#110 Yes - Close to the Edge

He's in a [prog] hole! I enjoyed Fragile, and sorta enjoyed Tales from Topographic Oceans, but never hit this one before now.

Pure prog's a funny beast. I love it when I love it, but its reputation for being intentionally difficult, inaccessible, overblown and indulgent is not wholly undeserved. As much as I like complex music, and good rocking lines that you can barely get your head around, I also believe you need something to grasp onto. It might be a vocal line, a melodic lead, a recurring riff - you need some kind of spine to ride through all the latticed veins and throbbing organs. This is where Genesis classics like Watcher of the Skies, The Musical Box and (post-Gabriel) Dance on a Volcano excelled.

This album's the side-long title track epic is another good example. For all its ferocity and meandering, it works because of that plaintive "I get up / I get down" vocal line, perfectly conceived, acting as an all-too-human lifeline through the angular solos and impossible swerves. The other two epic length tracks that make up the other side are not as successful, though the organ-driven jam that ends the album's pretty incredible.

The album ends up reminding me of most other Yes: its just not quite human enough. Complex and interesting and all sure, but it all still sounds like a band doing complex things, never truly ascending the way Genesis does. That one vocal line is perhaps the closest they've come though, and like all complex music, I am obligated to acknowledge the possibility this will be a grower. Lets call it 4/5

#109 Steve Hackett - Voyage of the Acolyte

The recent Genesis kick raised a question that's been in the back of my mind for years - how much of the band's descent was caused by the departure of Peter Gabriel, and how much of it was caused by the departure of guitar player Steve Hackett 2 albums later? The obvious answer was to take a look at Hackett's solo album; what did this guy bring to the table when it was his party? I'm sort of amazed I hadn't done this sooner, but I have a well-earned aversion to solo albums by band members.

There is some strong evidence here. When he decides to, Hackett can bang out a propulsive, compelling, complex, accessible song better than just about anyone out there. Via this album, you can see this guy's fingerprints on just about every great moment Genesis put together. Now I'm sure his bandmates contributed to those moments, and to some extent maybe Hackett's just putting what he learned on display, but if we make the test post-real-Genesis output, what do we see?

Post-Hackett-Genesis's longer songs have their strong moments (despite my backhanded remark in #106, I actually like songs like Behind the Lines and Abacab for what they are) but they certainly don't make the case that Phil, Tony and Mike were the ones who brought the magic to the early stuff. Peter Gabriel's solo output sidestepped the question altogether, so he gets an incomplete. I'll grant him credit for the vocal lines that helped elevate Genesis past bands like Yes and King Crimson in terms of accessibility and heart. But this album gives Hackett a strong claim to their best structural, melodic and rhythmic swerves.

The actual review! Right! Well, its hidden in there, there's some great moments here. Ace of Wands and Star of Sirius have some of the greatest, driving, slightly-out-of-control prog runs I've ever heard, and the experimentation of A Tower Struck Down is unexpectedly refreshing. Perhaps most importantly, on a track level, this guy's a master of pacing in a genre that's not known for its discipline win such matters. He knows exactly how long things should go on, and doesn't let a good 5-minute prog song ooze out to 8 just for the sake of it. On an album level, it doesn't fare quite as well, Hands of the Priestess Pt 1 and The Hermit are meanderers that break up the flow of the album a bit, but maybe they provided necessary breathing room. The guy does seem to know what he's doing 4.5/5

#108 Digital Underground - Sex Packets

This is, debatably, another hip hop classic.

When I noticed that these were the guys who did The Humpty Dance, my sceptisism deepened, and never really lifted. A little research reveals these guys are really, really into Parliament/Funkadelic (going so far as to name their 2nd album Sons of the P) and I'm glad I knew that at least. Seen from that perspective, this often comes across as a fun, funky album, instead of just a silly, gimmicky one. But it never really reaches escape velocity, it ends up a fun, funky, silly, gimmicky album, which isn't something I really have that much use for. The rap's not that interesting, the production's not that interesting, and I don't really have the kind of parties where I'd want to put this on. The only exception is near the end, where something about Packet Man's absurd logic and broken guitar line is sort of amazing 2/5

#107 Genesis - From Genesis to Revelation

Part of the Genesis kick.

Some of you are probably saying 'for all your fanaticism about this band you've never heard their first album?'. It is a bit weird, I confess. But I'd had the impression ingrained that it wasn't worth hearing, and I didn't have it handy, and I hadn't really been in a Genesisey mood at a point previously in this project. Also these guys have a ton of albums. Also, I sort of forgot I'd never heard it. Also, its got a Pablo Honey-level reputation for not having much to do with what they did later.

And, frankly, that's about the right point of comparison. This simply sounds nothing like what they did later, no long songs, no complex structures, tons of syrupy strings and horns, which I hear were added against the band's wishes anyway. The only thing that's really here for comparison purposes is a triple dose of their later flirtations with stargazing and myth. Enough of what its not, what is it? Mostly 60's pop. I've heard it compared to The Moody Blues, which is fair; to me it mostly sounds like The Zombies, and not in a good way. The strings really are awful, the production really overwrought, the structures too repetitive, the lyrics generally embarrassingly wide-eyed.

That said, it has these little flashes of brilliance, the garagey rattle of guitar and bass on In the Beginning, the bass and mellotron (I think?) on The Conquerer, the outro of the last track. Actually, all the bass. And actually all of Am I Very Wrong. And actually all of The Serpent, which is the sole glimpse of what the band would become, and actually a pretty rad garage rock song in its own right. And that's the tricky part, you have to ask the "what if this was some random band's only album?" question that will change your perception of otherwise disappointing albums like the Pumpkins' Adore. Would this be awesome if it was some super obscure hidden gem, instead of a false start for a huge band? No, the strings still suck. But from that perspective, its definitely got enough randomly great moments to earn a 3/5

#106 Genesis - Spot the Pigeon EP

Anyone who reads this knows I'm a big fan of old Genesis, and will remind anyone who'll listen how different the Gabriel era (or even Hackett era) output is from anything made in the 80's or thereafter. A recent kick on their stuff lead me to realize that a) I've never actually heard their first (largely ill-regarded) album front to back b) they have a three-song EP that I'd never even heard of. Let's remedy the latter.

This was released between Wind and Wuthering and And then there were Three, and fittingly this is a perfect link between the surprisingly good post-Gabriel-pre-Hackett-departure albums and the limp stuff that they made once it was just Phil, Mike and Tony. Match of the Day (coincidentally the first song I listened to after the US loss to Ghana) has a flippant pop bounce and sarcastic disdain for British culture, making it sound like early Bowie, late 60's Kinks, or even Genesis's own Harold the Barrel. Pigeons is cute, but sounds exactly like what it is: a Trick of the Tail / Wind and Wuthering B-side.

At least Inside and Out has the decency to descend into an extended raveup for its last 3 minutes. But like tracks like Abacab, Behind the Lines and Dodo/Lurker that would follow, this sounds like a college band trying to Genesis-up an otherwise uninspiring pop song, knowing only that in such sections you need to have an organ, be complex, be slightly repetitive, and go on for at least 3 minutes. They even go so far as to basically rip off Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats' burbling riff in the opening bits.

Anyway, this is long. I'm relishing getting to write about Genesis, and having only 3 tracks really lets me get my hands dirty. I don't see any reason to listen to this instead of Trick or W&W, or even the best tracks off Duke or Abacab. Maybe Inside and Out? But I doubt it 2/5.

#105 Latyrx - The Album

Note: Out of town for work, not finding a lot of time to listen to music, but will keep a trickle going, and will be back on track in a couple weeks.

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Another Orion rec.

That first track sure sets the tone, its enough to make you wonder why nobody's done that trick before (there's two different raps going on, one in each speaker, and the result is mindblowing in its overcomplexity). Nothing else on here is quite so bizarre, but the album is still so adventurous that its tough not to love. The rapping had that slightly off-kilter, almost-live vibe that I'm a fan of, such that even the clunkiest line-repeating stalling just seems like part of the flow. Its also got a melodic quality, but these guys know how to hit a beat hard, keeping it from getting too positive-hip-hop or too sing-sung.

Maybe its because of said melodic rapping, or the often-melodic backing, but the MCs and production are really tightly coupled, flipping my attention back and forth between them in a way that few rap albums do. I think this is a good thing, but its different - I didn't listen to it the way I normal rap album, I sort of used my rock ears. Relatedly, its not structured like a rap album; it changes much more frequently, and at 47 minutes its downright tight pacingwise.

All this would seem to suggest that it's watered down, but it's simply not. The subject matter is heavy without being hard, personally engaging without being positive, there's a whiff of a curious sense of humor running through the album that somehow doesn't come across goofy. The only downside is that its almost too comfortable, too easy to listen to (that first track notwithstanding). And while the rapping has its "oh damn!" clusters, it doesn't quite go for the throat, doesn't quite ascend to that "oh shit!" level. Then again, I'm listening to this through shitty little headphones for lack of my normal ones, maybe that's not doing it justice. For now 4.5/5

#104 Blackalicious - Nia

These guys came up in a conversation with Orion about rap. I realized I had only ever heard Blazing Arrow, which I don't think I knew what to make of at the time.

Appropriately, I have no idea what to make of this. The subject matter is distinctly un-traditional, the production is unpredictable, and (especially) the song structures are unlike much anything I've heard in hip hop. And its crazy long, just about the only thing it does that's in line with rap tradition. It's just a lot to take in, but my interest is distinctly piqued. I suspect that it will bear fruit for many listens 4/5

Edit 6/24/10: I was worried I was getting lazy, not finding more to say here, but on a 2nd listen, I'm going to give myself a break on this. Things start reasonable enough, but then the track 4-8 sequence features: the straight narrative Deception, the wholly unique wordplay methods of A to G, the utterly hallucinogenic narrative of Cliff Hanger, the statement of purpose of Shallow Days and the bizarre woman as god/nature/timeless force spoken word of Ego Trip. Its a sequence that is completely heterogeneous in style, adventurous to the point of oblivion, and it totally disrupts any (especially first-listen!) attempt to lump the album at all.

Then there's songs like Cliff Hanger and Dream Seasons that combine hypnotic production, fade-outs and an album-spanning "Nia!" sample that serves to lull you and generally make you lose track of track breaks and your overall orientation in the album. Its a sincerely bewildering journey, the first "psychedelic rap" album I can think of. Its still probably a 4, but I thought it deserved a more thorough explanation of why its so hard to explain.

#103 The Chemical Brothers - Further

I wasn't impressed with anything I'd heard from these guys since Surrender, but the pitchfork guys pimped it, so, sure, what the heck.

Man, what a weird album. These beats couldn't be less block rockin. The first few tracks are meandering, not-quite-ambient stuff that I have no use for, but maybe they helped set the stage for a strangely enjoyable, meditative second half. For now it gets a three based on an the queer curiosity it's inspired 3/5

edit: 6/23/10 - Swoon is the clear highlight here, thats a really strangely addictive song, the rest isn't overly growing on me

#102 Ratatat - LP4

A commercial with a song that sounded like a Ratatat song rekindled my interest in checking out their new one.

There is awfully little to say here. It sounds like a (very slightly) more interesting version of LP3, which sounded like a watered down version of Classics, which sounded like a (very slightly) pumped up version of the self titled debut without the enticing whiff of hip hop and pulsing heart of Cherry.

Also, these guys suck at naming albums.

So yeah, there's a little more experimentation here, some interesting textures, extra beeps and boops, but it doesn't quite rock, and it doesn't quite move me the way I want it to. A slightly funky, fairly interesting series of background-music songs, but maybe nothing more 3/5

#101 Emeralds - Does it Look Like I'm Here

Just moments after my declaration that I'll slow the pace, here comes another one! This is pure BNM power.

It's almost too easy. One parts Múm's meandering, fragile electronics, One part M83's Lovecraftian-scale synth crush. Sift out any excess vocals, add a dash of Boards of Canada's most ambient moments. Bake. Namedropping is the lowest form of music criticism, but its all I have when I'm not really that into this kind of electronic stuff.

That said, its really true here. It really sounds like M83 tracks, stripped of their vocal snippets (more dead seas and lost ghosts than teen angsts), with a Múm sensibility for development and patience. This works best on towering tracks like the opener, and the epic-length centerpiece Genetic. Play at 10,000 db. Meanwhile burblers like Cycle of Abuse and Science Center provide engaging atmospherics, but never quite ascend, and the title track is a 2nd tier epic that's got its beeps and boops mixed too high to work as the monolith it wants to be.

Perhaps the best surprise is near the end, where Now You See Me wrings surprising emotion from its guitar-writhing-in-a-vat-of-synths depths. It sounds like the best song Brian Eno never wrote. And now I've started going track-for-track. And gone self-aware. Man, I peaked in my first hundred 3.5/5

#100 Viktor Vaughn - Vaudeville Villain

Let's close out this rap-oriented first-100 with an album by one of the first rappers I ever got really into: MF Doom (as Viktor Vaughn here).

Man, I love this guy's rap style. It's unpredictable in structure, in vocabulary, in cadence, all within a super-smooth, head-bobbing flow. And I don't know anyone who lays down a complex sequence of multi-part rhymes, one after another, in such satisfying, effortless bursts.

Productionwise, it's heavy and textured, mysterious and otherworldly, with interest in every nook and cranny; overall it's much more cohesive than Mmm Food or Madvillainy, both of which forced you to endure some pretty long sloppy segments. The two "bad rapper" open-mic skits break up the momentum, and once again, the dark tone docks it a point or so; its a gotta-be-in-the-mooder for sure. But when you're in said mood, its a heck of a relentless, complex journey down a labyrinthine rhyme rabbit hole 4.5/5

#099 Organized Konfusion - Stress: The Extinction Agenda

These guys might be my favorite find of this whole project, checking out their 2nd album was inevitable.

The main difference here is a turn towards toughguyism and darkness, which were largely absent from their debut. I guess the pressures of gansta were too much by '94. Not a fan of all that in general, but actually I thought their previous effort was a little soft in places, and the overall more serious tone here is not wholly unwelcome. In fact, the aggressiveness of tracks like Bring it On is essential to their incendiary energy.

Across the board, its a more intense listen, and in some ways its better than the debut. The production's highly hooky, and the rapping is simply amazing more often. It might be the most consistently impressive album, from a flow perspective, from a style-shifting perspective, as I've ever heard. I have to dock it a half point for its bleak tone; its not as fun a listen as, say, the Kool G. Rap debut; but for pure rap fireworks, its top of the line 4.5/5

#098 Blitzen Trapper - Destroyer of the Void

Wild Mountain nation was my 27th favorite album of the decade, Furr less so. And now:

The problem with Furr was that it was so...conventional. It was such a regression after Wild Mountain Nation's excessive adventurousness, like they'd been thrown from a horse. Here we see them starting to get back on, but chastened by the fall.

The lightly proggy opener heralds some interesting turns: one song that sounds like Queen's The Prophet's Song, and another that sounds exactly like the post-Gabriel-pre-collapse Genesis gem A Trick of the Tail. Its a curious set of influences, but in way its completely natural - reconciling experimentation and classical influences is what prog's all about, and here we see a middle ground between Blitzen Trapper's folk roots and angular cowboy-psych-freakouts. The other major influence is BT's own Black River Killer, which lends its spare beat and near-rap drawl delivery to no less than two songs here.

I think it could be a grower. It will never reach WMN's bewildering highs, but probably benefits from the more consistent pacing. The reference points being so glaring might be distracting though (something I never got over with Clues) - we'll see 4/5

#097 Tokyo Police Club - Champ

I really liked their initial EP, but heard such lukewarm things about the debut LP that I have to admit that I've still never heard it. That will probably show up here soon.

In the meantime, I dig this one. It lacks some of the twangy, pick-bass fury of the EP, and the whole thing comes across as a bit teenage / twee, but that's not all bad. The important thing is the angular rhythms, abrupt changes and fuzzyed out electro-edged guitars are still here in force, sounding like the Strokes if they'd misplaced their detached disinterest. And even the dull moments have a buzz of finely textured noise underlying that's a huge bonus in my book. Standouts include the stunningly-Los Campesinos-ey Favourite Colour, and the sparse Unicorns-vs-Ratatat jam Gone. Hell yes. Four more songs like that, this'd be a five 4/5

Edit: 6:26:10 man, this one is growing on me, really,really liking it half drunkenly in NY right now. I underappreciated the broken synth charms of Bambi.

#096 Damien Jurado - Saint Bartlett

Pitchfork'd!

I actually listened to this a while back, it should be #091 I think, but it somehow slipped through the cracks. Not really my thing - its a lush bit of singer songwritterey composition that's pretty, but just isn't adventurous enough for my tastes. His voice reminds me a lot of Grandaddy, who I do like, but that stuff benefited from a lot of interesting electronic turns, whereas this is a lot more straightforward. Again, its lush, sweeping emotional turns and cavernous reverb-dripping spaces, but that sort of thing doesn't move me overmuch these days 2.5/5

#095 Boogie Down Productions - Criminal Minded

Starting to feel like I've only got a handful of true classic rap albums left to hit; word is this is one of them.

Here's another case where knowing the context ended up being important. As far as I can piece together, this '87 album predates Nation of Millions, Straight Outta Compton, and pretty much all of gansta as we know it. So I'll give if the benefit of the doubt when it gets all "I'll shoot you".

That said, as far as actually rating for enjoyment? Not quite there. The rhyming's largely too straightforward, too shouty-on-the-4, and not about much. Similarly the production is awfully spare, a simple beat and maybe one melodic sample, nothing that really forges a groove. There's a couple exceptions (The Bridge is Over, Poetry) but its also sometimes outright annoying (Dope Beat). Just not one that's aged well for me 2/5

#094 Eric B. and Rakim - Follow the Leader

I had listened to Paid in Full a few years ago and it didn't move me, but lets check out what difference a year in their career and a few years in my listening to hip hop makes.

The difference helped, mostly. The rapping's super solid, with enough unexpected turns and breaks in structure to put it alongside Big Daddy Kane in that "dudes were getting this interesting in '88?" file. Mostly tight, and the places where its slightly off gives it a live cred that I prefer over some too-perfect rap. Not to obsess over Edan, but he obviously was influenced by this guy, and even had a song called Torture Chamber that cops a line from Microphone Fiend. The production's the problem here really. Its great when its backing the rapping. Great beat, complex sampling (Lyrics of Fury!), decent scratching, some fun vocal effects worked in.

But then it takes over in its own right in ways that's obtrusive and breaks up the flow of the album. Do we really need that minute-long outro on Microphone fiend that really doesn't go anywhere, and isn't even really a good groove? The long instrumental tracks were probably super groundbreaking at the time, but that just don't live up to what I've heard since, and simply aren't compelling except as a history lesson. The result is a hard one to know what to make of - I really like a lot of the rapping, but think I'll have to suffer through some of Eric B's indulgences. Maybe they'll grow on me 3.5/5

#093 Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today

Pitchfork'd!

Sometimes I begrudge the control Pitchfork has over tastemaking these days, but god dammit. If they label something "best new music" it really is worth checking out most of the time. It's just too damn easy though, it makes you lazy.

This thing. This thing, though. I don't even know what to make of it. It sounds like its from every era ever, and no era. It is catchy as hell, textured, well produced, but unpolished. It evokes the Pillows, Brian Eno, The Zombies and old Genesis (dig that L'estat outro!) in the span of 2 songs. The textures shift, the bass lines rise, the hooks come and go, the styles flip - and it all sounds weirdly cohesive. The later raveups went over well on my first try, we'll see how they hold up. Its not an easy listen, but its not Animal Collective / Fiery Furnaces / Dirty Projectors inaccessible either. Every time it wanders off, it comes back with treats.

These guys are on Animal Collective's label, and I nominate this as the early favorite for indie press consensus when the end-of-year awards come around. Maybe this time (I'm looking at you merriweather post paviloverated) I'll agree - so far, I dig it a lot 4.5/5

#092 Tame Impala - Innerspeaker

Wow, that was a lot of rap albums in a row. Time to keep up with the latest releases, as Pitchfork nods to, in this case.

Really puts on a clinic in guitar texture. Its pretty Beatlesey, sort of Swerverdriver swirly guitarsey, but those aren't necessarily knocks. There's good riffs, and just the guitar sounds themselves are a joy to listen to. Its all a bit to whispy and formless to really blow me away altogether, but I dig it 4/5

#091 Mos Def - Black on Both Sides

Just going through more well respected rappers - I liked his Blackstar stuff with Talib pretty good, lets check his solo stuff.

I have to keep this short. There's a lot to say about credibility, race, intelligence, positivity, etc in hip hop, and I'm tempted to delve into it. But these things are getting too long. For now, suffice to say he has an interesting angle on talking about life as a black man that I found thought provoking. I dig his rapping, and the production's interesting. The styles vary more than almost any rap album I can think of; its a hip hop Mellon Collie. Very much want to revisit 4.5/5

Note: June 30th will be, by my math, the 100th day of this project, so I'm way ahead of my vague album a day pace. Will probably be changing my approach a bit when I get to album 100 though, more to come.

#090 Big Daddy Kane - Long Live the Kane

More East Coast! More Edan namedrop victims!

So look, I'm not trying to say that I'm as good as Big Daddy Kane, but this album reminds me of my own approach more than any other I've heard. The changing structures, the bursts of close rhymes, the occasional awkward end of liner pair reprieves to get your bearings. The overall, match, match, doubleup, tripleup / buildup / dropout flow. A little research reveals that he got his start doing battles, so there you go.

Again, I'm not on this level by a long shot, not by a long shot, but it was inspiring to hear underlying stylistic similarities. Really good album. The rapping's not quite as blinding as the best moments of Organized Konfusion or Kool G Rap, but across the board, its impressive enough: precise, complex and fast when it needs to be. The production's a bit old school, a bit simple, which sometimes works, and sometimes bores me. Totally requires more listens though 4.5/5

#089 The Notorious B.I.G. - Life After Death

I couldn't really appreciate Ready to Die when I heard it (still not wholly convinced), but I never tried this one.

For how long this is, at double album length, it goes down pretty smooth. Biggie's a heck of a rapper, and as I get more and more tired of nasal rap I appreciate this kind of bassey, heavy delivery ever more. Overall, its just varied enough to work - the Missing You/Another/Going Back to Cali section, in particular, helps keep the 2nd disc from dragging.

The subject matter, though, falls somewhere between the detached excess of Jay-Z and the murder boasts of the West coast, which you should know by now doesn't turn me on overmuch. And as groovy as it all is though, it comes across as overproduced. Its just not all that attention grabbing outside of the man's voice itself.

I don't know what to make of this one; I like the rapping, but it suffers from all the excess, overlength, boasting, shooting, and sketches that I'm tired of. I'll settle for a 3/5

#088 Q-Tip - Amplified

I don't even know how I ended up on this one, I'm moving through rap albums so fast. Probably some list of East Coast albums.

Its surprising how spartan the production is on this, something I didn't expect given the Tribe background and the 1999 release date. With the exception of (the distinctly modern, overproduced, strangely out of place) Do It and (the utterly bizarre, possibly genius) End of Time, the beats are highly repetitive and spare. On one hand, it leaves a nice focus on the rhymes, which are decent if unspectacular, cleanly delivered, to be sure. But I want more these days, don't see much on offer here beyond that baffling, fascinating last track, End of Time. It drops some names I've heard and liked lately, and some I haven't. Rap rec's through rap. Anyway 2.5/5

#087 Scarface - Mr. Scarface is Back

Lets try the South!

This is basically even more violent West coast gangsta, if you can believe that's possible, with double the murder fantasies and triple the gunshot samples of Staight Outta Compton. The rap style's even simpler, consisting almost entirely of end of liners, though with an emphasis on double-syllable rhymes there. Suffice to say, nonetheless, its not exactly unpredictable.

That said, I like it more than you might expect. The rapping is hard-edged in the delivery in a way I've learned not to take for granted, dude has a voice on him. And the production is still largely funk-based, but its hard edged and punchy, sounding more Gang of Four than Funkadelic. In the end, its not for me, but I grudgingly admire its single-minded aggression 3/5

#086 Jay-Z - Reasonable Doubt

I couldn't really get into The Blueprint, but I'd heard his first album described in promising terms.

Apparently Jay-Z skipped working his way up, and just asserted his ownership of hip hop and the world at large, right on his debut. But he sells it, and here he already sounds like he's cementing his throne, which has its appeal; by the time The Blueprint rolls around it sounds like he's resting on his laurels. He's hungrier here, the production looser, funkier.

This is a very smooth album though. Where West coast gangta was about gangs of murdering thugs, Jay-Z comes off as a mob boss, untouchable, above it all. And for me, it works better. It seems more plausible, and the near-absence of skits about shooting people helps keep the flow going, and sets the focus on the music. The rhymes are complex, but cleanly delivered, and the whole album moves smoothly from one track to the next. Highly listenable.

But its also not as adventurous as I might like, compared to things that came before. And the lack of violence is refreshing, but I still don't really find rap after rap about how rich you are all that appealing either. And his nasal tone is something of a turn-off. So where does that leave it? More so than usual I feel like I want to withhold judgment. I don't think his feel is what I'm looking for, but its still got a hook in my brain that encourages me to give it the benefit of the doubt 3.5/5

#085 Bonde Do Role - Marina Gasolina EP

Also picked up in my search for Spank Rock co-conspirators.

Getting closer to what I was hoping to find. The first 4 songs are ok, sort of sparse, boing-beat hip hop / club songs. The real appeal lies in the last 6 tracks, paired remixes of 3 songs; here we find fun, really noisy, really busy, DFA-ey grind-outs by the likes of Peaches, CSS, Architecture in Helsinki and Fake Blood. I haven't heard the originals of these songs, but the pairing reveals that the remixers were aggressive in their changes, and the result is something more diverse and adventurous than I might have expected. The non-English rapping works as percussion nicely, I can see these last 6 being good driving music or working music at 10 000 db 4/5.

#084 Slick Rick - The Great Adventures of Slick Rick

Another Eat Coast guy, who Edan namedrops. That really was a very thorough song.

So I guess this guy's thing is that he's very narrative. That's true. The content and the rhyme style is all a bit too Fresh Prince Theme for my taste though, the singsongey end-of-line emphasis stuff just doesn't work for me.

It's worth mentioning an evolution in my consideration of rap. I've been very focused on rhyme structure, and that remains the number one consideration in my appreciation of rap. But Slick Rick, to his credit, has a smooth flow that I don't fail to appreciate. And the song structures are actually unpredictable - which is something I look for more in (indie/prog) rock than rap. The production's also compelling, with some twists on older-school styles; its scratch-heavy and with a 5-cent Casio junky buzz that I get off on.

That said, after all that, I still don't much enjoy the content, and the rhyme structure leaves me limp. So, due respect, but its not necessarily for me 2.5/5