Lil' Wayne - "A Milli"
Originally written for the Cavalier Daily:
http://www.cavalierdaily.com/news/2008/oct/23/the-pulse-11/
23 October 2008
Lil' Wayne to release second Carter III
It’s been a big year for Lil’ Wayne — his blockbuster LP Tha Carter III has sold record millions on the strength of singles like “Lollipop” and “A Milli.” Perhaps hoping to capitalize on that success, Lil’ Wayne recently reported in an MTV.com interview that his next album will be called the exact same name. That’s right — while Wayne’s next opus will contain all new songs and content, it will still be called Tha Carter III. It is still unclear whether Wayne is serious or whether this is some sort of bizarre joke, but the rap giant insists he’s completely serious. As of publication, there is no release information for the second Tha Carter III.
Lil' Wayne - "A Milli"
Originally written for the Cavalier Daily:
http://www.cavalierdaily.com/news/2008/oct/23/the-pulse-11/
Lil' Wayne - "A Milli"
Originally written for the Cavalier Daily:
http://www.cavalierdaily.com/news/2008/oct/23/the-pulse-11/
Jay-Z - Reasonable Doubt
Given that Jay-Z will be headlining John Paul Jones Arena in a few days, it seems appropriate to revisit the career of one of mainstream rap’s most ubiquitous talents. These days, Billboard chart toppers such as “99 Problems” and “Izzo (H.O.V.A.)” are the cornerstones of Jay-Z’s reputation. However, it was 1996’s Reasonable Doubt that served as the stone-cold classic debut upon which Jay-Z built his initial reputation. A world away from his later work, Reasonable Doubt showcases a young Jay-Z supremely confident in his skills even before he burst into our society’s collective consciousness.
Before he earned his name as one of hip-hop’s most notorious businessmen, Jay-Z was a hustler on the streets of New York. He rapped about what he knew — drugs, crime, law, poverty — and he was very, very good at it. Despite his talent, major labels were uninterested in signing such a little-known artist. In an early example of his entrepreneurial flair, Jay-Z responded by founding Roc-A-Fella Records with friends Dame Dash and Kareem Biggs. He proceeded to round up some of the most notable East Coast producers to work on his beats and even scored a guest verse from fellow New Yorker Notorious B.I.G. The resulting album was a hip-hop landmark and perhaps the finest of Jay-Z’s career.
In many ways, Jay-Z’s first album showcases the same traits we’ve grown to love from him — his cool confidence, his wittiness and wordplay, his sense of class and character, his raw ambition and disarming honesty. Nevertheless, the street-wise subject matter and emotional gravitas of Reasonable Doubt is worlds away from the plush money raps that would characterize his later work. Reasonable Doubt is an engaging portrayal of Jay-Z’s life in the Marcy housing projects of New York. The music is a mess of his complex sentiments — dark yet celebratory, playful yet somber, gritty yet luxurious. “Dead Presidents II” and “Regrets” are among the most affecting songs he has ever recorded, yet “22 Two’s” and “Friend or Foe” have a playful, tongue-in-cheek vibe.
Jay-Z - "Dead Presidents"
Jay-Z’s observations of the drug trade are sharp and clever. He is constantly aware of the dangers and complications inherent to his line of work, yet his desire to live large presents him with no other options. As he proclaims on the triumphant “Can I Live,” “I’d rather die enormous than live dormant.” Ultimately, Jay-Z’s ruminations on the drug biz are less enthusiastic or arrogant than they are nuanced and analytical.
As mentioned earlier, production was handled by some of the best East Coast’s finest beatsmiths at the time – notably, the roster included such talents as Ski, DJ Premier and Clark Kent. The overall sound is one heavily influenced by soul, funk and jazz, creating a vibe of both indulgence and relaxation. Particularly notable are the beats for “Dead Presidents II” and “Regrets,” somber tracks that greatly heighten the emotional content of Jay-Z’s lyrics.
Reasonable Doubt may be the lowest-charting Jay-Z album to date, but it’s his most influential and perhaps his greatest — only 2001’s fantastic The Blueprint can rival his debut. Before seeing Jay-Z Saturday, it’s definitely worth doing your homework and giving this classic a close listen.
Originally written for the Cavalier Daily:
http://www.cavalierdaily.com/news/2008/oct/23/beyond-a-reasonable-doubt/
Before he earned his name as one of hip-hop’s most notorious businessmen, Jay-Z was a hustler on the streets of New York. He rapped about what he knew — drugs, crime, law, poverty — and he was very, very good at it. Despite his talent, major labels were uninterested in signing such a little-known artist. In an early example of his entrepreneurial flair, Jay-Z responded by founding Roc-A-Fella Records with friends Dame Dash and Kareem Biggs. He proceeded to round up some of the most notable East Coast producers to work on his beats and even scored a guest verse from fellow New Yorker Notorious B.I.G. The resulting album was a hip-hop landmark and perhaps the finest of Jay-Z’s career.
In many ways, Jay-Z’s first album showcases the same traits we’ve grown to love from him — his cool confidence, his wittiness and wordplay, his sense of class and character, his raw ambition and disarming honesty. Nevertheless, the street-wise subject matter and emotional gravitas of Reasonable Doubt is worlds away from the plush money raps that would characterize his later work. Reasonable Doubt is an engaging portrayal of Jay-Z’s life in the Marcy housing projects of New York. The music is a mess of his complex sentiments — dark yet celebratory, playful yet somber, gritty yet luxurious. “Dead Presidents II” and “Regrets” are among the most affecting songs he has ever recorded, yet “22 Two’s” and “Friend or Foe” have a playful, tongue-in-cheek vibe.
Jay-Z - "Dead Presidents"
Jay-Z’s observations of the drug trade are sharp and clever. He is constantly aware of the dangers and complications inherent to his line of work, yet his desire to live large presents him with no other options. As he proclaims on the triumphant “Can I Live,” “I’d rather die enormous than live dormant.” Ultimately, Jay-Z’s ruminations on the drug biz are less enthusiastic or arrogant than they are nuanced and analytical.
As mentioned earlier, production was handled by some of the best East Coast’s finest beatsmiths at the time – notably, the roster included such talents as Ski, DJ Premier and Clark Kent. The overall sound is one heavily influenced by soul, funk and jazz, creating a vibe of both indulgence and relaxation. Particularly notable are the beats for “Dead Presidents II” and “Regrets,” somber tracks that greatly heighten the emotional content of Jay-Z’s lyrics.
Reasonable Doubt may be the lowest-charting Jay-Z album to date, but it’s his most influential and perhaps his greatest — only 2001’s fantastic The Blueprint can rival his debut. Before seeing Jay-Z Saturday, it’s definitely worth doing your homework and giving this classic a close listen.
Originally written for the Cavalier Daily:
http://www.cavalierdaily.com/news/2008/oct/23/beyond-a-reasonable-doubt/
16 October 2008
Franz Ferdinand reveal album info.
It looks as though the interminable wait for the follow-up to Franz Ferdinand’s excellent You Could Have It So Much Better — released way back in October 2005 — is finally coming to a close. The next Franz album, titled Tonight, will see a U.S. release Jan. 27. Frontman Alex Kapronos has stated that the album will be more dance-oriented than the rock that characterized Ferdinand’s first two albums. “Lucid Dreams,” which was featured on Madden NFL 2009 and apparently written from the perspective of a globe-trotting European, is the only song released from the album so far.
Franz Ferdinand - "Take Me Out": (from Franz Ferdinand; 2004)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QM4dxI0mO1k
Originally written for the Cavalier Daily:
http://www.cavalierdaily.com/news/2008/oct/16/the-pulse-10/
Franz Ferdinand - "Take Me Out": (from Franz Ferdinand; 2004)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QM4dxI0mO1k
Originally written for the Cavalier Daily:
http://www.cavalierdaily.com/news/2008/oct/16/the-pulse-10/
02 October 2008
TV on the Radio - Dear Science
TV on the Radio is more than just a band — it is a generational phenomenon. Just as The Beatles spearheaded the free-wheeling hippie spirit of the 1960s and Nirvana embodied the apathy of the early 1990s, TV on the Radio articulates the claustrophobia of the new millennium. Its music doesn’t offer any answers or sound any alarms, but it expresses what many of us feel in the Information Age — overstimulation. Technology has made the world smaller, more complex and more volatile. TV on the Radio is a band borne of these circumstances — politically aware, brazenly emotional, confused and restless. The group is an invaluable artifact of our generation, and one of the most important bands going today.
One would be forgiven for harboring unreasonably high expectations for the band’s new album, Dear Science. Its last, Return to Cookie Mountain, was not only one of the finest records of the new millennium, but also one of the most original. Notoriously difficult to pigeon-hole into a specific genre, TV on the Radio’s sound lies somewhere at the impossible junction of art rock, post-punk, jazz, funk and trip-hop. Return to Cookie Mountain brought those myriad influences together in a way that, for the first time in the group’s history, sounded complete and organic.
Dear Science is drastically different from its predecessor — it’s funkier and angrier, more direct and much catchier — but it’s just as good. Guitarist/producer David Sitek has peeled away much of the sonic sludge that characterized the band’s earlier work, producing a record that sounds squeaky clean in comparison to its siblings. Songwriting duties are evenly split between co-frontmen Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone, distinct personalities with some of the most expressive, versatile voices in rock music. They make for great counterpoints — Adebimpe’s songs are overt and impassioned, while Malone’s are subtle and contemplative.
“Dancing Choose” is an excellent snapshot of the nervous tension underlying Adebimpe’s work. The song, a fierce indictment of our unconscious media consumption, is both charmingly awkward and seething with vitriolic anger. Adebimpe is barely able to contain his frustration, half-rapping his forceful verses before hitting a relatively subdued, melodic chorus.
"Dancing Choose" on the Late Show With David Letterman; 9/26/2008
Malone’s music, on the other hand, is best exemplified by “Golden Age”. Musically, the song is the polar opposite of “Dancing Choose” — a sexy dance track complete with a slinky Michael Jackson bass line and soaring disco strings. Malone has little of Adebimpe’s intensity but he compensates with a keen sense of melody and fantastic vocal work.
These two songs (both of which have been released as singles) may serve as Dear Science’s most immediate highlights, but in truth, there isn’t a weak point to be found on the record. It’s all aces, from the headlong opener “Halfway Home” to the perversely celebratory closer “Lover’s Day.”
In light of the presidential race that seems to grow more urgent with each passing day and a critically wounded financial structure hovering at the precipice of collapse, Dear Science’s message of uncertainty and ambiguity couldn’t have been better synchronized with the zeitgeist. We may not know what direction the world is headed in, but at least we’ve got the perfect soundtrack to accompany our rapid descent into chaos.
Originally written for the Cavalier Daily:
http://www.cavalierdaily.com/news/2008/oct/02/science-enhances-tv/
One would be forgiven for harboring unreasonably high expectations for the band’s new album, Dear Science. Its last, Return to Cookie Mountain, was not only one of the finest records of the new millennium, but also one of the most original. Notoriously difficult to pigeon-hole into a specific genre, TV on the Radio’s sound lies somewhere at the impossible junction of art rock, post-punk, jazz, funk and trip-hop. Return to Cookie Mountain brought those myriad influences together in a way that, for the first time in the group’s history, sounded complete and organic.
Dear Science is drastically different from its predecessor — it’s funkier and angrier, more direct and much catchier — but it’s just as good. Guitarist/producer David Sitek has peeled away much of the sonic sludge that characterized the band’s earlier work, producing a record that sounds squeaky clean in comparison to its siblings. Songwriting duties are evenly split between co-frontmen Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone, distinct personalities with some of the most expressive, versatile voices in rock music. They make for great counterpoints — Adebimpe’s songs are overt and impassioned, while Malone’s are subtle and contemplative.
“Dancing Choose” is an excellent snapshot of the nervous tension underlying Adebimpe’s work. The song, a fierce indictment of our unconscious media consumption, is both charmingly awkward and seething with vitriolic anger. Adebimpe is barely able to contain his frustration, half-rapping his forceful verses before hitting a relatively subdued, melodic chorus.
Malone’s music, on the other hand, is best exemplified by “Golden Age”. Musically, the song is the polar opposite of “Dancing Choose” — a sexy dance track complete with a slinky Michael Jackson bass line and soaring disco strings. Malone has little of Adebimpe’s intensity but he compensates with a keen sense of melody and fantastic vocal work.
These two songs (both of which have been released as singles) may serve as Dear Science’s most immediate highlights, but in truth, there isn’t a weak point to be found on the record. It’s all aces, from the headlong opener “Halfway Home” to the perversely celebratory closer “Lover’s Day.”
In light of the presidential race that seems to grow more urgent with each passing day and a critically wounded financial structure hovering at the precipice of collapse, Dear Science’s message of uncertainty and ambiguity couldn’t have been better synchronized with the zeitgeist. We may not know what direction the world is headed in, but at least we’ve got the perfect soundtrack to accompany our rapid descent into chaos.
Originally written for the Cavalier Daily:
http://www.cavalierdaily.com/news/2008/oct/02/science-enhances-tv/
Jack White, Alicia Keys write Bond theme.
Blues-rocker Jack White (better known as the frontman for The White Stripes and The Raconteurs) and piano-crooner Alicia Keys recently collaborated on the latest James Bond theme, titled “Another Way to Die.” The up-tempo rocker sounds much looser and much grittier than past Bond themes, which may be intended to reflect the franchise’s shift in tone and direction since Daniel Craig was cast as 007. A music video was also released, featuring White and Keys kicking out their latest jam in front of frequently changing computer-generated backdrops. The next Bond film, titled Quantum of Solace, is currently slated for a mid-November release.
Jack White & Alicia Keys - "Another Way to Die"
Originally written for the Cavalier Daily:
http://www.cavalierdaily.com/news/2008/oct/02/the-pulse-8/
Jack White & Alicia Keys - "Another Way to Die"
Originally written for the Cavalier Daily:
http://www.cavalierdaily.com/news/2008/oct/02/the-pulse-8/
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