NEW AMERYKAH, POLL 1 (4th World War)

I always skip the intro but I don't hate it; I just always want to start out on "The Healer".

(then usually I skip back to the beginning of "The Healer" and listen to it again)

^this (rev). they still make me smile/loosen me up/get me ready for the record even now

"does anyone hating the ramp track ever listen to those ghostface records where he pushes play and raps on top? how do you live with yourselves?"

i hate those too actually, although i prefer erykahs song more, just cos its still a great song. but soul and hip hop have diff rules. its not even the same thing actually - erykah isnt singing over the vocals of the ramp song like ghostface was, just the instrumental parts.

Okay, now you've gone from RONG (opinion-wise) to RONG (factually). She does talk over the vocals from the RAMP song.

Also, neither soul or hiphop have rules.

first track is really my favourite because of the impact on first listen and yeah it's the most FUN(k) thing on this

^^^

Some people on this thread sound like:

I refuse to accept recontexualisation.

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― Geir Hongro, Monday, October 6, 2008 8:33 AM Bookmark

I like every last thing on this album. If I denigrate the second half of "Master Teacher," it's only to counteract the bizarre anti-first-half sentiment.

ok i cant remember right now if she talks over the original vocals or not. either way, that song just felt a bit 'hammy' (despite being one of my fave songs on the album, flaws and all, just cos its so fierce and as said above, FUNKY). sort of like the neosoul equivalent of a tarantino film. its amazing live though. she should have done it with the band on the record. the reason i said rules is cos neo soul artists always pride themselves on continuing in the tradition of the greats, but i dont really equate singing over old funk/soul loops as being in that tradition. but then i remember erykahs been singing over loops since the first album, as have several other, so, hey, that little bug bear of mine doesnt really mean much.

the 1st half of master teacher is fine, i like the woozy loop, but the second half is divine.

Yes, the first half has a bizarre half-dreamy, half-clumsy lope that I love.

I don't think (m)any people here are saying that track 1 sucks, just that it being heavily sample-based makes it harder to call it a "song" rather than an "intro," or at least not one of the best songs or a favorite.

georgia anne still sucks though lol. i like the fact that theres someone singing so fucking weirdly, just not the actual singing.

dudes it's not like i don't get sampling/recontextualization, come on. i just think it's a really lazy track and i wish she would have done more to make it her own.

xp

I have no problem with that. I more or less regard it as an intro myself, but DAMN WHAT AN INTRO. xxp

Georgia Anne rox u r all gay.

The effort isn't the point, the point is that it does what it does, which is set the record off in tremendous fashion.

okay. maybe i will just kick off my next album off with a prince track.

That would be awesome!

if you can make it that funny and enjoyable then GLHF! xp

Blatant reducto ad absurdium.

Reductio ad absurdum, rather. lol malapropism

(now i'm just being a dick, sorry)

xp

not any more reductionist than comparing me to geir because i don't like this particular track

fair enough

i disagree but calling something the neosoul equivalent of a tarantino film deserves an otm. it just has to be applied to something else first. and i was having trouble believing anyone could really summon any hatred for master teacher pt 2. part one is great. it pops up on that jank random record someone mentioned here a while back.

i never knew the first song was ramp, but it's funny, because i always used to think it was a good example of something new drawing on old stuff without being too indebted. like it's obviously some kinda drells sly stone groove track, but it didn't seem too reverent or retro. maybe it's because of everything on top.

Jordan's totally otm and u dudes sound like chumps.

how many of you guys are always bumping the illmatic intro like "what a classic nas track!!!!"

the ghostface example doesnt make any sense as a pt of comparison

an intro functions as an intro, stop trying to make it something diff

i never knew the first song was ramp, but it's funny, because i always used to think it was a good example of something new drawing on old stuff without being too indebted. like it's obviously some kinda drells sly stone groove track, but it didn't seem too reverent or retro. maybe it's because of everything on top.

― schlump, Monday, January 5, 2009 1:29 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

this doesnt make any sense -- 'reverent' or 'retro' is not the issues. its just the o.g. track w/ talking over it. thats it.

deej lemme tell you a lil bit about sampling and recontextualization, and then lemme hang myself for being a dunderhead.

I always listen to the intro when I listen to Illmatic.

the talking works though, it ruptures the original and is slightly frightening in a way that sets the tone for the album proper

(i mean i'm not defending it as anything other than an intro but on those terms it works)

maybe it would feel more like an intro if it was shorter, as it is it's longer than the healer.

if anything it lulls you into thinking the rest of the LP is gonna be that raucous. and it may be an intro but it's not just a mantra on loop ala My People or Master Teachers - you could argue that as lazier but i'm cool with all these things really.

"how many of you guys are always bumping the illmatic intro like "what a classic nas track!!!!"

plz, don't give people here more reason to be challopsy, this is just asking for it.
anyway, new america > the genesis. i treat erykah's as if it were an actual song...its got important context in the album and it was the first track on this that i really really liked, if only because it made me laugh the first time

i think it 'works' as an intro i just think that calling it 'recontextualization! lets have serious art discussion about a jacked track that she talks over!!' is some serious silliness, beyond ppl challopsing about the grey album

Whatever, I feel strongly about this.

Can we pretend I never brought the geir quote into this?

I mean, I meant that facetiously, and y'all are acting like it's the crux of my argument.

i dont get why people are dismissing it as just an intro. its a full blown song.

how so

i mean its a full blown RAMP song, not a full blown erykah song

You people are so fucking boring.

shall we talk about 'amerykahn promise' a bit more?

god i need someone to bring me a drink

a mint julep would do the job right about now

are there any itunes bonus tracks to argue about?

did you all ever hear 'real thang' in the end?

gossipgirl.jpg

what do u guys think of the minute before 'honey' -- what a genius bit of recontextualization amirite :D

i mean its a full blown RAMP song, not a full blown erykah song

― choom gangsta (deej), Monday, 5 January 2009 21:52 (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

deej consistently OTM IMHO

Gossip Girl is pregnant for the third time.

I have tasted the challops in the mind of the universe.