Kanye West » Passion of the Weiss

Jan
11

Sach O never ate ham, never gave a damn. I always warm up to Kanye West singles after a while but as of yet, this one leaves me pretty cold. Lex Lugor’s beat deviates slightly from his standard fare – same old southern hi-hats now with sampled orchestral stuff instead of synthesized orchestral stuff –… Continue reading »

Nov
24

Can We Get Much Higher? — A Round Table on Kanye West’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” (Floodwatch)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBrNkPyr8I8 Kanye West’s pretzels are making Floodwatch thirsty. As anyone with a pulse and an Internet connection will tell you, we are in the midst of the Yeezyocalypse. Today is the dawn of Armageddon and already My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy has received more critical fellating than any record since Kid A dropped a decade… Continue reading »

Nov
24

Can We Get Much Higher? — A Round Table on Kanye West’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” (Jeff Weiss Reply)

I promise this is almost over. It’s Wednesday morning and we’re now officially privileged enough to rock in Kanye’s cradle. My Dark Twisted Granfalloon is the best reviewed rap record since Illmatic (Bun B’s words). Never underestimate the collective insanity of the critical false karass –especially when it gives them a chance to use the… Continue reading »

Nov
23

Can We Get Much Higher? — A Round Table on Kanye West’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” (Aaron Matthews)

Aaron Matthews is in that Tonka, the color of Willy Wonka. Kanye is not an innovator. He’s a synthesizer. A lot of the ideas on this new album appeared to some degree in his earlier work: the layered synths on Graduation, his beats for Jay, Drake, and Rawse, the auto-tuned harmonies on “Jesus Walks,” and… Continue reading »

Nov
23

Can We Get Much Higher? — A Round Table on Kanye West’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” (Doc Zeus Reply)

Doc Zeus will have you know he did not change. Since I’ve only treated the Hipster Conspiracy To Ruin Music with nothing but the burning contempt that they so clearly deserve, Kanye’s ostensible 10.0 strikes me as mostly meaningless. A quick gander at the list of albums, Pitchfork have decided to come off the mountain… Continue reading »

Nov
23

Can We Get Much Higher? — A Round Table on Kanye West’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” (Disco Vietnam)

“Even in those times when I was considered to have done something so wrong, my motivation was from a good place. It’s very pure and from a good place.” – Kanye West “I have never questioned the motive of another member of the Congress or Senate with whom I’ve disagreed. I’ve questioned their judgment.” –… Continue reading »

Nov
23

Can We Get Much Higher? — A Round Table on Kanye West’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” (Sach O Reply)

Well allow Sach O to retort. So it’s officially Kanyemania out there today. Pitchfork gave the album a 10.0, Slate’s got it as album of the year and the mainstream press seems officially content to anoint Kanye as the superstar demigod he wants to be perceived as. On one hand, there’s an alarming conservatism here:… Continue reading »

Nov
22

Can We Get Much Higher? — A Round Table on Kanye West’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” (Douglas Martin)

Douglas Martin liked Kanye better when he hung out with these guys. Late Registration remains my favorite Kanye record (and of course this record and that one are the two Kanye records most alike), but I’m not as taken by this one. The ambition on both spirals out of control, but Jon Brion’s work on… Continue reading »

Nov
22

Can We Get Much Higher? — A Round Table on Kanye West’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” (Abe Beame)

Abe Beame still prefers street lights to all of the lights. Let’s narrow it down to the last ten years. Plenty of rappers have dropped albums at the peak of their fame, but Kanye is the first to drop the “zenith” album, MAXIMIZING said fame. Right now, no one is not returning a phone call… Continue reading »

Nov
22

Can We Get Much Higher? — A Round Table on Kanye West’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” (Doc Zeus)

Doc Zeus changed. As a default, my brain tends to naturally drift towards soul-crushing negativity when it comes to nearly all aspects of life. This manifests in a healthy cynicism when it comes to my attitude towards modern hip hop but when it comes to this new Kanye album, I’m pushing my entire stack of… Continue reading »