Kanye West, Yeezus, 6/18/13 (TBC because who knows anymore)

But a hurried album is like being drunk - you may something you wouldn't have said if you'd thought it through but it still occurred to you in the first place.

Yes. It is the ID exposed - as uncomfortable as that might be.

That previous statement was slightly tounge in cheek but I think I have said enough now. I need to go to bed. Cheerio everyone.

if kanye spent more time on it (he seems to spend less time on writing than he does thinking about the production these days), it probably wouldnt be half as interesting or honest (i hope he never starts censoring himself, even when he comes off badly).

does interesting equate to honest?

i kind of feel that kanye gets not just a free pass but, like, a 5-star pass for ~HONESTY~ but i don't find that exposed id necessarily interesting in and of itself

to be clear: i think yeezus is a pretty decent album, but v little of what i find interesting or effective has anything to do with his third-hand patrick bateman "honesty"

Lex there's gonna be a point - sooner than later, I imagine - when that pass gets pulled

Yeah, this is Kanye's genius - making people think that working harder to be a better writer counts as "censoring himself". It's a rockist notion that sloppiness = raw honesty.

"And while there's no real excuse for flat oafishness like "eatin' Asian pussy, all I need was sweet and sour sauce," many of the album's most powerful moments have him broken down, insecure, and bloody, railing against an ineptitude with the opposite sex."

The Tyler, the Creator defence. It's as if people don't realise that awkwardness with women is often the root of misogyny not an excuse for it.

I think there's plenty of self-consciousness or self-satire on the record. The Kanye character in the songs comes across like a buffoon or an embarrassing immature jerk as often as he does a transcendent power tripping god figure. It's impossible to excuse the misogyny on the record, I think in part because it's part of the seductive power trip of the whole. The record it's reminding me of now is Slayer's Reign in Blood, another remorseless Rick Rubin pummel. That record is scary, too. The fascination with Nazis and death a similar thematic bete noire.

Production-wise, has anyone brought up El-P yet? Because that's what this electro hip-hop dystopia reminds me of.

haven't read all of the thread yet but:

Why do debates about Kanye always devolve into the sympathetic and intentional fallacies? Why is criticism about him so insistently moralizing? I don't read the lyrical content as something that needs to be endorsed or condemned, and I think it's similarly beside the point to fret about the persona he puts across, as if we need to "approve" of the art and the artist that compels, moves, confuses us. Obviously it repels and attracts at the same time, and Kanye presents us not with a unified character but a series of fragmented selves. It's the very lack of platitudinous generalities, his willingness to go out on batshit and arguably offensive limbs, that make Kanye still fascinating, to me. And yeah, I think he is saying some pretty profound things about what it's like to be alive, right now, in a way that no other artist is brave enough to do right now. And I think everyone can agree that the sonics on this record are amazing. I didn't realize I wanted a version of Blood on the Tracks by the Knife, but it is scratching a really big itch for me. Can't stop listening.

― drew in baltimore, Saturday, June 15, 2013 2:02 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark

is massively otm

I'd like to say I like this album a lot not cause Kanye is oh so interesting and unique but more cause I like weird noisy beats especially when they have King Louie rapping on them, but then I imagine what if an uninspiring performer with a neutral persona like J. Cole or Wale made this album and it all falls apart. So yeah, it's undeniable Kanyeness is important and that's ok.

― The Reverend, Saturday, June 15, 2013 7:18 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark

also this

i think my favorite kanye is the kanye that leaves his fingerprints all over the track - not afraid to say that 808s is probably my favorite kanye album. i've only listened to this once yesterday (and out of order!) but will be rinsing it.

I love "On Sight" through "New Slaves" basically because Kanye turns himself into a ugly noise to match the beats.

like at this point in the career it's much more interesting to build a ten song suite around permutations of 'monster' than 'the good life'

although production wise this album still kind of sounds like ass, i blame kanye for mixing this on dre beats instead of proper studio phones

Jeromey-romey-rome

Finally heard "Bound 2" in finished form, it's a lot better/deeper

i wrote a review that kinda delves into the "using language symbolic of racism/oppression to talk about my crazy celeb life" stuff: http://blogs.citypaper.com/noise/index.php/2013/06/album-review-yeezus-by-kanye-west/

one thing i meant to bring up there, and unfortunately forgot, is how this squares with lil wayne's infamous "beat the pussy up like emmitt till" -- obviously none of the kanye lined are that bad but i'm not sure they're that much better or even that much different

sorry, misspelled that, emmett till

As Yeezus trudges through a self-conscious dark period in the career narrative West is constantly writing, I half-expect to hear John C. Reilly’s Dewey Cox shout “Goddamn it, this is a dark fucking period!”

lol

on the plane scared as hell the pussy look like emmett till

great review shipz

the most even-keeled yet

"A line referencing Deepak Chopra suggests only the loosest possible understanding of both who Chopra is and how to pronounce his name"

lol

yeah great review!

Yeah, best review on Yeezus I've read!

The Kanye character in the songs comes across like a buffoon or an embarrassing immature jerk as often as he does a transcendent power tripping god figure

we get the gods we deserve, right?

+1 some dude

Great review some dude

the thought of kanye writing half of the album's lyrics in a hurry because he wants to catch a plane means that lyrically, this is probably the most true to himself he's going to get

and by that, I mean that kanye has a fuzzy take on race and misogyny and thinks that it's cool to invoke history and struggle as metaphors in his own life. or just ignore meaning. or he genuinely doesn't think about these things. is he better or worse than lil wayne at this? not that I want to set the bar at that level.

idk, he probably sampled strange fruit out of context before he wrote the lyrics

then again, "300 like the romans"

Yep, that review was great.

oh, should have read some dude's review, I think you've got it covered!

Thanks y'all!

Awesome review.

people sure find transcendent power tripping god figures in the most idiotic places

god is in the tv
-- some guy daft punk helped kanye sample

holy shit @ "I Am A God"

please elaborate on "holy shit" because that's probably my favorite

My first impression is that "I Am A God" is the best thing Kanye has ever released.

that's what I thought when I heard "Black Skinhead" on the album.

The first three songs are so, so, so good.

If the Daft Punk album had sounded like this, I would have LOVED it (and everyone else would probably have hated it, lol)

nah, that was what people were hoping for from DP, I think? or more accurately, something like the live album where all the rough edges of individual tracks are worn down into over-riding grooves with lots of different bits thrown in.

which is really what kanye's m.o. is here, you get a sample, an occasional dancehall verse, some intense beats, and some ott bad lyricism... all in the course of one track!

the first four songs on this are terrific yeah

got the popcorn out for when DJP gets beyond them

okay I just got to "I be speakin' Swaghili" and dude clearly must be stopped

Lol

DJP couldn't like that song more if it was "I AM A GOTH"

okay I just got to "I be speakin' Swaghili" and dude clearly must be stopped

you're welcome

i like how he stresses "am" like he's contradicting someone

DJP couldn't like that song more if it was "I AM A GOTH"

Yeah no kidding! It got to the screaming and I was basically like "OH MY GOD WHERE HAS THIS BEEN ALL MY LIFE"

I am trying to give him the benefit of the doubt on "Blood on the Leaves" because it sounds interesting and he quotes Kendrick in the middle of it but the juxtaposition of the "Strange Fruit" vocal sample is testing my patience