Sunday, October 06, 2002
jay-z has remodeled 2pac's "me and my girlfriend" with beyonce on the chorus, retitling it "03 bonnie and clyde." besides the fact that that's just kind of, well, weird, it also includes ms. knowles interpolating a chunk of prince's "if I was your girlfriend." I like the use of acoustic guitar. I assume, but don't know, that it's the neptunes' 1000th production of the year (do they ever sleep?!). on first couple of listens, it's okay. not stellar, but good. that's all I feel about it at this point.
I feel much more strongly, however, about "wild one," a creamy slice of what in '98 I would've called nu-soul or some such silly term. you remember: the first albums from d'angelo, badu, and maxwell were the vanguard; eric benet, jill scott, and angie stone soon followed. raphael saadiq might've invented it, kinda. but would you fucking believe that the latest great new soul singer to pour out of my speakers is darius rucker, a/k/a mr. hootie and the blowfish? you'd best believe, folks. not only is he signed (as a solo artist) to hidden beach - started by jazzy jeff, part of the new philly soul explosion, known best and most for their success with the aforementioned ms. scott - but his first single is full of roots-esque keyboards (is pino palladino playing on this, anyone know?) and has got an incredibly killer smoky late-night groovin'-with-your-honey vibe. "wild one" is likely the most surprising, and most refreshingly wonderful, single of '02. throw those preconceptions out the damn door!
"the barry williams show" is cranky old peter gabriel doing what he does best, wrapping social commentary into a vaguely funky, vaguely unconventional pop record, complete with his usual self-multitracked vocals. even if gabriel's new album, up, doesn't do much commercially (it debuted on the chart at #9 this week, but let's take bets on how fast it makes a quick retreat), I'm so glad he's back. few artists can do what p.g. does, and even fewer do it as well.
much like gabriel, two other vets we've got back - and need, musically and not socially/culturally, time magazine - are misters petty and springsteen. the title track from bruce's the rising is very good, nice and sort of subtlely upfliting, like a good gospel song, which is exactly the feel this track has. and brendan o'brien's production fits perfectly. petty and his merry band of heartbreakers, however, aren't going for inspiring; they're out to prove that tom's still full of some piss and vinegar as he passes 50, and they pull it off. "the last dj" is tom's rant against corporate radio, and it's spot-on the way the dixie chicks' bitchin' about country radio in "long time gone" is. musically, it's dependably petty. yay.
chris cornell + rage against the machine - zach de la rocha = audioslave. "cochise" is their long-awaited first salvo. it sounds exactly like I'd hoped, which is to say like chris cornell's magnificent heavy metal pipes fronting ratm. it gives morello and co. a different texture, and I like it. a lot. as much as I've been a fan of de la rocha's stridency, after a while he gets a bit, well, tiring. [and I wouldn't hold my breath for that over-two-years-in-the-making solo album if I were you.] cornell's voice, on the other hand, just swoops and falls like a condor. you should basically know if you'll like this without even hearing it, but hear it anyway.
I feel much more strongly, however, about "wild one," a creamy slice of what in '98 I would've called nu-soul or some such silly term. you remember: the first albums from d'angelo, badu, and maxwell were the vanguard; eric benet, jill scott, and angie stone soon followed. raphael saadiq might've invented it, kinda. but would you fucking believe that the latest great new soul singer to pour out of my speakers is darius rucker, a/k/a mr. hootie and the blowfish? you'd best believe, folks. not only is he signed (as a solo artist) to hidden beach - started by jazzy jeff, part of the new philly soul explosion, known best and most for their success with the aforementioned ms. scott - but his first single is full of roots-esque keyboards (is pino palladino playing on this, anyone know?) and has got an incredibly killer smoky late-night groovin'-with-your-honey vibe. "wild one" is likely the most surprising, and most refreshingly wonderful, single of '02. throw those preconceptions out the damn door!
"the barry williams show" is cranky old peter gabriel doing what he does best, wrapping social commentary into a vaguely funky, vaguely unconventional pop record, complete with his usual self-multitracked vocals. even if gabriel's new album, up, doesn't do much commercially (it debuted on the chart at #9 this week, but let's take bets on how fast it makes a quick retreat), I'm so glad he's back. few artists can do what p.g. does, and even fewer do it as well.
much like gabriel, two other vets we've got back - and need, musically and not socially/culturally, time magazine - are misters petty and springsteen. the title track from bruce's the rising is very good, nice and sort of subtlely upfliting, like a good gospel song, which is exactly the feel this track has. and brendan o'brien's production fits perfectly. petty and his merry band of heartbreakers, however, aren't going for inspiring; they're out to prove that tom's still full of some piss and vinegar as he passes 50, and they pull it off. "the last dj" is tom's rant against corporate radio, and it's spot-on the way the dixie chicks' bitchin' about country radio in "long time gone" is. musically, it's dependably petty. yay.
chris cornell + rage against the machine - zach de la rocha = audioslave. "cochise" is their long-awaited first salvo. it sounds exactly like I'd hoped, which is to say like chris cornell's magnificent heavy metal pipes fronting ratm. it gives morello and co. a different texture, and I like it. a lot. as much as I've been a fan of de la rocha's stridency, after a while he gets a bit, well, tiring. [and I wouldn't hold my breath for that over-two-years-in-the-making solo album if I were you.] cornell's voice, on the other hand, just swoops and falls like a condor. you should basically know if you'll like this without even hearing it, but hear it anyway.
# posted by Thomas : 7:37 PM
