What's The Deal With Saul Williams?

http://www.nin.com:

Big news today!

As many of you know, I've been working closely with Saul Williams on his new record. We've spent many hours together in hotel rooms, busses, backstages and studios around the world working on something we knew was great. This is the most involved I've been with any project outside NIN since Antichrist Superstar, and I've been impatiently waiting for the chance for you to hear it.
Well... guess what?
The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust! has arrived!
After my own recent dealings with record labels we decided to release it directly to you. Head over to www.niggytardust.com for all the details. Register now and you can download the record November 1st.
Working on this project was a real pleasure. Saul was interested in breaking boundaries / crossing genres / defying expectations and we learned a great deal from one another in the process. When asked about the sound of the record, I've had to resort to "... I really don't know HOW to describe it." That's a good thing more than ever these days.

A word on the way we've chosen to release this.
There are obvious similarities in how Radiohead just released their new record and the way we've chosen to. After thinking about this way too much, I feel we've improved upon their idea in a few profound ways that benefit you, the consumer. You obviously will be the judge of this in the end. One thing that IS very different in our situation is that Saul's not the household name (yet!) that Radiohead is, and that means we need your support on this more than ever. If you like what you hear, spread the word.

I hope you enjoy the music,

TR

posted by Trent Reznor at 7:56 AM.

The album will be made available for download from the official site from 1st November 2007. Users can download a 192kbps MP3 version of the entire album for free, or pay $5 to support the artist and be given the choice of downloading 192kps MP3 version, 320kbps MP3 version or lossless FLAC version.

Niggy Tardust? Really?

yep:

http://niggytardust.com/saulwilliams/images/01-splashpage.jpg

It's a great download model. I gave them five bucks.

they do Paypal too, nice!

eh, i like saul a lot but trent rezsnore, really?

if this is anything to go by, he just made sure he wasn't in their way:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3e/Reznorwilliams.jpg

reznor tryna be the next catchdubs

http://catchdubs.com/images/saulwilliams.jpg

its not my place to tell saul williams who to collab with but dropping 2 records in the last 2 years where the music is masterminded by dorky white dudes & both have the word 'nigger' in the title is kinda http://www.soulstrut.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/suspect5es.gif

assuming the music was 'masterminded' by the white guys is even more suspect.

aside from a couple of early tracks, my favorite saul stuff is his self-produced record

haha well I guess you can say the same thing about Nas depending on whether you trace the chain of command there to L.A. Reid or further up.

(xpost if 'masterminded' simply means providing production/beats/samples, I think that's a fair word to use)

the catchdubs record was catchdubs choosing beats for saul to do his spoken word thing over, dude acknowledged this when he said he didnt even like dipset & all that other radio bullshit but catch chose the beats

i dunno how much trent reznor has to do with the music on this new joint but hes the one sending out emails instead of saul williams so hes the face of this project so far

"hey Nastradamus, what's up, it's Storchavelli...lol...listen, those new tracks I sent you, are you gonna use those for n--...that...new album you're working on?"

Written and performed by Saul Williams
with Trent Reznor, CX Kidtronik, Thavius Beck and more.

Produced by Trent Reznor
Mixed By Alan Moulder
Mastered by Brian "Big Bass" Gardner
Engineering / programming: Atticus Ross

yeah but nas is still out there promoting his joint, its not like he's in the background while the president of universal records goes on 106 & park & sends emails asking me to buy 'nigger'

Black History Month
Convict Colony
Tr(n)igger
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Break
NiggyTardust
DNA
WTF!
Scared Money
Raw
Skin of a Drum
No One Ever Does
Banged and Blown Through
Raised to be Lowered
The Ritual

Tr(n)igger

ok now he's just playin'

i understand where dude is coming from with this flipping-stereotypes shit or whatever but i think when you crew with the dude from nine inch nails & set it up so your album is gonna be heard by like 99.9% white dudes (instead of just the usual 90%) theres some kinda responsibility to cool it with the ironic bamboozled shit

don't try to stop the musical miscenegation, ethan! sasha fere-jones's beautiful dream is coming to life!

i understand where dude is coming from with this flipping-stereotypes shit or whatever but i think when you crew with the dude from nine inch nails & set it up so your album is gonna be heard by like 99.9% white dudes (instead of just the usual 90%) theres some kinda responsibility to cool it with the ironic bamboozled shit

ethan at the risk of getting ultra-flamed by you I don't think it's your place to school a black artist on how to represent himself - hate if you gotta hate, whatever, but when a white writer starts telling a black artist what his community responsibilities are...shit man I can't see you putting up with that from somebody else!

nb I don't know Saul Williams from Adam and will probably never hear his music

its not my place to tell saul williams who to collab with but dropping 2 records in the last 2 years where the music is masterminded by dorky white dudes & both have the word 'nigger' in the title is kinda

-- and what, Thursday, October 25, 2007 2:57 PM (20 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

ilxor Saul Williams

and wtf man you seem to have no problem being a white dude telling black artists what their community responsibilities are in every rap thread no matter how tedious or self-parodic it gets

ethan at the risk of getting ultra-flamed by you I don't think it's your place to school a black artist on how to represent himself I'm going to post something

:P

Roots Manuva - Run Come Save Me (Britain) Vs Saul Williams - Amethyst Rock Star (America)

:)

By the way, Saul is pimpin' the album too, I just happened to see that nin.com page first.

http://www.saulwilliams.com forwards to the new album site.

http://niggytardust.com/saulwilliams/moreinfo :

My Dearest Friends and Fans,

It is my greatest honor to present to you The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!,
my new album produced by Trent Reznor and mixed by Alan Moulder. The wall of sound that we've created is tagged with such graffiti that a passerby would seek out doors and ways to ENTER. Once inside a world defined by dreams come true they'd find aligned with the simplest act of sharing what we treasure. Most people aren't aware of the world of art and commerce where exploitation strips each artist down to nigger. Each label, like apartheid, multiplies us by our divide and whips us 'til we conform to lesser figures. What falls between the cracks is a pile of records stacked to the heights of talents hidden from the sun. Yet the energy they put into popularizing smut makes a star of a shiny polished gun. The ballot or the bullet for Mohawk or the mullet is a choice between new times and dying days. And the only way to choose is to jump ship from old truths and trust dolphins as we swim through changing ways. The ways of middlemen proves to be just a passing trend. We need no priests to talk to God. No phone to call her. And when you click the link below, i think it fair that you should know that your purchase will make middlemen much poorer...

NiggyTardust!

love,

Saul

wow thats even stupider than i expected

Most people aren't aware of the world of art and commerce where exploitation strips each artist down to nigger. Each label, like apartheid, multiplies us by our divide and whips us 'til we conform to lesser figures.

hating shitty boho spoken word rap-rock = apartheid

He'll gladly reply on his forum if you want him to:

http://www.saulwilliams.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=002301;p=1#000014

The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust! is the lovechild of me and Trent Reznor. I met Trent when he asked me to fill the opening slot of his European With Teeth tour. After only the 2nd show he asked if I might be down to collaborate on a song or album, whatever I saw fit. At the time we were both listening to the Kanye/Jon Brion collaborations and feeling like a cocktail of our two worlds would fare even more interesting…and harder. Since then, Trent Reznor has become the big brother I never had, offering his insight, expertise, and shared desire to fuck up the system while believing fully in the power of music and the intelligence of the masses. What we both first realized we had in common was a deep love of Public Enemy and their Bomb Squad production, which personally served as the backdrop of my adolescence and fueled the fire that matured my vision of the sort of artist I wanted to be. A lot of people get caught up on my lyrics and poetry, but my writing is always founded on beats and polyrhythmic backdrops. My background as a dancer (I used to dance for a rap group in ATL in the early 90s) has always made me crave hard rhythms. Through Public Enemy I discovered that my ability to dance somehow improved when I truly felt the power of the words. This album captures everything I have aimed for in a song. Of course, as a performer, what truly inspires me is the opportunity to perform them live. The Niggytardust concept sets me free to do more on stage with costume, etc. than one might expect from a regular Saul Williams show. It allows me to put my theatre training to use. I’ve also thought long and hard about all the discussion surrounding racial epithets etc. and chose this title as a means of furthering the dialogue while also showing how creativity will outlive and outshine hatred of any kind.

The album would not have been possible without the collaborative spirit Trent and the other artists involved: CX Kidtronik and Thavius Beck brought beats and fire to the vision, energizing the process with blown amps and head-nodding cramps. Atticus Ross engineered and programmed. Alan Moulder is sonic testimony from headphone to full blown that the very rocks will cry out if you work with the right engineer.

I’m also collaborating with visual artists and designers as part of the whole NiggyTardust concept and presentation. Melody Ehsani designed Tardust jewelry, bracelets, rings. necklaces, etc. and also did the cover layout. Angelbert Metoyer has contributed greatly to the visual aesthetic with paintings and soon to be finished set design for the shows.

As far as the way we’ve decided to release the album, we’re aware that it’s pretty risky, but are even more aware that we cant turn to the so-called powers that be of the industry for answers. Someone has got to be willing to take chances. I was very inspired by the recent Radiohead release and felt compelled, almost instantly, to follow my gut and expand on their concept. Obviously, independent artists have been around for years. My indie film, Slam was in fact what opened so many doors for me. yet, the stigma of being an indie artist in the music world hasn’t always been rewarding. This time I feel different. I feel like the times have conspired to make this album an important part of history.

Whiney otm

e I had a feeling you wouldn't be hearing me and would just try to flip it and get mad, so whatever, be mad

aint not mad johnny d just sayin a) i pre-empted your criticism & b) you call out rappers for shit all the time, why is it suddenly an issue w/ you now??

We're really getting sidetracked from the real issue here, the use of the phrase "tard" in the album's title is pretty insensitive.

^^ shipley stealing PC-gone-mad jokes from britishers??

I'm specifically saying "white people don't get to tell black people how to present their own blackness" - I do think men can tell men to back off the misogyny, because while race & gender cross streams at plenty of places, they're different, and I think if you wanna argue that the stuff I'm calling "misogynist" is an essential part of representing blackness or is somehow inextricable from racial power relations, that'd be getting into some really shaky ground

you know what I mean? do you think I'm completely out of line to throw a flag on a white critic calling out a black artist for his associations with white producers?

Haha I think the only adequate approach to take here is that of Cocorosie's psychologist, who would say that while it's not prohibited for white singers to say "nigger," it is (shall we say) "very very interesting" that one would choose to put it in the song, then have to sing it to groups of people every third night for the next few years, then trade your drum loops for beatboxing from your black backing band (haha then get quoted in infamous "Kill Whitey" article), all leading up to a general chin-scratching steeple-fingered "very interesting, Cocorosie, you are very interested in black people."

-- nabisco, Wednesday, March 28, 2007 4:54 PM (6 months ago) Bookmark Link

During the first Lollapalooza tour, Jane's Addiction brings out Ice-T to perform a rendition of Sly & the Family Stone's "Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey (Don't Call Me Whitey, Nigger)". Perry Farrell sings the white part, Ice-T sings the Black part. Black quartet Living Colour comes onstage afterward and bandleader Vernon Reid announces "I'll never be anyone's nigger for entertainment..."

^^ from that big ego trip book

from Saul's forum post I just quoted:

"I’ve also thought long and hard about all the discussion surrounding racial epithets etc. and chose this title as a means of furthering the dialogue while also showing how creativity will outlive and outshine hatred of any kind."

This isn't the guy you want to attack concerning race stuff, folks.

nobody's 'attacking' saul williams here - i dug 'twice the first time' and slam, hated his rock-rap bullshit, and only said his pattern of album naming here is 'suspect'

xpost OTM

He's probably thought about anything that anyone can say in this thread like 800 times over.

His rap-rock stuff is great!

calling someone's actions 'suspect' is not the same as attacking him, note the use of quotes

I imagine this album will sound a lot like El-P's album.

The real issue here is that Saul is hit and miss on his best day and Trent is miss and miss on everything in the last ten years or so.

Back of envelope math predicts a 75% suck ratio.

Still worth $5?

xposts

ok ok, I take that "attack" back - I should have used another verb.

http://www.dance-lyrics.com/ama/youve_come_a_long_way_baby_b00000d9vl.jpghttp://www.dance-lyrics.com/ama/youve_come_a_long_way_baby_b00000d9vl.jpg

wtf majesticons is good

majeticons is just OK compared to his early work.

i really liked the west coast rap style track on it though, something about "two white heifers on ecstasy" and bragging about his purple chuck taylor shoes

Judd and Molly

By Dom Passantino

Click here to send comments

Click here if you'd like to exchange critiques

Chapter #1- House of Pain

Judd put the gun down. It was an impressive gun, more than enough to fulfil any Leone or Peckinpah fantasy Judd entertained. But, unfortunately, it didn’t work for the Mills and Boon lifestyle that Judd wanted. 18 months he’d spent stalking Molly, and she didn’t even think to give him a second look? Did she know what he’d been through to try and get through to her? Did she understand what he felt? Did she realise how difficult it was to find her address so he could send flowers to her? Especially after she went ex-directory, commenting wryly to Judd “You go anywhere near my house, and my boyfriend will cut your cock off, you bloody f---ed-up freak”. She had a definite way with words, did Molly. Very much cut in the Ian McEwan mould. If Ian McEwan were an 18 year old girl with constant cold sores and a Hello Kitty lunchbox. But, still, despite all of the problems, Judd still loved Molly. It was all he could do, really, love her, never leave her.

Judd knew about the thunderbolt, that one moment in your life when you realise that you’ve just seen the person you wish to spend your entire life with. Judd knew all about it. However, he didn’t expect the thunderbolt to descend from the sky one rainy Monday morning, in an English literature lesson, whilst the well meaning, but hopelessly Radio 4, teacher wittered on about William Blake. Molly… Molly was… Judd didn’t know what she was. He’d spent 1the past 18 months of his life focusing on that girl non-stop, fantasising about every possible scenario involving her, allowing her to eat into every single moment of his life. She was his A.I.D.S.… and yet he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was he found so attractive, so attractive, so important about her. She wasn’t beautiful, by any stretch of the imagination. Crueller tongues in the school compared her to Patty and/or Selma. Her hair was pulled back with a bulldog clip, giving her bun the same tension as Joan Rivers’ skin. Her clothing resembled a ram-raiding attack on River Island, random bits of fashion that was already 3 days out of date. She wore see-through mules, revealing her anaemic-fairy white skin further, her toe-nails done meticulously in purple, and yet still looking neglected. No, it wasn’t really her looks that attracted him to her.

Her personality? Her personality? No, definitely not. Molly’s interests could be listed in three as Tom Stoppard, deep trance, and deep throat. The usual hobbies of the modern middle class girl, really. Her voice was the voice of a self-mutilator, full of pauses, stops and starts, and embarrassing ums and ahs, penetrated every so often with a tirade of violent anger and swearing, like Barry Fry on crack. It was this combination of traits that had seen Molly get shunned by nearly everyone in her year group. Everyone except her boyfriend, and practising Satanist, Leonard.

When word got around the school that a Satanist was studying there, most of the students wetted their sponges with hopes of 6 foot 7” Nick Cave types wandering about sacrificing goats and eating chickens. A bit of excitement, at least, a dangerous religion that wasn’t going to car-bomb anyone. They expected something interesting, intriguing, and sexy. What they didn’t expect was Leonard. Leonard, with his Savage Garden tee-shirts and his combat trousers. Leonard, with his foppish hairdo, and habit of talking through the side of his mouth. Leonard, with his face that seemed to have singled him out from birth for a career in I.T. networking. Leonard was an arsehole. There was no doubt about it. He was the very dictionary definition of “arsehole”. Judd was fully aware of Leonard’s arseholeness, and his entanglement with Molly only added to Judd’s problems.

With Molly being as Molly was, and there being no chance of Judd recovering from what was past, he was left to… what was he actually left to do? Nothing. Nothing at all. Absolutely sweet Fanny Addams, Faustino Asprilla, Francis of Assisi, f--- all. He wandered from day to day, desperately searching for something, anything, to occupy his time, anything not called Molly. Socialism, pornography, heroin- Judd felt like he was permanently living to edge Molly out of his life, and replace her with something… less damaging to his health.

He picked the gun back up again. Himself, Molly, or Leonard? Himself, Molly, or Leonard… Leonard had suddenly decided he wanted to be called “Leon”. It seemed that every single essence of Leonard’s being was specifically created by God to be as annoying, as grating to Judd as could possibly be. Every single little aspect that made up Leonard, from his Silverchair CDs, to his aromatherapy expertise, to his insistence on “ironically” flirting with his elderly teachers, to his foppishness. Fop, fop, fop. Hugh Grant with the spine removed.

Judd considered what it’d be like to kill Leonard, to slowly, carefully, yet violently ram that big black cock of death straight into Leonard’s mouth, past his perfectly white teeth, feeling the tension as Leonard bit down on the gun, Leonard’s breathing getting harder and harder, the silence punctuated just by his gasps, the last breaths he would ever take, before Judd pulled the trigger, and decorated the surrounding walls with fragments of Leonard’s skull, a Jackson Pollock of bloody and brainmatter appearing on the floor. Don’t get me wrong, Judd wasn’t a violent person. Far from it. He was a complete pussy. That explains why he kept putting the gun down.

“Come on, grow some guts man” Judd thought to himself, aware of how ridiculous those words sounded when said by, or in any relation to, him. A thin, smug, bespectacled guy with bad hair, trying to turn from Adrian Mole to Dirty Harry. Judd sighed. He went over to the CD player, and turned it on, hoping that he could absorb a predeliction for violence through soundwaves. House of Pain’s 1993 opus “Jump Around” attempted to fill that role for him. As Everlast ranted and rapped over the beat, Judd tried to work out what the hell to do.

He’d considered raping Molly, but that was too… undignified. He didn’t want to be a rapist, he refused to believe he was that far gone. Even in obsession, he liked to think that he had some ethics left. Each second spent thinking about Molly, though, was another second where his ethics seemed intrusive.

Judd thought about how Mafia dons can quite happily peddle heroin and force woman into crack-whoredom, but will go mad if someone insults the Pope. Twisted ideas of what is right and wrong, and when Judd peered through the looking glass of his lust for Molly, right and wrong seemed to melt like a Dali clockface. If not rape, maybe murder?

If he did shoot Molly, maybe he could make it look like a suicide pact! Maybe… maybe… just maybe…maybe he could shoot her, and then shoot himself… and there could be fake letters, suicide notes! Yes, he’d fake the suicide notes, and the letters would say that each of them loved each other, and that Leonard was evil and stopped their union, and everyone would feel sympathy for themselves, and in death everyone would think he was great, and the books would always say that him and Molly were in love, and everything would be good, and we could all go home happy and and Leonard would be put down and they’d be together in the afterlife and and and…

Judd put the gun under his chin, and pulled the trigger.

“Jump jump jump, everybody jump!”

"nappy-haired slow-grind trajectory"

http://frontwheeldrive.com/images/mike_ladd.gif

it's forgiven

mike has what the kids at my school (and i in my youth) would have called not "nap" but "jewfro"

"for all those killed by cops" is about coming down from staying up all night on drugs, if i remember right?

"your assignment: please include 30 pop culture references in a short story"

i look forward to seeing everyone else's mike ladd reviews written when they were 17

"for all those killed by cops" is easily one of my very favourite songs. there's a third -sticons album due sometime next year...

majesticons was the best thing mike ladd ever did.

ive a feeling the production on the new saul album is going to be a bit dated. he should have worked with el-p instead of trent if hes going for a murky rock-appealing bomb squad type of thing.

i saw mike ladd when i was like 18, there were like 20 other people there but it blew my miiiiind man

"someone" leaked a track on the pirate bay:

http://www.nin.com :

**UPDATE!
Seems like someone leaked a track...
http://thepiratebay.org/tor/3858980

The beats on the Majesticons LP were great, what made it a bit-less-than-awesome is that some of it's targets were kinda too easy, even if the lyrics were often really funny. The Infesticons LP on the other hand was marred by being too artsy, what with the spoken word slam poetry stuff taking up almost half of the album. If Ladd ever does the rumoured third installment in the series, which is supposed to be a synthesis between the Infesticons and Majesticons, it should have the potential for greatness.

I'm halfway through my first listen and I'm not sure what to think just yet, except that a) no one should cover U2 and b) the chorus of the title track is actually pretty funny.

"When I say 'Niggy', you say nothin'! Niggy."
(pause)
"Niggy."
(pause)
"When I say 'Niggy', you say nothin'! Niggy."
"Nothing!"
"Shut up."

Also besides "Scared Monkey" this might as well be Year Zero Pt 2, which is not a good thing. Waaaay too much Trent input on this thing.

the cover of sunday bloody sunday... hmm.

in 2 consecutive posts Simon H. made me think "maybe I do want to hear this album" and then "ok, maybe not."

Hey, this is actually pretty g-

"Hail Mary, Mother of God / Got your whole host of angels shuffling on my iPod"

WHAT

OW (MY BRAIN)

I'm pleasantly surprised by this album.

"the cover of sunday bloody sunday..."

quite awful i thought.

half the album is quite awful in fact. a lot of the industrial/rockier elements just sound really corny.

ok ok, I might be wrong. :-)

a) no one should cover U2

RONG

counterpoint:

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b351/MrClivver/SH105417s.jpg

^ on point

It's a good record
I like the music and words
Hello all you guys

It's a strange time to be an artist in the recording business. It's pretty easy to see what NOT to do these days, but less obvious to know what's right. As I find myself free from the bloated bureaucracy of major labels, finally able to do whatever I want... well, what is that? What is the "right" way to release records, treat your music and your audience with respect and attempt to make a living as well? I have a number of musician friends who are either in a similar situation or feel they soon will be, and it's a real source of anxiety and uncertainty.
I'd like to share my experience releasing Saul Williams' "The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust" and what I've learned from the process. Perhaps by revealing of all our data - our "dirty laundry" - we can contribute to a better solution.

A quick history: Saul makes a great record that I produce. We can't find the right home at a major label. We decide to release it ourselves, digitally. Saul does not have limitless financial resources so we shop around for a company that can fulfill our needs. We choose Musicane because they are competent and are willing to adapt to what we want. The results are here: niggytardust.com

We offer the entire record free (as in totally free to the visitor - we pay bandwidth costs) as 192 MP3s, or for $5 you can choose higher fidelity versions and feel good about supporting the artist directly. We offer all major CCs and PayPal as payment options.
Here's what I was thinking: Fans are interested in music as soon as it's available (that's a good thing, remember) and usually that's a leak from the label's manufacturing plants. Offering the record digitally as its first appearance in the marketplace eliminates that problem. I thought if you offered the whole record free at reasonable quality - no strings attached - and offered a hassle free way to show support that clearly goes straight to the artists who made it at an unquestionably low price people would "do the right thing". I know, I know...
Well, now I DO know and you will too.

Saul's previous record was released in 2004 and has sold 33,897 copies.

As of 1/2/08,
154,449 people chose to download Saul's new record.
28,322 of those people chose to pay $5 for it, meaning:
18.3% chose to pay.

Of those paying,

3220 chose 192kbps MP3
19,764 chose 320kbps MP3
5338 chose FLAC

Keep in mind not one cent was spent on marketing this record. The only marketing was Saul and myself talking as loudly as we could to anybody that would listen.
If 33,897 people went out and bought Saul's last record 3 years ago (when more people bought CDs) and over 150K - five times as many - sought out this new record, that's great - right?
I have to assume the people knowing about this project must either be primarily Saul or NIN fans, as there was very little media coverage outside our direct influence. If that assumption is correct - that most of the people that chose to download Saul's record came from his or my own fan-base - is it good news that less than one in five feel it was worth $5? I'm not sure what I was expecting but that percentage - primarily from fans - seems disheartening.
Add to that: we spent too much (correction, I spent too much) making the record utilizing an A-list team and studio, Musicane fees, an old publishing deal, sample clearance fees, paying to give the record away (bandwidth costs), and nobody's getting rich off this project.

But...
Saul's music in in more people's iPods than ever before and people are interested in him. He'll be touring throughout the year and we will continue to get the word out however we can.

So - if you're an artist looking to utilize this method of distribution, make of these figures what you will and hopefully this info is enlightening.

Best,
TR

DLed this for free; have listened to it once and am not that fussed to again. Is it just me or does Saul's singing voice sound very Reznoresque all of a sudden?

My mates got a spare ticket to see him in Hoxton tonight so I'm going along. Don't really know what to expect from him live. I like Amethyst Rock Star, but haven't really been into much he's done since aside from the odd tune.

So, he's got a VERY compelling stage presence and seems like a nice, funny guy. Tight band also. However, they only played new songs, most of which didn't seem great.

Almost the best part was in the encore, when he did Coded Language acappella and totally killed it. Then said "I don't know what any of that means".

http://blog.amtrak.com/amtrakresidency/