Album Review: Lil Wayne – Tha Carter IV

Posted on September 2, 2011 by bgibs122

They say what goes up must come down.

In the mid to late 00’s, Lil Wayne went from rapper to super-mega star. And, most impressively, he did it entirely through quality and consistency by pumping out two strong albums with a pair of successful mixtapes. Unfortunately, most of his momentum stopped with the completely unnecessary rock-rap monstrosity of Rebirth, an 8 month prison sentence for a weapons charge, and enforced sobriety. Since being released, he’s had a few guest spots, a couple singles, and a not-good mixtape. All off this has been either implicitly or explicitly hyping what’s supposed to be The Best Rapper Alive’s return to hip-hop: Tha Carter IV.

Unfortunately, that’s not entirely the case. Don’t get me wrong, Lil Wayne’s still a solid rapper, but he spends most of Tha Carter IV in 2nd gear. Instead of inane verses and free-flowing what-the-fuck lines, he leans on puns and a running series of lines; “Life is a bitch…”, “Wheezy F. Baby and the F is for…”, “They say…so I…”. Also back is the always abhorred hashtag rap, featuring lines such as, “And them niggas pussies, cameltoes”.

Tha Carter IV was delayed once because Wayne was dissatisfied with some of the beats. The extra time seems to be time well spent since the beats are arguably the best part of this album. On “Nightmares of the Bottom”, the piano beats heavy bass production saves a track with at least three “Wheezy F. Baby, the F is for…” lines. Also, Wheezy, I’d love that F to be for “Find a new goddamn idea”. Sampling President Carter’s inauguration speech on “President Carter” was a great idea I’m surprised Wayne didn’t have earlier. And other times where Wayne just needs the beat to go hard, such as “Intro” and it’s corresponding “Interlude” and “Outro”, it does and it’s great.

Speaking of “Interlude”, it’s simultaneously the best track here and shows Tha Carter IV‘s biggest flaw. Indie rapper Tech N9ne kicks the track off with a verse that’s harder and faster than just about anything Lil Wayne does on the entire album, and not three seconds after he stops, an uncredited (Why?) Andre 3000 shows up, delivering a wicked verse with a hypnotic flow. And then the track ends with no Lil Wayne on it whatsoever. Wisely avoiding getting upstaged again, Wheezy also sits on the bench for closer “Outro”, which contains fierce verses from Nas and famous fast talker Busta Rhymes, as well as Bun B and Shyne, neither of whom stand out at all.

And that’s not the only time that Lil Wayne gets blown away on his own album. John Legend’s chorus on “So Special” is the only special thing about the song, and Drake’s dark chorus on “She Will” is part of what makes the song click as well as it does. Likewise, his verse on “It’s Good” spits more venom than Wayne does on the same track, and yes, this is the track where Lil Wayne threatens to kidnap Beyonce as part of some beef with Jay-Z.

That’s not to say that Wayne is entirely worthless here. He does pretty well when he goes it alone on the first four tracks of the album, peaking with “6 Foot 7 Foot”, a months old single that still has his best performance on the album. The track itself might be a messy remake of Rick Ross’ “I’m Not a Star”, but that doesn’t stop Wheezy from going all out on “John”. There’s also something about his performance on “President Carter” that just clicks, while he falls flat on songs like “Abortion”. But it isn’t all roses; the less said about the trainwreck “How to Hate”, the better.

Tha Carter IV stumbles in a way that’s fitting for a career that’s made some missteps on its way here. Far from a creative peak, Lil Wayne spends most of the album covering ground he helped break and chasing his own trends. It could be that he wrote himself out; after all, it’s not uncommon for artists to fumble on the comedown from a creative high. Maybe a sober Wayne won’t be as weird as a syrup Wayne. I’ll still take sober and alive over the logical conclusion of the alternative, but Tha Carter IV isn’t living up to his highest standards, sober or otherwise, three stars out of five.

tl;dr: There’s plenty of great things on Tha Carter IV, but Lil Wayne isn’t always one of them. 3/5.

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Album Review: Red Hot Chili Peppers – I’m With You

Posted on August 31, 2011 by bgibs122

The phrase “I’m with you” inspires dedication, perseverance, and togetherness, making it rather fitting for the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s 10th studio album. For everything that’s happened in the five years between I’m With You and Stadium Arcadium in 2006, that affirmation means something. In the downtime, bassist Flea studied musical composition, drummer Chad Smith joined professional dad-rock group Chickenfoot, Anthony Kiedis had a son, and guitarist John Frusciante left the band. As fans read news of each event, they wondered if the RHCP would even return.

But soon after Frusciante announced his departure, the band announced that Josh Klinghoffer would take up the mantle of RHCP Guitarist With an Impossible Last Name. Klinghoffer was the logical choice; he was the band’s touring guitarist for their Stadium Arcadium tour, and has been a good friend of Frusciante for years.

In a Rolling Stone interview, Smith maintained that replacing the guitarist was a small matter, but anyone who’s heard a Chili Peppers’ record between 1991 and knows that not the case. A stylized player, Frusciante helped lead the band into new melodic territory, and was a contributor to what many would call some of their best albums. But, by Stadium Arcadium, signs of a split were starting to appear; Frusciante was moving towards a more experimental sound in his solo work while occupying more and more space in the band’s sound.

Accordingly, I’m With You sounds refreshed. Remaining instrumentalists Flea and Chad Smith never lacked for talent, but play the shit out of this album. Flea in particular rushes out of the gate with a killer disco bassline in opener “Monarchy of Roses” and singlehandedly makes second track “Factory of Faith” memorable. Likewise, Smith dominates “Ethiopia”, and contributes a hell of a lot to album centerpiece “Brendan’s Death Song”. That song combines everything that makes the Chili’s work: great guitar work, a tight rhythm section, and a killer melody and lyrical poignancy from Anthony Kiedis.

Even with a new line-up, some things never change. And one of those things is Kiedis being a drag on the band’s efforts. As far as hit or miss frontmen go, Kiedis is almost in a league of his own; a middling song instrumentally with a good Kiedis performance can still be a top notch song, but if he strikes out, everyone strikes out. He sticks mostly to singing for I’m With You, but raps occasionally, such as on throwback “Look Around”, and to great effect on “Even You Brutus?” Meanwhile, “Did I Let You Know” sinks, and he (and the rest of the band) drift through less impressive songs like “Meet Me At the Corner”.

So how does new kid Josh Klinghoffer do? His tone isn’t too far from Frusciante’s, neither is his rhythm playing. But as a lead guitarist, Klinghoffer takes a more restrained approach: he doesn’t solo often, and when he does, the result feels more like a quick jam with Flea than an outright Rock Solo. That’s not to say that he can’t get loud when he wants to, “Goodbye Hooray” and “Look Around” feature him prominently both alone and in a strong instrumental interlude. Give him another album to sink his teeth into, but turn him up in the mix next time, because he’s mixed lower than Frusciante’s quietest overdubs ever were.

I’m With You suffers the same flaws that every RHCP album since 1991 have faced. The pacing is absolutely horrible (how do you kill the momentum built with two great songs? Put “Annie Wants a Baby” right afterward), Rick Rubin’s production is sterile, and it’s over-long. Much like fellow alt. rock veterans Foo Fighters, the measuring stick for a good RHCP album vs a bad one is the success to filler ratio. For I’m With You‘s part, it’s not that there aren’t songs that pull you in, it’s that there are too few that do. It’s frustrating that the Red Hot Chili Peppers have been in the game for almost 30 years, but can’t let go of those 2 or 3 duds that keep holding their albums back. Three stars out of five.

tl;dr: 10 albums in, and the band is still holding steady. 3/5.

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Radio Rant: Britney Spears – I Wanna Go

Posted on August 16, 2011 by bgibs122

Hello, and welcome back to Radio Rants. Who are we dealing with this week?

I dislike using the dreaded C-word, but I honestly think Britney managed to pull off a comeback. I don’t say that as a fan; hell, to me, her past five hits or so have been rewrites of “Gimme More”. But, here we are in 2011 with a super successful Britney being called a pop “veteran”, because apparently survival and a savvy PR/production team get you more respect than talent. That said, even though most of Femme Fatale didn’t do much for me, Team Britney has made some smart choices with the singles; the singles have been super accessible, and some of the better songs off the album. Compare that to Avril, who’s trying to get successful with one of the worst songs off Goodbye Lullaby.

So Spears’ tactics and music might have saved her from failure, but her “don’t fix what ain’t broke” mentality has made her kind of boring to talk about. “Til the World Ends” was good, but not good in a not particularly noteworthy way, which is why I stepped around it while it was a hit. So, let’s begin with “I Wanna Go”.

Surprising no one, “I Wanna Go” uses the club pop sound that’s become Britney’s stock and trade in the past few years: thumping beat, heavy bass, overloaded with synths, and very busy. The lone changed factor is that the prechorus has a whistle for a hook (never heard that one before), and since Shellback/Max Martin know that’s the catchiest part of the song, guess what you’ll be hearing? A lot.

And, continuing into her repetitiveness, checkout the prechorus, where the percussion and most of the synths drop out so that we can pretend the song has dynamics, as well as make the chorus sound bigger. Just like the first two lines of the chorus in “Hold It Against Me”, and the prechorus of “Till the World Ends”. Hey, while we’re at it, I wonder if “I Wanna Go” rebuilds itself after the bridge with quiet music and a repeated hook? You know, just fucking like her other two Femme Fatale singles?

Alright, I’m sorry, this whole chain of thought started as an observation, and now it bugs me. People gave Lady Gaga shit because “Judas” covered the same ground as “Bad Romance”, and Beyonce’s getting (mildly) chided for “Best Thing I Never Had” covering the exact same ground as “Irreplaceable”. But when Britney releases the same goddamn song three times, she gets a free pass?

Alright, time to see where “I Wanna Go”  falls on Britney’s Scale of Lyrical Forwardness. “I wanna go”, it says. This is normally where I make some quip like, “Oh, does she mean to the dentist? The store? Mars?”, but why bother pretending? It’s probably some vaguely sexu–

“I-I-I wanna go-o-o all the way-ay-ay”

Ladies and gentlemen, we have hit a perfect 10 on the Scale of Lyrical Forwardness! Shit, I guarantee that the only reason that they dropped “all the way” from the official title is that a song called “I Wanna Go All the Way” passes clear over provocative and lands straight into self-parody and creative bankruptcy. I’m not against sexual forwardness, and while “I wanna go all the way” might be less reprehensible than “Tonight I’m fucking you” or less bizarre than “Tell me what’s next, alien sex”, there’s at least something that implies thought behind those lyrics. Granted, that thought might have only been “What do you mean I can get away with that?”, but at least it’s not scraping the bottom of the barrel like “I Wanna Go”.

I’m not even going to bother with the other lyrics. The verses are, well, not good (to wit: “I’ve been told do what you do with it/We both keep my hands above the blanket”), and “I wanna go all the way” is all you need to know about the chorus. Taken as a whole, there’s nothing special about “I Wanna Go”. True, Britney sounds more awake than she has on her previous Femme Fatale singles (the faux-pout at “Shame on me” is worth mentioning), but this is more of the same, and I’m getting tired of it. You wanna go, Britney? Grab some new tricks while you’re at it.

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Radio Rant: Foster the People – Pumped Up Kicks

Posted on August 10, 2011 by bgibs122

Howdy, and welcome back to Radio Rants. Toss the single art down there.

Foster the People are newcomers to the music world. Their debut was released in May, and lead single “Pumped Up Kicks” has managed to chart as high was no. 18 on the Hot 100, despite almost nothing in terms of promotion or names attached to it. And that’s not just in the mainstream; outside of being voted Stereogum‘s Indie Song of the Summer, there hasn’t been a lot of indie/blog-buzz for this group, at least not enough to separate them from other indie.

My first reaction to “Pumped Up Kicks” was similar to the first time I heard “Little Lion Man” last summer: mainstream kids are going to name-drop this band/song around their hipster friends for “indie cred” (it’s in the Top 20…little late for that), while the indie crowd gets split right down the middle between casual approval and spitting hatred. Although, in all fairness, Foster the People/”Pumped Up Kicks” sound much less disingenuous than Mumford & Sons ever did.

And much like Mumford & Sons, part of the indie derision for “Pumped Up Kicks” comes from accusations of bandwagoning. Between the song’s loose drum beat, spacey synths, and slinky bassline, it can come across as MGMT on Xanax; the blunted point of comparison would be to imagine “Pumped Up Kicks” as a cover of “Congratulations” with denser production. But, speaking personally, I really don’t see any bandwagoning. Yeah, Foster the People has a very “indie” sound, but it doesn’t remind me of particular artists right away. Compare that to “Animal” by Neon Trees, which was only a hit because The Killers and The Strokes exist.

Even if it takes awhile to get there, “Pumped Up Kicks” is a fairly repetitive song. For the intro, the bass/drums begin the same pattern they’ll have for the next four minutes while some ambient synths play in the background. Not the best start, but it’ll do. Eventually, singer Mark Foster (first Marcus Mumford, now this guy?) drifts for the first verse, complete with a talk box. Between the talk box, the gauzy production, and low vocal mixing, it’s hard to pick out any of Foster’s lyrics in the verse, but the melody is quite nice.

And speaking of lyrics, here we are! What are the words to this fun, summery tune? “Robert’s got a quick hand/He’ll look around the room, he won’t tell you his plan” Alright, a little vague…what else? “Yeah he found a six shooter gun/In his dad’s closet hidden in a box of fun things“. That’s…that’s kind of dark. So how do we a song called “Pumped Up Kicks” from a first verse that sounds like conspiracy to murder?

“All the other kids with the pumped up kicks/You’d better run, better run/Outrun my gun”

…well, that ties it together. Indie Summer ’11, y’all. Brought to you by fictionalized school shootings. But in a column where I frequently bemoan dealing with bad, meaningless, and/or nonsense lyrics, I’ll take a vague sounding song about something that grizzly. Shit, at least the song knows what it’s about and has fun with it by making the chorus irresistable.

And “Pumped Up Kicks”‘ success is 96.3234% (rounding down) to its chorus. The so-so-ness of the verses is completely made up in a toe-tapping, sing-along chorus adorned with handclaps and plenty of backing vocals. The melody is simple but elegant, and once you hear it once, it’ll be stuck in your head for forever. Foster the People, or someone close to them, seemed to know that the chorus was going to carry this song, because in addition to several repetitions, the bridge consists of the same melody whistled while a guitar noodles around behind it. Hey, it works, right?

“Pumped Up Kicks” is a catchy, fun tune. Not my favorite song by far, but as far as breezy summer songs go, this is one of the stronger ones of the year. I can see how it has such broad appeal; it’s indie, but at the same time not too indie. It leans a bit heavy on its chorus, but with a chorus like that, wouldn’t you?

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