead, this music is a loooong way off from death metal. Its more of party rock, goofing around with rock and roll stereotypes. Check the lyrics on "Silverlake," which joke about all the cool kids going to a "tight" show in Silverlake, and contain the laments of a super cool hipster trying to get into the show. This is just fun rock that you could dance to. They've got two popular tracks off of this album, one because it is a sweet cover (Duran Duran's "Save a Prayer") and one because it is getting covered. "I Love You All the Time" has now been covered by a bunch of other artists (Florence + the Machine, My Morning Jacket, Kings of Leon, etc.) for the Play it Forward campaign, which benefits the victims of the Paris attacks. Here is the original:
The Florence cover is my favorite of the ones I have heard. But regardless of all of that, this album is fun music. The third track has riffage borrowed from the Queens of the Stone Age, which I always approve of, and its an overall fun album. Turnpike Troubadours - The Turnpike Troubadours. Odd to name their third album after the name of the band. Seems like a first album move to me. But whatever, I found these guys when listening to the bands for ACL in 2014 and liked the sound a lot. Pretty classic americana sound heavy on the fiddle. Their second most listened-to track on Spotify from the album, the opener "The Bird Hunters" is a good one, but I'll give you the most listened-to track, "Down Here."
Definite classic sound, along with a video of small town rodeo cowboys. Relaxed vibe and likely a good singalong track. And my favorite piece of the album is the Old 97's cover "Doreen." I like the 97's well enough anyway, but this is a good cover. I'd also point out "Ringing in the Year" as a standout track. Solid album. Baroness - Purple. Not sure why, but when this album first came out, Spotify only allowed access to three songs. Now that the whole thing is available, I've jammed it a few times. This is thick, meaty metal, not quite as hyped up as Red Fang and not quite as dark as Mastadon, but in the wheelhouse both of those inhabit. The one song on here that has cracked a million streams on Spotify is "Shock Me."
I think the layering of the guitars, drums, and bass over one another sounds great in that track, and it sounds a lot more commercially approachable than I expected for their music after listening to the Yellow & Green album in the past. "Chlorine & Wine" even has some Pink Floyd flourishes among the sludge. I've enjoyed listening to this one, but I don't think I will actually keep it around for future. Panic! At The Disco - Death of a Bachelor. I've been thinking for a while about how I need to do a post about my guilty pleasures. I find it humorous sometimes when I find out things that other folks like, or when people find out that I like some embarrassing things. That is a post for another day, but I am reminded of it because I feel some shame for enjoying this album. But there it is, I enjoy this band. I still find it weird that they signed to the same label as Fall Out Boy - you'd think that each label would want their own emo ironic pop rock band, and wouldn't want to double up. Like Jive signing the Backstreet Boys to compete with RCA's signing of N'Sync. Or something like that. But Fueled by Ramen doubled up on this sound, and I have trouble telling their songs apart, and so my enjoyment of Fall Out Boy has leaked over to this band as well. Anyway, the lead single from this album samples the B-52's Rock Lobster, which is an awesome slice of sacrilege that I find myself fully approving of. Here is "Don't Threaten Me With a Good Time."
I found myself saying "Champagne, Cocaine, Gasoline, and Most Things In Between!" under my breath all weekend long last weekend. I should feel ashamed for dogging on Sam Hunt's lyrics... I will say, though, that the first four songs come out like gangbusters, and then the album lags a little bit for me once they ratchet down into lounge singer or 90's swing revival mode (title track, "Crazy=Genius," "Impossible Year"), but I still enjoyed the trip. I won't keep it around, but still, good effort.
R.I.P. guy from Earth Wind and Fire. Hard few months for famous musicians, man. The wife made fun of me this morning, saying that she already knew what I was going to write about today on my blog. So true. Maurice White, apparently the heart and soul of this funk group, passed away today. I went back and listened to some of their tunes. "Let's Groove" is my favorite, with "September" right behind that one. "September" is the track that Griz played in the middle of his set at 2015's ACL, firing up the crowd into a frenzy. I had no clue that the (median age 21.4) crowd at his show would even know who EW&F were, but they loved it. In addition, I like that E-40's "Hope I Don't go back to Slinging Yayo" copies EW&F's Sun Goddess. That is tight.
Jeezy - Church in these Streets. I'm shocked that this album isn't named Thug Motivation: 104 BallerzzzFoSho. I guess he ran out of educational material to follow up on his last few classroom titled albums. 19 songs, and the album feels like it is 9 hours long even though it is only 62 minutes. Jeezy has put out a few good songs in the past, but I don't hear anything on here that sticks to my ribs. The most listened-to on Spotify is called "GOD."
Yaaaaawn. I have no clue why 3 million two hundred thousand people would have listened to that song. Maybe Jeezy just opened his own computer and put that track on repeat and then left it alone for six months. I won't keep this album around. Logic - The Incredible True Story. I'm digging this Logic guy. His flows are crazy fast, and this new album has a theme of guys in a spaceship travelling to a special paradise planet that will be humanity's future home if it pans out as expected. But the tracks have great beats (again indebted to Tribe Called Quest. Check "Innermission" for the prime example) and interesting lyrics to go along with the sweet flow of his words. He's getting a bunch of listens - multiple songs on this album are up over 5 million streams of Spotify. The most listened of those is "Fade Away."
Man, something about the way he does the live versions of his tracks, I'm just caught up in watching him go. We're not on the Busta or Twista level here, but when he gets trucking he can just blaze through some lines. And a cool tidbit at the beginning of how he made the beat for the track. He's also got a track or two (see "City of Stars") that remind me of Kanye. This one is worth listening to again, I'll keep it around. Sweatlodge - Talismana. Heavy-duty Sabbath homage by this band. An Austin-based group, these guys pour all the hard rock sludge and fuzz they can into this album, and it works pretty well. No one listens to their music on Spotify, apparently, as their most listened-to track has 3,687 as of right now. However, that song ("Tramplifier") is not available on YouTube, but this one, "Bed of Ashes" is ready for you to check.
I mean, if you start a song with a clip from Friday, then you are on the right bus as far as I am concerned. Poor Red, got knocked the F out. I spent like 10 minutes just now trying to figure out where that video was filmed, but never saw any signage for the bar. Some skeevy pool hall though, I bet that was fun. Pretty good album, kind of a mood thing for me. Punch Brothers - The Phosphorescent Blues. If you've read me for any period of time, you know that I have a special place in my heart for just about anything Chris Thile does. The guy is the ultimate mandolin wizard, and I've seen him 5 times now and always come away with stars in my eyes. The stuff he does to that instrument, it would be illegal in 49 states. Their last album was a classic - "This Girl" was my jam. And this album does more of the same, you'd want to categorize it in the Americana/bluegrass zone because of the fiddle and mandolin and banjo, but really, it sounds like nothing else in that area of music. The hit, without a doubt because of over 7 million listens, is called "Julep."
Nice slow burner, not one of the firework songs like "Magnet" or from prior albums. In fact, most of this album is pretty chilled, which sounds good but is not my favorite mode for the Mandolin Master. If you like Americana or bluegrass or technical mastery of an instrument, you should definitely check this (and their last album, Who's Feeling Young Now) out.
