Aaron Matthews was the original percussionist in Toto. With the rapturous reception of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Kanye West has finally accrued a cult of personality to match that of Big Brother Jay. With that cult comes the ability to start trends. After all, MBDFT was one of 13 platinum albums in 2010, everyone […]
| The Curse of H.A.M: Whose Swine Will Survive Until Easter Sunday? | January 12, 2011 |
Scene 9- Annie Hall from logan lemberger on Vimeo. Because Kanye West and Jay-Z love Pill, but hate Hebrews, they have graced us with their latest single, “H.A.M.” We are ordered to hail to the throne, but some of us follow the scriptures of Supreme Clientele: “y’all know how we dine, but we don’t eat […]
| Sach O: Jay-Z & Kanye West – H.A.M | January 11, 2011 |
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 – […]
| Can We Get Much Higher? — A Round Table on Kanye West’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” (Floodwatch) | November 24, 2010 |
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 ago. […]
| Can We Get Much Higher? — A Round Table on Kanye West’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” (Jeff Weiss Reply) | November 24, 2010 |
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 […]
| Can We Get Much Higher? — A Round Table on Kanye West’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” (Aaron Matthews) | November 23, 2010 |
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 […]
| Can We Get Much Higher? — A Round Table on Kanye West’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” (Doc Zeus Reply) | November 23, 2010 |
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 […]
| Can We Get Much Higher? — A Round Table on Kanye West’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” (Disco Vietnam) | November 23, 2010 |
“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.” – […]
| Can We Get Much Higher? — A Round Table on Kanye West’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” (Sach O Reply) | November 23, 2010 |
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: […]
| Can We Get Much Higher? — A Round Table on Kanye West’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” (Douglas Martin) | November 22, 2010 |
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 […]
