Nicki Minaj/Macy Gray
Both Badder Than Donna Summer, and in Such Different Ways
Nicki Minaj: Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded: Deluxe Edition (Cash Money/Universal Republic)
Since the positive and negative reviews say pretty much the same thing, we can agree that this is an overstuffed, musically manipulative, thematically directionless bid to put the pink-haired alien on the singles charts until Katy Perry absconds to rehab. She isn't "the female Weezy" or some ill-defined male alter ego. She's an aspiring and most likely inevitable pop queen who raps exceptionally well, sings quite well, rhymes inconsistently but sometimes superbly, and will do anything to be rich and famous. This obviously doesn't make her a heroine. But if you enjoy contemporary pop whose market-tested blare offends both rockist philistines and IDM aesthetes, her second album is a worthwhile investment. It begins strong and, counting the three bonus tracks, ends strong. In between it tends mawkish and loud, neither of which precludes fun, especially with the right cameos. There is, however, a Chris Brown track. (Hey‑-I said anything.) A MINUS
Macy Gray: Covered (429)
Ten non-Gray songs, three comedy skits, and three brief cameos for her kids and their high school pals. The songs are all post-1980, meaning post-song‑-from the era when bands began distinguishing themselves by sound. Credit producer Hal Wilner with isolating the melodically verbal in Metallica, Radiohead, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Sublime, My Chemical Romance, and lesser lights. But 1) the high point is the opening "Here Comes the Rain Again," an anthem on the face of it that Gray wrests from Annie Lennox forever; 2) a low point is the closer from the anthemic-on-the-face-of-it Arcade Fire, a major structural mishap; and 3) an even lower point is the Metallica centerpiece, which could be my problem but I bet isn't. Casting directors should note that the comedy skits are genuinely funny; Gray should note that I'm omitting the cameos when I put this in iTunes. But both are distractions. Fun as it is to hear her do "Creep," "Teenagers," and "Smoke Two Joints," this is a bigger mess than it had to be. B PLUS
The sad thing is, for Marsh, "album rock" isn't just prog, it's also Neil Young and David Bowie and the Allman Bros and Talking Heads (and, for all I know, Blondie and the Pet Shop Boys).
Yup. Also, he doesn't seem to be much of a Parliament/Funkadelic fan. I can see why, though. George Clinton has made a career taking brilliant pop hooks, and stretching the song lengths until they serve as almost a parody of the same musical fundamentals that Marsh holds so dearly.
In music, there's always the send-more-Chuck-Berry, got-ants-in-my-pants-and-I need-to-dance factor. Even in New Zealand.
Check it out: http://mlb.sbnation.com/2012/4/25/2974624/for-your-aural-enjoyment
it's not entirely Katy's fault generic Christian c0cktease is the lucrative niche she fell naturally into
Great, great book when Marsh is writing about stuff he likes and understands, very annoying when he isn't. "Album rock" is a very odd category to attempt to marginalize, and claiming that all the music that resulted from punk isn't rock and roll is just nuts. I wish he liked the 70s and 80s more, and he cares about marginal 60s r&b way more than I do, but as far as the songs that he does pick, his batting average is extraordinarily high - there are very few stinkers in there. When he's on, the book does convey what it's like to be in love with rock and roll and have your life improved by it and grow up with it better than almost anything else I've read.
I'd agree with the "annoying when it isn't" part. The reason I asked is because I'm writing a follow-up to Marsh's book (an album's list). The way I see it, rather than combating the ridiculousness of prog (or, in his words, "album rock") in a reasonable way, he took the "singles are better" approach. My intent is to blur the line between singles and albums, and make the point that the only true difference in quality between "She Loves You" and "For No One" was the formats they were released in. After working on my list for a year, I've become kinda wary of the project, but I've been working on it too long to stop.A century ago Freud inspired similar talk among intellectuals. Smarter than that Italian, I'll warrant. How'd that one work out?
Plus Parks is talking novels and I'm a music critic. In music, there's always the send-more-Chuck-Berry, got-ants-in-my-pants-and-I need-to-dance factor. Even in New Zealand.
So the wife of the great journalist who wrote a whole book about cheating on her with various hussies and utopians didn't like Parks's guilty-infidelity novel. Gosh, what a surprise.
I think "Teenage Dream"'s opening riff is irresistible.
But Katy Perry is too serious of acting as a dumb regulation hottie right now,
its a shame considering she first popped up as a us version of Lily Allen.
PS I‘m still not sure about the Donna Summer reference,
is it because she is as genre-hopping as Nicki and Macy?
Random question, but does anybody have opinions on Dave Marsh's The Heart of Rock and Soul?
Great, great book when Marsh is writing about stuff he likes and understands, very annoying when he isn't. "Album rock" is a very odd category to attempt to marginalize, and claiming that all the music that resulted from punk isn't rock and roll is just nuts. I wish he liked the 70s and 80s more, and he cares about marginal 60s r&b way more than I do, but as far as the songs that he does pick, his batting average is extraordinarily high - there are very few stinkers in there. When he's on, the book does convey what it's like to be in love with rock and roll and have your life improved by it and grow up with it better than almost anything else I've read.
Nobody tells me what art to like, and nobody should tell you what art to like either.
'After Kanye stopped making soul music, he turned into a white man.'
Even if this quote is accurate, it's one of the most stupid things I have heard about Kanye. So, there probably are stereotypical ways, in which a white man makes music, but why does anything like that matter, if the music is great? I hear things like this a lot, and it's dumb, obviously; it's just pure racism for no reason. I mean, does this mean black people should make lazy, sh!t music and white people visa versa? Short answer is: no.
Edit: A doi, people! I didn't say black people are lazy. I meant: Kanye works so hard, and, invariably, produces so much great stuff (not saying everything is correlated like that). It's, like, no, don't work too hard, because that's what white people do. Or, was he referring to Kanye's style/flow? Thinking about it more, probably yes. But, why do rappers have, to be street to be good? Short answer is: That's a f'ing stupid ideology.
about the blogger
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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