I know I'm a bit late to the game on this one, but I found it difficult to critique such an intimidatingly unique work. Just to recap for the two or three people who use the internet that don't know and love Bon Iver already, Bon Iver is a guy named Justin Vernon. Coming off a breakup with a girlfriend AND a band, he ventured up to his father's cabin in a remote area of Wisconsin. There, he started accumulating songs over a three month period, but he had no plans to release them. However, due to positive feedback from those who heard it, he went ahead and did it anyway, and the rest is indie history.
So the music isn't the only part of this project that is unque; the conditions surrounding its birth were as well. The music is the recollection of that experience, though, and that's strikingly obvious in the songs. They're melancholic, wintry, and bare, but I bet that won't stop you from obsessing over them. The lyrics are certainly interesting; most of them were written around the syllables he used to make the melodies. But it's the vocals that will really get you. Like I said, Bon Iver is one guy, which means all the vocals you hear on the record are directly attributed to him, believe it or not. If you've already heard the album, you know how truly crazy that is.
For Emma, Forever Ago is a universally haunting album, and it's startlingly raw emotionally. The music is very minimalist, apart from the vocals. It's got hooks aplenty to keep you coming back for more, but they're not the usual temporary pop hooks; these hooks grab onto you and don't let go. I'm talking about some deeply satisfying, memorable hooks. An instant indie gem, For Emma, Forever Ago is going to be around for a while, but it deserves every second of recognition it gets. This review is short for such an amazing product, but I really believe that reading anything I or anyone else could say about it is utterly futile, and this is something that has to be experienced firsthand. So get to it!
7/7
12.10.2008
12.09.2008
Jake Shimabukuro - Walking Down Rainhill
I recently saw Jake Shimabukuro on Conan O'Brien. Conan was going on about how amazing his next act was, when it cut to Jake starting to play a familiar tune on his little ukulele. Turned out to be a cover of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." And it was a great one at that, which is hard to say about 99% of Beatles covers. It was intense and captivating, frenetic and graceful. He was rocking out. So I decided to pick up the album that Jake had made with that cover on it, called Walking Down Rainhill.
I didn't really know what to expect because I didn't know who Jake Shimabukuro was. He's a Japanese-American from Hawaii. He got his start in Pure Heart, a Hawaiian trio that won multiple awards at the Hawaiian Grammys. I also expected most, if not all, of the album to be just Jake and his ukulele, playing intense music that you wouldn't believe was coming out of that tiny instrument. I was half right.
Some of the music is insane, but the majority of it is radio friendly music accompanied by Jake's incredible ukulele skills. The album suffers a bit from that slick Hawaiian style of production, causing it to sound a bit too mainstream and perhaps like something that your grandmother would listen to. I don't think it's a great representation of Shimabukuro's style or songwriting skills, but it does prove how amazing he is at the ukulele. The songs on Walking Down Rainhill cover most genres -- it has adult contemporary music (Heartbreak, Walking Down Rainhill, Blue Roses Falling), a seventies style song (Grandma's Groove), a 50's diner kinda song (6 In The Morning), a surf-rock song (Toastman's Wave), an amazing jazz song (Wes On Four), even a Honolulu Marathon Theme (Rainbow). And then there's the Beatles cover itself. While My Guitar Gently Weeps is certainly the centerpiece of the album, but it's nowhere near as good as when he played it on Conan. It's more restrained, and worst of all, it's not just him on the uke. About halfway in, other instruments find their way into the mix, which is exactly what I didn't want to hear. While this was a mite disappointing, the cover itself is still more than satisfactory and definitely fun to listen to.
While I was only half correct in my expectations, the unexpected half isn't actually that bad. There's no song on the album that I would go out of my way to not listen to; they're all rather relaxing and pleasant. A few of them are great, even. However, as I stated before, I don't really think this is an accurate representation of the full spectrum of Jake Shimabukuro. He plays some bafflingly beautiful and inventive lines and melodies, but it's the underlying instrumentation that got to me. I want to hear a composition that is 100% Shimabukuro; I want an album of straight-up, ONLY ukulele, ONLY Shimabukuro penned songs. Backing music or not, Jake Shimabukuro is obviously an extremely adept ukulele player an musician in general. His influences have honed in him a fantastic musical sensibility, one that pops its head up rather often on this album.
5/7
I didn't really know what to expect because I didn't know who Jake Shimabukuro was. He's a Japanese-American from Hawaii. He got his start in Pure Heart, a Hawaiian trio that won multiple awards at the Hawaiian Grammys. I also expected most, if not all, of the album to be just Jake and his ukulele, playing intense music that you wouldn't believe was coming out of that tiny instrument. I was half right.
Some of the music is insane, but the majority of it is radio friendly music accompanied by Jake's incredible ukulele skills. The album suffers a bit from that slick Hawaiian style of production, causing it to sound a bit too mainstream and perhaps like something that your grandmother would listen to. I don't think it's a great representation of Shimabukuro's style or songwriting skills, but it does prove how amazing he is at the ukulele. The songs on Walking Down Rainhill cover most genres -- it has adult contemporary music (Heartbreak, Walking Down Rainhill, Blue Roses Falling), a seventies style song (Grandma's Groove), a 50's diner kinda song (6 In The Morning), a surf-rock song (Toastman's Wave), an amazing jazz song (Wes On Four), even a Honolulu Marathon Theme (Rainbow). And then there's the Beatles cover itself. While My Guitar Gently Weeps is certainly the centerpiece of the album, but it's nowhere near as good as when he played it on Conan. It's more restrained, and worst of all, it's not just him on the uke. About halfway in, other instruments find their way into the mix, which is exactly what I didn't want to hear. While this was a mite disappointing, the cover itself is still more than satisfactory and definitely fun to listen to.
While I was only half correct in my expectations, the unexpected half isn't actually that bad. There's no song on the album that I would go out of my way to not listen to; they're all rather relaxing and pleasant. A few of them are great, even. However, as I stated before, I don't really think this is an accurate representation of the full spectrum of Jake Shimabukuro. He plays some bafflingly beautiful and inventive lines and melodies, but it's the underlying instrumentation that got to me. I want to hear a composition that is 100% Shimabukuro; I want an album of straight-up, ONLY ukulele, ONLY Shimabukuro penned songs. Backing music or not, Jake Shimabukuro is obviously an extremely adept ukulele player an musician in general. His influences have honed in him a fantastic musical sensibility, one that pops its head up rather often on this album.
5/7
12.03.2008
Trident Splash - Citrus with Blackberry
I always thought Trident's "Splash" gum was a novel idea -- delicious juice of one flavor inside a chewy gum coating of another flavor. Kinda like a gusher that you can keep chewing on. In theory, it's perfect. The problem is the inevitable, inescapable dilemma that every gum manufacturer, except for Stride apparently, faces: loss of flavor.
Flavor loss or not, Trident Splash is great for at least ten seconds. After that, it's up to you, really. That was the rule for the original flavor - Strawberry Lime - and that's the deal with Citrus Blackberry as well. The good thing here is that the Citrus Blackberry flavor is much more exquisite than the original. It's tart and sweet, and both flavors make their presence known rather well.
I chewed this gum until the flavor completely dissipated, and it took a good half hour before it started to taste like my mouth. That's actually a relatively respectable amount of time. My gums actually got a bit achey before the flavor split, but then again, I'm not a frequent chewer. A good half hour of tooth-cleaning power with a fantastic taste yields some pretty good gum.
5/7
Flavor loss or not, Trident Splash is great for at least ten seconds. After that, it's up to you, really. That was the rule for the original flavor - Strawberry Lime - and that's the deal with Citrus Blackberry as well. The good thing here is that the Citrus Blackberry flavor is much more exquisite than the original. It's tart and sweet, and both flavors make their presence known rather well.
I chewed this gum until the flavor completely dissipated, and it took a good half hour before it started to taste like my mouth. That's actually a relatively respectable amount of time. My gums actually got a bit achey before the flavor split, but then again, I'm not a frequent chewer. A good half hour of tooth-cleaning power with a fantastic taste yields some pretty good gum.
5/7
12.02.2008
Zack and Miri Make A Porno
I'd like to start this review by saying that I am not the world's biggest Kevin Smith fan. Don't hate the guy; I just don't like some of his movies as much as many around me do. Mallrats had some good parts, Clerks 2 had a few laughs, too. Sometimes his movies just get a bit aimlessly preachy for my taste, but to each his/her own. I am, however, as much a sucker for Seth Rogen as the next dude, and Elizabeth Banks has proven to be pretty awesome in stuff like Wet Hot American Summer and Scrubs and such. And I liked the poster that our silly little nation has banned.
I'm glad I watched it. It was different from a normal Kevin Smith movie, but not unrecognizably so. It had just the right about of Kevin Smith wit; he did a pretty good job of restraining the fluff and keeping the jokes reasonable. No 15 minute Star Wars rants in this one, although I can see how that is sometimes necessary.
To state the obvious, Seth Rogen is Zack Brown and Elizabeth Banks is Miri(am) Linky, longtime friends since the first grade. They grew up together, and now they live together, nice and platonic. One day, their utilities get shut down, and they realize they can't even pay the rent. So they have to do something, and we all know how that ends up. And you'll know pretty much throughout the whole movie, but the good thing is Kevin Smith acknowledges that and makes it work.
Seth Rogen is great in it. He's almost the same as usual. Elizabeth banks was highly enjoyable, and her scene at the High School Reunion was hilarious, her desperation and awkwardness were perfect. Which brings me to my next point: Brandon Routh was awesome in this movie. It's great that he can be Superman and then be fucking around in a little Kevin Smith movie. He definitely helps class up the film.
I really do have the say that I felt and saw an actual connection between Rogen and Banks, Zack and Miri. It's a good pair, they're both kinda dry and witty. Definitely more on-screen chemistry than Rogen and Heigl.
I gotta say, I thoroughly enjoyed the little slice of Monroe, Pennsylvania that Kevin Smith has cooked up in Zack and Miri Make a Porno. The entire cast was perfect, though slight in number, each character was indeed a character. Especially Craig Robinson, who is incredibly and restrainedly hilarious in this movie. Zack and Miri Make a Porno has the perfect amount of Kevin Smith in it, and a good portion of that is included in the jokes, which are often crude, but couldn't sound better coming from anyone other than Seth Rogen. It seems that Kevin Smith has finally caved in and made what can almost be called a normal romantic-comedy, albeit a great one. It's quaint but simultaneously so much the opposite. Whether this will impress or duress longtime fans of Smith's, only time and the messageboards can tell.
7/7
I'm glad I watched it. It was different from a normal Kevin Smith movie, but not unrecognizably so. It had just the right about of Kevin Smith wit; he did a pretty good job of restraining the fluff and keeping the jokes reasonable. No 15 minute Star Wars rants in this one, although I can see how that is sometimes necessary.
To state the obvious, Seth Rogen is Zack Brown and Elizabeth Banks is Miri(am) Linky, longtime friends since the first grade. They grew up together, and now they live together, nice and platonic. One day, their utilities get shut down, and they realize they can't even pay the rent. So they have to do something, and we all know how that ends up. And you'll know pretty much throughout the whole movie, but the good thing is Kevin Smith acknowledges that and makes it work.
Seth Rogen is great in it. He's almost the same as usual. Elizabeth banks was highly enjoyable, and her scene at the High School Reunion was hilarious, her desperation and awkwardness were perfect. Which brings me to my next point: Brandon Routh was awesome in this movie. It's great that he can be Superman and then be fucking around in a little Kevin Smith movie. He definitely helps class up the film.
I really do have the say that I felt and saw an actual connection between Rogen and Banks, Zack and Miri. It's a good pair, they're both kinda dry and witty. Definitely more on-screen chemistry than Rogen and Heigl.
I gotta say, I thoroughly enjoyed the little slice of Monroe, Pennsylvania that Kevin Smith has cooked up in Zack and Miri Make a Porno. The entire cast was perfect, though slight in number, each character was indeed a character. Especially Craig Robinson, who is incredibly and restrainedly hilarious in this movie. Zack and Miri Make a Porno has the perfect amount of Kevin Smith in it, and a good portion of that is included in the jokes, which are often crude, but couldn't sound better coming from anyone other than Seth Rogen. It seems that Kevin Smith has finally caved in and made what can almost be called a normal romantic-comedy, albeit a great one. It's quaint but simultaneously so much the opposite. Whether this will impress or duress longtime fans of Smith's, only time and the messageboards can tell.
7/7
11.28.2008
The Wellingtons - Heading North for the Winter
Right on the front page of their Myspace, The Wellingtons establish one important fact: Life is too short to listen to bad power pop. And they're right, it is. So you should definitely check out The Wellingtons, because they indeed play good power pop. Their music is very reminiscent of an era gone by; the late fifties, early sixties, perhaps. The thing is, they've gone and taken it apart piece by piece, tweaked it in some places, took out what they didn't want, and put it back together. What they ended up with is an album of finely crafted and noticeably honed pop music that is solidly catchy and accessible through and through.
Though the album is called Heading North for the Winter, it reminds me more of a sixties beach party, where everybody is surfing in the fashionable swimwear of the moment. The best part is, it's just as fun as one. The members of The Wellingtons obviously have great pop sensibilities, because pretty much every song is radio friendly, and most of them are catchy enough to be a hit.
I like that they use a good variety of instruments, too. They have a keyboard player that doubles as a piano player, and there are various songs on which they use horns, and even one song with a music box-esque effect that serves as a sort of overture for the song, introducing you to the wonderful upcoming melodies that are about to ask your eardrums if they may have this dance.
The lyrics are mostly about girls and the like, or perhaps boys, depending on who in the band writes the songs. But this is not a band that's attempting to break the boundaries of music as we know it. This is a band that is dedicated to fun, and it really shines through in their music. You'd probably have a great time if you got to hang out with these people.
The Wellingtons play some seriously catchy power pop. They're a rather bouncy band, which is great, cause those are declining in number and quality quickly. Heading North for the Winter has an insane amount of hooks and each song seems catchier than the last. If you're wondering exactly what they sound like, the best comparison I can think of is The Pink Spiders + Houston Calls x The Beatles = The Wellingtons. Do yourself a favor and open your ears for them, because, as they've so correctly established, life's too short to listen to bad power pop!
6/7
Though the album is called Heading North for the Winter, it reminds me more of a sixties beach party, where everybody is surfing in the fashionable swimwear of the moment. The best part is, it's just as fun as one. The members of The Wellingtons obviously have great pop sensibilities, because pretty much every song is radio friendly, and most of them are catchy enough to be a hit.
I like that they use a good variety of instruments, too. They have a keyboard player that doubles as a piano player, and there are various songs on which they use horns, and even one song with a music box-esque effect that serves as a sort of overture for the song, introducing you to the wonderful upcoming melodies that are about to ask your eardrums if they may have this dance.
The lyrics are mostly about girls and the like, or perhaps boys, depending on who in the band writes the songs. But this is not a band that's attempting to break the boundaries of music as we know it. This is a band that is dedicated to fun, and it really shines through in their music. You'd probably have a great time if you got to hang out with these people.
The Wellingtons play some seriously catchy power pop. They're a rather bouncy band, which is great, cause those are declining in number and quality quickly. Heading North for the Winter has an insane amount of hooks and each song seems catchier than the last. If you're wondering exactly what they sound like, the best comparison I can think of is The Pink Spiders + Houston Calls x The Beatles = The Wellingtons. Do yourself a favor and open your ears for them, because, as they've so correctly established, life's too short to listen to bad power pop!
6/7
11.25.2008
Skate It
Skate brought skateboarding games back from the depths of the ridiculous and the unrealistic that the Tony Hawk games damned them to. That's kinda funny; Tony Hawk has been working all these years to make skateboarding a valid sport, bring it positively into the social consciousness, only to ruin it all with a few poor sequels. Anyway, Skate It is the game Skate ported to the Nintendo Wii and DS, and I'll be reviewing the DS version.
First of all, I'll admit it: this game has DS graphics. Second, that doesn't bother me at all. If it bothers you, maybe branch out to the Wii version. Now, that being said, I think it's safe to say that the graphics don't alter or lessen the experience very much. My motto is, and has always been, gameplay over graphics. So as long as this port has the gameplay, then to hell with the graphics. Game could look like Pitfall for the Atari and I wouldn't care, as long as it played well.
So does it play well? Hell yes it does. The controls are handled with the stylus. On the touch screen of the DS, you'll find a diagonal skateboard. This is how you initiate the tricks. To push, you hold the stylus on the touch screen to the right of the actual board, OR, you get smart and change the controls, because it can be kinda buggy. I changed mine to holding up on the D-pad, which still allows you to steer perfectly. So onto tricks. I don't wanna go through all of them, but I'll give you a basic idea of what to do. Use the stylus to slide across the board on the bottom of the screen, and you will perform a trick. Slide it straight up and you'll perform an ollie, the basic jump. Slide it up and off either side, you'll have done either a kickflip, or a heelflip. Pretty simple. The only problem is accuracy. It's not terribly inaccurate, but sometimes when you try to do just an ollie, it'll end up as something else. Unless you have time to physically take your attention away from the situation at hand to watch yourself draw a straight line across the board, at certain times it can be hard to do just a plain ollie. This goes for most of the other tricks, however the shapes you draw for other tricks leave more room for error than a straight line does. Now, I'm not saying that the game is bad or that it doesn't work, it's just sometimes you'll end up doing a trick you didn't mean to. Aside from that, hold your stylus on the board and you'll crouch. Drag and hold from the tail of the board back and you'll manual: do the opposite for a nose manual. You can also hold L or R to do a grab trick.
The physics in the game are actually pretty good. It's pretty easy to get air if you do it right, and grinds latch on rather well. The engine that runs the game really gets the job done. The challenges are just that: challenging. And there are tons of them to keep you entertained for weeks. The replay value of this game is really high, also, because you can go back and do whatever tricks on whatever obstacle you'd like. It's really fun to try and pull sick lines like you see in Video Daze and The Reason and all those other classic skate videos. It's not as detailed or innovative as Skate was, but it's definitely a solid port to the DS.
5/7
First of all, I'll admit it: this game has DS graphics. Second, that doesn't bother me at all. If it bothers you, maybe branch out to the Wii version. Now, that being said, I think it's safe to say that the graphics don't alter or lessen the experience very much. My motto is, and has always been, gameplay over graphics. So as long as this port has the gameplay, then to hell with the graphics. Game could look like Pitfall for the Atari and I wouldn't care, as long as it played well.
So does it play well? Hell yes it does. The controls are handled with the stylus. On the touch screen of the DS, you'll find a diagonal skateboard. This is how you initiate the tricks. To push, you hold the stylus on the touch screen to the right of the actual board, OR, you get smart and change the controls, because it can be kinda buggy. I changed mine to holding up on the D-pad, which still allows you to steer perfectly. So onto tricks. I don't wanna go through all of them, but I'll give you a basic idea of what to do. Use the stylus to slide across the board on the bottom of the screen, and you will perform a trick. Slide it straight up and you'll perform an ollie, the basic jump. Slide it up and off either side, you'll have done either a kickflip, or a heelflip. Pretty simple. The only problem is accuracy. It's not terribly inaccurate, but sometimes when you try to do just an ollie, it'll end up as something else. Unless you have time to physically take your attention away from the situation at hand to watch yourself draw a straight line across the board, at certain times it can be hard to do just a plain ollie. This goes for most of the other tricks, however the shapes you draw for other tricks leave more room for error than a straight line does. Now, I'm not saying that the game is bad or that it doesn't work, it's just sometimes you'll end up doing a trick you didn't mean to. Aside from that, hold your stylus on the board and you'll crouch. Drag and hold from the tail of the board back and you'll manual: do the opposite for a nose manual. You can also hold L or R to do a grab trick.
The physics in the game are actually pretty good. It's pretty easy to get air if you do it right, and grinds latch on rather well. The engine that runs the game really gets the job done. The challenges are just that: challenging. And there are tons of them to keep you entertained for weeks. The replay value of this game is really high, also, because you can go back and do whatever tricks on whatever obstacle you'd like. It's really fun to try and pull sick lines like you see in Video Daze and The Reason and all those other classic skate videos. It's not as detailed or innovative as Skate was, but it's definitely a solid port to the DS.
5/7
11.24.2008
Kanye West - 808s & Heartbreak
Auto-tune. Either you love it or you hate it, and chances are you hate it. Not Kanye West, though. He likes it enough to have used it on every single song on his new album, 808s & Heartbreak. And, having heard that, chances are you'll probably skip out on buying Kanye's newest album. That's why I'm here: to convince you how foolish that would be.
There's a lot of backstory to this album, so I suppose that's a good place to start. This album is much darker than West's previous releases, and that's due to a bunch of factors, namely the death of his mother last year, and the cancellation of his engagement to then-fianceé Alexis Phifer. Also, all the beats on the album were created with the Roland TR-808 drum machine in order to evoke specific emotions and take a "minimal but functional" approach to the songs. So the basic concept behind this album is literally expressed in the title: 808s & Heartbreak.
That being said, I have to point out that Kanye absolutely nailed it. This is an album full of truly unique, catchy, and memorable songs. I found it seriously impressive that Kanye could go out of his comfort zone in so many ways and come back stronger than ever. Each song is totally different from the rest. The opening track, "Say You Will", is a plaintive, lengthy song. I love the minor to major key change he throws in a few times, but half the song is just the beat, and when the song comes in at over 6 minutes, that might be a little too much. But the album doesn't suffer from it. In fact, it pushes forward, giving it a bit more gas, ending up at "Welcome To Heartbreak", which sounds nothing like a Kanye West song, which is something you're gonna have to get used to quickly on this album. It's got a nifty piano line coupled with a simple beat, with Kid Cudi adding a catchy chorus. "Heartless" is the first real single aside from "Love Lockdown", and it's a great song. Just to recap: it's a straight up radio single, the singer uses auto-tune, it's about being heart broken because of a girl, and it's STILL a good song. Well, at least until it saturates every nook and cranny of the club and mainstream radio scenes. But it's great right now! "Amazing" is one of the darker tracks, one that conjures images of ghetto cowboys idly ambling along a lonely trail. Young Jeezy contributes a verse, but it's nothing special. "Love Lockdown" is a song that mostly everyone knows by now, and for good reason. Even over a month later, it's still fresh and fits perfectly with the rest of the album. "Paranoid" is one of my favorites on 808s, and is closer in style and substance to what Kanye usually does; it resembles hip hop more than the rest, played over what sounds like a remixed 80s pop song. This brings us to "RoboCop", my current favorite. It starts out with a badass beat, leading you to believe it might be some sort of hardcore hip hop song, but then the strings come in, bringing Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" to mind, until you realize Kanye did it better. This song is boundlessly catchy, and the lush instrumentation in the chorus and the way he uses RoboCop sounds in the post-chorus make this song a serious standout. "Street Lights" is a slower, hopeful song where Kanye claims "I know my destination, I'm just not there." This is followed by "Bad News", which is seemingly a sort of interlude song, but valuable all the same. Lil' Wayne makes a guest appearance in "See You In My Nightmares", which puts Young Jeezy's verse earlier to shame. "Coldest Winter", a touching song in which he reminisces about his mother, closes out the actual album. There is one more song, however, but it's a live recording from Singapore, entitled "Pinocchio Story." It's a freestyle from that concert that was included because Beyoncé Knowles convinced Kanye to include it. It's good, but it does not need to be there, and the album would've concluded so perfectly after "Coldest Winter", but when you're Beyoncé and you're famous and you've never done anything good before, why start now?
If you're still hung up on the auto-tune aspect, don't be. After a song or two, you won't even notice. West noted that certain parts of them album are auto-tuned to represent heartbreak. Most of the songs aren't very heavily auto-tuned, anyway. It's a minor issue, especially when compared to the album as a whole.
So let's get one thing straight. This isn't hip hop, rap, or anything like it. It seems that 'pop' really is the best word to describe it. Since he's not rapping on most tracks, it forces Kanye to use his voice in more and different ways, especially as far as singing goes. His singing on this album is top notch, and the amount of vocal, musical, and atmospheric hooks Kanye has produced on 808s & Heartbreak is absolutely outstanding. Upon first listen, about half the songs are memorable. Upon second listen, every single one of them is. It baffles my mind how Kanye, by effectively limiting his resources, managed to make something so unique, creative, and diverse. In fact, I think it's fair to say that Kanye pushes himself harder on this album, in terms of music, lyrics, vocals, creativity, and hooks, than on any of his previous efforts. It solidifies and furthers his status as a trend setter, and shows how unequivocally unmatched Kanye is, as far as progressiveness goes, in his genre.
7/7
There's a lot of backstory to this album, so I suppose that's a good place to start. This album is much darker than West's previous releases, and that's due to a bunch of factors, namely the death of his mother last year, and the cancellation of his engagement to then-fianceé Alexis Phifer. Also, all the beats on the album were created with the Roland TR-808 drum machine in order to evoke specific emotions and take a "minimal but functional" approach to the songs. So the basic concept behind this album is literally expressed in the title: 808s & Heartbreak.
That being said, I have to point out that Kanye absolutely nailed it. This is an album full of truly unique, catchy, and memorable songs. I found it seriously impressive that Kanye could go out of his comfort zone in so many ways and come back stronger than ever. Each song is totally different from the rest. The opening track, "Say You Will", is a plaintive, lengthy song. I love the minor to major key change he throws in a few times, but half the song is just the beat, and when the song comes in at over 6 minutes, that might be a little too much. But the album doesn't suffer from it. In fact, it pushes forward, giving it a bit more gas, ending up at "Welcome To Heartbreak", which sounds nothing like a Kanye West song, which is something you're gonna have to get used to quickly on this album. It's got a nifty piano line coupled with a simple beat, with Kid Cudi adding a catchy chorus. "Heartless" is the first real single aside from "Love Lockdown", and it's a great song. Just to recap: it's a straight up radio single, the singer uses auto-tune, it's about being heart broken because of a girl, and it's STILL a good song. Well, at least until it saturates every nook and cranny of the club and mainstream radio scenes. But it's great right now! "Amazing" is one of the darker tracks, one that conjures images of ghetto cowboys idly ambling along a lonely trail. Young Jeezy contributes a verse, but it's nothing special. "Love Lockdown" is a song that mostly everyone knows by now, and for good reason. Even over a month later, it's still fresh and fits perfectly with the rest of the album. "Paranoid" is one of my favorites on 808s, and is closer in style and substance to what Kanye usually does; it resembles hip hop more than the rest, played over what sounds like a remixed 80s pop song. This brings us to "RoboCop", my current favorite. It starts out with a badass beat, leading you to believe it might be some sort of hardcore hip hop song, but then the strings come in, bringing Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" to mind, until you realize Kanye did it better. This song is boundlessly catchy, and the lush instrumentation in the chorus and the way he uses RoboCop sounds in the post-chorus make this song a serious standout. "Street Lights" is a slower, hopeful song where Kanye claims "I know my destination, I'm just not there." This is followed by "Bad News", which is seemingly a sort of interlude song, but valuable all the same. Lil' Wayne makes a guest appearance in "See You In My Nightmares", which puts Young Jeezy's verse earlier to shame. "Coldest Winter", a touching song in which he reminisces about his mother, closes out the actual album. There is one more song, however, but it's a live recording from Singapore, entitled "Pinocchio Story." It's a freestyle from that concert that was included because Beyoncé Knowles convinced Kanye to include it. It's good, but it does not need to be there, and the album would've concluded so perfectly after "Coldest Winter", but when you're Beyoncé and you're famous and you've never done anything good before, why start now?
If you're still hung up on the auto-tune aspect, don't be. After a song or two, you won't even notice. West noted that certain parts of them album are auto-tuned to represent heartbreak. Most of the songs aren't very heavily auto-tuned, anyway. It's a minor issue, especially when compared to the album as a whole.
So let's get one thing straight. This isn't hip hop, rap, or anything like it. It seems that 'pop' really is the best word to describe it. Since he's not rapping on most tracks, it forces Kanye to use his voice in more and different ways, especially as far as singing goes. His singing on this album is top notch, and the amount of vocal, musical, and atmospheric hooks Kanye has produced on 808s & Heartbreak is absolutely outstanding. Upon first listen, about half the songs are memorable. Upon second listen, every single one of them is. It baffles my mind how Kanye, by effectively limiting his resources, managed to make something so unique, creative, and diverse. In fact, I think it's fair to say that Kanye pushes himself harder on this album, in terms of music, lyrics, vocals, creativity, and hooks, than on any of his previous efforts. It solidifies and furthers his status as a trend setter, and shows how unequivocally unmatched Kanye is, as far as progressiveness goes, in his genre.
7/7
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