man Liquid Swords is totally backloaded, all the best songs are in the second half
― the Whiney G. Weingarten Memorial 77 Clique (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 11 November 2010 20:58 (thirteen years ago) link
this thread will be glad to know that I FINALLY bought Return to the 36 Chambers today thanks to all of you (they didn't have Liquid Swords or Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...)
― Baron Strange of Knockin (DJP), Thursday, 11 November 2010 21:08 (thirteen years ago) link
holy shit I'd forgotten that this is fucking amazing
― Baron Strange of Knockin (DJP), Thursday, 11 November 2010 21:11 (thirteen years ago) link
the holy ghost got you scared to death kid boo
― death panel of the mods (Edward III), Thursday, 11 November 2010 21:16 (thirteen years ago) link
that album is deep, if it weren't for my corny love for liquid swords I totally would've voted for it
the bonus tracks are so good it's hard to imagine the album without them
yell at 4:50 is incredible
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlsE2Pz-AoE
― death panel of the mods (Edward III), Thursday, 11 November 2010 21:22 (thirteen years ago) link
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2010/12/06/101206crat_atlarge_sanneh?currentPage=4
Another great American lyricist has just published a book of his own: “Finishing the Hat” (Knopf; $39.95), by Stephen Sondheim, is curiously similar in form to “Decoded.” Sondheim is just as appealing a narrator as Jay-Z, although he’s much less polite. (While Jay-Z has almost nothing bad to say about his fellow-rappers, Sondheim is quick to disparage his rivals, subject to a “cowardly but simple” precept: “criticize only the dead.”) But where Jay-Z wants to help readers see the poetry in hip-hop, Sondheim thinks poeticism can be a problem: in his discussion of “Tonight,” from “West Side Story,” he half apologizes for the song’s “lapses into ‘poetry.’ ” And where Bradley and DuBois are quick to praise rappers for using trick rhymes and big words, Sondheim is ever on guard against “overrhyming” and other instances of unwarranted cleverness. “In theatrical fact,” he writes, “it is usually the plainer and flatter lyric that soars poetically when infused with music.” Most rappers are no less pragmatic: they use the language that works, which is sometimes ornate, but more often plainspoken, even homely. (One thinks of Webbie, the pride of Baton Rouge, deftly rhyming “drunk as a fuckin’ rhino” with “my people gon’ get they shine on.”) Maybe future anthologies will help show why the most complicated hip-hop lyrics aren’t always the most successful.
― lotta diamonds ... but prolly more display names (deej), Tuesday, 30 November 2010 04:44 (thirteen years ago) link
am considering undertaking something of an academic exploration into ALL of the Wu solo albums (jesus there are a lot) and seeing what few undiscovered/underrated gems there are
― The Uncanny Frankie Valley (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 16 November 2011 17:13 (twelve years ago) link
U-God albums, how bad are they
― The Uncanny Frankie Valley (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 16 November 2011 17:17 (twelve years ago) link
i would read that tumblr
― this is unusual for batman. (Jordan), Wednesday, 16 November 2011 17:42 (twelve years ago) link
well first up: Cappadonna's the Pillage. This is 1/3rd of a decent record, the majority of it is pointless and at least one track (Young Heart) is outright terrible. The dude just doesn't have enough personality and wit to make a decent solo record. He has no ear for lyrical hooks, his flow is monotonous and kinda clumsy... half the time it sounds like he's just stringing random catchphrases together. Unsurprisingly, the handful of gems on here are the cuts with other Wu members, and the single (Milk the Cow) was the only one where Cappa came up with a decent hook for the chorus. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cqwIfllkDshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g53nActB9c0Ghost kills this one:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T23A61CBivohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAGKH0JFBzwone of the better beats, and probably the only song on the album that Cappa really carries all by himself:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32n_21HSp3cMeth puts Cappa to shame on this:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhbYpZepYSQand the album closer, which sounds like it could've been a great song if RZA and Ghost had made the effort to actually finish it instead of just letting it run on and on for 2 extra minuteshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88jCMNxr6Ac
― The Uncanny Frankie Valley (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 17 November 2011 18:58 (twelve years ago) link
huh this GZA/Muggs record is way better than I would have expected
― The Uncanny Frankie Valley (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 18 November 2011 00:23 (twelve years ago) link
That got pretty good reviews at the time iirc although i've never heard it
― Number None, Friday, 18 November 2011 00:25 (twelve years ago) link
I haven't heard anything Muggs has done since like '99 or something so I dunno if he's just aping RZA on it or if this is what he sounds like now (or did in 2005 anyway). but yeah it's solid. I'll post about it more tomorrow
― The Uncanny Frankie Valley (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 18 November 2011 00:29 (twelve years ago) link
the nfl track is CHEEZY
but the rest of it is good
― lil jon & vangelis (fennel cartwright), Friday, 18 November 2011 00:55 (twelve years ago) link
i actually bought Pillage when I went through my "buy every Wu-Tang affiliated release I don't currently own, no matter how minute or pointless" phase last year. Never even got through one listen. ZzzzZzzzzzzzzzzzz.
I like the first Inspectah Deck solo album tho
― no jesus, no piece (Neanderthal), Friday, 18 November 2011 02:45 (twelve years ago) link
first u-god album is underrated imo
― upright shitizen's brigade (Whiney G. Weingarten), Friday, 18 November 2011 02:57 (twelve years ago) link
I even bought that GZA "Pro Tools" one ....kinda meh, tho mostly due to the production.
― no jesus, no piece (Neanderthal), Friday, 18 November 2011 03:01 (twelve years ago) link
"I like the first Inspectah Deck solo album tho"
Yeah, thats a cool lp. Inspectah is great throughout. Always loved the horribly schmoopy hook on the title track, good memories trying to sing like that fool. I sing that hook to my kid on occasion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ee2NrhXEGWs
R.E.C. Room is a classic Wu banger.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzDxg5psp9o
― I'm a HOOS hunter in the winter (Spottie_Ottie_Dope), Friday, 18 November 2011 04:41 (twelve years ago) link
Muggs Gza album was kinda cool at the time but doesnt have any staying power. Pro Tools is boring. I bought Pillage back when, like 25% good iirc.
― I'm a HOOS hunter in the winter (Spottie_Ottie_Dope), Friday, 18 November 2011 04:43 (twelve years ago) link
this is classic solo deck from 95
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs60xcgJZzo
quite aggy, this one
― missingNO, Friday, 18 November 2011 11:40 (twelve years ago) link
bob digi album is best post classic era solo lp in my humble opinion. fuck what you think, daily routine, mantis holocaust terrorist domestic violence all sick
― missingNO, Friday, 18 November 2011 11:46 (twelve years ago) link
That one had the odd good track a cool cover, but I don't think RZA's rapping can carry a whole album.
― good luck in your pyramid (Neil S), Friday, 18 November 2011 11:51 (twelve years ago) link
there are some decent tracks on the first u god album
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmek6pR7jO4
― historyyy (prettylikealaindelon), Friday, 18 November 2011 13:50 (twelve years ago) link
This is great (but it's on one of the Chronicles too):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31naoRYXHK4
― Fig On A Plate Cart (Alex in SF), Friday, 18 November 2011 13:53 (twelve years ago) link
yeah was gonna come here to say that there are def some low points, the labored sex-as-football rhymes being the worst. in general it's pretty consistent. his rhyme style is so clinical and dry it can get kinda boring, his tunes really live or die on the strength of the storytelling imho. these are the ones I thought were standouts:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQPJUV3n6Sshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk4RTJzmlgohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-7g03iM3tU&feature=relatedhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BudaSqOZpkE&feature=related
― The Uncanny Frankie Valley (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 18 November 2011 16:27 (twelve years ago) link
y'know, Immobilarity is really not that bad
― If I was a carpenter, and you were a douchebag (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 24 December 2012 17:25 (eleven years ago) link
this thread has some amazing posts
― Does the RS Tsarnaev Cover Offend You, Yeah? (Whiney G. Weingarten), Tuesday, 23 July 2013 22:15 (eleven years ago) link