Robert Christgau's Music Criticism Blog - Expert Witness - MSN Music

Spoek Mathambo/Big K.R.I.T.

Think Positive--Or Not

By Xgau Apr 10, 2012 1:14AM

Spoek Mathambo: Father Creeper (Sub Pop)

Although I slotted this Soweto-raised 27-year-old's 2010 Mshini Wam as promising kwaito electro, I never imagined it promised a hip-hop record so dark it reveals his labelmate Shabazz Palaces for the arty pothead we can assume he is. Contra the nervous crits who claim to hear a "palpable feeling of hope" or "summery highlife melodies" (highlife, eh? I've heard of that‑-African, right?), even the sweet opener about the sexual maturation of a guy who was feeling it before his pubes came in ends ominously. After that come evocations of oppression only more brutal because they're sometimes dissociated‑-blood diamonds, why we hate our crap jobs, the deadening surrender of the tricking American hip-hop makes light of. The music suits because it's also dissociated‑-beaty enough to keep your foot tapping and your subconscious involved, but devoid of the escapist joy that is the miracle of so much Afropop produced from equally horrendous daily struggles. A

 

Big K.R.I.T.: 4Eva N a Day (free download)

He was just Kritikal, but the Mississippi underground had trouble pronouncing that word‑-check out the consonant-averse "1986" intro to understand why‑-so he made it Big K.R.I.T., claimed it stood for King Remembered in Time, and continued a rapping career that imagined high school coaching as a fallback. No hip-hopper has ever been bigger on getting up when you're down and making every minute count. Could get tiresome, but on a no-cameos mixtape Def Jam couldn't clear, his proudly drawled, lucidly conceived preachments go undefeated. Almost every soulful track grew on me, with the clincher "Down & Out," one of his periodic explanations of why sometimes he sips and smokes instead of trying yet again. A MINUS

 

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232Comments
Greg Morton (GMort)
Apr 11, 2012 11:26PM
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Non-singles artists who incongruously got votes for 3 or more songs: The Shins, The Wrens*, Drive-By Truckers, Todd Snider, Richard Thompson

I guess I'm (one of) the villain(s) since I voted for 4 of the 5, and even started to listen to The Shins but gave it up after my list got full and comfortable. Todd got 4 mentions from me, including two stories. Thanks for putting up with our barely ordered thinking, Patrick.

#1 is easy to guess (20 votes and 1 runner-up mention out of 22 voters)

I almost didn't vote for "Hey Ya" for exactly that reason. It almost seems like a wasted vote if there was something else worth mentioning. But I could never leave alone how insanely catchy it still is, years later. Undeniable.



This list is not in order of preference. Befitting a list of individual tracks, this is the way I would program them for a mix tape, play list or radio show. The Todd Snider edits really work, including when the whole thing replays -- "And this features the hottest guitar work I can do/1, 2, 3, oh/My baby don't mess around . . ."

  1. Hey Ya – Outkast

  2. The Seed (2.0) – The Roots

  3. Pass That Dutch – Missy Elliott

  4. Wicked and Weird – Buck 65

  5. Where Is The Love – Black Eyed Peas

  6. Andar Conmigo – Julieta Venegas

  7. I Can't Complain – Todd Snider

  8. All Kinds Of Time – Fountains of Wayne

  9. Everyone Choose Sides – The Wrens

  10. Sink Hole – Drive-By Truckers

  11. Decoration Day – Drive-By Truckers

  12. Typing Gibberish – Todd Snider

  13. Beer Run – Todd Snider

  14. She Sends Kisses – The Wrens

  15. Sight Unseen – Richard Thompson

  16. Why Can't I? – Liz Phair

  17. Crazy In Love – Beyonce

  18. Never Leave You-Uh Ooh, Uh Oooh! – Lumidee

  19. Me and Guiliani Down By The School Yard (A True Story) – !!!

  20. The Story of The Ballad of The Devil's Backbone Tavern – Todd Snider


kevin john
Apr 11, 2012 11:17PM
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I can't remember all of my top 25. But for the shoegaze-inclined, allow me to recommend a remarkable album that filled the post-Loveless My Bloody Valentine void (which doesn't really exist any more thanks to Glasvegas, Ariel Pink, Belong, The Angelic Process, etc.) - All Natural Lemon & Lime Flavors: Turning Into Small (Gern Blandsten, 1999). It suggested a next chapter in shoegaze by marrying MBV to Rush and birthing a baby that looked a lot like Stereolab. Pick hit: "Puzzled Into Pieces."

Anthrax- Kimya Dawson - I had no idea Scott Ian liked The Moldy Peaches so much.

Crate dig of the year (so far): Personal Space: Electronic Soul, 1974-1984 (Numero Group) - chillwave 30, 40 years avant la lettre.

Not. Milo. Miles.
Apr 11, 2012 10:44PM
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@kevin john: Glad you got that off your chest (or whatever anatomical part it applies to).
bradluen
Apr 11, 2012 10:42PM
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Scaruffi is like 25% my role model for demonstrating that one can have an opinion on everything and 75% cautionary tale in that having opinions on everything isn't valuable if they're all wrong. (OK, not all: I still use his lists of novels sometimes.)
Hairy Irene (dzdzdz)
Apr 11, 2012 10:39PM
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My unofficial, back of a scrap of iPhone memory list:

Crazy in love, Hey Ya, Laura, Milkshake, The Seed 2.0, Coma Girl, Can't Hold Us Down, The Way We Get By, Toxic, Pass That Dutch, 12:51, Step Into My Office, Baby, Move Your Feet, Blue Jeans, Good Day, House of Jealous Lovers, White flag, Get Low


*i was too off in lala land to submit a real ballot on time and as such this slapdash one may be iffy on release dates 

**there's only 19, but 2003 is long enough ago that there wasn't much critical interference so that's cool. I count two influenced by a non Xgauian ex bf and one influenced by the ex bf that remains xgau's #3 fan. (Heh.)



kevin john
Apr 11, 2012 10:29PM
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OK Milo. Here's where I rip you a new one

This all started when you slated me into a "twisted little cult that wastes time fawning over deeply wretched (music)." I agree that your quote might apply to what Steven Cohan calls "mass camp" in his fab book Incongruous Entertainment: Camp, Cultural Value, and The MGM Musical (Duke UP, 2005). But it doesn't work on a ragingly homosexual male for whom camp is his lifeblood. In short, you wrote off the wrong b!t(h.

Still, that's all slightly beside the point which means I had to jettison a long post schooling your a$$ on camp. Because it boils down to your endorsement of this: "The ultimate Camp statement: it's good because it's awful . . . Of course, one can't always say that."

Yeah duh. Not all awful albums are created equal. So if you know that, then why did you get apoplexy when I pumped What's Happening To Our World? You're being willfully bullheaded if you can't parse the difference between Xgau's review of that album and, oh, Metallica's Load. Or, more precisely, if you can't see why his What's Happening To Our World? review would entice you to listen to it while his Load review makes you glad you dodged a very boring bullet.

And lo. Ann Powers asked the man himself what his most memorable dud is. Why, it's Kay Huntington! "I gave it an E for transcendent awfulness." And, of course, he's right. I sit in dumbfounded wonder at how someone came up with music as funny as SCTV's The Ramblers (http://goo.gl/TuWOm​) without trying to be funny in the first place.

Same with another E, Kim Fowley. We SHOULD preserve him in a time capsule as a measure of how uniquely godawful music can be (keyword: uniquely). And if I adhered to the Milo Miles edict of ignoring E records, I would've missed pop songs as catchy as "Bubblegum" (an actual title) and, later, "Motorboat," neither requiring any camp justification.

In closing, two remarks on camp.

1. Paraphrasing Cohan, camp coheres around incongruity, theatricality, and humor. And, chica, are you ever missing the latter! Like I seriously think there are rules for rock criticism (and that they're numbered no less)!

2. It's noteworthy how your original rant calls up a camp defense. Here's Cohan again: "Camp allows gay men to undermine social categories of gender and sexuality that marginalize them by exposing the artifice of the social order which categorize them as unnatural." Or "twisted," as you might put it. We're caught fawning (such a queer image) over devalued cultural objects and wasting time, just like the numbers in movie musicals (gee, guess what my specialty is in). So when you say "nobody's wasting my time when they're wasting their time," we know you're trying to uphold your social order as the natural one. Desperately, of course. Mwah!
Richard Cobeen
Apr 11, 2012 9:45PM
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Lived by the "released/treated as a single" general rule. No "This Boy's Exhausted" or "Hey Julie" (or five other FoW songs). Mad about not thinking about "Wicked and Weird" or "Callin' Out" being singles. Would have said goodbye to REM (which got my sentimental vote) and Junior Senior.


1. Panjabi MC                 Beware of the Boys

Beyonce                        Crazy in Love

Kelis                             Milkshake

The White Stripes          Seven Nation Army

Outkast                        Hey Ya

Justin Timberlake          Senorita

FOW                             Stacy’s Mom

Missy Elliot                   Pass That Dutch

Postal Service              Such Great Heights

Kanye West                  Slow Jamz

Justin Timberlake          Rock Your Body

Outkast                        The Way You Move

Rapture                        House of the Jealous Lovers

Roots                           The Seed

New Pornographers       The Laws Have Changed

Electric Six                   Danger! High Voltage

Kanye West                  Through the Wire

Liz Phair                       Why Can’t I

Junior Senior                Move Your Feet

R.E.M.                          Bad Day


The Apple Doesn't Fall Far award: The Cobeens have 14 of the same songs. 


Best list: Sharpsm

Cam Patterson
Apr 11, 2012 9:43PM
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I've played around with Scaruffi's website but never enough to understand his critical sense. Boy Milo, that list is an ****-worm. I'm enthralled with its sinister sense of purpose. I'm now beginning to wonder how many critical sensibilities exist that ignore African-American contributions to any substantial degree. We've got two completely different ones so far in one night.
same thing backwards - patrick
Apr 11, 2012 9:40PM
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Seraphina - you may be correct about "Cry Me a River". I'm going to bed, and if anything needs to get fixed, I'll take care of it tomorrow.
John Smallwood (jcsmall63)
Apr 11, 2012 9:38PM
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Top song- 1) Hey Ya!- Outkast

The rest in alphabetic order

 

2) Anthrax- Kimya Dawson

3) Beer Run- Todd Snider

4) Beware- Panjabi MC w/ Jay Z

5) Bright Future in Sales- Fountains of Wayne

6) Callin' Out- Lyrics Born

7) Caroline & I- Go-Betweens

8) Hey Mami- Fannypack

9) Hurt- Johnny Cash

10) Keep Me in Your Heart- Warren Zevon

11) Outfit- Drive By Truckers

12) Pass the Dutch- Missy Elliot

13) Righteously- Lucinda Williams

14) Rock Me- Liz Phair

15) Rock Your Body- Justin Timberlake

16) The Seed (2.0)- The Roots

17) September When it Comes- Rosanne Cash

18) So Says I- Shins

19) This Boy is Exhausted- Wrens

20) Wicked and Weird- Buck 65

Bradley Sroka
Apr 11, 2012 9:33PM
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I love that we're talking about my favorite total nutjob of a critic Pierro Scaruffi. He's written several books you know, most of them self-published if I remember correctly. Be sure to click on the "graphical version" of his top 25--it's expanded to like 40 or something: http://goo.gl/IMCW4.​ I went on a bender and listened to all of the albums listed I didn't know, and you know what? His taste is consistent--it makes a kind of sense. It's not my taste, and it's probably not yours, but it impressed me. The writing, however... is not great. I'd give a better or more thorough critique, but I haven't read him in a while and would need to brush up. Maybe later.

Also, thanks for the poll Patrick!!!

Seraphina Cobeen (AxNeedsTurkey)
Apr 11, 2012 9:26PM
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I'm confused, "Maps" got disqualified but "Cry Me a River" didn't? "Cry Me a River" was definitely a 2002 song (Though I don't know if I'm one to talk with my fudging of "Extraordinary" could never figure out what year that was).
  1. Crazy In Love - Beyonce (feat. Jay-Z)
  2. Hey Ya! - Outkast
  3. Stacy's Mom - Fountains of Wayne
  4. Beware - Panjabi MC (feat. Jay-Z)
  5. The Way you Move - Outkast
  6. Extraordinary - Liz Phair
  7. Senorita - Justin Timberlake
  8. Such Great Heights - Postal Service
  9. Rock Your Body - Justin Timberlake
  10. Pass That Dutch - Missy Elliott
  11. Move Your Feet - Junior Senior
  12. Through The Wire - Kanye West
  13. Milkshake - Kelis
  14. Me Against The Music - Britney Spears
  15. So Says I - The Shins
  16. Why Can't I - Liz Phair
  17. Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes
  18. Ignition (Remix) - R. Kelly
  19. Rhythm Bandits - Junior Senior
  20. Callin' Out - Lyrics Born
Runner Ups:

The Laws Have Changed - The New Pornographers
Danger! High Voltage - Electric Six
The Way We Get By - Spoon
Cameltoe - FannyPack
We Used To Be Friends - The Dandy Warhols


Ryan Maffei
Apr 11, 2012 9:20PM
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Our host led me to exactly one of these songs, and it's the one by Justin Timberlake.

1.     “Hey Ya!”, Outkast
2.     “Stacy’s Mom”, Fountains of Wayne
3.     “Señorita”, Justin Timberlake
4.     “Ex-Girl Collection”, the Wrens
5.     “Maple Leaves”, Jens Lekman
6.     “This Boy is Exhausted”, the Wrens
7.     “(Something’s Got to) Give Pretty Soon”, the Drive-By Truckers
8.     “Don’t Ask Me”, OK Go
9.     “The Way We Get By”, Spoon
10.   “Not Gonna Get Us”, t.A.t.U.
11.   “Don’t Be Scared”, A.R.E. Weapons
12.   “I Believe In a Thing Called Love”, the Darkness
13.   “Chump Change”, the New Pornographers
14.   “If She Wants Me”, Belle & Sebastian
15.   “Come Una Pietra Scalciata (Like a Rolling Stone)”, Articolo 31
16.   “Such Great Heights”, the Postal Service
17.   “Redemption Song”, Joe Strummer
18.   “I Want to Be the Boy Who Warms Your Mother’s Heart”, the White Stripes
19.   “The Execution of All Things”, Rilo Kiley
20.   “Mrs. Morgan”, the Go-Betweens

I don't like anything that doesn't sound like a single, so I'm pretty proud of how this particular playlist kicks, even if it comes with the usual nagging issue of Not Enough Black People*.

Also, the three surprise '02-tracks-released-​as-'03-singles almost made up for the sheer disappointment of not being able to include "Roses", "Toxic" and "Flamboyant". Damn convoluted parameters. Still, as usual, fun fun fun, and thanks Patrick for the excuse.

*Which I had no idea was a topic of discussion tonight until scrolling down just now.
scott coleman
Apr 11, 2012 9:08PM
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Thanks for the poll Patrick.  My ballot was as follows:

1. Crazy In Love - Beyonce*

2. Hey Ya - Outkast

3. Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes

4. Genie In A Bottle - Speedway

5. Ignition (Remix) - R. Kelly

6. The Way We Get By - Spoon

7. Danger! High Voltage - Electric Six

8. Through The Wire - Kanye West

9. Where Is The Love - The Black Eyed Peas

10. Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, Pt. 1 - The Flaming Lips

11. Senorita - Justin Timberlake

12. Beware (Jay-Z Remix) - Panjabi MC

13. Stacy’s Mom - Fountains Of Wayne

14. Change Clothes - Jay-Z

15. Why Can’t I - Liz Phair

16. Me and Giuliani - !!!!

17. Pass That Dutch - Missy Elliott

18. Milkshake - Kelis

19. Beautiful - Christina Aguilera

20. Shut Up - The Black Eyed Peas


*Single of the Year


Next 5:


The Seed 2.0 - The Roots

House Of Jealous Lovers - The Rapture

Are You Gonna Be My Girl - Jet

In Da Club - 50 Cent

White Flag - Dido

sharpsm
Apr 11, 2012 9:01PM
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OutKast featuring Sleepy Brown: "The Way You Move"

Buck 65: “Wicked & Weird”

Panjabi MC featuring Jay-Z: "Beware of the Boys (Mundian To Bach Ke)"

Christina Aguilera: "Beautiful"

Fountains of Wayne: "Stacy's Mom”

Jay-Z: “Change Clothes”

Justin Timberlake: "Rock Your Body"

Chingy: “Right Thurr”

OutKast: "Hey Ya!”

Kelis: “Milkshake”

Stacie Orrico: “(There’s Gotta Be) More To Life”

Beyonce: “Crazy In Love”

Missy Elliott: "Pass That Dutch"

T.I.: “Rubberband Man”

Al Green: “I Can’t Stop”

Mary J. Blige: “Love @ 1st Sight”

Justin Timberlake: "Cry Me a River"

The Shins: “So Says I”

Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz feat. Ying Yang Twins: “Get Low”

!!!: "Me and Giuliani Down by the School Yard (A True Story)"


same thing backwards - patrick
Apr 11, 2012 8:48PM
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Non-singles artists who incongruously got votes for 3 or more songs: The Shins, The Wrens*, Drive-By Truckers, Todd Snider, Richard Thompson (I'm arbitrarily letting Electric Six and Belle & Sebastian slide).

*6 f**king songs

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Not. Milo. Miles.
Apr 11, 2012 8:44PM
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Okay, this is a lot more provocative best-of list than Mr. Baker's own:

http://goo.gl/jOzN6

And I'm esp. pleased it leads off with the all-time overrated-outsider album, Trout Mask (I'm a Beefheart fan who thinks he suffers from too many of the wrong sort of supporters). But it's kinda mundane and anti-hedonistic in a way.

The guy offers one critic flourish that I think is quite clever (if totally incorrect). He draws a parallel between the Beatles and (say) Glenn Miller and the Velvet Underground and Duke Ellington. Miller was huge but the enduring action was with Ellington. Beatles were huge but the enduring action was with VU.

Problem is: number of enduring fans of Glenn Miller vs. number of enduring fans of Beatles.

same thing backwards - patrick
Apr 11, 2012 8:32PM
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Oh, also the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' "Maps" got 3 votes but was disqualified for not being released as a single until 2004.
same thing backwards - patrick
Apr 11, 2012 8:29PM
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Alan - I enjoy OK Computer a lot more than anything I've heard by N'Sync too. But I completely see where Xgau is coming from in his enjoyment of N'Sync and dismissal of OK Computer.

Also, your list is very white.
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about the blogger

Robert Christgau

Starting in 1967, Robert Christgau has covered popular music for The Village Voice, Esquire, Blender, Playboy, Rolling Stone, and many other publications. He teaches in New York University's Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music, maintains a comprehensive website at robertchristgau.com, and has published five books based on his journalism. He has written for MSN Music since 2006.

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