Hip-hop = Not Garbage?! Wha-wha-what!?
And now, for my first trick...
I was going to bore you to death with stories of wonderful life, which consists of sleeping, working, and playing too many video games (and seeing Vicki on several weekends). Like I said before, somewhere between sublime happiness and being a complete waste of life.
I'll save it for another time, and instead talk about something that's really been interesting me lately. Hip-hop.
That's right. Hip-hop. Those of you who know me well enough know that I'm very much into the modern rock scene. Allow me a brief tangent: I don't like where rock is going lately. This whole retro, 80s style was cool and original when Franz Ferdinand did it, less so when the Killers did it, and now everytime I flip past MTV I see some retarded looking guys with spacey sounds and haughty vocals. 3 years ago the 80s were still the most shameful era of American pop culture, and now suddenly its cool again? Oi.
Anyways, I've been a rock fan since the mid-nineties, when a friend introduced me to The Smashing Pumpkins. They were one of my first favorites. Actually, I have to say that my first rock album was probably Green Day's "Dookie" back during its heydey, when everyone had it. Before that, I was in that hazy musical era where music didn't really matter, where I listened to country (because my parents did) and then Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer (because my cousin did) and even... *shudder* Ace of Base.
In any case, I've been a straight-up rock fan since I really cared about music. I've disliked rap and hip-hop for just as long. It started way back then, in the gangsta rap era. I've always been very conscious of lyrics in music, and if the lyrics turn me off to a song, I tend not to like it. Gangsta rap, wit all of its violent machismo and little else, struck a bad chord with me. I still don't like it.
Nowadays, this processed pop-rap "Ice Rap" rules the charts. It really, really irks me. You know who I'm talking about -- Jay-Z, Ludacris, fucking Lil' Jon. Don't even get me started on Lil' Jon. I don't give a fuck about how much jewelry you've got, how big your rims are, or our how many hoes you've screwed. I don't understand why anyone does.
Sadly, the answer is usually "because the beat is good." What can I say to that? While I've definately grown more tolerant of rap since being in college, and can appreciate rappers who have a good "flow," like Jay-Z or Nelly. Even so... Take Lil' Jon for example. I've ranted about this plenty, but I'll do it again for posterity: so many people, girls especially, love Lil' Jon's "Get Low." It makes no sense. The lyrics to the song include "'Til the sweat drips from my balls / 'til all the bitches crawl / Ah, skeet skeet skeet skeet skeet skeet skeet." For the uninitiated, "skeet skeet" refers to the act of ejaculating all over. Let that process for a second.
Good beat or not, I don't see how anyone can consciously like this song. Except misogynists, maybe. But come on!
Okay, ranting aside, the reason that I wanted to talk about hip-hop is to bring the good word -- there's good hip-hop music out there! Seriously. I'll admit that I used to be of the camp that said "Eh, rap is just some guy making up stupid rhymes over bass. It's not music." That's not always how it's gotta be though. While some people will never see rap as "music" -- being that there's no real instruments and whatnot -- you cannot deny the lyricism of some of these artists. If not music, it is nothing less than phenomenal poetry. Wordsmanship at its absolute finest.
What could turn a die-hard rock fan, anti-rap purist into a hip-hop fan in less than a month? Well, that's a long story... well not really, but this is already long enough as it is. Next time, I'll take you through my journey into the hip-hop underground. Yes, that's right, I'm so indie that I skipped right over liking the mainstream. Stay tuned.
Peace.
I was going to bore you to death with stories of wonderful life, which consists of sleeping, working, and playing too many video games (and seeing Vicki on several weekends). Like I said before, somewhere between sublime happiness and being a complete waste of life.
I'll save it for another time, and instead talk about something that's really been interesting me lately. Hip-hop.
That's right. Hip-hop. Those of you who know me well enough know that I'm very much into the modern rock scene. Allow me a brief tangent: I don't like where rock is going lately. This whole retro, 80s style was cool and original when Franz Ferdinand did it, less so when the Killers did it, and now everytime I flip past MTV I see some retarded looking guys with spacey sounds and haughty vocals. 3 years ago the 80s were still the most shameful era of American pop culture, and now suddenly its cool again? Oi.
Anyways, I've been a rock fan since the mid-nineties, when a friend introduced me to The Smashing Pumpkins. They were one of my first favorites. Actually, I have to say that my first rock album was probably Green Day's "Dookie" back during its heydey, when everyone had it. Before that, I was in that hazy musical era where music didn't really matter, where I listened to country (because my parents did) and then Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer (because my cousin did) and even... *shudder* Ace of Base.
In any case, I've been a straight-up rock fan since I really cared about music. I've disliked rap and hip-hop for just as long. It started way back then, in the gangsta rap era. I've always been very conscious of lyrics in music, and if the lyrics turn me off to a song, I tend not to like it. Gangsta rap, wit all of its violent machismo and little else, struck a bad chord with me. I still don't like it.
Nowadays, this processed pop-rap "Ice Rap" rules the charts. It really, really irks me. You know who I'm talking about -- Jay-Z, Ludacris, fucking Lil' Jon. Don't even get me started on Lil' Jon. I don't give a fuck about how much jewelry you've got, how big your rims are, or our how many hoes you've screwed. I don't understand why anyone does.
Sadly, the answer is usually "because the beat is good." What can I say to that? While I've definately grown more tolerant of rap since being in college, and can appreciate rappers who have a good "flow," like Jay-Z or Nelly. Even so... Take Lil' Jon for example. I've ranted about this plenty, but I'll do it again for posterity: so many people, girls especially, love Lil' Jon's "Get Low." It makes no sense. The lyrics to the song include "'Til the sweat drips from my balls / 'til all the bitches crawl / Ah, skeet skeet skeet skeet skeet skeet skeet." For the uninitiated, "skeet skeet" refers to the act of ejaculating all over. Let that process for a second.
Good beat or not, I don't see how anyone can consciously like this song. Except misogynists, maybe. But come on!
Okay, ranting aside, the reason that I wanted to talk about hip-hop is to bring the good word -- there's good hip-hop music out there! Seriously. I'll admit that I used to be of the camp that said "Eh, rap is just some guy making up stupid rhymes over bass. It's not music." That's not always how it's gotta be though. While some people will never see rap as "music" -- being that there's no real instruments and whatnot -- you cannot deny the lyricism of some of these artists. If not music, it is nothing less than phenomenal poetry. Wordsmanship at its absolute finest.
What could turn a die-hard rock fan, anti-rap purist into a hip-hop fan in less than a month? Well, that's a long story... well not really, but this is already long enough as it is. Next time, I'll take you through my journey into the hip-hop underground. Yes, that's right, I'm so indie that I skipped right over liking the mainstream. Stay tuned.
Peace.
posted by Kultcher at Thursday, April 14, 2005
2 Comments:
You can't tell me you like certian songs based soley on their lyrical content. The first time you hear a song you pretty much decide if you like it or not, even when you don't know all the words
Well, you rarely know all the lyrics to a song on the first listen, but in most songs except maybe death metal, you can make out most of them. Enough of them to turn you on or off of a song. I can imagine that some people don't listen intently to the lyrics on the first go-round. I do, however, and if the chrous is usually a pretty good giveaway. If the chorus involves nasty references to male or female anatomy, or if it's about cars, money or some other measure of wealth, than that immediately knocks a song down several levels in my mind. That said, there have been some exceptions. Like that song by P.Diddy, Nelly and Murphy Lee from last year or the year before (I can't remember exactly). Despite that song being pretty stupid, I dug on it anyway.
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