"I love life, man, ya know, life is beautiful. It's just the shit inside it that's fucked up." - De La Soul, The Grind Date
This is the last day I will be sick. It has to be. I'm so over it.
Out of 612 songs on my iPod mini, which has yet to be updated since I've been home, we've got ourselves a
Friday Random Ten
- German Test Drive - Spymob
- Only You (Bad Boy Remix w/ The Notorious B.I.G.) - 112
- She Don't Have to Know - John Legend
- Finally Woken - Jem
- Number One - John Legend
- Kata Rokkar - Björk
- Get Him Back - Fiona Apple
- 2nd Childhood - Nas
- Portions for Foxes (Live - KCRW) - Rilo Kiley
- Hold On - Sarah McLachlan
No Audioscrobbler stats this week as Audioscrobbler is having serious tech issues right now. They can't currently process the number of submissions at anywhere near a rate that makes the service useful. Hopefully that'll change but I'm not currently holding my breath.
Reconsidering The New Danger: There are some lyrical problems on Mos Def's most recent album. The Rape-Over is particularly problematic and I can't quite figure out the intentions of the track but taken as a whole the album really works. More than anything, there's some great musical moments and a wonderful exploration of both his rock and rap interests. I couldn't get the two married in my head the first time around with this album a few months ago but coming back to it, I like a lot more songs than I don't and am appreciating the out of the box artistic leaps taken in the same way I appreciate Common's Electric Circus. I just happen to think that Mos Def's artistry is much more focused and listenable than Common's attempts on that album.
Speaking of Common, I've been thinking a lot about what makes The Corner so powerful. That it isn't first person is a departure from recent tracks; that it is a fresh look at what has become a universal archetype in poor urban communities.; that it is reminiscent of The Message in it's tone and awareness; and, that the beats and rhymes are just fire. Even with the Kanye West production, it feels unique in the current popular hip hop landscape, most likely for its maturity.