Threefer! (Music)
Dangerdoom, "The Mouse and the Mask"
I'm not sure why MF Doom's collaborative albums get so much more media attention than his solo efforts. Certainly this record, a collaboration with upcoming superstar producer Dangermouse, is getting a lot more media attention (partially thanks to its connection with Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block) than Doom's "MM...Food" from earlier this year, just like his collaboration with Madlib, 2003's "Madvillainy," got more attention than either of his Viktor Vaughn records, which bookended it. Hell, Doom's rumored collaboration with Ghostface seemes to be getting more attention than anything that's been put out.
Collaboration or no, MF Doom is always entertaining ("The super flow with more jokes than Bazooka Joe") and always has terrific wordplay to spit at his fans. This record is no exception, and with guest stars Cee-Lo and Talib Kweli (who raps about cereal!) joining in, the rhymes are more than excellent. This isn't Doom's best work, but he could pretty much rap names out of the phone book and it would sound better than most MCs out there.
Dangermouse holds his end of the bargain up as well, proving that he can create beats with the best of them. With this and the Gorillaz album (which was pretty different from this style-wise), under his belt, he's about as hot as producers come.
Standout tracks include El Chupa Nibre (and not just because the title is a Futurama reference), The Mask (featuring Ghostface, and a standout in large part because of him), A.T.H.F., Crosshairs (the best track on the record production-wise; I could listen to it without the rhymes at all), and Bada Bing.
My biggest complaint about the record is its overt connection to Adult Swim. I like those shows as much as anybody, but the straight-out references to a cable network's shows make the album seem more like a gimmick or an ad than something real. In someone else's hands, this could have been considered the most horrible commercial dreck there is. Time Warner better be glad that MF Doom and Dangermouse were the minds behind this -- they may be the only people on the planet who could make it seem authentic. B+.
Franz Ferdinand, "You Could Have It So Much Better"
I soured a little bit on Franz Ferdinand's first album after a while. Not because it was bad, really, but more because the songs themselves are really only worth a few listens. They're almost too catchy. So much so that they sort of run out of steam at some point after they've played over enough times in your head.
This record's no different. In fact, it's almost entirely the same. Again, that's not a bad thing. Catchy, poppy rock songs are always good. Particularly good are the songs The Fallen with its "What's wrong with a little destruction?" chorus, What You Meant with its jazzy swagger, the Clash-like and echo-drenched Evil and a Heathen, and the energetic title track.
The record's most ambitious song, Eleanor Put Your Boots On, which is also its best, almost reminds one of Sgt. Pepper's-era Beatles. In a good way. If they had been brave enough to make songs like this for the whole album, I would maybe be hailing this as the record of the year. As it stands, it's a nice little record with one outstanding song and a bunch of pretty decent, catchy little pop tunes I'll probably have forgotten by the time their next one comes out.
They set me up for this, but we just...we could have it so much better, yeah? C+.
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, "Clap Your Hands Say Yeah"
Collaboration or no, MF Doom is always entertaining ("The super flow with more jokes than Bazooka Joe") and always has terrific wordplay to spit at his fans. This record is no exception, and with guest stars Cee-Lo and Talib Kweli (who raps about cereal!) joining in, the rhymes are more than excellent. This isn't Doom's best work, but he could pretty much rap names out of the phone book and it would sound better than most MCs out there.
Dangermouse holds his end of the bargain up as well, proving that he can create beats with the best of them. With this and the Gorillaz album (which was pretty different from this style-wise), under his belt, he's about as hot as producers come.
Standout tracks include El Chupa Nibre (and not just because the title is a Futurama reference), The Mask (featuring Ghostface, and a standout in large part because of him), A.T.H.F., Crosshairs (the best track on the record production-wise; I could listen to it without the rhymes at all), and Bada Bing.
My biggest complaint about the record is its overt connection to Adult Swim. I like those shows as much as anybody, but the straight-out references to a cable network's shows make the album seem more like a gimmick or an ad than something real. In someone else's hands, this could have been considered the most horrible commercial dreck there is. Time Warner better be glad that MF Doom and Dangermouse were the minds behind this -- they may be the only people on the planet who could make it seem authentic. B+.
Franz Ferdinand, "You Could Have It So Much Better"
I soured a little bit on Franz Ferdinand's first album after a while. Not because it was bad, really, but more because the songs themselves are really only worth a few listens. They're almost too catchy. So much so that they sort of run out of steam at some point after they've played over enough times in your head.
This record's no different. In fact, it's almost entirely the same. Again, that's not a bad thing. Catchy, poppy rock songs are always good. Particularly good are the songs The Fallen with its "What's wrong with a little destruction?" chorus, What You Meant with its jazzy swagger, the Clash-like and echo-drenched Evil and a Heathen, and the energetic title track.
The record's most ambitious song, Eleanor Put Your Boots On, which is also its best, almost reminds one of Sgt. Pepper's-era Beatles. In a good way. If they had been brave enough to make songs like this for the whole album, I would maybe be hailing this as the record of the year. As it stands, it's a nice little record with one outstanding song and a bunch of pretty decent, catchy little pop tunes I'll probably have forgotten by the time their next one comes out.
They set me up for this, but we just...we could have it so much better, yeah? C+.
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, "Clap Your Hands Say Yeah"
I keep reading comparisons between this New York band -- who apparently put out this album without being signed by a label -- and the Talking Heads, and honestly, the more I listen to the record, the less I see the similarity.
Yeah, the lead singer sounds a little bit like David Byrne. But that's pretty much where the similarities end (except, you know, being a rock band). And the guy doesn't even sound that much like Byrne. He certainly has an entirely different twang and intonation in his voice -- and something completely different to say.
I'm not usually big on the deep meanings of stuff like this -- I just listen to it and decide if I like it or not -- but with this record, it's pretty much stares you right in the face. This is an album about being different, and about losing what it was that made you fit in, and the illusions people use to make themselves feel better. The first song sets it all up, this is a circus, where people are freaks and the solutions to their problems ("Clap your hands!") are meaningless shows with no real feeling behind it. You don't have to be happy, as long as you look like you're having a good time.
It takes a few listens to really accept the album for what it is, and it sounds a little foreign to the ear at first, but the best music is like that (read: The Arcade Fire). Suck it up and listen a few times. It's worth it. There are a few songs that kind of shoot out at you right up front, though: The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth has a beautifully catchy chorus that I hum to myself more than I'd care to mention, Is This Love? is an uptempo song that has some pretty horribly sad lyrics (I contend that every song of that sort is always good; read: Train in Vain), Heavy Metal is...well...at least it's hard rock (with harmonica!), and Gimme Some Salt is a bass-heavy thumper.
I really have no idea how this band without a label became as big as this -- I suppose they owe a lot to their mostly favorable, even fawning reviews -- but seriously, they deserve it.
That said, this isn't a perfect record. In particular, the instrumental interlude Blue Turning Gray kind of kills the album's pacing. But that just means the band has some room to grow.
Still, this is the best album I've heard all year. A.
Yeah, the lead singer sounds a little bit like David Byrne. But that's pretty much where the similarities end (except, you know, being a rock band). And the guy doesn't even sound that much like Byrne. He certainly has an entirely different twang and intonation in his voice -- and something completely different to say.
I'm not usually big on the deep meanings of stuff like this -- I just listen to it and decide if I like it or not -- but with this record, it's pretty much stares you right in the face. This is an album about being different, and about losing what it was that made you fit in, and the illusions people use to make themselves feel better. The first song sets it all up, this is a circus, where people are freaks and the solutions to their problems ("Clap your hands!") are meaningless shows with no real feeling behind it. You don't have to be happy, as long as you look like you're having a good time.
It takes a few listens to really accept the album for what it is, and it sounds a little foreign to the ear at first, but the best music is like that (read: The Arcade Fire). Suck it up and listen a few times. It's worth it. There are a few songs that kind of shoot out at you right up front, though: The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth has a beautifully catchy chorus that I hum to myself more than I'd care to mention, Is This Love? is an uptempo song that has some pretty horribly sad lyrics (I contend that every song of that sort is always good; read: Train in Vain), Heavy Metal is...well...at least it's hard rock (with harmonica!), and Gimme Some Salt is a bass-heavy thumper.
I really have no idea how this band without a label became as big as this -- I suppose they owe a lot to their mostly favorable, even fawning reviews -- but seriously, they deserve it.
That said, this isn't a perfect record. In particular, the instrumental interlude Blue Turning Gray kind of kills the album's pacing. But that just means the band has some room to grow.
Still, this is the best album I've heard all year. A.
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