- I’m rolling through Guided By Voices’ nearly 10 year return for the second time now. It is definitely low-fi. Sounds like a 4 track alright; a non-digital 4 track. It ebbs and flows nicely, from these mind-bending, trippy valleys to giant peaks of noise rock. There are horns from time to time, which is nice. The album is over 20 tracks and I have a feeling this was only the tip of the iceberg from the recording sessions, considering the band is already readying the release of Class Clown Spots A UFO.
- One album I forgot to mention when listing hip-hop releases of 2012 is Cecil Otter’s Porcelain Revolver. Which I believe will be disturbed by Strange Famous Records (Sage Francis‘ company) in addition to DTR. His music has grown more sophisticated yet simple (re: No Kings) since his last solo release, so I’m interested to hear where he goes next.
Oh and POS, who’s gonna wreck shit with his next CD… this grimy, Industrial, percussive sound that’ll make you wanna dance and mosh at the same time.
- I’m not one to rant — uncontrollably — but there’s something I need to get off my chest.
No… no I’m not interested in your Rap group. Sorry. I know you want to be supported and I do too and so does everyone who makes anything for nothing but I’m just not interested. And I never will be, for a multitude of reasons. First thing’s first: actual music. You and your “DJ”, though the term here should be used loosely, need to spend time in the basement — just like I do, and everyone else does who takes their craft seriously does — practicing. Don’t even master your individual crafts… first just get the gist of it for fuck’s sake. Being an MC doesn’t mean shouting out obscenities and hardly rhyming this with that for the sake of praxis. Get some flow, just a little tiny bit is all. Once you do, think about what you’re writing before going to your friend’s house to drink 40′s (even though I know you can afford some IPA) and smoke terribly rolled “blunts” before hopping in the “booth” and laying it down. Put some thought into it. But then again… I’m not a rapper and I never have been so maybe I should shutup and move onto your tunes. Where… to…. begin. What a mess. No, it isn’t even a mess. A mess is when someone puts one too many ideas into a beat or lays down sloppy turntablism (which, I admit, I’ve done) or cannot find the identity of the sound. These things are the least of your problems. I’m standing up now, in defense of all the producers out there who put a ton of time and effort into making quality, unique beats who get a bad name because of you. There’s people out there who take this shit very seriously… it’s an artform to them the way an artform to you is doing a beer-bong. For the sake of them, and their reputations, please… please try to find your own voice. Do something that comes from inside you, not plastic-made stock loops stacked one on top of the other until you get the musical equivalent of Barbie’s Dream House. Cause maybe you don’t think people care, but inside, subconsciously, they do. And they notice. They can hear it a mile away, and if you want people to like you, you’re going to need to put more effort in. You’re going to need a quarter of a teaspoon of originality otherwise the show’s over. But beyond the music… the painfully assembly line beats and awful lyricism, it’s really the image you’re shooting for that disgusts me to no end. Homicide? You wanna talk about homicide?? I know where you grew up you fucking poser. I’ve known who you were since before either of us laid down with a girl. I’ve seen death, and I know other people who have, and they don’t behave the way you do. So either you’re putting on a front or you just aren’t as mature at dealing with it as other people are. Either way you need to grow up. This perpetuation of what you think a “rapper” is, this image churned out by the machine… the man, is a stereotype of the worst kind. See… hip-hop, or in your case rap music, started as a black artform. And you ain’t black. So when you present yourself in a way that is a caricature of what you think a “rapper” should be, you’re essentially perpetuating stereotypes, division, and passive racism. And the very worst part about it is you don’t get any of this. You think you’re just being a rapper. A terrible… terrible rapper. No man, I’m not interested. Sorry.
[/RANT]
-Sonny
