Music Review (9/11/07)

This 9/11 was not marked by the war between the United States and Al Qaeda, but by the battle between 50 Cent & KanYe West. Both released their new albums ('Curtis' and 'Graduation') today, and both guaranteed to outsell the other with 50 Cent at one point offering to stop writing music if KanYe moved more units (though I believe he has since reneged). In the past, 50 has been far more successful comercially than West but if sales of the pre-release single, "Stronger", from Kanye's 'Graduation' are any indication, this latest record from the self-proclaimed Louis Vitton Don may reach record sales. I stopped by Best Buy on my lunch break and picked up 'Graduation' for $9.99 (I love this program of new releases for $10 which rewards the aficionados and leaves you with DRM-free songs), opting to leave 50's 'Curtis' album on the shelves. Not saying that 50's stuff is trash, I've just never thought of him as making great records, just hit singles.

KanYe West: Graduation

So far, I'm thrilled with the album. This dude must have stockpiles of the latest & greatest mixing & production equipment. Who else can take a Daft Punk techno song and make it cooler by mixing and digitizing it even more? Not to mention the genius lyrics he throws in. KanYe understands sound engineering and he hires the best (e.g. Jon Brion) to put out a good product. The only song I haven't liked is "Drunk and Hot Girls" though, admittedly, it is kind of humorous. This album features oodles of clever rhymin'. "Bow in the presence of greatness. You should be honored by my lateness..." I thought the album would have more political themes than it does, given his politically controversial track record and what with the 9/11 release, but unless I'm just obtuse I didn't notice hardly any anti-Bush/anti-war material. I'm bummed Lupe didn't make a guest appearance on this record but Mr. West reeled in some cool guests like DJ Premiere who does some pretty dope scratching on "Everything I'm Not", and on "Homecoming" he brought in Chris Martin of Coldplay and what sounds like Michael McDonald or Phil Collins or something playing on a Casio. On a scale from -10.0 to 10.0 (Neil Young: 'Arc' being a -10) I would give this album the following rating:

Rating: 8.2

Liars: Liars

Don't let the self-titled eponymousness fool you, this is not their first album. The NYC band, Liars, recently released their 4th (or so) album. It's less of a mood piece than its predecessor, 'Drum's Not Dead', relying more on drum machine beats and conventional rhythms. But their signature low-voice, atmospheric melodies are in tact. Whereas with 'Drum's Not Dead' I didn't like it a ton at first but enjoyed it more and more with every listen, I instantly fell for 'Liars' and it's yet to be determined what my take on it will be after numerous spins, but for now, I haven't grown tired of it one bit.

Rating: 8.0

M.I.A.: Kala

The British-born Sri Lankan follows up her moderately successful tribal dance pop album, 'Arular' with this latest gem. Now that she's hit it big (i.e. Timbaland collaborated on this album), she's able to produce some sounds that she couldn't attain on her last album. On the whole, I don't like this particular album as much as 'Arular' but it's got 3 or 4 songs that are fantastic (Jimmy, 20 Dollar, Paper Planes). She is known for being eclectic and taking bits and pieces of all the unique musical sounds of the world (Brazilian, Congo, Indian) and putting her Electronica twist on them. The liner notes referred to her as a "citizen of the world whose religion is doing good to others."

Rating: 7.1