- Yay. Another hit song from somebody I won’t remember tomorrow. Hooray.
While I think that Kanye straddles the line between petulant child and idiot savant a bit too often, dude is definitely a brilliant artist. I won’t call him a musician because as of yet I’m not sure he can play anything other than a drum machine. But what makes him so brilliant as an artist is his vision. In fact, that’s what separates him from nearly every other artist out there in hip-hop, in my opinion. Kanye has figured out how best to tow the line between capturing the cultural zeitgeist, finding an innovative way to promote it, and dropping music that somehow manages to sound completely unique and niche but intended for mass consumption at the same damn time. That is a rare talent.
To take it a step further, the only thing separating Nas from Jay-Z is Kanye West. Kanye has enabled Jay to extend his run at the top much longer than it likely would have lasted. He’s allowed Jay to venture into musical waters he’d otherwise never venture without somebody like ‘Ye there to create it. I don’t know this for fact, but Jay’s taken a hell of a lot more chances with his music since Kanye showed up.
Vision. I get it. It’s allowed the man to focus on the experience of music moreso than just the sound of it. You don’t just get an album. You get the visuals, you get the package. Hell, even the simple cover art for every single they’ve dropped since the G.O.O.D. Friday’s experiment of 2010 was ahead of its time. No need for anything too crazy. It’s all about the experience. Which is why I understand why artists like Kanye and Andre 3000, get so bored with, well, everything.
“…I’m just underwhelmed in general…” ~ Kanye West, Cruel Summer promo video
“…I’m tangled in my chord, eh, bored…” ~ Andre 3000, “Mighty O”, Idlewild Soundtrack
I get it. I don’t think there’s been a time where I’ve personally been this underwhelmed by music that I hear. And to be honest, some of that output includes the music coming from the Grammy family too. I even find Cruel Summer to be underwhelming. Admittedly, I wasn’t a big fan of “Mercy” (outside of saying Lamborghini mercy because its just fun to say) or “New God Flow” when they dropped. “Clique” is perfect. Period. But I’ve listened to the album a few times and have yet to want to listen to it again.
I wonder if I’m just suffering from art overload and malaise. I consume an insane amount of music and create my own. The more I hear the less enthused I get by current musical output. It’s like the 9th Wonder Production Returns theory all over – the more you get of it the less good it all is. And it’s not to say that I don’t enjoy some of it. There are definite pop smashes that I enjoy in the moment. But I forget them shortly after they fade from public consiousness like that Cobra Starship song I loved so much featuring Saba. Or anything by Carly Rae Jepsen. But I won’t remember those songs in two weeks if I don’t listen to the radio.
It doesn’t translate solely to music either. Many things that once excited me have managed to create a sense of boredom. From reading blogs that used to rocky my socks that now bore the absolute living f*ck out of me to fashion, because believe it or not, I like fashion. Which could just mean that I’m getting old. Or maybe I’m just getting crotchety. Of course, I still manage to get excited for some things in the music world. While I wasn’t holding my breath for Cruel Summer, I know I will be for a new Kanye West album. Or even a Jay album. I would be for an Outkast album but I guess Big Boi would too. I’m waiting for Kendrick Lamar to drop and am truly excited about that, but, that’s about it.
Even while waiting for those projects, there will be lesser known items that will come into my purview and make me smile again. You know, it just hit me as I was writing this. Because I feel like I’ve grown up along with nearly every great movement in hip-hop, I got to sit live and direct for a lot of music that absolutely made me and everybody else appreciative for its existence. And that’s what I feel is missing now. That’s what creates the underwhelming feeling. The innovation is missing. Nobody is making anything, that I’ve heard, that truly makes me appreciative of the artistry that goes into it. People either aren’t taking chances or don’t know how to take chances. Sure, there’s dope music that is safe, so to speak, but it doesn’t resonate after you’ve heard it the first time.
There are no more Madvillainys.
So when I do hear something that resonates I’m happy as hell and I truly feel lucky to have heard it or been apart of it. And that doesn’t happen often enough anymore. I’m not going to say the music lost all of its integrity, I just don’t feel much of it in my soul. For instance, the last bit of music that truly hit me in my gut, was a little known outfit out of Chicago, called Milo & Otis, composed of a vocalist/poet/etc and a composer/producer, with an album called The Joy. I would recommend you give it a listen. Instantly, I was hooked. Instantly. It’s the only thing I’ve listened to since I got it. And I’m appreciative of that. Something that makes me want to hit repeat.
I think that’s what Kanye was getting at with his underwhelmed comment. Which is why he is winning. He is making music that folks will play on repeat because it resonates and achieves the goal of being compelling. He’s trying to make himself give a f*ck. Could be the Gemini in us (pause?) that gets bored easily but that’s what I’m looking for too. The reason to listen again.
I’m tired of being underwhelmed, but I do at least believe that more quality is on the way from somewhere. Whether it’s the Milo & Otis’s (for me) or the Kanye’s of the world, I know there’s talent out there. I just have to do my work to find it. Maybe it isn’ the destination, but the journey.
Maybe I like clichés.
Maybe I’m just bored.
Again.
-VSB P aka THE ARSONIST aka MR. EATING SOUP WITH A FORK aka GIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRL HE A 3
We’d like to do our first shoutouts to folks who have contributed money to our ongoing efforts to create a TV pilot based on VSB! Thanks so much for your donations and support! You’ll be hearing from our lawyers mothers…eh…we love you! Thanks for sleepwalking to the following folks:
Do you get excited about films, Panama? If so, check out a film called, “Snow on tha Bluff”. It is an amazing film that will hold your attention from beginning until the end.
Has anyone else seen “Snow on tha Bluff”?
Lol yes, ive seen it, I live in atlanta so we been on to that movie for a lil minute now. But yea, everyone was buzzing about it this summer. Cray cray!
It is CRAZY, IP. I saw the film without knowing anything about it in advance. And I was stuck to my seat for the entire film! I was like, how are they filming this stuff and no one cares or has been arrested? Then I was like, is this real? That was the most different film I have ever seen.
Also after I saw it I was imminently online trying to find out more about it. I read that the police were all kinds of confused too after they saw it. Lol
Right! Cuz some of it IS fake, for dramtic effect. Like the opening scene. Even white suburban kids arent that f*cking stupid to be taping that shit. Then all the sudden, perfect timing, thats the day they magically get robbed? Yea rite lmao. Still a must see tho.
Yeah I read that that first scene was fake. But it did add to the confusion. I keep wondering if the scene where the guy was trying to shoot Curtis but his gun jammed was ‘re-created’ too.
yeah, so is the scene where he calls the folks to give them the footage. and still nobody knows if his baby momma really did die. and if “white hat” got her.
I assumed his baby mama really did die after the scene with her son crying for her.
@val I responded to you but it’s in moderation. I forgot one asteric tryna go to fast smdh.
I approve your floetry crushworthiness! She is absolutely, magnificently alluring!!
Her bone structure is bonkers!
Yep, Natalie is beautiful and soooo talented!
I saw it on nexflix……it was very riveting but us Curtis still alive?
I read that someone stabbed him but that he survived. I think the stabbing may have had something to do with the film. I hear a lot of people we angry about it.
I saw it. Grew up out that way. Dated a guy that….worked….over there. And I know at least one female in it from when i was younger and I knew she was gonna be “bout that life.”
Sh!t is real out the in the Bluff.
It must have been a trip to have seen someone you know in this film.
That movie needs subtitles.
Whaaaa? I understood everything. Lol
After Val’s post last night I looked it up and started watching it online… I only got 20 minutes in because I was BORED TO TEARS!! I’m gonna finish it but I wasn’t impressed. Looks like my family members and where I grew up (sadly). Didn’t excite or intrigue me at all.
@Jay
Bored to tears? Really? Wow, lots of stuff bores me but this film was anything but boring to me. Interesting.
@Jay – just got done watching it… my sentiments exactly. Clearly, a lot of the movie was staged. I’m over this whole “found footage” genre.
I love movies. And not only have I seen Snow on the bluff, i bought snow on teh bluff and had a full blown discussion about it a few nights ago.
and when i say bought, i mean bought from a bootlegger. it only seemed right.
Lol. I have a bootlegged copy too. Which made watching it even more confusing since the guy that sold it to me only said, ‘it’s good but I really don’t know what it’s about’, when I asked him if he saw and recommended it. Lol
I thought Cruel Summer was great upon hearing when I first got it. Mostly because I was so looking forward to it. Now that the dust has settled, it is not better than WTT. Cruel Summer should have had at LEAST 16 tracks. I was disappointed because we essentially heard half the album, months ago. Overall it’s still pretty good, though.
Now I’m just waiting on Kendrick Lamar and A$AP Rocky to drop their projects and I’m good.
I need that A$AP Mob mixtape, I heard it was good.
Even if Kendrick doesn’t drop soon, there’s no way you can get bored of his mixtapes.
Try Jean Grae and the rest of the Blacksmith camp. Then tell me how bored you are with randoms such as the Hellpit Faeries Christmas LP. Azealia Banks is another innovative mess in the world. J*Davey.
But so many people choose to sleep. Give the lesser knowns and the underground a chance. Eff a mainstreamer.
“Azealia Banks is another innovative mess in the world. ”
With a very strong emphasis on the word “mess”. First Interscope gives Soulja Boy a record deal, now it’s Azealia Banks and Chief Keef. What in the entire f*ck?
Interscope basically signs anyone who trends on twitter
That might be true, LMAO!
I keep seeing her on Magazine covers. Who is she?
Part of this hipster rap/pop trend that comes out of Williamsburg/Soho, etc.
Basically the songs you hear when you go to the club that never reach the radio…she’s in that group.
I don’t know if its fair to lump her in with them two. She’s young and stupid but she actually has talent.
I’m not your regular consumer. I listen to a lot more underground than mainstream music as it is. And J*Davey is not as good as folks want them to be. Different doesn’t mean better, it means different. lol
When the present isn’t interesting head back into the crates. I’ve been going through Charles Mingus’ work again and Let My Children Hear Music blotted my mind. His genius is often overwhelming. I bask in it. Makes me angry, envious, enthused and grateful all at once.
As for current releases Blu, badbadnotgood, Lianne La Havas, and Captain Murphy have all kept me excited.
Completely forgot about Kareem Riggins album that drops next month too. May sneak into my top 5 albums of 2012.
Kareem Riggins is that dude!! Stone’s Throw Records dropped a podcast based on his production work and I had that thing on repeat until my phone synced it off. I didn’t know he was dropping an album…but NOW I do.
I keep hearing about Blu, is he any good?
If you like Common, you’ll like Blu. But don’t take my word for it- listen to his most acclaimed album for yourself.
I present to you the greatness that is “Below The Heavens”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vx7ysnK1Ddo
that was fantastic. especially at 0:50:25. thanks.
As a jazz fan, I challenge anyone (who considers themselves “open-minded” musically) to listen to any full album done by the Rat Pack (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr.) and see if they can rightly or confidently say that today’s music is not only bad, but doesn’t even deserve to be called music.
Today’s hip-hop music lacks genuine passion; it is all about the illusion of being cool and wealthy. Flashy images filled with colors that don’t go well with each other and are serve the purposes of encouraging irritation rather than admiration. Lyrics that lack any imagination or greater purpose but to show that rhyming is possible for even “singers” who sound like retarded parrots (Nickin Minaj). The illusion of love or lust which is really a self-admission of confusion and cynicism at the possibility of having satisfaction in a world that makes no sense.
It’s all utter nonsense and garbage and I pity all the masochists out there who try to enslave their ears to such torture, when there are so many better options available to them. I predict that in a few years, neuroscientists will determine that such experiences with such poison to the ears would have utterly rewired the functioning of young people brains for the worse.
I’m a hip-hop fan to the death. Hey, being the Black kid that went to a predominantly White high school makes you stan for stuff you might not have otherwise. That said, challenge accepted. I’ll report back tomorrow.
Right music, wrong selections. At best, the Rat Pack is little more than lounge music. You could have said John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, Freddie Hubbard or Donald Byrd.
True.
But I never claimed them to be the best.
Also, lounge music was initially referred to as swing or swing jazz – which is where the Rat Pack comes in. But truth be told, my point is there’s just much better music out there, regardless of the genre you look at.
Lounge jazz is the shyte. It is so relax. Makes you want to lean back, puff some green, sip a drink, & get some head.
Those dudes were too far ahead of their time.
I’m actually listening to Charles Mingus right now. Brilliant, but way “too cool for school” for my tastes. Then again, to the extent I like jazz, I trend towards soul jazz and jazz fusion anyway. I understand why those cats did why they did, but it doesn’t make me feel comfy. Music should be for the people, not some intellectual masturbation. Someone should be able to “get it” without being a part of the priesthood.
Dont understand why people dislike Nicking so much. Her first al um can be played all the way through. That there is tight. She got verses and beats. I think she on stake and weezy. Its easy to judged her by the image but her music and message is good if you listen without looking! She one of the best albums.
As VSB’s resident DOOM Stan I’d like to hear another Further Adventures of Quasimoto before another Madvillainy considering it’s impossible for there to be another one.
And as resident Doom Stan number 2 I’m also waiting impatiently for another Lord Quas appearance.
JJ DOOM just didn’t satisfy me completely (though me being a fan of Jneiro Jarel I was happy to see the collab).
*feels some kind of way* You know Doom is always in my music lists on here! *Puts on Stan #3 shirt for Doom*
In order for me to not get tired of a particular genre of music I make sure to have a steady diet of different types on rotation. My play list has Killer Mike, Little Dragon, Shabazz Palaces and instrumentals (Nujabes, Madlib, and the new Flying Lotus when it drops). It keeps me satisfied.
I’m mad late on Shabazz Palaces. I only have it one listen so far, but the production is right in my lane.
Word! Never met anyone else who fixed with Nujabes. I heard his stuff on “Samurai Champloo” and got hooked. It sucks that he died right as he was gettin popular.
Word…but one thing I realized after his death was how many people across the whole world were such STANS for his beats. That dude touched a lot of people.
And I still blast the Samurai Champloo albums to this day.
PAUSE! I love Nujabes and was introduced to him thanks to Samurai Champloo (one of my Top 5 favorite animes ever), where “Battlecry” played in the intro. I haven’t listened to him in a while, but I didn’t even know he died!
NUJABES!
Thank god somebody knows who he is.
That dude saved my life. Literally. His beats helped me get through the craziest stuff I had to deal with. A lot of artists have died, but he’s the first person to really put a hole in my heart. I still play his music on a monthly basis. Hydeout Productions errday.
I listened to that Killer Mike R.A.P. Music so hard this summer. I still think Pledge 3 was his best work but R.A.P. Music just GOES!
*hops off soapbox only to hop back on later downthread*
I say take the indie route!! Lots of talent surprise and most importantly creativity abound. Artistes in this genre are not slaves of the mighty dollar bill and music industry. They don’t impose, they just compose. Let live, and be free!
I am rap/hip-hop allergic, but check this broda out. Been loving him long long time. Good luck!!
Blitz Da Ambassador
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wa2JYsrv6wo
“I am rap/hip-hop allergic”
Lol. Me too. Most current day hip hop makes me itch and my ears bleed.
No…just no…
No, what?! Indie music?
WHATEVER!!!
But, the things that have underwhelmed me these past couple years have been relationships and….well….writing poetry/short stories. I used to write very dark short stories/poetry a lot and post them on Facebook, because it used to calm me down and clear my head whenever I was sad/angry. Which….was 90% of the time back in 2010. I stopped writing because it stopped working. The pain and such wouldn’t go away and eventually I attempted suicide. The attempt failed (Captain f*cking obvious, right?) though, because even though I swallowed all of the remain aspirin tablets, it wasn’t enough. I called my (then) gf right afterwards because I wanted her voice to be the last one I heard. No one knows I did it though, not even her (when she noticed my voice was “weak” I just told her I took too many by “accident”).
So now, instead of poetry, I come up and write down concepts for my comics and video games I hope to make in the future. It’s been keeping me busy so far. That and listening to music.
**BIG hug**
Sorry to hear about your depression and suicide attempt. Obviously I only know you as a cyber pal but from what I know you are a very bright, perceptive and creative person. Oh, and funny. So when ever you are down just remember that you have special gifts that you need to share with the world.
Thank you gal pal, Val.
Music that’s been on repeat as of lately;
Rock:
– Lost Prophets
– My Chemical Romance
– Paramore
– Tenacious D
– Rolling Stones
– Linkin Park
– Fallout Boy
– Evanescence
Hip-Hop:
– Kanye
– Drake
– Childish Gambino
– Kendrick Lamar
– Big Sean (his latest mixtape is his best project yet)
– Ab-Soul
– Nas
– ScHoolboy Q
– A$AP Rocky
– Oddisee
– Phonte
RnB/Pop/Other:
– Janelle Monae (please don’t sleep on her)
– Dwele
– Lady Gaga (dead serious)
– Colin Munroe
– The Weeknd (don’t sleep)
– Frank Ocean
– Miguel
– N.E.R.D. (somewhat, need to listen to more stuff)
That’s all I can think of off the top of my head. Any suggestions are welcome. Preferrable Hip-Hop and Rnb. Maybe even a little Neo-soul and Rock.
my crater inducing lover,
Florence and The Machines-indie rock,THEY rock!
Thanks, I’ll check them out. Although if I can be honest, I am feeling some kind of way about you calling me your crater inducing lover, then I look up to find a picture of a big swole azz, half naked n!gga with dreads.
I also recommend Florence and the Machine’s album “Lungs.” I also recommend Marina and the Diamonds’s “Numb”, “Obsessions”, and “Teen Idle.”
I’m into really hard rock from the 90s and I know you like Alice in Chains. I recommend anything grunge, Rage Against the Machine, Tool, Incubus, and of course, Radiohead. You can never go wrong with Radiohead, especially “Street Spirit (Fade Out).”
Oh and for “hipster” music check out Mumford and Sons and Arcade Fire.
Tank you. It’s funny you mentioned Mumford and Sons, though. I got put on to them because Childish Gambino is signed to the same indie label they are, and he referenced them in one of his songs.
They are so folksy. I love it.
You should listen to Gotye. “Somebody that I used to know” introduced me to the rest of his songs. Amazing! His best song is “Heart’s a Mess.” Check it out.
Asiyah- I really like “Learnalilgivinandlovin” from Gotye, but I’ll check the one you just mentioned out too.
That one is good too! He’s creative, that Gotye!
Ooooh you’re awesome.
Any grunge & alternative rock from the 90s, I am addicted to.
And Creep by Radiohead still holds up as one of the best songs from that era.
Thanks Rewind! <3
I’ve always been very forward, you are my LOVER, not MAIN THANG!!
Lol, I know that. It’s just that at first glance, it looks as if the swole dude is the one telling me I’m his crater inducing lover, but that’s who I see when you comment.
LITERALLY LOL!!!
+1000
What’s the deal with Childish Gambino? I know he’s the guy from Community. Everyone seems to either hate his music or rave about him. No in between.
It depends. Usually the people who hate him don’t like his voice. In his earlier work he used a (forced) nasally voice to sound more “nerdy”. He stopped because he didn’t want to be a gimmick rapper. However, sometimes when he raps aggressively his voice (naturally) gets grittier similar to what Lil Wayne does. Others think he’s corny because he’s not the typical “thug” rapper and he makes A LOT of pop culture references. It doesn’t help that he’s an actor turned rapper, which people hate. He also gets frequently compared to Drake because he too, raps and sings (though I think he does both slightly better than Drake).
But, he has some of the cleverest punchlines/metaphors I’ve ever heard (and I mean ever). I dig his flow, subject matter, and his delivery. He also produces most of his own music.
Listen to his song “The Real (Infinity Guitar)” to get a gist of how absurd he is with punchlines and stuff when he’s just goofing around. Then listen to his “LES” song.
Another more recent track off his album, Camp, his “Bonfire”. Him goofing around with punchlines, metaphors, and other literary devices.
Then listen to “All The Shine”, also from his album, Camp. Of course, do so at your leisure. I remember you saying you’re not a big hip-hop person.
Thanks, TUK. I’ll check him out. As long as he’s not rapping about Bentleys, b*tches and h*es I’ll probably enjoy his music. Especially if, as you say, his lyrics are clever. Also, I didn’t know he sang. That’s a plus.
You got the Royalty mixtape right?
I love Camp, glad I put myself on to that, but Royalty is a huge change from Camp, and yet I like it still. He feels he has a lot to prove, and I don’t understand why, because he’s official regardless of what anyone says, his skills speak to that notion.
Oh yea..L.E.S everyday.
It really depends when you heard him first, if you heard him early when he was doing the nerd thing you probably think he’s corny, if you heard now when he’s trying too hard to sound too much like an Atlanta rapper, you probably think he’s corny, the middle from Culdesac-CAMP you think he was the next big thing
Aye…this nygga got Tina Fey to get on a song about ATL and go on a rant like she was a gotdamn Black Panther.
He officially wins all hip hop accolades for that alone.
Do I got Royalty? Maaaan, I was looking forward to that more than I was Cruel Summer. No joke. I copped that as SOON as it came out. It’s dope. It’s not better than Camp though. Mainly because there’s too many features and not enough Childish Gambino. Add that to the fact that excluding Ghostface, Danny Brown, and Ab-Soul, none of the guests are on his level and they serve as more of a distraction sometimes. Still dope though.
I did like the joint with Bun-B. I like the whole mixtape, but you’re right, with him doing so many features, it’s not as much face time as it was with Camp.
I…love…CHILDISHGAMBINO!!!!!!
[*swoooooon*]
[*faints*]
RnB/Pop/Other:
– Janelle Monae (please don’t sleep on her)
(I’m hoping this doesn’t happen, but then again she’s on Bad Boy…)
– Dwele
(You’re a Dwele fan? Nice! I KNOW you copped “Greater Than One”)
– Lady Gaga (dead serious)
(No comment on her at the moment)
– Colin Munroe
(He just put up a new mixtape at djbooth.net- it’s actually pretty good)
– The Weeknd (don’t sleep)
(I tried to like him because of his association with the producer Martin “Doc” McKinney- the same producer behind the first albums by Esthero and Res- but The Weeknd’s voice is a little bothersome)
– Frank Ocean
(He’s got the voice, but he needs better production)
– Miguel
(This is my dude right here! I hope that “Kaleidoscope Dream” will be just as good as “All I Want Is You”)
– N.E.R.D. (somewhat, need to listen to more stuff)
Their best albums are their first and third ones. The second one is decent, and the fourth one is…okay)
“(You’re a Dwele fan? Nice! I KNOW you copped “Greater Than Oneâ€)”
That I did! About 3 or so days after it dropped.
“Colin Munroe: (He just put up a new mixtape at djbooth.net- it’s actually pretty good)”
Unsung Hero? That’s been on repeat since I got it. The first half is great, but the second half is perfection to me.
“The Weeknd: (I tried to like him because of his association with the producer Martin “Doc†McKinney- the same producer behind the first albums by Esthero and Res- but The Weeknd’s voice is a little bothersome)”
House of Balloons is what did it for me. That’s one of the best mixtapes I’ve ever heard. Echoes of Silence was dope too.
“Miguel: (This is my dude right here! I hope that “Kaleidoscope Dream†will be just as good as “All I Want Is Youâ€)”
Spoiler Alert: It is.
Meh. I can get with a few artists on your lists. Mine is a little different.
Growing up Aaliyah, Timbaland and N.E.R.D. were my go to people and they will always be artists I support. Kanye West joined those ranks. I’m also an avid supporter of Christina Aguilera, Jojo, Miguel. Jhene Aiko and Lykke Li caught my attention. Who else? Definitely Paramore. Gym Class Heroes. Evanescence = my whole adolescence and even just the past couple days I’ve been belting along with ‘Fallen’. There’s A LOT of albums I consider perfect. My top five: Stripped (Christina Aguilera), Never Say Never (Brandy), Seeing Sounds (N.E.R.D.), Graduation (Kanye West), and Aaliyah (cmon) and tying with that album is In the Zone (Britney Spears). This is like what I live on and will always thrive on. My personal classics. Of course there’s a lot more albums and some people catch my eye but I definitely lean heavily on the aforementioned. I really, REALLY like niche eclecticism. I really like people who carve out a sound, a style, a pocket and go mainstream with it. I love that personal expertise, the edge. I like that isht. I’m like that in life in general. If it isn’t pure genius or pure greatness I don’t even mess with it. 90% of the world underwhelms but I’ve learned to just accept crap as crap and most things will be wack. I wish averageness would stop getting attention thus fading it into nothingness because I definitely feel Panama on the ‘bored’ mentality.
I really like Christina Aguilera. I think she has an amazing voice. I haven’t listened to her in a while though. As I mentioned, my list above is just who I’ve been listening to recently. Which is why people like Aguilera, Eminem, 2Pac, Adele, and Lauryn Hill are absent.
I’ve been trying to get into Gym Class Heroes. But they’re still iffy to me. I love The Quilt, but The Papercut Chronicles 1&2 kinda make me go “Meh”.
smh @ me always responding mad late. but yeah pcc was kinda meh but I definitely love a few songs. As Cruel as School Children was just fun and upbeat and chipper, good soundtrack to enjoy college on lol. The Quilt was awesome. I only heard a ten minute preview of pcc2 but I thought it was AMAZING. They need more recognition than they have as musicians. They put Katy Perry on and gots NO love.
Christina Aguilera goes. Jojo’s acoustic sets though? smh. No one like her. Her voice is just absolutely raw and soulful I’ve been following her since she came out. All of her albums are dope and she really does develop herself as a craft and it’s way obvious she puts time into the quality of her music. She’ll never sell out the garden but she is the voice our artists should be equipped with making 20mil+ annually.
Whenever I hear “Tightrope” I instinctually do the dance. No matter where. I don’t care if I look crazy.
lol @SweetSass!!
I’d join you if ever!!
Omg…Tuk!! I dont even know what to say. Thank God it didnt work! Im saying that from MY perspective btw. I know youre Atheist, so that prolly doesnt give you much comfort lol. Man its so weird, ive contemplated suicide on &off ever since i can remember, but i never attempted. Cuz i know myself, and if i attempt, ima make sure i succeed. How did you feel after ingesting the pills? Were you scared like, “oh sh*t, what did i do?” Or were you like “f*ck it, lets take this nap.”
As I said, I knew that this was it and the last person I would want to hear was my girlfriend. We had got into an argument earlier that day, so I wanted to leave out on a good note. I planned to die with her on the phone with me. But sh!t never goes a planned. So, that backfired pretty badly. A lot of abdominal pain and vomiting.
I’m glad you’re okay.
TUK I can relate. Maybe its that f*cka$$ quarter life crisis people have been talking about for a while. I was underwhelmed by the ratchet economy and the idea that as soon as I graduated Sallie Mae would send her goons after me. Professors and parents pushed a lie that going to a University grants stability but ever since my freshman year I knew people with MA’s working at Sonny’s or Red Lobster. I used to devour books and free write for hours. Then ish got real and I just couldn’t do anything. Not school, work, nothing. There were some dark days my friend. It wasn’t until early this year I started getting back into the groove of things. Reflecting (and taking kickboxing b/c I can murk deez hoes) has finally helped me feel inspired again. Plus there will never be a shortage of rich old men to marry. Life is grand!
Fellow suicide attempters unite!
I tried to kill myself at 14 with my dad’s gun. It jammed as I pressed it against my temple. Pissed me off because it was fully loaded. I lost my shyte at that moment but something told me in my head “you’re not ready yet”. And since then, I’ve done all I can to get my life in order, though it’s been a long road.
It’s funny how much people can have in common when they’ve never met each other. All the poetry, drawings, writing music…did all of that to deal with the depression. So you weren’t alone to begin with.
And look at both of us now? Two crazy summabitches telling jokes online to people we might never see just because we can do it.
A HUGE HUG for TUK!
With every difficulty there is relief. You already know. You’re alive to see that.
Wow, baby. I’m sorry to hear that. I was in a lot of pain in my early 20′s and thought about suicide a lot. I was more scared of death than life, tho. That age is just tough. Big hug. Fight for you. Depriving the world of you would be wrong.
“Clique” is great. It came on the radio when I had just pulled in the garage, and I sat there for 3 min and 20 seconds, and listened to the whole song! And of course Kanye’s verse was the bestest.
I feel how you feel about certain actresses and such, but alas it’s because that’ s what I am. And you are what you are.
Have yall heard “Bandz a make her dance?” I’m not music person, but just moving back to the South and hearing this song, I jam. I JAM. Thatisall.
I’m not too fond of the “Bandz” song. I only tolerate it because at clubs, rotund posteriors all around me start gyrating. It is beautiful, I tell ya. Beautiful.
Bandz was only meant to be enjoyed in clubs
Let me hear Bandz or even better Pop That and I am on the floor. smh
LOL, I’ve heard this song. I guess bands will make me dance.
It’s a classic example of why the radio is evil. They play it 30 times an hour and make you hate it even though if it was only played in the club (particularly the strip club) it would be AWESOME and nothing else. Love 2 Chainz verse though. He’s literally upscale and refined ratchedness lol
LOL. while I love 2 chainz, my personal favorite outlet for high-quality ratchetness is schoolboy Q. Like, he rolls with TDE, so you know he’s capable of real lyricism. But everyonce in a while he just say eff it and engages in buffoonery of the highest order, and its equal parts off-putting and hilarious.
Schoolboy & A$AP Rocky…I would define that as high classed ratchedness as you so eloquently put it.
Man, i’ve tried to rock with A$AP, but he just doesn’t cut it for me.
Funnily enough , the first time I listened to the “hands on the wheel track” with Q on it, I couldn’t tell who was who. Lol.
Shamira I’m wit u all the way on Schoolboy Q! I like his style and he talks about doin hoodrat sh!t wit his friends which is important to a listener such as myself but he’s also lyrical and at times introspective. You can tell he’s no dummy. 2 Chainz’ ratchedness is unapologetic, stylish, and most importantly goofy lol. So he’s right up my alley when they put him on the right song. I can’t deal wit rappers that take themselves too serious. I’m wit u on ASAP Rocky too. He’s just Asap ‘meh’ to me. I heard a few songs and none stand out like “Get Lit,” but maybe I need to give him another chance cause I’ve only heard a few songs, but he didn’t do it for me. I like the fact that he makes Southern style music, but I haven’t heard many songs I wanna listen to again from him.
I love everything about Schoolboy from his extra crude language to the dumb as hell bucket fishin’ hat he always wears.
*sings to myself* “still got the baddest ho*s, still got the finest w*ed…”
*chills*
to be fair, i just love all of TDE/Black Hippy. I think I would just about die if they made a group album. Have you heard Ab-Soul’s Control System? Too dope for words. I seriously think that he’s underrated as an emcee due to all the shine that Kendrick’s gotten. Skill wise, they’re very comparable – they just have different strengths. But hey – three years ago, Jay Rock was the biggest one out of the camp. How times have changed.
“Have you heard Ab-Soul’s Control System? Too dope for words.”
You are officially my people Shamira. “My people.” (Varsity Blues)
It depends on what songs you listen to when it comes to Rocky. His first few songs, I thought they were dumb as shyte. Then I got his last mixtape, and it was lyricism out the ass, so I know he has skills, it just depends on if he feels like showing it.
i love Q. in fact, the song “there he go” is the most swagged out rap song in a long long while.
I can’t stress how unique Clique sounds even though it’s not unique at all.
Damn Kanye. Damn him to hell.
I don’t get underwhelmed by music because I don’t rely on mainstream/ commercial current music to keep me interested. My ipod playlists include jazz, classic rock, classic R&B, folk, country, so-called World Music, house, salsa, zydeco, a bit of classical and classic hip hop.
There is just so much music to discover that I don’t think I’ll ever get bored.
*waves*
your musical palette is right up my alley!
*waves back!*
Hiya, AM!
“There is just so much music to discover that I don’t think I’ll ever get bored”
Exactly, variety being the spice of life and all that.
What…in the f*ck…is zydeco? That sounds like something Angelina Jolie would name her kid.
This is zydeco
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnE5hUQ7eH4&feature=related
+2
Yoooo don’t sleep on the zydeco son! Admittedly I don’t jam to it in the ride but I’m definitely good for hittin up a zydeco nite at a club. It’s like Chicago steppin with a lol more tempo and a lot less competition.
And as a side note, Zydeco isn’t what Angelina Jolie wld name her first, it’s more like what a dude named Plaxico wld do. Lol!
“To take it a step further, the only thing separating Nas from Jay-Z is Kanye West. Kanye has enabled Jay to extend his run at the top much longer than it likely would have lasted. He’s allowed Jay to venture into musical waters he’d otherwise never venture without somebody like ‘Ye there to create it. I don’t know this for fact, but Jay’s taken a hell of a lot more chances with his music since Kanye showed up.”
^I can’t give Kanye that. I gotta give it up to Jay. Jay adheres himself with innovators of the time and Jay’s music has changed quite a bit. I think Jay has made changes and I am neither a Jay Z stan or hater. Jay got with Swizz, with Neptunes, with the Punjabi MC, with all kinds of folks. That’s an eye for talent that Jay has seen that Nas may not be as concerned with or lacking with.
Plus for Madvillain, there is Oh No (his brother). There is Edan. There is Cannibal Ox. There is Dez and Nobs, there is Styles of Beyond. There are SO MANY putting out dope stuff. So many to counter the underwhelming. Hip hop is alive and well.
Heck, Chubb Rock, DJ Quik, Ras Kass, Big Daddy Kane, Q-Tip and Special Ed are still doing music….amongst others.
That DJ Quik album “The Book Of David”? Straight flames!
I agree. Jay always moves ahead, and barely stays with things too long, which is why he has been a trendsetter for so damn long. There’s a reason why working with Primo hit its mark in 98 then transitioning to Just Blaze, Kanye, & the Neptunes, to the Beatminerz, Swizz, etc…he took chances on people and made them stars.
Have you heard of Electric Wire Hustle yet?? Dig: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j12K767kIDE
Yeah I like this track Jay. Groovy and mellow. I had opened in a tab then didn’t listen till later. I forgot who recommended it lol. Good find tho
Y’all need to check out my boy Gary Clark Jr. The Soul and Blues in this brotha make me feel so good! I’m happy to hear the blues any day of the week but I randomly saw his EP on the shelf at Zia’s (yes I still buy cds. What of it?) and I put that in my car and was instantly captivated by his sound. Give him a listen. Bright Lights will have you singing that chorus all day
Two thumbs up for Gary Clark, Jr. Hope he doesn’t get shafted by Warner Bros. like they did Robert Randolph & The Family Band.
I really like Robert Randolph & The Family Band. Good stuff!
Kind of a side track, but with you all needing money for the pilot, i’ve always wondered why you all never threw a banner on the top or the side of the page. With the traffic and the demographic you have, i’m sure you guys can get 5k plus a month easy. I don’t think anyone would really mind one banner.
Yes!! I have thought this too.
My music recommendations for the bored music lover;
01. Kraftwerk – Listen to their song; “Trans Europe Express” to get started and then go from there.
02. Teddy Pendergrass – Teddy was the king of R&B from about 1978 until about 1982. I had no idea how big Teddy was until I saw his Unsung. He was HUGE. If he hadn’t had that car accident he would have ruled the 80′s. And then check him out when he was with Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes. (Classic R&B)
03. David Ruffin – Start with “Walk Away From Love”. (Classic R&B)
04. Steely Dan – Start with the “Aja” album. (Classic Rock)
05. Nicole Willis and The Soul Investigators – Check out the single “If This Ain’t Love”. (R&B)
06. Genesis – Start with the “…And Then There Were Three” album. (classic rock)
07. Peter Frampton – Frampton Comes Alive! (Classic rock)
08. Trombone Shorty – Anything by him. His music is jazz infused with New Orleans flavor.
09. Goapele – Start with the singles, “Closer” and “Play”. (Neo-Soul)
10. Joan Armatrading – Start with her greatest hits album Her music is funky/ blusey/ folksy/ soul.
I was with you…until you mentioned rock. I struggle to separate rock from the whole “cultural exploitation and destruction of Negroes” aspect. And country just makes me think of Confederate flags. I’m not sure I’d accept food from someone flying that proud. Nah homey.
Country music can be pretty great. There are some Confederate flag moments but for the most part it’s a mixture of really good storytelling and hopeless romantic anthems.
+1
Todd, because Rock music is Black music, you should be reppin’ it harder than anyone else. Take back what they took from you and own it because it’s rightfully yours.
Please listen to Carolina Chocolate Drops
My favorite: “Cornbread and ButterBeans”
Country music is beaurrrriful.
@African Mami
The Chocolate drops are great! Check out this one, they covered Tweets song “Hit’em Up Style”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKTXJUYiAT4
Val darling,
TRUST! I have checked that out already, and LOVE it too. I like the cornbread song, best because i love cornbread. lool!!
@Todd
There are certain rock artists that I avoid due to their overt racism whether musically or off the stage. And I avoid Led Zeppelin because they stole most of their music from Black blues artists. Otherwise, as Asiyah said, rock was created by Black artists like Little Richard and others.
And Country music certainly has a history of redeckness but once you avoid anything before the 70′s you are in fairly safe waters. Also there are a few Black country singers like Charlie Pride and Ray Charles did a country album. Check out Johnny Cash too. Some of his music is amazing.
I just want to know what this chick did to Kanye http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mamdwgOVlZ1qap5peo1_500.jpg After their engagement broke off, he went full infantile
No one knows…but from “Say You Will” she stood him up on their reconciliation attempt
I think she might have been the kind of woman who helped him adjust with fame as he was coming up, because I think he was with someone else before his second album. Clearly though, once you leave your rock, you float away.
Gangnam Style – Yes? No? Whatever man…that joint is HOT!!!
I personally wish someone would do a chopped-and-screwed remix with Paul Wall or someone else from the Swisha House roster. That’s just me though.
no.
“To take it a step further, the only thing separating Nas from Jay-Z is Kanye West.”
Ummm…..no…just no.
I’ll throw this out there, before I roll back over and go to sleep: the music is boring because you’ve heard it all before (best example: commercial dubstep.) Your brain has subconsciously memorized the most common rhythms/tones/samples used in hip hop, therefore pushing all of the “newest” music into those specific categories.
IOW, listening to music is like seeing a group of kids in the park. Due to the fact that most people, whether through media influence or age, “know” that all groups contain certain archetypes (the leader, the guy who *wants* to be the leader, the smart guy, the big guy, the nice guy, the “bad boy/girl” etc.), it becomes an exercise in futility to avoid fitting those children in their specific slots. And once you’ve spent enough time observing groups of children (whether for work, for statistical research, for the church, because you’re the cranky b*st*rd who’s always yelling at them about your lawn…), you can see them walking down the street and figure out the hierarchy.
Will you get it wrong, sometimes? Yes (in one group, the biggest one is the one who’s always reading, or the “bad boy” may turn out to be the kid who bags groceries with a smile, the leader may be in the middle of the group instead of the front, etc.) And when you see the group that isn’t conforming to expectations, you will focus more on that group than you would focus on a group that follows standards to a “T”.
With music (doubly so for certain genres “Ahem, rap, country, other ethnic forms”), most artists follow a template. Once your brain has the template mapped, the music fails to excite as strong a response as in less-experienced times. Kanye West is, at some level, an innovator; however, his “innovations” are still based on a limited set of tools. Kanye’s erstwhile peers/imitators only serve to add to your overload (by their mimickry and/or flat-out theft of Mr. West’s swagger.) And when your brain says, “Aight, I got this.”, the best thing to do is switch genres.
With the exception of the last sentence, I agree with all of this.
Nice analogy.
Moderation huh, so its the @.nal in an@.logy
It’s like kids they can have hundreds of toys and feel bored and sometimes they can have fun for hours with a simple little toy…
my nephew got a room full of toys, a ps3 (he’s about to be 5 at that, he can read already so we let him cook) but will fight to the death for somebody’s phone…
You don’t get it because your old. Cruel Summer is le business as the French would say.
HAHAHAHAHAHA, Kayne need to GTFU. He lives on the other side of the tracks where all his needs are being satisfied. Someone please take him to see Snow on Tha Bluff. Then maybe he can be part of the solution and not enabling the problem.
I think the issue with music is us getting old. The problem with newer music is that it doesn’t attach to any real emotion that’s going on in our lives. That’s because as you get older, life becomes less about emotion. Unfortunately, you’ll never hear an album again after your first big fight in high school or after meeting your first true love or after moving out for the first time or after starting college. Those mile markers have passed.
Also, the older I get, the more objectively I look at music minus the emotions that may have been evoked in the past. Some of it has turned out to be crap once I was able to separate the memories out. Some of it I like because of the memories. The broader point is that once you can take your memories and emotions out, today’s music is a lot better than you think. The question is should you take out your memories in the first place.
As for me, I’ve been listening to the Bad 25th Anniversary Edition on Spotify a bunch. It reminds me of my childhood so much, even the unreleased tracks. My fave is Abortion Papers. Never has a song about abortion been so damn catchy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPZFtzJP034
I get where you are going Todd and I would add this thought to the mix. Todays music is like what happend to Disco. The beat stayed the same it just had a different name to the song. Music has become homogenous everybody sounds like everybody else. No longer do singers actually have to sing or mucisian have to know how to play. In the heyday of Jazz, you could have 100 sax players and they all were good and they were unique while playing the same instrument. Today it is about giving the customer what they want until they want something else. Gone are the days of the talent striving to reach a new level.
It’s called music going corporate. When you have record companies run by businessmen instead of record men, that’s the end result.
I agree with you for the most part, Todd.
True, Todd. Music, as they say, is a soundtrack to our lives. You are right about the emotion involved in what music we come to love. When we get older I think rather than relying on new music for emotional comfort, we go to stuff we are already attached to. So that keeps us from connecting with new music in the way that we did as teens.
Is that my Gubment name all up on the end of a VSB post?? OMG! Must get back to the depths of lurkerdom!
Oh on the boredom. . .I think at a certain point in life “newness” or innovation becomes muddy. As you experience more in more in life the true “new” of anything becomes almost routine. It either resembles, emulates or is simply a remake of something you’ve already experienced. It no longer moves you in the same way it would someone who is venturing into new uncharted life territory. Think about the times when you experienced all this new resonating music, it likely coincides with other new resonating life experiences thus making the moment much more profound.
In short, you might just be getting old!
Kanye’s bored, Jay/Em are old, Wayne lost it, Drake won’t step up, TI left while he was hot, R&B as a whole is dying, music has really hit a plateau for me. I’m holding out hope for music to turn around, when you look at how boring and redundant music was in the 80s before the 90s came thru and crushed the building, i’m hoping for the same effect.
“I’m holding out hope for music to turn around, when you look at how boring and redundant music was in the 80s before the 90s came thru and crushed the building, i’m hoping for the same effect.”
Music was boring and redundant as a whole in the 90′s too, by the way…
At least they did away with the electric keyboard, smoke machines and big hair, get some rappers to stop sounding like robots, and r&b artists to stop making that glow stick music and i’m good
The downside is that it was replaced with half assed songwriting, mediocre production values and a lot of image driven “talent”. Just look at who was popular in the 90′s.
Panama, i was just like you ten years ago. I basically turned my back on urban music because I just wasn’t feeling the corporate undertones of it. Around 2005, I moved to a new city (Auburn, the first time around) and I checked out their radio station. Being that it was college radio, it shifted my focus to more underground and/or more conceptual stuff.
I made the decision to seek out the music I like as opposed to having it fed to me via the mainstream media. I made a conscious decision to stop listening to terrestrial radio around 2003, and I haven’t looked back since.
What’s so horrible about music being corporate? It is the music BUSINESS, as 50 Cent would say. I’m not saying that corporate makes it good. I don’t like the concept of corporate = bad, especially when even the most indie artist does music to pay their bills.
What’s so horrible about music being corporate? See: The Radio Telecommunications Act of 1996- that should explain it all.
We share a brain on this. I *just* posted something about the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
What does Bill Clinton’s Telecommunications act have to do with corporate music?
Scroll down. The short version is that the Act created the conditions that consolidated control over what’s on the radio into a few large conglomerates, thus making it hard for new acts to get exposure.
You sound like Stan in that South Park episode where he starts getting older and everything he used to like starts to look like sh*t- literally.
One day, when I finally have some hours to spend on Amazon, I’m getting all the good Mariah Carey songs I had on tape. When in doubt I go to old faithful.
Kanye underwhelms me period but I listen to alot of world music Danish, French, Brazilian, British, Canadian musicians and artists and that keeps me from being bored with the US music scene which as a whole is a complete bore with the exception of a few.
I am curious about Andy Allo’s album, Prince protege’
and the new Janelle Monae and D’Angelo projects.
You do realize that people who live in all those countries you’ve mentioned are probably bored with their local artists as well, right?
I’ve been under whelmed by hip-hop for a while. There have been a few albums I’ve really felt over the past few years. Only Built For Cuban Links 2, Danny Brown’s album, Random Axe, Jake-One White Van Music (A classic that is probably the most slept on album of the past 10 years), and a few others. Sometimes I wonder if this is the new norm and those of us that listened to hip-hop in the 80s and 90s were just spoiled. I love hip-hop but haven’t felt the same since 1997 (Beginning of the No Limit/Shiny Suit era). I’m not one of these dudes stuck in the 90s boom-bap era either. I like quality hip-hop period. I just want that occasional feeling I got from Only Built For Cuban Links, The Infamous, 93’ Til Infinity, more often and from younger artists. It seems only artist 30 years old and up can make quality hip-hop.
I’d also like to add that the whole “good hip-hop is out there you just have to find it†meme bothers me. I found good music by just being a hip-hop head back in the day. I found good music by late night mix shows, DJs, street promoters, etc. Why am I the only one that finds something wrong with having to search for quality music? Now I have to dedicate a Friday or Saturday evening to scouring the internet looking for music. I’m in my 30s and work I don’t have time to do that. Plus why does it take more effort with all the access we have now compared to back in the day when we didn’t have any of this (this = internet, iTunes, music blogs, etc)?
I was just saying this, i’m tired of scouring blogs and youtubes to find the next big thing, what the hell are DJs and ARs being paid for if the fan does all the legwork. Also out of these new artists that i’m supposed to like most dont do much for me A$AP Rocky, Schoolboy Q, Mac Miller, Odd Future, Danny Brown, Nipsey Hussle..a couple a nice verses here there but overall meh.
Blame the Telecommunications Act of 1996. It’s probably the most important law with connection to hip-hip and its development.
Some quick background, then I have to run. Congress passed this bill to modernize FCC regulations anticipating the rise of the internet and how all other forms of media would have to organize in the aftermath. Prior to the bill, companies were limited as to how many radio stations were owned in a given market and how many stations they owned in general. As a result, there were a lot of leased-time stations around that stayed in business as independent entities because no one could buy them without selling their other stations as to stay under the cap. As a result, it was a LOT easier for any underground show to get airtime, and many show producers took advantage. Also, there was a much broader exchange between college radio and the leased-time stations in terms of people and ideas. Also, due to the sheer need to fill time on all of these shows, the work of A&R reps, mix tape DJs and other assorted hip-hop heads was easier. Plus, due to the shoestring budgets most of these shows operated on, it was dirt cheap for someone running a show to rock a record just for the hell of it. If it worked, great. If it didn’t, people moved on with their lives.
After the Telecommuncations Act of 1996, two things happened, one obvious, one not so much. For one, the leased-time stations were gobbled up throughout America by various radio companies. At the time, this was seen as a stabilizing force, as many of those stations were running with heavy losses, and there was a real fear of many of these stations simply going off the air. Of course, the companies had their own programming, putting a major squeeze on underground radio. Throw in the uncertainty that the music industry had put on licensing internet streaming that wouldn’t be settled until 2005, and a lot of shows just flat died out in the intervening years.
The other effect was that no one saw Clear Channel and their like coming at all. Not Congress, and definitely not the music industry. The net result of these large conglomerates taking over all of these stations meant that fewer people controlled larger chunks of stations, and playlists were standardized to a dramatic extent. This is around the same time cyberjocking became prominent as well, as stations decided to cut corners even more. As a result, it just became hard as hell to get on, and stations became a lot more conservative with playlists as the risks to a wack record became huge.
Throwing in the PPM, and the fact that it favors bland stations that get played in malls, stores, gas stations and other places of business by design, and hip-hop radio is running scared. Jacked as it sounds, there’s way more money in playing Mix Radio WXYZ to middle-aged suburban housewives so they can play laundry detergent ads in between than it is to play some rough, rugged and raw music to people who spend the biggest chunk of their budget at the corner bodega or Chinese food spot that doesn’t really advertise on the radio.
And that is why hip-hop has ISSUES.
Well, so much about showing you about the Telecommunications Act, LMAO!!!
Clear Channel is one of the reasons why music is like McDonalds $1 menu. The older I get the more I despise them. They represent music in name only. Everything else they gutted to keep profits up.
“It seems only artist 30 years old and up can make quality hip-hop.”
“. I’m in my 30s and work I don’t have time to do that. ”
To me these quotes say everything about why people think current hip-hop is trash. Its not our era. Im also in my 30s. I remember when I was younger listening to music the old heads were saying the same thing. This isnt music. Music use to be _____. Shoot even when Ray Charles came out the older generation did not like. We want things to be the way we liked and remembered it.
Exactly Kema. That’s why I only compare apples to apples when it comes to music. Same genre, same time period, same purpose. If they don’t have those three in common I don’t try to compare. I don’t compare Northeast music with down South stuff because it’s more or less different genres with different priorities and styles. Music is so closely associated with feelings and emotions that nostalgia makes certain music untouchable in our minds. Nostalgia and musical values/priorities. It’s all VERY subjective. Just enjoy what you enjoy, don’t focus on or even pay attention to whatever it is you consider to be trash. Or you could just keep whining and making the same ole complaints about how music ain’t what it used to be if that’s your thing I guess…
Man am I the only one that can’t stop listenin to this Can’t Stop track Panama posted?! Sheesh. Sh!t gives me the catchy vibe I crave and actually do get from the radio SOMETIMES but with some actual substance to go with it this time (I love the quote at the beginning) and a different (but pleasant) sound. I’m definitely gonna check for Milo and Otis from now on. I wanna get up on the other stuff people are throwing out there today, but like every other music post there’s just too many names being thrown out so I probably just….won’t listen to anybody lol. Information overload is a b!tch, but I did see a few artists I really like being called out, namely Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, Killer Mike, Phonte, and Ab-Soul. (although I’m still tryna get into Blu, he hasn’t done it for me thus far) I can’t do 40 artists at a time though, so maybe I’ll come back and really look into 2 or 3 later on when I have time (gotta find out who’s music taste resemble mine the most before I decide who to check for), but I dug this post despite the fact that I generally don’t enjoy music posts and the ensuing conversations in the comment section. I think most of us are bored for this same reason man
expectations only lead to disappointment. i used to love h.e.r. but that was a long time ago. now i’m delightfully surprised any song that can make my heart pulse. it’s been a long time, (maybe) i shouldnta left you but one day you gotta let go. right now, today gonn be somebody’s back in the days and Cruel Summer will neva mean Bananarama .. c’est la vie en rose ~*~
Exactly! People forget that young people are still, and will always be, around. Remember that, and music will make a lot more sense.
LOL funny you say that, Esa. I remember seeing tweets about “Cruel Summer” and me thinking “omg! Is Bananarama back?” LOL.
Telepathy!!
I was thinking, hey my lilies and chimes beauty been gone for a minute! Then, VOILA!
Hope you good mama!! Muah muah muah!
hello lovely lady !
i am about to disappear off this continent for a minute.
wooo yeaaa oo la la ~*~
my question is… how do you even come across all this obscure music?
i used to love discovering new bands and singers (not really much of a hiphop head) but i don’t even know where to look now. lawd.
“my question is… how do you even come across all this obscure music?
i used to love discovering new bands and singers (not really much of a hiphop head) but i don’t even know where to look now. lawd.”
Yes! Get outta my head lol. That’s how I feel. I don’t have the time, patience, or energy to find the really good sh!t amongst the “meh” so I just try to take a recommendation here and there from some VSBs who I tend to vibe with #shruglife
There’s a ton of places- Internet Radio, iTunes Radio (if you have iTunes installed on your computer), YouTube (Yes, YouTube), Pandora, Slacker, and College Radio- just to name a few.
PA- I use Pandora and youtube and they both help, but there’s still way too much filler and music that is ok but not heartfelt or particularly dope (I end up thinkin d@mn I just spent 30 minutes trying new songs and only really liked 2 of em). What I want/need is too subjective for Pandora to ever figure out really. It’s not so much a question of where as much as it’s just a question of how…What method does an impatient, lazy, and cheap person such as myself who will be fine without a library full of music find the right method of acquiring new music that actually fits my unique and contradictory tastes? I honestly prefer people with like minds and tastes to suggest things to me based on what they know I like (most of the music and artists I listen to faithfully now I was “put on” to by friends or lovers in the past). My brother is my go to man for music in real life otherwise I’d just be stuck playin all the sh!t I know I like on repeat lol.
i tend to venture to a lot of random places and will usually give anything a try once. if it catches my attention, then i’m going all in with it. i used to have my sites i’d go to for music to sample. that opened me up to a gang of stuff i hadn’t heard before.
What sites and/or online stations do you guys go to to hear all this music y’all listing? Help a sister out. I’ll give it a listen and determine if I enjoy it or not.
I’ll give you a few:
My favorite hip hop station on the Internet, Gtronic Radio:
http://www.gtronicradio.com/
The Neo Soul Station Black Soul Rhythms:
http://blacksoulrhythms.com/
Basically, there’s a gang of great internet radio stations out there.
http://pfunkradio.com/
I’m not giving up on the music just yet. I think we have a few new commers that are trying to hold RnB down. I won’t go as far as saying he is the chosen one or anything, but I was very pleased with Frank’s Channel Orange (I dont know how many times I’ve listened to Sweet Life). I think Miguel has a few tricks up his sleeve as well. Annnd his “could get it” appeal went up 3 points with this:
http://youtu.be/El-HcRemOkw
*throws under garments on stage*
I’ve pretty much worn out Sweet Life (bet I listen to it before the day ends though. lol), and because of how Channel Orange was recorded, I cant listen to an individual song (like say on a Pandora station) without anitcipating the next track on the album.
On topic: I gats nothing.
Off topic: Sitting here listening to Lauryn Hill “Ex-Factorâ€â€¦are ya’ll sure she was singing this to Wyclef?!?!? Seriously, I just can’t see Clef generating these types of feelings out of this woman.
I have been there many a time. I used to only listen to mainstream hip-hop, R&B, and gospel. But in the last year or so, I have really tried to branch out. Like this week, my Nat King Cole Pandora station has been in overdrive. Try going both back in time and listening to stuff you normal wouldn’t. I’ve listened to jazz, neo soul, folk (because of Bon Iver), J-Pop (and other Asian-centered music), hell even showtunes (since I’ve studied acting). Sometimes, you just need an afternoon of 80s-early 2000s music. Or oldies but goodies (EW&F anyone?).
It’s not as hard as you think, especially with all these internet radio stations. What I tend to do is create stations of a feature/accompanying artist, especially if they are from a different genre. Then you not only hear something different, but are also exposed to artists and music you’ve never heard of. Rinse and repeat.
There is plenty of good music, current and old. You just gotta look.
It’s not as hard as you think, especially with all these internet radio stations. “What I tend to do is create stations of a feature/accompanying artist, especially if they are from a different genre. Then you not only hear something different, but are also exposed to artists and music you’ve never heard of. Rinse and repeat.
There is plenty of good music, current and old. You just gotta look.”
Something that bears repeating, but many fail to take heed…
I hate it when people talk like this about music or anything really (*sidenote* I’m guilty of this actually*). Thing is I don’t even think music is meant to be THAT deep and yet it is meant to be THAT deep at the same time… makes no sense I know, but it will?
Here’s my prescription for you PJ… take a d@mn step back from it. I’d make that recommendation to Ye and Dre as well. Y’all have a tendenacy to over INDULGE in sh*t… you go overboard when you like something, and so you wear that sh*t out (hehehehe). There’s nothing wrong with being submerged in music when you’re making it… but when the album is done, when the song and studio session is finished take a step AWAY and go find inspiration in something else, something completely unrelated… that’s the cycle of music:
inspiration->expression->inspiration->expression… and in that order.
And actually that’s for people who just listen to music as well… you can’t constantly be in it (that’s what she said)… you gotta have days when you don’t listen to music at all… it’s called moderation people.
Right. The more you know about something and its science/composition the more picky and impossible to please you become (comedians are like this with humor even). People also have a tendency to get obsessed with analysis rather than just appreciating things for what they are. I have that curse myself but just not with music. I like whatever I like and I’m loyal to artists who consistently find a wavelength that I enjoy or can relate to/appreciate. When I like some sh!t I ride with it for a while. Then I take a break from music until I miss it.
Whenever I crave music again I just listen to what I already know I like while I gradually find new sh!t (as trusted sources put me on). Maybe that’s why my tastes in rap are so unsophisticated by most people on this blog’s standards. I don’t think music always has to be ‘THAT deep’ as you say or even ‘innovative’ period. (Although I get why that aspect is respected and admired more)
To me and most of the folks I know it goes like this:
First and foremost it needs to sound good and put me in a favorable mood. (that’s of the UTMOST importance) Everything after that is a much appreciated bonus.
Translation:It ain’t always that deep, but when it is I’m excited and show loyalty to that artist. If not, I just appreciate them for what they are
If lots of things you used to like are underwhelming now, maybe you’re depressed. Maybe they are just getting worse though, or maybe you’re outgrowing them. Or maybe you need a drink. or a nap. or cheesecake.
I’m loving Milo and Otis’s sound!! As a newly natural lady, I approve of this Black Sheep song
Lol that song is the business!
its great music. i honestly want them to get as much attention as possible so i’ll do my part. they dont know me or VSB at all but they got a supporter out of us.
I think it is a Gemini thing Panama.
I exist in a constant state of restlessness, enjoying and relishing in my passions and all things inspiring, and then constantly looking for something new. We bore easily. The unbearable lightness of being.
For me, the feeling transcends music. I don’t listen to the radio I rely on my ipad and musicheads to put me on to something.
yeah, i think the Gemini thing is probably accurate.
I still get excited about music.
However, nothing Kanye does excites me, because I was never a huge fan. Dig his beats and production, but as an artist? *yawn* Haven’t even tried to give Cruel Summer a listen, because frankly I just don’t care.
Most days I listen to huge variety of music, seriously I’m all over the map. However, I mostly find myself listening to songs from the 60s/70s/80s and 90s.
*turns up the Zydeco in my headphones & goes back to work*
*turns up the Zydeco in my headphones & goes back to work*
I see you Miss T-Lee! That Zydeco keeps me going at work!
YOU KNOW WHAT’S UP!!!!
*daps*
Hey, Lady! Agreed on the sentiments about Kanye.
Hey chica!!!
The only thing that keeps me from becoming completely underwhelmed with music is that I tend to listen to music in multiple languages. When I get bored with English, I switch to Spanish. Get bored with English and Spanish, I switch to Arabic or Persian. BUT even I see a slip in the quality and integrity of music worldwide. I’m trying really hard here to not be completely underwhelmed, but it has proven to be difficult. I’m on the verge of just picking up a guitar and doing things myself. I write. I sing. Why not?
uh oh!! C’mon now! If you SANG, can you take my immigrant sister out of business-Riri. Thanks much.
I can’t take her out of business because she’s sexier and more risque but I can give Adele some competition.
I’d give RiRi voice lessons and better songs for her to sing.
voice lessons would not help her cause, but God bless your soul girl
-Adele, ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT! Now, I’m more intrigued to hear your voice.
LOL Adele is better but if this were boxing I’d give her a good fight!
Did anyone catch the SNL sketch ‘Luxury goods’ with Jay Pharaoh and Kenan Thompson? I loved how they poked fun at the likes of Jay-Z and Kanye being all about finer things and expensive fashion. Hi-larious! And so true.
Nah fam, I couldn’t find it on youtube.
It’s not hard to believe that things seem underwhelming. It’s hard to connect emotionally to a lot of culture pieces out there (music, tv, films, internet) because a mass amount of it being produced is strictly based on getting shine. It’s not speaking from the heart, and most of these artists know it.
Musically, I’ve always been on the come-up, getting new music before it came out on the streets. Lately, I haven’t cared at all.
I can’t even get into rock anymore because most of it sounds crappy, so anything sans 2006 I can’t play.
Rap wise, I got my favorites like Kendrick, Wale, J.Cole, Chip the Ripper, Curren$y, Smoke DZA, XV, etc…but none of them are as hungry as they were when I first heard them, so the magic is gone.
R&B today just sucks ass. Plain and simple..can’t even do it.
Reggae & dancehall….well since I don’t hit the clubs, only time I’m hearing it is on the weekend, and I don’t keep up with it much.
So all I’ve got are my favorite instrumentals by Fat Jon, Nujabes, Force of Nature, Uyama Hirato, and others.
Oh…house music and dubstep have been my shyte though. Between Skrillex, Swedish House Mafia, & Deadmau5, I’m usually having a rave in my head.
I know this is sooooooooooooooooooo far fetched, BUT, I’ve always felt that J-Cole’s “prettiness” got in the way of him ever being successful past YouTube, and a few shows here and there. But honestly, most successful rappers are not pweety . I’ve always thought, he should adopt a permanent screw face. Then again, what do I know.
I won’t front. I would have thought that too, his looks definitely help with the ladies tip, and trying to sell records means catering to the women.
HOWEVER!
I saw him at the Rock The Bells concert earlier this month. He rocked his own set with a live band for 40 minutes and he was literally the only artist on the roster that day with just 1 album, and the youngest person on top of that….and yet he ripped it. He exceeded expectations. So I know he can handle his own now, regardless of how he’s marketed.
I wish him all the best doe. But so long as Rihanna continues to be the main cash cow for Roc-A-Fella errrm…..marketing wise, we know where the dollars are going to be budgeted and spent.
You should check out some classic house too, Rewind. Especially the stuff coming out of Chicago in the mid to late 80′s.
I love classic house, especially stuff like C&C Music Factory.
I even found the New Jack City soundtrack in my mom’s music collection just to find some house songs on that.
Great post. Timely.
I think you can attribute your dislike of the current music scene to getting older but I am not sure that is all it is. I think the music does suck and saying aging is the only reason for feeling that way is letting artist off the hook for being lazy.
Humankind will replace a good thing for something new. Once a genre of music starts to become passe so do the performances and the effort. The music becomes formulaic. That doesn’t mean that there cant be good music it just means that it may not be as good as before. I listen to all jazz. Jazz before 1975 is better than todays Jazz. Clifford Brown is my guy. Clifford Brown’s (who died 50 years ago )trumpet playing is better technically than Wynton Marsalis even though Wynton has more music at his disposal to draw from. The same could be said about RnB up until the mid-ninties. Listen to the Dells sing “Stand In My Corner.” The Dells are a better group of singers than Jodeci or Dru Hill.
Rap is doing the same now. So is RnB. The artistry is not improving anymore. Few artist are truly original because Rap no longer feels new. Lil Wayne, Drake, 2Chainz, Nikki and Meek Mills would lose a rap battle against Pac, BIG, Nas, Lauryn and Jay. Even the styles of dress are nothing new as late 90s/early 2000s skateboard culture influences urban/hip hop dress codes.
Someone mentioned Disco up thread. Music is kind of in the Disco faze – where folks are happy with just being at the party dancing until the next music comes along. Back then it was New Wave, Punk and Rap. What next I’m not sure but I feel like it might have more Latin-American influences than African-American. These things rarely come from the “in crowd” and black folks are the in crowd now. We got presidents and Oprah.
Yea Val, I couldn’t turn away from that one. My homie put me on it and didn’t tell me what it was about.
Lol. Yeah, I didn’t know anything about it beforehand either.
I may be wrong about this but why are hip hop artists, or those in genres reliant upon the hip hop aesthetic, the only ones I can think of who consistently complain about being bored. Bored with what? Isn’t finding new inspiration the artists job? Aren’t artists supposed to be in the vanguard? How can Andre 3000 even say something like that? He releases one solid album of half developed ideas and now gets to rest on his laurels for a decade! The album came out in 2003. Andre 3000 is the male version of Lauryn Hill but for some reason he doesn’t get scrutinized in the same way. At least she was dealing with real world issues. In fact he should be removed from all and any debate regarding the top 10 greatest rappers/MCs of any year. He lacks output.
Kanye West is nothing more than a glorified taste maker/curator. Oddly his own actions outside of music show this. He is in fact a poor man’s Andre Leon Talley/Anna Wintour. Poorer perhaps because he lacks an original aesthetic/worldview. A person who is a professional compiler should not be celebrated alongside actual artists. He is an editor of musical taste. That’s it. He is bored because he is waiting to mine others artistic creations. That should not be admired or referred to as creative genius. For goodness sake he’s a decade into his career and is still no more than a glorified punchline rapper. Be honest, you learn more about who Kanye is from his real world behaviour as opposed to his music.
Kanye has nothing to do with the separation between Nas and Jay-Z. Vapidity and dishonesty are what separates them. Jay-Z and Kanye were made for each other and that is evidenced by the shallowness of their music, particularly in Jay-Z’s case. Jay-Z is a 42 year old man who I have listened to since 1996 and who I know nothing about on a personal level. The majority of his songs are still about drug dealing he witnessed and partially engaged in the mid 80s, women, having sex with women, how many women he has, how his wife is his bitch, how much money he has, how much property he owns, his ownership of 1/50th of one percent of the Nets, Jets and yachts he rents, etc. Who are you? The reason why he is consistent is because he’s been rapping about the same crap for damn near 30 years. Nas may not be perfect, but you know who that dude is. He is inconsistent, hypocritical, willfully ignorant and all too human. That is why, despite my personal distaste for Tupac as a rapper, he was a superior artist to Biggie and I think that is reflected in the enduring and vocal passion of his fanbase.
The reason why the listener becomes bored with music is because the performer or the song writer have failed to provide genuine honesty or the conceit of honesty. People want to be emotionally invested in their music and they cannot do that if the purveyor fails to deliver.
I’ve been down on the state of music for some time. Glad to see I’m in good company!
prettybluerose.com
I’ll just leave this here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_U_TQjY2X0&feature=player_detailpage
No littering. Please pick that garbage up and place it in the trash receptacle where the f*ck it belongs.
LOL
*cackles*
I thought it was a parody. Come to find out, artist has videos in rotation on MTV. This is why we are bored.
…wait…this wasn’t a parody???
not a parody. in fact here is the song with chief keef Cuz My Gear
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nB9au3UBSqI&feature=player_detailpage
Hip Hop has moved on. You’re still stuck in the same place.
This has nothing to do with music and everything to do with how you as a grown up are experiencing the music.
If i was still jumping into ciphers, I’d love Slaughtahouse.
If I was still in the clubs getting grinded on by some chick with a donque, 2 Chainz would sound great to me.
If I hadn’t been dj’ing when Mos Def was still called Mos Def, I’d like Yaasin Bey.
If I strain myself, I can find merit in A$AP, but chances are i’ma grab that After Da Kappa mixtape if I really want to hear H-Town raps (by H, I mean Houston, not Harlem)
But, I’m old now.
I’m not doing young stuff.
I’ve heard it all done before, and all done better.
So now, I’m finding that same good musical feeling in genre’s I didn’t mess w/ back when i was rocking Champion hoodies, hockey jerseys, camouflage pants, and timberlands.
If not, i’m revisiting old albums and old artists.
And that’s how it goes.
Well stated.
Great post. Had to come out of lurk-mode for this. I think that it has everything to do with the artist/listener growing up but still being in a weird space with music. I’m over thirty so the type of music that 2Chainz and Meek Mill (however you spell his name) are making don’t appeal to me. I just can’t relate anymore. I’ve moved on to expanding my horizons musically (Jazz, Skrillex, Shabazz Palaces, THEE Satisfaction,World Music, Oldies) but I am digging Ab Soul’s Control System. For a young dude, his album surprised me. Can’t get into Kendrick, though. His voice and content sound like one of my high school students.
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