Friday, December 05, 2008
kanye west
808s and Heartbreak
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...Kanye West doesn't care, or perhaps more accurately, he's not afraid to show us that he does. As an artist he's unique in that he's in the coveted position of being able to transcend the inherent limitations of his own genre. He's afforded the same rarity of free reign granted to Prince, Michael Jackson, the Sgt. Pepper-era Beatles, and Thom Yorke before him; the only difference is that Kanye does it while tight-rope walking through the faster than light blogosphere of the 2k generation; between Kanye West, the man, and Kanye West, the larger than life ethos. He's the only artist alive bigger than his own giant sound, bigger than his own art, and that's what makes his recent release of 808s and Heartbreak so damn fascinatingit's hip-hops biggest idol violating every cardinal rule that hip-hop has ever held sacred, and, above all else, doing it in style.

Wednesday, December 03, 2008
japanese motors
japanese motors
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As the calendar begins to dial up the dead and dreary winter months that lay ahead, it's sometimes all to easy for those folks who actually have to put themselves through the four season cycle to mourn the better times when the weather was a bit more sizzling. With this in mind, I present to you seasonally sentimental readers Japanese Motor's self-titled Vice debut; a collection of leisurely surf punk, rock and roll that's sure to trigger the internal flicker of sappy memories from the summer (or any other temperate time, for that matter) that was.

Tuesday, December 02, 2008
stars
bad robots ep
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Stars never seem to think twice about finding and flattening their listener's emotional core. I suppose that could explain why "Your Ex-Lover is Dead", the lead track from'05's Set Yourself On Fire, continues to follow me around to this very day. Creeping into randomly generated play lists (far too often!), blasting from crowded bar room speakers; Amy Millan and Torquil Campbell's tragically painted vocal interplay takes the most cosmically opportune times to slay me right then and there time and time again. Sadly, last year's follow-up, In Our Bedroom After the War, lacked the same kind of emotional punch. There's no time like the present, however, and the recently released Sad Robots EP (Arts and Crafts) offers plenty of reasons to stick with the band on in to After the War's full-length follow-up.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008
department of eagles
in ear park
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Happenstance is one spooky phenomenon. Think about it. Examine the place you call home, the people you share your life with, and that which keeps you busy from day to day. Chances are these are the random results of monumental kind of coincidences. Your entire life, in fact, is the grand result of some spectacular moment slowly unfurling itself over time. Of course, you already know this, so what's my point? Well, these strange sorts of synchronisms are important. Without them, music fans most assuredly would have missed out on two of the better bands going these days.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008
88 keys
the death of adam
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To most listeners, 88 Keys' The Death of Adam (Decon) will most likely touch a nerve. In a word, the Harlem rapper's modern resurrection of the Biblical fall from grace comes off as just a bit misogynous. Of course, if you, like 88 no doubt, see the honest to god humor in this cautionary tale, then there's a pretty good hip hop album to be had here.