LA Times » Passion of the Weiss

Jan
16

I don’t begrudge John Legend his popularity. I wished I liked the guy more. He seems nice enough, wears argyle, went to Penn. It’s not that he isn’t talented. He’s a nimble piano player and wields a powerful singing voice. That said, there may not be a more cloying performer out there. The guy’s sappier… Continue reading »

Jan
12

LA Times: Get Hip; This is Life, Y’All

Yes, I know, another “link-to post.” All apologies. Credit a mild case of post-New Year’s indolence and the cold reality that you don’t need Jay Jenkins to inform you that it’s the recession and everybody’s broke. So if blog resources are diverted to earn Grants and Jackson’s, and thus avoid complete indigence–well, I hope you’ll… Continue reading »

Dec
23

LA Times: Live-Lil Wayne At the Gibson Amphitheatre

Photo by Ringo Chiu/LA Times Numbers 40 through 31 of the Year-End Top 50, will be up sometime around 2:00 p.m. PST. In the meantime, allow me to steer you in the direction of my review of Lil Wayne’s sold-out, Sunday night show, at the Gibson Amphitheatre. He was fine–certainly not as good as his… Continue reading »

Sep
04

LA Times: Young Jeezy Review

It’s not my policy to run reviews here that have appeared elsewhere, but due to space constraints my LA Times review of Young Jeezy’s “The Recession” got severely truncated. These are just the vagaries of the business but unfortunately, the published version tilts more polemic than actual review. Yes, the original draft is venomous, slightly… Continue reading »

Aug
28

LA Times Feature and Interview With the Arabian Prince

Last Friday, my feature on The Arabian Prince, a seminal and slept-on figure in hip-hop history, ran in the LA Times. If you’d like to read it, it can be found here. I think it does an adequate job of summarizing who Arabian is and why he’s important enough for Peanut Butter Wolf and Stones… Continue reading »

Aug
27

LA Times: The Game-L.A.X. Review

A lot of you Internet lurkers seem to hate The Game, but per the gist of my Times review that ran yesterday, he raps well, picks good beats, gets great guest appearances, and makes albums that are competent homages to the West Coast gangster rap that I grew up loving. Granted, I probably could’ve used… Continue reading »

Aug
10

LA Times: Rock the Bells

I really can’t say enough good things about Rock the Bells. The line-up was great, the accommodations generous and comfortable, the crowd knowledgeable and passionate. Plus, everyone involved gets extra-props for ensuring that no one gave the Black Eyed Peas any love during their “Hey, Don’t You Guys Remember That We Weren’t Always the Worst… Continue reading »

Jul
14

LA Times Review: Nas-Untitled

So there’s this. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/music/la-et-nas12-2008jul12,0,6432984.story Before the Nas Stanley Kowalski’s start bellowing “Stella (matic)” in the comments section allow me to make a few brief points: 1. I do believe Nas is sincere. Unfortunately, he’s a victim of the imperial bloat of his own mind. When enough people tell you you’re a genius you start… Continue reading »

Jul
12

LA Times: Albert Hammond Jr. Feature

While The Strokes presumably endure their beards and exotic religion phase, Albert Hammond Jr. has cranked out two solo albums in as many years. While they won’t make many year-end lists, both are well-crafted and eminently listenable records. This recent Pitchfork review pretty much nails it. When I spoke to Albert he seemed like a… Continue reading »

Jul
10

LA Times: Live-Stevie Wonder at the Hollywood Bowl

There really isn’t much more to add than what I said in the piece. One of the world’s premier geniuses playing at one of the world’s premier venues. If you couldn’t find at least some sort of minor transcendence, you clearly weren’t looking hard enough. As I said, in the first draft, had they re-tried… Continue reading »