Old People's Choir.. Rapping

Thanks to Jesus at DrunkenStepfather:

The Cake Tape

It's my Instrumental EP and you can download right here.

Jim Jones Wants To Star In A Broadway Musical?

MTV spoke with dude. I mean, that's cool or whatever. You can be the "real" version of "The Heights," or something, right? Who's gonna finance this shit, though? Dame is broke.

MTV Shows

"T.R.O.Y." The Most Overrated Song In Rap?

Every time this song comes on in any rap venue on the East Coast (and most of the rap venues otherwise) everyone loses their shit.

"Oh my god, here it comes! My song!" everyone thinks. They start to rap along too, though about 20 seconds in, everyone forgets the lyrics and just violently nods until the chorus kicks in.

I'm part of "everyone." I've done this many a fucking time. I've felt goosebumps when that saxophone line kicks in. It's like, "Here it coooomeesss!!! Best song eveR?!"

But does anyone actually like T.R.O.Y.? Sure, the beat is pretty hot. Thanks, Pete Rock and Large Professor. But does CL Smooth have anything going on? Is his voice ill? Are his lyrics killer? Are they memorable?

No! CL Smooth sucks. He's like Guru, without the dope voice.

My hypothesis is that everyone feels like everyone else loves this song so they too must pretend like they love it. And then, after a few listenings, they end up thinking it might actually be a dope song. Not only is "T.R.O.Y." the most overrated song in rap music, it's the object of one of the greatest acts of peer pressure in rap EVER (and that's saying a lot for a genre of music that both fetishizes drug dealing and sneaker purchasing).

Once we all admit T.R.O.Y. is overrated, I think the song can sink to its proper place in history--a mediocre East Coast rap song that came out the same year as The Chronic.

Billy Corgan sucks (maybe now more than ever?)

I'm not a Smashing Pumpkins fan. I don't hate them quite as much as I dislike Pearl Jam, but it's really fucking close.

Apparently, Corgan's fans now hate him too.



Cool!

"Welcome To Heartbreak" by Kanye West

By far, this is my favorite song on the freshly leaked "808s and Heartbreak." It sounds like Phil Collins' "In The Air Tonight," which I'm guessing is the obvious point of it all. The lyrics are also by far the best out of any of these songs. Doesn't mean they're amazing lyrics, but I think a celebrity saying their monetary success and fame came at the cost of having a family is somewhat virgin territory for a aught-era "hip-hop" song.

Now, I'm not sure that if an artist I really, truly respected put "My friend showed me pictures of his kids, / And all I could show him were pictures of my cribs. / He said his daughter got a brand-new report card, / And all I got was a brand-new sportscar" in his or her song, I'd let it slide. Most likely, I'd laugh and there's a strong possibility I'd get mad. Because even though the topic shows some depth, that's some uncreative writing right there.

I really don't know what's going on with Kanye right now. That song he did with Jeezy, for instance, sounds like some kid found a Kanye West drum loop and played some elementary piano chords over it. The piano sound itself is fucking awful. Does the obvious low level of craftsmanship mean anything? Are the lazy lyrics and simplistic vocal melodies important? Or is it just bad music?

I really can't tell. But it's a mind fuck either way.

I've heard people compare the songs off of "808s and Heartbreak" to the "Purple Rain" soundtrack. Those people are wrong. Prince is a monster on every instrument he's ever touched and when he did minimal, he earned it. Kanye sounds like he's recording his Suzuki Method piano lessons and releasing them as "beats."

Man, do some hot shit, please.

"Mr. Pie Eyes" by Drink Up Buttercup

Pitchfork describes the song as thus:

Philly quartet Drink Up Buttercup build you up with the post-Beatles harmonies of the La's and the post-Beatles surrealism of Electric Light Orchestra or Super Furry Animals on their rowdy rave-up of a single, "Mr. Pie Eyes". And not to let you down too much, either, even if they're not reinventing the wheel here. Lumbering drums, jangling shakers, electronic squiggles, and lots of whimsical, ragged shouts accompany the strutting bass line and stomping guitar. As with, say, Chicago indie-rockers the M's, it's all just loose and playful enough to avoid coming across as overly nostalgic.

I just think they sound like blur. Whatevs.