Kanye West

[Kevin Davis]

I will try to take that to heart while listening, LV -- but I will go on record as saying that, while I appreciate that type of understanding as it pertains to my perception of the artist's intentions, and perhaps to the ultimate artistic value of the work, it rarely changes my gut feelings. The Decemberists' "Rake Song" is a song about a (very obviously) fictional character who uses his wife exclusively for sex and then murders all the children they sire together one at a time, after the wife dies in labor. My inability to enjoy this song doesn't stem from my inability to separate fact from fiction -- it's just not something I want to listen to.

[epilogue]

Air from a Kanye West show selling for $60,000

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/musi ... 60000.html

[LoathedVermin72]

he's a god and the venue is his church, so it's holy air that likely has curative properties

[epilogue]

You're probably right.

[LoathedVermin72]

i wonder which disease kanye will cure first

[Alex]

anhedonia

[epilogue]

I'm sure he'll let us know shortly.

[BurtReynolds]

He will create diseases that will make all other diseases seem trivial in comparison.

[epilogue]

He will create diseases that will make all other diseases seem trivial in comparison.

By my count he's already made 7 of them.

[BurtReynolds]

He will create diseases that will make all other diseases seem trivial in comparison.

By my count he's already made 7 of them.

and married one.

[Alex]

He will create diseases that will make all other diseases seem trivial in comparison.

By my count he's already made 7 of them.

one of those was actually a collaboration album with jay-z, so not technically a solo work, but i appreciate you taking the time to google him

[epilogue]

He will create diseases that will make all other diseases seem trivial in comparison.

By my count he's already made 7 of them.

one of those was actually a collaboration album with jay-z, so not technically a solo work, but i appreciate you taking the time to google him

I was counting the new one that comes out this year.

[epilogue]

He will create diseases that will make all other diseases seem trivial in comparison.

By my count he's already made 7 of them.

and married one.

[Alex]

He will create diseases that will make all other diseases seem trivial in comparison.

By my count he's already made 7 of them.

one of those was actually a collaboration album with jay-z, so not technically a solo work, but i appreciate you taking the time to google him

I was counting the new one that comes out this year.

have you listened to it? i always suspected you work at def jam.

[epilogue]

He will create diseases that will make all other diseases seem trivial in comparison.

By my count he's already made 7 of them.

one of those was actually a collaboration album with jay-z, so not technically a solo work, but i appreciate you taking the time to google him

I was counting the new one that comes out this year.

have you listened to it? i always suspected you work at def jam.

I have not. And I don't imagine that I will be any time soon. And by soon I mean in the next 28 years or so. But the buzz has been good. I mean, it always is with this guy.

[Rangi Guy]

This has to be a joke right?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/ce ... ay-for-80k

[Jorge]

He will create diseases that will make all other diseases seem trivial in comparison.

By my count he's already made 7 of them.

one of those was actually a collaboration album with jay-z, so not technically a solo work, but i appreciate you taking the time to google him

I was counting the new one that comes out this year.

have you listened to it? i always suspected you work at def jam.

I have not. And I don't imagine that I will be any time soon. And by soon I mean in the next 28 years or so. But the buzz has been good. I mean, it always is with this guy.

I'm actually not convinced this will be a great album. "All Day" is cool but "Only One" is atrocious (I haven't listened to the other songs he's played live). His focus has shifted to his fashion and when artists like Kanye lose focus like that it usually spells out bad news. Here's hoping I'm wrong.

[BigRedLedbetter]

I heard Kanye West beat the 1998 New York Yankees 6-4 in 11 innings.

[Orpheus]

I used to think the same thing. But, honestly, Kanye changed the way I think about hip-hop. People often think of it as this binary thing: beat and rapping. "The production is weak," "the rapping is good," etc. But the weird thing is that we don't think about any other form of music in those terms. Kurt Cobain wasn't a guitar virtuoso, but his playing was appropriate to the music he was making. We think of Nirvana as a unified sound and attitude, and we don't just break it down to Cobain's voice, Cobain's guitar, Dave's drumming, Krist's bass. You know what I mean? Kanye is making music. It doesn't really matter if he's not a technical rapper spitting crazy flows. He doesn't need to be. That's not what he's about. He's an artist, and his vocals are appropriate to the art he's making. I'm not saying I can't still appreciate a talented emcee's flows - that shit can still blow my mind - but hip-hop can be so much more than just that. It's music.

One of the reasons I'm less impressed with Kanye than some is that I've felt this way for years. El-P, for example, is another "total package" guy who is much more impactful than Kanye for me. He's almost more of a jazz musician or composer, whereas Kanye to me is just a great pop artist. Kendrick Lamar's last album was also wildly cohesive and had a brilliant thematic through line. Kanye doesn't have a monopoly on that type of rap album, but you'd think he does from the critical response sometimes.

[bart]

Well, at least nobody can accuse him of using a ghost writer.