Showing posts with label Rick Rubin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rick Rubin. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 06, 2013

Lets Take it Back to Straight Hip-Hop and Start it from Scratch



The Marshall Mathers LP 2

Without a doubt, Eminem is the artist of the 00’s; the guy sold about forty million albums sold worldwide and even his weakest album that he even described as, “Eh” still went double platinum and featured two top ten singles. But Eminem was definitely getting stale circa Relapse, each album’s first single got cheesier and cheesier and We Made You while the rest of the albums got darker and darker to the point where Relapse was essentially horrorcore. A year later, Eminem got clean, released recovery and his biggest hit of his career with Love the Way You Lie. Still I met that album with a resounding “eh” too. But at least there was not a cheesy lead single which was instead replaced with Not Afraid, an apologies for the uninspiring Relapse album.

Fast forward three years and during the middle of an otherwise unwatchable MTV Video Music Awards, there were two promos for the upcoming new Eminem album featuring a Rick Rubin produced, Billy Squier sampling, Beastie Boys referencing song Berzerk. When it hit the internets the next day in its entirety, I was ready to call it the best Eminem song since Lose Yourself. Then he released the stadium anthem Survival (seriously, all high school and college bands better be learning this song as you read this) which is the second best song he has done since Lose Yourself.

So for the first time ever, I was excited for an Eminem album with his seventh release The Marshall Mathers LP 2. Why a sequel to his thirteen year old album? Who knows, probably marketing (segments of Stan and The Real Slim Shady do get resurrected). The album does have an old school feel to including Berzerk and Eminem name drops plenty old school rappers and jams on Love Game, yet another track produced by Rick Rubin which samples the sixties teen pop song Game of Love by Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders.

All four Rick Rubin produced songs are built around well known rock songs. Obvious first single Berzerk is by far the best but by the fourth Love Game, you start to wonder why they would sample this. The Zombies sampling Rhyme or Reason has Eminem answering the questions Time of the Season ("What's your name?" "Who's your daddy?") and is reminiscent of the last time he sampled classic rock on Sing for the Moment and takes aim at his absentee father who gets referenced occasionally but rarely gets his own song (especially compared to his mother). So Far… flips Joe Walsh’s Life Is Good which does not work as well as it should have. Maybe Rick should have saved that beat for Kid Rock who would have known to do with the southern rock jam.

The new album does not stay completely in the past. Rap God features a futuristic beat that Jay-Z would have loved to come across his desk during his Blueprint days (but could not handle it these days) and Em just slays it as one as his best flows to date. Even more impressive is the song goes six minutes and he never slows down and actually builds with every second. The album does slow down on back end. The Monster featuring Rihanna just falls flat compared to Love the Way You Lie. Headlights is another ode to his mother, but this one is a sincere apology made worse by the inclusion of the dude from Fun.. And for those wondering where the song that takes down pop tarts, on the album closer he admits he is bored with that, “So who’s left? Lady Gaga? Bieber? Nah.” But overall, this is the rare sequil that lives up to the original.

Song to Download – Berzerk

The Marshall Mathers LP 2 gets a Terror Alert Level: High [ORANGE] on my Terror Alert Scale.


Thursday, October 17, 2013

Let Me See Your Skeleton Well Before Your Life Is Done



Magpies and Dandlion - The Avett Brothers

Back in August, John Mayer dropped his second album in fifteen months. Paradise Valley pretty much sound like the cheerier B-side to Born and Raised. Something must be in the water supply on the folk-rock circuit because The Avett Brothers are back with Magpie and the Dandelion just thirteen months after the release of their last one. After recording the folk version of U2 album I and Love and You, the band reconvened with producer Rick Rubin to release their most mellow, traditional folk album The Carpenter and had enough material left over to release an entirely new album.

Much like the latest John Mayer album, Magpies and Dandelion definitely sound like it was recorded during The Carpenter session (probably because it was) but may even be mellower than its predecessor. One of the few upbeat tracks, which happen to be the best song, Another Is Waiting which harkens back to the group’s pre-Rubin days ware their sound was more raw and unrefined. Other than that, one of the few other upbeat tracks is the album opener Open Ended Life which featured a rare electric guitar. Do not worry Avett purists, it is a sign of a new direction and the song also features plenty of banjo and even a harmonica for good measure.

I do wish that Open Ended Letter was sign of a slight change in direction because most of the rest of the album just comes off as B-sides of songs off The Carpenter. Really. Magpies and Dandelion and The Carpenters is essentially just a double album just happened to be released a year apart. The album does deviate a few other times from the mellower side of folk, Morning Song soars like then anthemic songs from I and Love and You or the sweet vocals and acoustic guitar live track Sounds Like the Wheels (if you have never seen The Avett Brothers live or at the very least listen to one of their live albums, remedy that soon). Still, if The Avett Brothers release another album in just thirteen months, I will not be complaining.

Song to Download – Another Is Waiting

Magpies and Dandelion gets a Terror Alert Level: Elevated [YELLOW] on my Terror Alert Scale.


Monday, September 16, 2013

The Ten Most Anticipated Albums of Fall 2013



It has been an abysmal year for music. In the first eight months there were only four marquee albums released by Daft Punk, Justin Timberlake, Kanye West, and Jay-Z. Except Yeezus bombed, Magna Carta... Holy Grail and The 20/20 Experience will probably end up being the two best selling albums of the year but were still disappointing, and Random Access Memories has yet to garner a second hit. Just think that the next biggest release this year was the Fall Out Boy comeback. Was anyone even hoping for a Fall Out Boy reunion twelve months ago?

What is worse, the music industry has yet to create a breakout artist this year. Just think back to this time last year when Gotye, Fun., and Carley Rae Jepsen all had massive hits while The Lumineers and Of Monsters and Men were still building steam. The closest thing the music industry has to a breakout star this year is Anna kendrick. No shots at Cups because it is extremely catchy but it is sad that an acapella song by an actress from movie released in December of last year is still hovering around the iTunes top ten in September. With that said, I really hope Anna capitalizes on the success and goes into the studio to create a full version of No Diggity. At any rate, rumors are there is a Pitch Perfect Christmas album coming our way this winter.

Yeah the year in music has been extremely bad this year, but hold off declaring that 2013 has overtaken 1999 as the worst year in music ever. Usually it is hard for me to come up with five albums to make up my Most Anticipated Albums list each quarter, but this Fall I could have easily come up with a top twenty this time around and that is not even using the albums that are just rumored to be coming out sometime in the next four months like U2 and The Black Keys. Although I hope all of those marquee albums named in the TBA category hold off their albums until early next year so 2014 does not start off as abysmal as this year. Here are some albums that are scheduled to come out over the next four months. Click on the album title or art to pre-order on Amazon and the artists name to go to their iTunes page.

1. Magpies and DandelionsThe Avett Brothers (October 15): After putting out steller folk albums on their own, The Avett Brothers hooked up with uber-producer Rick Rubin for their best album to date, I and Love and You four years ago. Just last year, they collaborated again for another good album The Carpenter. So my hopes are high when they hooked up for the third time with a new batch of songs recorded during The Carpenter sessions.

2. Wise Up GhostElvis Costello & The Roots (Tomorrow): When The Roots signed up as The Late Night house band, I thought it was slow down their output, but they have managed to put out as much, if not more music than ever. And it has opened them up to unexpected collaborations, The Dirty Projectors, Jim James, and Joanna Newsome have appeared on their albums and The Roots did a whole album with John Legend. And now maybe their weirdest collaboration yet with Elvis Costello. And like the previously mentioned collaborations, this one weirdly works.

3. Pure HeroinePure Heroine - Lorde (September 30): If you had at the start of the year a sixteen year old from New Zealand who spouts anti-materialism anthems as the breakout star of 2013, you would be raking it in right now. And while Miley is off twerking, Lada Gaga is trying to hard to be shocking, Katy is recycling songs, and Britney trying too use profanities again to jump start her career, the pop world really needs Lorde right now. Her five song EP was great and though Royals will pop up on the full length debut everything she has done so far has been great. Seriously, she even made a song off of Yeezus listenable.

4. From Here to Now to YouJack Johnson (Tomorrow): At this point, Jack is not changing anyone's mind, and the new album will not be changing anyone's mind. But if you are already on the Jack Johnson bandwagon (like me, I own all of his albums), he has put together another set of songs that will help you remember the summer as the days start getting shorter.

5. Days Are GoneHaim (September 30): This fall is so jammed packed with music, the two highest profiled debuts arrive on the same day (not so coincidentally, I believe this is the last day to be eligible for the 2014 Grammy Award which is why so much music is being released on a Monday instead of the usual Tuesday; and Haim and Lorde are pretty much a lock for Best New Artist along with Kacey Musgraves with the other two slots taken by Capital Cities and... um... could Anna Kendrick really get the last spot? Actually the Grammys will probably not realize 2 Chainz has been around for a decade and give him the final spot). Like Lorde, Haim put out a solid EP which mixed southern California pop with nineties RnB and somehow makes it sound awesome. Listening to Heartache Tonight biting first single, their full length debut will be more of the same (but unlike Lorde, much of their EP shows up on Days Gone By).

6. Lightning Bolt Pearl Jam (October 14): After some unremarkable albums durning the late ninties to the early 00's, Pearl Jam has had a bit of resurgence with their last two album. They go full agro on first single Mind Your Manners which brings up memories of Spin the Black Circle off their best album. Here is hoping Lightning Blt turns out to be their best album yet, or at the very least the best since Vitology.

7. The Marshall Mathers LP 2 - Eminem (November 5): I cannot say I have ever anticipated an Eninem album, but that all chanced with the release of Berserk and word that the album is being co-produced by Rick Rubin and Dr. Dre. As you can tell by the cameo in the video Rubin was responsible for the beat, the first he has done since 99 Problems a decade ago (both sample a Billy Squire which make me wonder if Rubin will try to resurrect his career Johnny Cash style in the near future). No word of Eminem goes full retro on the whole album, but I certainly hope so.

8. NewPaul McCartney (October 15): Another artist I usually do not get too excited for, because aside from Spies Like Us, is there any other solo songs from Paul McCartney to get excited about? But for his next album, the former Beatles has teamed up with probably the best new producer of the past decade, Mark Ronson whose retro soul style helped launch the careers of Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, and Adele.

9. Speak a Little Louder - Diane Birch (October 15): As Ronson ushered in a new age of retro female British singers, American Diane Birch was unfortunately ignore with her retro leaning debut Bible Belt which was one of my favorite debuts from last decade. From what I have heard, the follow up is a bit darker with influences from eighties shoe-gazers. Hopefully the whole album is as good as the first one.

10. To All the Girls… - Willie Nelson (October 15): Willie Nelson is jumping on the duets bandwagon, but as the title suggests, he is just singing with his favorite ladies including featuring Dolly Parton, Mavis Staples, Sheryl Crow, Loretta Lynn, Wynonna Judd, Rosanne Cash, Alison Krauss, Miranda Lambert, Tina Rose, Carrie Underwood, Emmylou Harris, Norah Jones, Secret Sisters, Brandi Carlile, Lily Meola, Shelby Lynne, Melonie Cannon, and Paula Nelson.

I put together a Spotify playlist of the first singles off of the albums listed above which you can listen to at right while you peruse seventy other albums coming out this fall that should at the very least be worth a spin on Spotify.

Last Week
The Electric LadyJanelle Monáe
AMArctic Monkeys
Feels Like HomeSheryl Crow
Kiss LandThe Weeknd
B.O.A.T.S. 2# Metime2 Chainz
DynamicsHoly Ghost!
Now, Then and ForeverEarth, Wind and Fire
Say That to Say ThisTrombone Shorty
Sound System - The Clash

Tomorrow
New ConstellationToad the Wet Sprocket
In Rolling WavesThe Naked and Famous
Spreading Rumours - Grouplove
Battle Maximus - GWAR
BookmarksFive for Fighting
MGMTMGMT
Sun Will Rise – Animal Years

September 24

Mechanical Bull – Kings of Leon
The Diving BoardElton John
The Last Ship - Sting
Seasons Of Your DayMazzy Star
Build Me Up From BonesSarah Jarosz
NegativityDeer Tick
Bones of What You BelieveCHVRCHES
WishboneOh Land
Shout! - Gov't Mule
Sammy Hagar and FriendsSammy Hagar
My Brothers KeeperK-Ci and JoJo
Metallica Through The Never (Music From The Motion Picture)
In Utero (3CD+DVD Super Deluxe Edition)Nirvana

October 1
VIIBlitzen Trapper
Blur the Line – Those Darlins
B-RoomDr. Dog
I'll Find A WayThe Blind Boys of Alabama
InnocentsMoby
UnvarnishedJoan Jett and The Blackhearts
Lucky Numbers - Dave Stewart

October 8
Back to ForeverLissie
Mountains of Sorrow, Rivers of SongAmos Lee
Bitter RivalsSleigh Bells
Tin StarLindi Ortega
You Can't Make Old Friends - Kenny Rogers
Frame By FrameCassadee Pope
High RiseStone Temple Pilots with Chester Bennington
MelophobiaCage the Elephant
My Name Is MyPusha T

October 15
Let's Be Still – The Head and the Heart
Make A Move - Gavin DeGraw
StaticCults
No Poison No ParadiseBlack Milk
Mary ChristmasMary J. Blige
Unplugged: Expanded and Remastered (2xCD+DVD) - Eric Clapton

October 22
Smoke and MirrorsBrett Dennen
Fade Away - Best Coast

October 29
Reflektor – Arcade Fire
Night Time, My Time - Sky Ferreira
Get There – Minor Alps (Juliana Hatfield and Matthew Caws of Nada Surf)
Wrapped in RedKelly Clarkson
Recharged - Linkin Park

November 5
Magic Hour - Luscious Jackson
Mantangi – M.I.A.
Avril Lavigne – Avril Lavigne
Loved Me Back To Life - Céline Dion
Miami Pop Festival - The Jimi Hendrix Experience

November 12
Black Panties - R. Kelly
Under the Covers, vol. 3 – Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs
November - Grace and Tony
Inside Llewyn Davis Soundtrack
Let It Snow: A Holiday Collection - Jewel

December 3
Love, Marriage and Divorce – Toni Braxton and Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds

TBD
blackSUMMERSnight – Maxwell
The Art of War: World War III - Bone Thugs-n-Harmony
Fading West - Switchfoot
Beck
Better Than Ezra
Beyoncé
The Black Keys
Common
Danielle Bradbery
Ed Sheeran
Lily Allen
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
U2

And of course I have to mention the obligatory this may be the quarter that Dr. Dre finally releases Detox.