i used to think RT was a troll, but he just appears to be another guy on the internet w/ a short fuse. and a capslock key that catches.
― I dunno. (amateurist), Saturday, 20 December 2014 03:19 (nine years ago) link
Hey yeah can we go back to talking about how amazing "1000 Deaths" and "The Charade" and "Sugah Daddy" (and the rest of the album) are and stop talking about whether D'Angelo would win an amazing rap battle of history with Mozart or whatever
― quan voice (voodoo chili), Saturday, 20 December 2014 03:41 (nine years ago) link
Big 'Zart had mad #bars
― waddy watchel (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Saturday, 20 December 2014 03:43 (nine years ago) link
salieri wrote all his rhymes tho
― I dunno. (amateurist), Saturday, 20 December 2014 03:44 (nine years ago) link
salieri was the mad skills of the classical period
― waddy watchel (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Saturday, 20 December 2014 03:55 (nine years ago) link
Salary went off the sermonizing deep end on Unplugged 2.0.
― Eric H., Saturday, 20 December 2014 04:04 (nine years ago) link
I know this album isn't really that short -- 56 minutes -- but the sequencing makes it feel like it ends too soon. The back half is so strong and flows so well together that it's a letdown when it ends. Feels like it should keep going and going.
― something of an astrological coup (tipsy mothra), Saturday, 20 December 2014 04:59 (nine years ago) link
the songs on this record are among the shortest 5-minute songs i've ever heard... i mean that as a major compliment. they are so engaging and engrossing, and they end and i'm like, "wait, that's it? i could have listened to another 10 minutes of that."
― I dunno. (amateurist), Saturday, 20 December 2014 05:26 (nine years ago) link
that' what happens when you have real musicians playing real instruments and a vocal genius leading them
― ..but is he a virtuoso? (Raccoon Tanuki), Saturday, 20 December 2014 10:48 (nine years ago) link
thanks, dad.
― I dunno. (amateurist), Saturday, 20 December 2014 11:00 (nine years ago) link
flugelhorn genius
― Dej & the Fommly Loaf (The Reverend), Saturday, 20 December 2014 11:10 (nine years ago) link
lol instruments are so old lol aren't they atually made of wood??? LOL wtf. actual musicians rofl get with the times grandad we just rub our clits now and wear giant mouse heads
― ..but is he a virtuoso? (Raccoon Tanuki), Saturday, 20 December 2014 12:06 (nine years ago) link
sounds like a party
― Adding ease. Adding wonder. Adding (contenderizer), Saturday, 20 December 2014 12:22 (nine years ago) link
One of the reasons I love "Sugah Daddy" is cause it sounds like if the "just because the record's got the groove" part of "Sir Duke" was extrapolated into a full song.
― quan voice (voodoo chili), Saturday, 20 December 2014 12:24 (nine years ago) link
deadmaus's clit is MIDI?
― waddy watchel (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Saturday, 20 December 2014 14:03 (nine years ago) link
Ben Kane says it's Mark Hammond (not familiar but he's a jazz dude apparently) on the fancy flamenco guitar on 'Really Love', D on other guitars, and Gadson on drums again (fooled me! the extra snaps and claps make it sound very Quest-ish).
listening back to that bootleg that went around a few years ago and the final version is definitely an improvement.
― virtuoso thigh slapper (Jordan), Saturday, 20 December 2014 15:05 (nine years ago) link
As always, I enjoy/appreciate the instrumental detail and feel, regardless of who plays what where, and here the lyrics add something, though also as always, the vocals keep me a little detached, and currently get a little annoying, with that tendency to blur, if not strain---doesn't always happen: I really like "Sugah Daddy" for inst, and ”Till It’s Done (Tutu)” is very fine---but whatever you think of this set, don't sleep the *actual* Sly's 2014 (imperfect but often excellent) anthology, which is also timely, in a startling way, esp. keyboard-wise:http://lightintheattic.net/releases/1451-i-m-just-like-you-sly-s-stone-flower-1969-70
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oCyHAhJgFA
― dow, Saturday, 20 December 2014 16:25 (nine years ago) link
Also, he's got me listening to this year's Prince albums again, dittoMusicology, The Hits/The B-Sides, and The Black Album, so thanks D'.
― dow, Saturday, 20 December 2014 16:28 (nine years ago) link
Third Eye Girl might be the worst backing band ever, so gross clubfooted bar band gunk
― waddy watchel (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Saturday, 20 December 2014 17:47 (nine years ago) link
made me listen to lots of old 70s and 00 soul i havent touched in a while (as well as prince). find it hard listening to individual tracks - it only really works as an album to me, though i do find certain phrases popping into my head every so often. sometimes think all the labour and attention to detail has maybe come at the expense of immediacy (save for sugah daddy), but then i think thats always been there in dangelos music.
not to return to the virtuoso argument but i think we do often conflate 'multi instrumentalist' with 'virtuoso'.
― StillAdvance, Saturday, 20 December 2014 18:11 (nine years ago) link
Didn't realize he was managed by Eric Leeds. Between Leeds, Jesse Johnson and John Blackwell, whole lotta Prince in the D'Angelo family.
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 20 December 2014 18:23 (nine years ago) link
I'm sure they each have their own story about how Prince fucked them over
― waddy watchel (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Saturday, 20 December 2014 18:47 (nine years ago) link
eric leeds must be the most patient man in america
― virtuoso thigh slapper (Jordan), Saturday, 20 December 2014 18:55 (nine years ago) link
Alan Leeds is D'Angelo's tour manager (and Prince's tour manager in the '80s). Eric Leeds the Prince saxophonist is his brother.
― R'Accoongelo and The Vanuki (some dude), Saturday, 20 December 2014 19:30 (nine years ago) link
alan leeds also worked for james brown IIRC
― I dunno. (amateurist), Sunday, 21 December 2014 00:08 (nine years ago) link
oops, i definitely know that, i do get the names confused sometimes. one of my friends ran into eric leeds at the grocery store recently, i love that minneapolis shit. :)
― virtuoso thigh slapper (Jordan), Sunday, 21 December 2014 00:57 (nine years ago) link
wondering which old prince collaborators dangelo will pick up next... surprised john blackwell is drumming for him, i thought dangelo would go for sheila e first.
― StillAdvance, Sunday, 21 December 2014 08:38 (nine years ago) link
Alan Leeds was also at the listening party. He was the one person there I would have liked to have a conversation with.
― Humorist (horse) (誤訳侮辱), Monday, 22 December 2014 00:40 (nine years ago) link
his name is all over the sleeve notes of soul/funk reissues from the 80s/90s, isn't it?
― Funky as hell even on the lap. (stevie), Monday, 22 December 2014 09:44 (nine years ago) link
for posterity:
Prayer: @Chrisdaddydave came in and crushed the drums for this one at Henson Studios in a way that only he could. #BlackMessiah
Ben Kane @kanevibrations · 5m 5 minutes agoPrayer: the claps!!! My bro @TheDangelo had me working on sound of his claps for a fortnight and I think it paid off. #PerfectingIt
Ben Kane @kanevibrations · 7m 7 minutes agoPrayer: Of course now there is also bass provided again by @pinopalladino__ and some add'l guitar and the final solo by @JesseJohnsonViP
Ben Kane @kanevibrations · 11m 11 minutes agoPrayer: the basis for this was crafted at Ds homestudio The core of what you still hear is this beautiful composition. Gtrkeybassprogramming
― virtuoso thigh slapper (Jordan), Monday, 22 December 2014 15:04 (nine years ago) link
i love the idea of the young engineer toiling away in handclap bootcamp, sort of a zen master/student situation.
― virtuoso thigh slapper (Jordan), Monday, 22 December 2014 15:05 (nine years ago) link
one of the D.C. R&B stations played "Really Love" yesterday and that really made my day. i guess that's the radio single, not "Sugah Daddy"? good choice.
― some dude, Monday, 22 December 2014 15:15 (nine years ago) link
I feel like those are the two songs that make the most sense as singles. Maybe "Another Life" or "The Charade"?
― Dej & the Fommly Loaf (The Reverend), Monday, 22 December 2014 15:20 (nine years ago) link
If there was a way to releas singles straight to the Delilah show, "Betray My Heart" would be a cinch.
― something of an astrological coup (tipsy mothra), Monday, 22 December 2014 15:47 (nine years ago) link
"Really Love" definitely has one of the album's biggest hooks but i didn't expect it as a single just because it's 2 minutes before he sings (90 seconds before the drums even come in). maybe there's a single edit that abbreviates the intro, which would be kind of a shame since it's gorgeous, but would make sense.
― some dude, Monday, 22 December 2014 16:06 (nine years ago) link
at the listening thing they said "really love" is the official single that they sent to radio
― J0rdan S., Monday, 22 December 2014 16:30 (nine years ago) link
increasingly the album this reminds me of the most is not Riot, it's Parade
― Οὖτις, Monday, 22 December 2014 20:06 (nine years ago) link
hum. It would be a "Parade" without "Kiss", "Girls and Boys" and "Sometimes it snows" !To me it sounds more like prince circa "Emancipation".I enjoy it (more and more) but it's not groundbreaking or anything. Very competent soul/funk.Also, is it just me or is the rhythm guitar out of sync or something on Tutu ?
― AlXTC from Paris, Tuesday, 23 December 2014 11:42 (nine years ago) link
i feel like a lot of things sound out of sync on this album
― lex pretend, Tuesday, 23 December 2014 11:55 (nine years ago) link
Rhythmically, it is definitely the most off-the-grid modern records I've ever heard
― fgti, Tuesday, 23 December 2014 12:43 (nine years ago) link
"Tutu" is a challenge yeah, I would say misfire but it's totally hilarious just how pushy the kit is, basically two songs at once
― fgti, Tuesday, 23 December 2014 12:48 (nine years ago) link
I like the various elements of "Tutu" but the out of sync thing is really annoying. I can't focus on anything else !Is there an explanation for this ? it's certainly not a mistake considering the level of the musicians involved and the time it took to make the album !
― AlXTC from Paris, Tuesday, 23 December 2014 12:52 (nine years ago) link
i don't hear it on "tutu" but i can't even listen to "1000 deaths" and i tried really hard
― lex pretend, Tuesday, 23 December 2014 12:56 (nine years ago) link
it's a little more Fresh than Riot to my ears, but also more its own album than any of these comparisons.
And Riot is totally a 'dark' album! in part because its chaotic production is such a well-told story, but even its brightest, most pop moments - Running Away, You Caught Me Smiling, Family Affair - have a bittersweet shadow over them.
― Funky as hell even on the lap. (stevie), Tuesday, 23 December 2014 12:56 (nine years ago) link
I think it's a deliberate decision to make the track sound live and off-the-floor. I don't know who produced what on this record, who drummed where, but Karriem does the same stuff on Badu's records: shortens the fourth beat of every bar so the track feels falling-forward, and pushes the drums ahead of the vocals. It's just way more extreme on "Black Messiah". The phasing in-and-out of sync on "1000 Deaths" is difficult and psych-y to my ears (i.e. hooray!) but I can totally understand how it'd be unattractive to lex's
― fgti, Tuesday, 23 December 2014 13:42 (nine years ago) link
I can only speculate, but I'd guess that the out-of-sync-ness of "Tutu" was likely a decision to play with the extremes of possibility of how lazy they could make the track feel. The drums are so far ahead it is ~mind-blowing~
― fgti, Tuesday, 23 December 2014 13:45 (nine years ago) link
1000 Deaths reminds me of the Fela-tributes on Common's Like Water For Chocolate
― Rallsballs@onelist.com (stevie), Tuesday, 23 December 2014 14:08 (nine years ago) link
The drums are so far ahead it is ~mind-blowing~
Same thing, but I think of it as everything else being way behind. I'll bet Questlove played right on it, whatever he was playing to.
I love it but it doesn't even sound weird to me anymore, now that we've had a decade plus to absorb Voodoo, Dilla, and everything that was influenced by that stuff. For me, D'Angelo is a stylist first & foremost and his sense of (rhythmic) feel, for how every sound fits together, is my favorite thing about this album.
― virtuoso thigh slapper (Jordan), Tuesday, 23 December 2014 14:22 (nine years ago) link
I think it's a deliberate decision to make the track sound live and off-the-floor.I can only speculate, but I'd guess that the out-of-sync-ness of "Tutu" was likely a decision to play with the extremes of possibility Yes, I hear it as being about/the story of being hazed out, in your habitual niche, gradually getting the resolve to come out of your shell, get your shit together, personally and/or politically, given the overall context of his own er career and present/ongoing social issues he's indicated that he means to address, directly here, with oblique strokes there, either way he's not gonna stick around give a big speech, about his experience or anything else, that's not him.
― dow, Tuesday, 23 December 2014 14:41 (nine years ago) link
Which would go with the deliberately against-the-grain sound of Riot, which came out at a time when marketing to the emerging mass bohemian couch stoner market, after the tumult of the 60s, tended to involve "tasty licks"---terms like "smooth grooves" and format "Quiet Storm" (from the Smokey song) were not far away.
― dow, Tuesday, 23 December 2014 14:47 (nine years ago) link