I’m getting into rap a lot lately, but unfortunately it didn’t make much of a dent in my GOAT list. I just couldn’t find songs that I completely loved and thought they shaped the way I saw music. Even though I’m definitely getting into it, it just sounded all the same. Well that is, until I went through the C section of my library and saw that I didn’t include Rollie Pemberton aka Cadence fucking Weapon. Not to be a homer or anything, but in my young rap knowledge, the weapon is one of the most original rappers of all time, and Black Hand is his anthem. All the cookie cutter rap stuff is there, but weirdly not. There is a crazy loud synthesizer start, then a single drum beat while he tells you who he is (typical), but then it turns with the weird guitar loop and other miscellaneous sounds. This all goes on while he raps intelligently about god knows what. But it all sounds so smart, like how he tells you how he’s indebted to science, and how he blocks writers daily, and shoot straighter than an atheist archer (?!). What the hell does that mean? I don’t know but it’s delicious. After all of that, it switches to a slow guitar loop in the chorus “Sounds soft like a pillow for real though, black hand like a thrilla” which he repeats three times. It’s hypnotizing, and just insane. High originality points, and something that I have never heard before and probably will never again. For a time it was my ring tone, and it just confused people. I also love how he switches loop speeds and sounds in the third verse (A Cadence Weapon trait), which somehow works. It really is great, and belongs just for the originality and the forward thinking that Rollie brings to a somewhat dead genre now. In other words, it’s a great but unlikely ambassador to the rap genre in my GOAT list.
Archive Page 2
This song belongs in the list, and truthfully it hung in there tight. I thought about 5 times to take it out, but every time I listened to it again, I shook my head and said nope. Why does it belong? Well first of all it has the best bassline I have heard outside of The Chemical Brothers’ “Under the Influence.” Problaby the best bass outside of any rap song, and could compete with any one of them. Even though it has a hip hop heavy beat, and that amazing bass it still balances it with a country like harmonica. It’s a like a hip hop western. I don’t know if you all know this, but I’m big into little sounds. It’s the reason why I love electronic music so much. Little weird beeps, chords and instruments make me think long and hard as to why the artist decided to that in that time in the song. Tommorrow Comes Today has a ton of them, like the violins in the second verse, the harmonizing at the end, the far away banging of a guitar, the whistling. Even the bass itself has a weird actual bass guitar vibe to it, even when you think that there is no way that sound came from a bass guitar. Now, for some reason Blur’s Damon Alburn is all over the place in the GOAT list as he should be, but he’s never reached as high creatively than with Gorillaz and especially this song. It’s clear, it’s concise, deep and amazing. It’s not pop, it’s not brit rock, it’s not hip hop, but it’s music, and it’s good. Hell, it’s great.
The Greatest Songs Of All Time
“I’ll make you a new CD” I said, “just name me the subject, like I did with the Instrumental and International CDs”
“Hmmm” my dad contemplated, “Ok I have one, this is gonna be big. Are you sure about this?”
“Pfft, come on. Me? Come on now”
“Ok, this will take up a lot of your time”
“Name it”
“Greatest Songs Ever”
“What?”
“All-Time”
“How many songs?”
“Whatever you want”
“It’s all up to me then, right. It can be anything?”
“Yep”
“Holy fuck, this will take ages. Well not ages, but it’ll be awesome. Trust me” I was excited just thinking about the project. But it was so open-ended, it was all up to me. No problem though, no problem. I was excited again, I mean damn. What songs will emcompass all the songs that I ever loved of all time? Hard stuff.
So I made the list, it’s complete. I think. I’m sure I’ve left a lot out and I’m going to kick myself. But it’s not going to get as great as it is now. Doing this list and picking the songs I argued with myself a lot. Had to stick up to some songs, and dump some songs because of frivilous reasons sometimes. Bad memories, or just not great. Good but not great. There was no check list for this. The only check list I made for myself was that it had to be 100 songs (nice round number that could fit in an MP3 CD), and that I could not have more than 2 songs from one band/artist. Or else, I would have like 10 Beatles songs, and that’s not fully encompassing really.
I started it with a kind of history looking list, trying to fit many decades of songs, and making sure I have lots of every type of genre I know of. But then I listened to it and realized that some of the songs were timeless by other people’s standards, but not great by mine. So my list stopped being a Greatest Songs of All Time and turned into My Greatest Songs of All Time, which is much more interesting really. It’s debatable, and you will ask, why this song and not this song. Everyone knows the timeless songs of all time, but not many people know the songs that defined me, that make me keep listening to music.
I remember asking my friend for his greatest rap songs of all time and he almost busted a nut. That was exciting for him, and when I mentioned the assignment my dad gave me, me and my sister and her boyfriend (my roommates) had an hour long discussion into which songs are some of the greatest of all time for her. it excited her so much that she’s making a list too. It has become a continous discussion around the house, and has even inspired the acronym GOAT (Greatest Of All Time). Now everytime a song comes on that’s even a little bit good we ask, “Is it GOAT? Is it in the GOAT list?”
So, I’m going to share with you and hopefully bring you some MP3’s of my GOAT list, and I will tell you, song by song, why they belong in the list.
I hope it will excite you too.
I don’t really give my hometown some props as much as I should, but for a hick conservative boring new city, we’re pretty damn slick. The first thing I think of when I talk about the outsider’s point of view about Edmonton is Chris Pronger, and what damage that asshole did to Edmonton. If you don’t know or follow hockey, and say you follow the NBA it’s basically the same thing that Vince Carter did to Toronto, except if Carter won a championship the next year with the Nets. Then I remember that not many people watch hockey, and not many of those people will be NHL players that refuse to go to Edmonton because of their wives. In actuality more people listen to cool music and play video games than follow the NHL, so for those people Edmonton might seem like cultural awesometown, much like Austin in Texas. I say this because of two things, Cadence Weapon and Bioware.
Cadence Weapon makes hip hop exciting again, after it’s been in a ride to boring city ever since Lil Jon said “yeeaaaah.” In his first album he made a song called Oliver Square that makes Edmonton seem like the coolest city outside of New York. Rough, grimy, but modern with those modern beats. Then he makes a music video that has him dressed up as Mario, gets invited to Coachella, and SXSW , signs to Epitath, and still DJ’s at the Black Dog on Tuesday. Now he just released this new album called “Afterparty Babies” which is actually much better than the still awesome and raw “Breaking Kayfabe.” The lyrics which is the best part of CW are still amazing (he even brags that he knows that his songs are your screen name, which for me it is “is more dangerous that Millwoods” was one of my fave Facebook status), but it sounds like he started learning from Mike Skinner and maybe some electro dudes like Justice and made much cleaner beats. It’s much more danceble, much more hit worthy, but still very much the “motherfucking Weapon.” The best part is that he hypes up Edmonton every chance he gets. He’s our best cool ambassador, after me of course. Need some sonic proof? Go to the Hype Machine and look up “In Search Of the Youth Crew.”
Our second best cool ambassador comes from a bunch of nerds that took a building atop a book store chain. Yep, the guys from Bioware make Edmonton stand out much more than the boys in Wayne Gretzky Drive from the Star Wars saga Knights of the Old Republic to the sci-fi saga Mass Effect. They kick so much ass that people in the popular video game blog Destructoid.com were overjoyed by the fact that Bioware was having a job fair for some open positions, this wouldn’t be so jarring if this didn’t happen in February, in the week where Edmonton had -40 C wind chills. A time where you hoped the burning coffee was secretly leaking to your hands, so you could have some warmth. I pointed this out, and they were STILL happy about it. Especially since the company was voted in the top 100 companies to work for, in the world. They get awesome perks for all the shit they do, and sometimes they even overshadow the mighty empire that is EA, even though they bought them out. A great success story, and a great thing to be proud of in Borementon…uhh….I mean….AWESOMETOWN!
(P.S. I couldn’t find a sweet pic of the Bioware peeps, so I hope Kate Hudson’s scary awesome ass is a suitable replacement)
Covering The Beatles
I call a ban on people covering Beatles songs. You know, even I thought it might be a good idea to start covering the greatest band ever, but I think there should be some limits placed. I realized this when I was watching American Idol…..uhh I mean….ah fuck it I watch the occasional American Idol all right! I even watch stupid shit like The Hills, and Rock of Love (which is GREAT by the way) too. I’m past the stage where I care what YOU think. I’m joking, I love you.
Anyways, I was watching and listening and wondering why are you people trashing these songs? Then the shock, the judges loved it! Even fucking Simon Cowell who should just fucking give up his British citizenship. How could someone who probably lived through Beatlemania could stand for that garbage? Those contestants destroyed every single song, even though they tried to put thier own spin on it. These people are not musicians, they have no right, NO RIGHT to attempt creativity in a fucking Beatles song. Even the best of the best have failed in covering Beatles songs, how about we have pubescent kareoke wannabes have a crack at it? Stupid!
Then there’s the people who made Across The Universe which would’ve been interesting if they didn’t try to shove in every single Beatles song known to man, and every Beatles pun and Beatles name. Then they forgot they were shooting a movie and had to write a plot. Bad all around. I guess people who loved the Beatles liked it because it’s a Beatles orgy. But I LOVE THE BEATLES, and I thought it was an atrocity.
I believe that if you TRY to cover any Beatles song it should be unique and be very fucking good, or else don’t even try. The originals are masterpieces, leave them as is. Don’t ruin my already precious memories. Paul McCartney already has enough problems anyways.
Now this is not a review, because I’m not rating these albums, nor am I ranking them. All these albums should be viewed as equals. Also a review entails that I should be giving bad reviews and that’s not what I’m doing. All I’m doing is telling you why White Blood Cells (WBC) is a work of art.
White Blood Cells was one of those albums that took everyone by surprise because it came completely from left field. It had a lot of things, punk, blues, country, metal and straight up rock and roll. The beauty of it that it was all wrapped up in a nice little package that Jack White made, and then put a funny little gimmick as the bow. Like a true artist Jack and Meg played up to the press with a question of “were they brother or sister? or are they married, what’s the deal?” Of course, this just made WBC more recognizable. In fact it really didn’t need that, all it needed was some punk and some Lego’s. But that’s neither here nor there really, we’re talking about the album, not what happened because of the album. Let’s examine track 1: Dead Leaves On The Dirty Ground.
Dead Leaves is a fantastic opener, in which the listener is treated to a true rock feedback then a fantastic riff. A rock stomper of a track that gives you that giddy feeling that you’re in the 70’s again, maybe somewhere in the country, maybe with some big mustaches. This track also leads to some of the sweet and macho lyrics. Talks about a “mega sound” and then says about “your breath that is in your lung is a tiny little gift to me”. So we’re not sure if Jack is a selfish cunt or just a loverboy. The next track we think we know the answer, because it’s the sweet aucoustic romp stomper “Hotel Yorba”. A very old-school track which highlights Jack’s passion for the old. This whole album is old, but sounds new at the same time. Hotel Yorba identifies that.
It’s clearer in the next track about Jack’s passion for the good old days when he leads a blusey song called “Finding It Hard To Be A Gentleman.” Of course by now we’re all “ah ha! You’re just a wimpy boy.” But of course this leads to “Fell In Love With A Girl” the noisiest, the fastest, and the best song in the album. Just when we’re starting to figure out Jack, he brings this from his bag of tricks. The first four songs are all about lost loves, lost times, and confusion. Jack talks to us about broken hearts, and broken minds, telling us what he really wants, but playing with us at the same time. This conversation is just really an ice breaker though. We’re just meeting Jack, and now that we’ve met we’re gonna get to know him a lot better.
“Expecting” talks about his problem with women, and then he gives us a little advice with the shortest song of the album “Little Room” that talks about how to write a song. Then I guess we asked him what his favorite movie is, because he answers back with “The Union Forever” a song completely made from lyrics of “Citizen Kane” and also problaby the sourest song on the album. I don’t know if this talks about Jack’s passion for the movie, or talks about his ambition to create a song that is made from another art form, film. But also after The Union Forever you can sense the album’s concept. Fast, then slow, then fast, then slow. Passion, then love, passion, then love. For every experimental rock out, there is a slow ballad. This album has two amazingly sweet songs (Hotel Yorba, and I Think We’re Gonna Be Friends), and two amazingly hard songs (Aluminum, and Fell In Love With A Girl). Therefore WBC becomes more of a college of genres, and a college of feelings, of emotion. All of them emiting from a very primitative approach. Guitar and drums. Blusey style, country style, rock and roll style.
Then it circles again, “Offend In Every Way” is the direct opposite of “Finding it Hard to be A Gentleman” in sound, in beat, and in position. It’s basically the top half is Angel Jack, and the bottom half is Devil Jack. Leaves us with a shred of mystery, questions our motives with a simple riff and a simple lyric “I think I smell a Rat”, then scares us completly with “Aluminium.” A song that is a straight rip of Black Sabbath metal.
Then the album goes back to a bluesey “I can’t wait” that is a complete break up song. Then goes into the apologetic in “Now Mary” and “I can Learn” a very 60’s electric folksy blues number. A very bitter artist. But it ends brilliantly with a gospelly “This protector” with the lyric “you thought you heard a sound, but there is no one else around”.
So in the end, WBC shows us what passion and emotion should feel and sound like if it were coming from a guitar, some drums, and some basic rock and roll. It’s old yet new, familiar yet different. It circles, and dips and rises. A brilliant album all around, not a bad song in the bunch, and a complete album. Jack knows the concept of the album and it’s a true pop(?!) masterpiece.
Lupe Fiasco appeared to honor A Tribe Called Quest in the VH1 Hip Hop Honors. Even though he admitted to not knowing Tribe’s landmark album “Midnight Marauders” very well he did “Electric Relaxation” with Pharrell, and then preceded to fuck up the words
Thanks for coming out Lupe
New Radiohead Album: In Rainbows
Friggin finally
I must say. It’s been like what, 5 years since a proper Radiohead studio album? But in true Radiohead fashion, In Rainbows shows up with little fanfare and almost like a shock. The announced it like a week ago as a “digital download” and asked people to basically tip them for the album. Pioneers those guys are. So people tipped in the range of 20 pounds to nothing. Radiohead will eventually release the album through the caveman methods of actually putting it in a store. No idea on how this “digital download” will affect their sales, like Thom Yorke gives a crap. Anyways, I was one of these digital downloadees and got to listen to the new album. It’s mellow in the right ways, and it’s melodic in the ways that Hail to The Thief wasn’t. It has less electronica sounds, but it has electronica rhythm if that makes sense. You can hear the tap tap tap of robotic sounds, but the atmosphere that is made up from the band. This album makes you realize that Thom Yorke needs Radiohead just as much as Radiohead needs Thom Yorke. For instance 15 Step sounds like it could belong in Thom Yorke’s The Eraser, but Johnny Greenwood’s guitar makes it sounds a whole lot better, and a whole lot Radiohead. Same goes with songs like Weird Fishes/Arpeggi and Reckoner. It also seems that Greenwood’s guitar is far more prevalent in this album even though it’s less heavy than Hail To The Thief. Anyways if you’re a Radiohead fan you’re going to get it anyways, really if you’re a music fan you should just get it. Why am I even talking?
This is a music blog
They say to write about something you’re passionate about. Well this is it. Music is the one art form everyone can be a part of. Even the most uneducated simpleton will have his or her favorite album. Even the most educated Nobel Physics Prize winner will likely listen to some Pet Shop Boys, or New Kids On The Block. And dance like a simpleton. So this is for the simpletons and for the physicists. And everyone in between.
