Welcome to Heartbreak

It's not quite Pornography, but it's pretty bleak. What I like most about Kanye West's 808s & Heartbreak is how honest and musically consistent it is.

I was expecting a softer sound, a more melancholy perspective on the tragic death of his mother. There is some of that in there, but it's also angry, with lots of self-reflection and frustrations over a lover or girlfriend. He's the boy done wrong.

It gets musically lighthearted 3/4's into the album ("Paranoid," "RoboCop"), but the subject matter remains dark throughout and the majority of the album is under-produced and bare bones.

My favorite track by far is the last one, "Coldest Winter." Notice the rhythmically strange synth melody that doesn't quite sync up with the drums. It's these touches that give the album its shivering effect. Speaking of The Cure, "Coldest Winter" could be a Japanese Whispers b-side.

I love the album's art direction as well. Say what you will about his arrogance and attitude, Kanye's creativity certainly delivers the goods.

Albums I Bought Today

Here are a few things I bought today at Amoeba Records on Haight Street (San Francisco):

Spank Rock & Benny Blanco
Bangers & Cash
Price: $4.98
Yes, I know a lot of the tracks were available for free on Spank Rock's myspace about a month ago, but I'm not much of an economist. "Shake That" and "Loose" were fun 2 Live Crew interpretations and damn, it's only $4.98 for better audio and hot cover artwork. All 5 tracks are ridiculously trashy, and it'll keep me running (and giggling) at the gym.

Kanye West
Can't Tell Me Nothing
Price: $5.98
This is Kanye's pre-Graduation mix tape. He raps over "Young Folks" and "The Eraser" (Thom Yorke's song that I talked about last week), babbles about porn, Rolling Stone and politics. There's also Kid Sister's "Pro Nails," which I really love. It's a very engaging listen. He has another official mix tape that was released last week. You can get it free at Kanye Talk.


Clipse
We Got It For Cheap Vol. 2
Price: $5.98
This came out a few years ago, but I was inspired to pick it up today since Hell Hath No Fury still gets played regularly. They put a really excellent live show in September, and definitely value and acknowledge their fans more than any artist I've seen live in a while. I'm looking forward to putting this on.



Devendra Banhart
Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon
Price: $13.98
I'm still an avid folk music listener. I wasn't totally looking forward to a new release by Devendra, mostly because his albums are very long and take time to digest (time that I was saving for a later date). Still, I will always buy anything he releases, mostly because he's charming, a great musician and unlike any other artist around right now. Oddly enough, I was reminded of him when I saw his Annie Leibovitz photo in this month's Vanity Fair. It was either this album, or the Jens Lekman's Night Falls Over Kortedala, but I decided I could wait on the Lekman album.

I'm Tired of Using Technology

I wonder if Justin Timberlake is going to be one of those instantly recognizable voices in American pop music that will make fans purchase anything he sings on.

What was once a voice that was so deliberately borrowed from Michael Jackson is now the superlative for white boy soul.

There's no doubt Jackson's music will live forever. But even if he's appreciated in new hip-hop and soul (i.e., Rihanna's "Don't Stop The Music", Kanye West's "Good Life"), it's a faded memory of greatness, which makes us grasp Timerblake even tighter for being so young, prolific, alive and talented.

I like Timberlake a lot, and FutureSex/LoveSounds was an addictive surprise for me last year. He's working with everyone right now: Madonna, Duran Duran, and most recently, 50 Cent.

When you hear Timberlake's voice come in on 50 Cent's "Ayo Technology," you get a little bit of the goosebumps you would get hearing Michael Jackson on Diana Ross's "Eaten Alive."

The trouble with the "Ayo Technology" video, however, is Timberlake looks like a freakin' dwarf compared to the masculine man meat that is 50 Cent. Timberlake, who can often walk on air in music videos, looks uncomfortable bouncing in the background. I can't put my finger on it, but even 50 Cent looks a bit self-conscious -- maybe because it's his big pop song and he has only 1/3 of the rapping duties?

Timberland, wise as always, was able to keep his guest appearance outside from these two with a neat Minority Report scene. JT should have kept the collaboration in the studio and away from the music video.

The song itself is pretty good. It's trashy and familiar ("My Love," anyone?), and no big surprise why it doesn't stand a chance against Kanye's "Stronger."

I must add, 50, Timberlake and Timberland look like they're having a blast performing it live at the VMA's.

Me Likey

swoon...Kanye West, is like, so incredible. I've been listening to "Stronger" for a few weeks now, and everything about is just so right.

French dance is the hottest shit in the world right now, and Kanye, never one to be outdone, perfectly samples Daft Punk's "Harder, Faster, Better, Stronger." Of course, it ain't the original, but he knows that and rephrases a classic Nietzsche quote for a hook. Rhyming "since Prince was on Apollonia/since OJ had Isotoners" is kind of silly, but I think that's the idea. Musically, it builds up sounding a bit like Beyonce's "Crazy in Love," a calculated summertime jam.

For anime geeks, Kanye does his best Tetsuo from Akira in the stylish music video. Daft Punk is in it too, and the futuristic visuals are great. It's so Neo-Tokyo .. or The Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift .. but let's leave it at that.

And then comes the cover. Oh my god! Artwork by Takashi Murakami! Leader of contemporary Japanese art! King of the Superflat! Emperor of ultra-luxurious Louis Vuitton monogrammed accessories! Daft Punk is even on the cover, as is Kayne's iconographic bear wearing Jeremy Scott sunglasses. And this is hip-hop!

"Stronger" is a work of globally influenced pop art. He (and his producers) deserve a lot of credit for this. I hope it doesn't flop.

You Used To Be My Chromeo

There's a new Chromeo album out called Fancy Footwork. It's more of the same nostalgic electro that made their first record so great, except there's less hip-hop and more dance pop. She's In Control had a lot of filler, but it was a perfect party record and surprisingly addictive.

This new one really feels like a team effort. Chromeo is Canadian duo Pee Thug and Dave 1, "the only successful Arab/Jew partnership since the dawn of human culture" so they claim. It's definitely more of a structured pop album with less of the instrumentals that loaded She's In Control.

When I listen to Chromeo, I think of it as stock soundtrack music for low-budget 80's flicks. If there's a scene where characters are dressing up, or they're at a club, or they're opening their high school locker or whatever, Chromeo would cue in. The good news is that they're in on the fun, their music is always fun to dance to, and they're good at the player-as-victim perspective in their lyrics.

I've been listening to Fancy Footwork for a couple weeks, and although I don't dig it as much as the first album, there are some good tracks. I like "Bonafied Lovin" with its wailing guitar and clunky beats. "Opening Up" could have been a hit for someone like Debbie Gibson or Paula Abdul during their breakout years. It's got lots of "yeah yeah yeah yeahs," funky oscillating keys and a whole lotta bounce. The best part is these guys get away with this stuff without any irony.

The title track is certainly fun and has Napolean Dynamite-style imagery to it. It loses its luster after a few listens, but I admire their musicianship. They love the music they play, even if it doesn't always work. You can listen to it here.

"100%" is the last track on the record and my favorite. It starts off sounding a little like Madonna's "Holiday" but then becomes something smooth and sleek. It's the sexiest track they've ever recorded and the most "real" to me, which is not necessarily something that I look for from Chromeo.

For San Francisco folks, Chromeo is playing a show at Mezzanine on Monday, July 23. Flosstradamus is also playing and the boys from Frisco Disco will perform a DJ set. You can get in free if you RSVP.

If you're new to Chromeo, I would suggest checking out the Bloc Party remix of "Needy Girl" on the Vice Records site. This excellent remix is really what turned me on to this band. Maybe I'll see you at the show?

These Are The Breaks

I've been listening a lot lately to Kurtis Blow's debut album. I got Spank Rock's Fabriclive.33 over a month ago, and was inspired to purchase the Kurtis Blow record solely on hearing the entire 7:41 minute version of "The Breaks" -- the Spank Rock mix gives us less than two minutes.

It's enjoyable, classic and bizarre. There's Kurtis rapping about hard times "spreading just like the flu, you know I caught it just like you", plus his really strange cover of "Takin' Care of Business", and the disco fun of "Christmas Rappin'", which sounds a whole lot like "Rapper's Delight."

The thing I like most about the record (and you might find this odd) is the really great backing band. Something sounded familiar about the "The Breaks," and it wasn't until I heard the bonus instrumental track of the song that I put it together. It sounds like Johnny Marr's template for "Oscillate Wildly" or "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" or -- you name any Smiths song with funky chords and a shimmery chorus effect.

I once read Marr was very much influenced by Chic, the Nile Rodgers sound, and funk/disco guitar playing. In a time when Marr is playing with Modest Mouse (they were my favorite circa 1999-2001) as if he barely exists, it's quite an experience to hear the instrumental version of "The Breaks," imagining Morrissey singing his heart out in a "Barbarism Begins At Home" kind of way. The guitar player on a lot of the Kurtis album is John Tropea, who I will look into.

In any case, I'm a complete amateur when it comes to old school hip-hop. Besides the sampling and the shout-outs contemporary hip-hop/rap artists use in their cuts, it's been hard for me to get turned on to it -- and that's not because I don't like it, it's because I forget that it exists. I don't know anyone who actually grew up to this stuff, or worships it or collects it or wants to tell me about it. It also seems of the artists in this genre, from Grandmaster Flash. Run-D.M.C. or The Sugarhill Gang, are missing the kind of cultural ubiquity you'd find from artists listed in a typical karaoke book. It appears time has been much more generous to punk -- a genre that emerged near the end of the same decade -- than to old school hip-hop. Perhaps this will change.

The last time I got into a old-school hip-hop/rap artist was when I walked into a shoe store on Haight Street last summer. I heard this simple drumbeat, a spacey vintage synthesizer and sound advice about how "it's all over when you hit that pipe." I memorized some words, and discovered Too $hort's "Girl" from 1983. It's still one of my favorites. I've enjoyed what I've clumsily discovered, and with my New York state of mind, I have a feeling this is going to be my year for old school hip-hop.