Kanye West - Dark Twisted Fantasy

thing is, it doesn't have all that many strengths to balance out the many (many many) faults - the nicki verse obviously, and like "hell of a life" is the only song i actively enjoy (no coincidence that that's where kanye talks about SOMEONE ELSE for once), and i like the idea of "runaway"s douchebags/assholes chorus if not the whiny, weak execution (and certainly not the NINE STUPID MINUTES it extends to here). a three-minute "runaway" performed as a kanye west/taylor swift duet might have been a great pop song though!

i like the idea of "runaway"s douchebags/assholes chorus if not the whiny, weak execution

wow, that's interesting. i can't imagine characterizing the chorus as "weak execution." if anything, it sounds to me like a full-throated, robust execution, like he's throwing daggers with the lyrics.

kanye's singing voice is pretty much the defn of "weak execution", it's like his horrible new whiny rapping but even more nasal and insufferable

i like the song but his singing is terrible obv

With all my reservations, I find it hard to fuck with Power and Lost in the World - not coincidentally, two of the only tracks under 5 minutes long.

idk. his singing here isn't good, but it's a whole lot better than what i remember of his voice from the last album. and it's not his voice -- but rather his inflections, the way he bites down at the end of words, and the agression behind his voice -- that make his delivery compelling to me. his voice sucks.

the inflections RUIN this album - as someone said way upthread, it's the way he leans into all his awful laboured jokes and puns that really highlights how bad his lyrics are.

i like the idea of "runaway"s douchebags/assholes chorus if not the whiny, weak execution

wow, that's interesting. i can't imagine characterizing the chorus as "weak execution." if anything, it sounds to me like a full-throated, robust execution, like he's throwing daggers with the lyrics.

― Daniel, Esq., Monday, November 22, 2010 5:59 PM (8 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

"the jerkoffs, the ones who never take work off" is like the definition of a half-assed first draft chorus

- not coincidentally, two of the only tracks under 5 minutes long.

this terrifies me

As well it should.

This making-of oral history is interesting, if sycophantic. Big Sean's description of the catering reflects how I feel listening to the album: "There's great stuff for breakfast, whatever you wanted: smoothies, omelettes, chicken sausages, pork sausages, bacon, grapefruit, fresh fruit, waffles, pancakes, toast, muffins." Like, enough already, I'm full.

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/11/behind_the_scenes_of_kanye_wes.html#photo=7x70227

"the jerkoffs, the ones who never take work off" is like the definition of a half-assed first draft chorus

that's true, but the lead portion of the verse -- right up to the part you quote -- is the opposite.

sorry, i meant the chorus!

i'm going to pretend that kanye set up an elaborate breakfast buffet so that big sean was in the bathroom whenever they were recording rap verse

it's the way he leans into all his awful laboured jokes and puns that really highlights how bad his lyrics are.

Yeah but Kanye's not the only one doing this lately. Not that I'm excusing it.

feel like "Breakfasts with Kanye" could really be expanded out into a book

with Sandra Lee preparing her cottage cheese blintzes.

okay, so i'm not done listening, and this is therefore more liveblog shit, but i am loving this album to death. and sweet jesus it is appalling! and brilliant, and hilarious, and very clearly from another planet. the appalling part is never far off the radar, but neither is the damn near genius, and it's like this magnificent, hypnotic, kick-ass car that never stops crashing. a giant red fireball with "malcolm west" spelled out in diamond-encrusted block letters forevermore. and this makes me love it so damn much. i like every sound, every line, every awkward line delivery, every overloaded second of every overloaded track (so far). got to the bit about "the same people that try to blackball me" and realized that i would never not be loving this album. gah, and the "21st century schizoid man" bite is so awesome.

"tell em yeezy said they could kiss my whole ass, more specifically they can kiss my asshole, i'm an asshole? you n_____s got drugs!" dying @ this.

a giant red fireball with "malcolm west" spelled out in diamond-encrusted block letters forevermore.

http://i40.tinypic.com/29lxrva.jpg

okay, so i'm not done listening, and this is therefore more liveblog shit, but i am loving this album to death. and sweet jesus it is appalling! and brilliant, and hilarious, and very clearly from another planet. the appalling part is never far off the radar, but neither is the damn near genius, and it's like this magnificent, hypnotic, kick-ass car that never stops crashing. a giant red fireball with "malcolm west" spelled out in diamond-encrusted block letters forevermore. and this makes me love it so damn much. i like every sound, every line, every awkward line delivery, every overloaded second of every overloaded track (so far). got to the bit about "the same people that try to blackball me" and realized that i would never not be loving this album. gah, and the "21st century schizoid man" bite is so awesome.

"tell em yeezy said they could kiss my whole ass, more specifically they can kiss my asshole, i'm an asshole? you n_____s got drugs!" dying @ this.

^^^ 7.8

I love that description, contenderizer, and if I could ignore - or even relish - the flaws in the same way I would be a happy man. But nah.

got to the bit about "the same people that try to blackball me" and realized that i would never not be loving this album.

oh god this is the line that sets up a joke about his black balls

PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER, MAN

The grotesqueries in "Runaway" are defensible, but the album has at least six others.

i agree with contenderizer

this album is ok i guess

from hits daily double

KANYE AND NICKI BATTLE: Kanye West’s critically acclaimed Roc-A-Fella/IDJ album My Dark Twisted Fantasy and touted newcomer Nicki Minaj’s long-awaited Cash Money/Universal Motown debut, Pink Friday, both hit the street today and should duke it out for #1 on the HITS chart a week from tomorrow, with totals that could have a “4” in front of it.

going out in the snow tonight to buy a copy cuz this rip sounds like whole ass

lol i made j0rdan shake some other guy's head

like how nicki minaj was heavily influenced by that one busta line

it's like - i hate douchebags! and i don't like hearing them celebrate themselves.

secret best rap album out is actually curren$y's

man i cant stand yelawolf outside of like 'pop the trunk' maybe
kinda prefer the kanye album tbh even if i skip over big parts of it

After listening to the Pilot Talk sequel today, I'm ready to accept anything from him.

thats what im talking about ... esp the opening run of songs, pilot talk 2 is just dope. the only real weak spot is 'silence'

& hes rapping way better on it / less wallpaper-y than on the 1st one

the inflections RUIN this album - as someone said way upthread, it's the way he leans into all his awful laboured jokes and puns that really highlights how bad his lyrics are.

again, haven't heard the kanye album yet, but would argue the opposite re: "leans into jokes" etc. -- to me, a convincing delivery actually draws the emphasis OFF any sort of questionable lyrics, and puts the focus on the delivery itself. don't really care what any musician is saying if he/she delivers the words in an interesting way (sonically/phonetically speaking). i mean, what % of lyrics are really any good even in critically acclaimed or ILM-preferred albums, like 5% or less?

in attempting to make a case for kanye west, and failing, you actually made a decent enough case for nicki minaj

i mean, what % of lyrics are really any good even in critically acclaimed or ILM-preferred albums, like 5% or less?

also, no

so... less than 5%, then?

thought so!

that's an incredibly dim & cynical view of the music 'critics' (& i'm assuming you) like

if anyone can pull off "my music is so awesome that it makes up for my lyrics" it's def kanye tho (& at times the dream -- altho when his lyrics aren't good, they're not 'bad', they're just kinda stock)

you actually made a decent enough case for nicki minaj

same rule applies to nicki -- she's great when her delivery is great, e.g., "monster" verse, when her tone, inflection and character are so compelling that i couldn't care less what she's actually saying, and still actually have no clue, tbh

i like nicki's "monster" verse cuz it's really well written, and tho i have some issues w/ her being in robin williams mode in that song, it generally doesn't bother me anymore -- but like lex w/ kanye, i think that when nicki's lyrics are bad AND she's in robin williams mode (i.e. "lil freak") it's all types of cringeworthy -- the only verse where i think robin williams mode actually amplifies a verse is "bottoms up"

if anyone can pull off "my music is so awesome that it makes up for my lyrics" it's def kanye tho

j0rdan c'mon it's not just kanye, it's fucking everyone!

i mean

metacritic top albums of 2010:
http://www.metacritic.com/browse/albums/score/metascore/year?sort=desc

show me the non-reissue albums on this list w/ great (not just passable -- GREAT) lyrics

janelle? ...maybe occasionally?
big boi at times but there's plenty of cringe-worthy stuff there too

i mean really

the difference is kanye puts his lyrics at center stage, even ahead of the production

well i'm not talking about GREAT lyrics -- clearly tons of artists make great albums w/o great lyrics -- with kanye i'm saying that he can make great music (pretty much strictly on his own albums -- not even good friday) when the lyrics are actively bad -- that's pretty unique

the difference is kanye puts his lyrics at center stage, even ahead of the production

― ＿|￣|○|￣|○|￣|○ (dayo), Monday, November 22, 2010 8:04 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark

i don't agree w/ this

yeah couldn't disagree more

show me the non-reissue albums on this list w/ great (not just passable -- GREAT) lyrics

on that list? bruce springsteen; deerhunter; kanye; lcd soundsystem; grinderman; titus andronicus; the books (sort of lyrics); others.

springsteen = reissue
deerhunter, no
kanye, occasionally great, much more often cringe-worthy
lcd, nah, not on the new album at least
grinderman 2 has some really great one-liners i'll admit
titus, no idea
books, no idea

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot has classic lyrics btw