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Journal by Arik
I've mentioned before that I perceive hip-hop as more vibrant, more alive, than other genres that I follow.
I've had skeptical replies, but little concrete justification for the skepticism. I try to provide it for you. It's odd to contemplate music created without involving any musicians.
I'm not at all wedded to the conclusion, it's an impression, nothing more.
So I want to issue a challenge. Show me a blues song, a heavy metal song, a country song, or a punk song from 2018 or 2019 that's as topical, clever, and creative as this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9F_xQW8ego&list=RDy9F_xQW8ego
I'm not saying it's perfect, or even noteworthy in a jazz or classical context mind you, look above for the adjectives I actually used.
I've had skeptical replies, but little concrete justification for the skepticism. I try to provide it for you. It's odd to contemplate music created without involving any musicians.
I'm not at all wedded to the conclusion, it's an impression, nothing more.
So I want to issue a challenge. Show me a blues song, a heavy metal song, a country song, or a punk song from 2018 or 2019 that's as topical, clever, and creative as this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9F_xQW8ego&list=RDy9F_xQW8ego
I'm not saying it's perfect, or even noteworthy in a jazz or classical context mind you, look above for the adjectives I actually used.
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
Be security conscious -- National defense is at stake.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Saturday August 24 2019, @06:03AM (15 children)
The guy's good I'll grant you but that particular song was nothing but narcissistic masturbation. As for topical, unless you're Bob Dylan or you just suck at creating something with real meaning that speaks to a deep truth in the listener, topical is mostly bullshit pandering and you should avoid it.
Me, I quite like this little ditty [youtube.com] from Carrie Underwood and Ludacris. It absolutely does speak to an important and deep truth of human existence and also doesn't hurt my ears overly much. I'd dearly love to link you anything worth a shit from country, blues, or punk but I haven't heard anything new from any of the three genres in a long time that didn't suck every dick in sight. Metal? I'm not interested anymore. Even the old stuff I used to love stopped speaking to me about the time I could buy my own smokes. Country especially needs to be fucking ashamed of itself. It's gone from El Paso and Pancho and Lefty to fucking wall to wall twang-pop. Kid Rock is more country than anyone with a top ten hit in the last few years.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 1) by Arik on Saturday August 24 2019, @06:31AM (9 children)
It's a brag track. Opposite of a diss track.
"real meaning that speaks to a deep truth in the listener"
I been on the grind never waited for the clearance
Life is all the time so I'm going to live it fearless.
Yeah
And people gonna hear this.
Made a little name with the vision and coherence.
Never been a lame nah I'm closer to a genius
Knowledge in my brain chalk it up to the experience.
Still I'm not rich,
but at least I ain't broke.
Never sell dreams cause
I'd rather sell hope.
People so lost in the mirrors and the smoke
think I'd be a realer bloke
if I said I sold dope,
Nope.
[...]
I'm grinding from a zero to a stack,
and I'm talking about deNiro getting jacked.
If Wakanda needs a new king I'm a go hard to be the leader of the pack.
I'm a needle in a stack and a fiending to attack,
not a baller no T'challa but a hero and I'm black.
I'm an eagle to a rat, verbal demon on the track,
I'm a scholar and a brawler you don't feel it then you're wack.
You're always talking evil in your rap
I'm trying to put my meanings on the map.
I gave you 12 rules for live and keep my room clean
I'm the Jordan Peterson of rap.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Saturday August 24 2019, @06:44AM (8 children)
"It's a brag track. Opposite of a diss track."
Certainly better than "you a bitch, you a ho, ain't gonna sug'daddy you no mo' " and the like.
Okay, so my rap lyrics-writin' skilz need work. :D
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 2) by Arik on Saturday August 24 2019, @06:55AM (7 children)
Here's an utterly glorious brag track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLiXFaaq7cA&list=RDy9F_xQW8ego
Don't even click it if you don't have a little energy to decode it please.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Saturday August 24 2019, @02:17PM (6 children)
He's very good at what he does, but those lyrics border on word salad (not improved by reading 'em), sometimes the only merit being good adherence to beat and clever rhyming... probably a pomo generator could do as well, if suitably primed. In fact....
https://www.song-lyrics-generator.org.uk/rap/ [song-lyrics-generator.org.uk]
https://www.song-lyrics-generator.org.uk/?i=2ketzh9j [song-lyrics-generator.org.uk]
https://www.song-lyrics-generator.org.uk/?i=1r0r4cq5 [song-lyrics-generator.org.uk]
First two it did. (The second is usable.) Didn't even prime it, just used the random autofillers.
However, I don't think we're *supposed* to follow the lyrics as such -- the rapidfire patter is used as an instrument, somewhere between xylophone and drums. You could substitute creative percussion for the vocals, and the song would not really change.
Actually, I rather like that idea. Has anyone done it?
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 2) by Arik on Saturday August 24 2019, @06:09PM (5 children)
Yes, in a word; poetry.
"I don't think we're *supposed* to follow the lyrics as such"
You don't have to. Though if you do, I find it quite a bit more coherent than you seem to have.
"the rapidfire patter is used as an instrument, somewhere between xylophone and drums."
Yes. It's on time and it has a timbre and some pitch. Not a clear sustained note-pitch like a singer would produce, but more like the difference between different drums in the set.
There's also an implied melody, depending on your neural endowment you may or may not 'hear' it.
"Actually, I rather like that idea. Has anyone done it?"
I think you can be first.
I had sort of the reverse idea - getting an opera singer to cover some hip hop.
It might sound something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rve03u7oEvI
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Saturday August 24 2019, @07:05PM (4 children)
Huh.That's very good (admittedly I don't know the original, so nothing to compare). Both visually and the music.
And now I want to see and hear "Amish Paradise" covered by... well, Amish. (Yeah, that's the only version I've heard.)
"It's on time and it has a timbre and some pitch. Not a clear sustained note-pitch like a singer would produce, but more like the difference between different drums in the set."
That, exactly. Kinda like that Japanese [?] drum-only group.
Or kinda like ska... what is it I'm thinking of?? [goes looking]
Went looking for an example and here's the first thing YT spit up!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1i0C8jnFoo [youtube.com]
and here's the next... not what I was looking for, but weirdly funny.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVyJkKKfRFs [youtube.com]
Apparently I'm never going to find it, so just imagine you've heard a good classic example.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 2) by Arik on Saturday August 24 2019, @08:47PM (3 children)
Weird Al's cover?
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Saturday August 24 2019, @10:03PM (2 children)
Yep. Not a corner of music I'd normally frequent.
Nor is today's topic, but didn't keep it from being interesting. :)
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 1) by Arik on Sunday August 25 2019, @02:04AM (1 child)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9qYF9DZPdw
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Sunday August 25 2019, @02:39AM
Oh yeah, he does some brilliant shit.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 3, Touché) by Reziac on Saturday August 24 2019, @06:41AM (4 children)
I lost track of who's who in country about the time the last decent radio station got borgified, maybe 15 years back (broadcast in SoCal got so sucky that when driving at night, I'd wind up listening to Christian rock as the best of a bad lot -- even KROQ sucked). So I scanned down Billboard's top 50... Blake Shelton, Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, Garth Brooks, they've all done good stuff. But I've never even fucking HEARD of the other 46, and the titles make me think 'manufactured glitter hits'.
Ah, well, here's an indie cowboy singer I like (I have all his CDs) ...in the spirit of Pancho and Lefty...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-5hhfNKCTY [youtube.com]
and yes that's pure live, no 'adjustments'. And he can yodel too. :D
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Saturday August 24 2019, @02:18PM (3 children)
Shelton's from not my hometown but the town 15 miles away that you went to for everything except gas and he's always been a douchebag. Rascal Flatts has taken up twang pop. Garth's still Garth but he ain't doing his best work anymore. And Indian Outlaw ruined Tim McGraw for me; it was nearly as annoying as Achy Breaky Heart.
Yeah, most everyone on the top 100 for 2018 is doing cookie cutter bullshit, primarily of the twang pop variety. Now Chris Janson does some good stuff and some deep stuff but never good and deep in the same song.
Nice, dig him. Cheers for the link.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Saturday August 24 2019, @02:35PM (2 children)
I haven't heard anything recent from any of the handful I recognise, so they could have taken up rap for all I know. (Oh dear.) I do think a lot of 'em start good and soon run out of material, so after that it's all recycled.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Saturday August 24 2019, @03:02PM (1 child)
It's really pretty bad when a Toby Keith song is more country and better country than 98% of what hits the country charts.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Saturday August 24 2019, @03:45PM
Okay, now you're scaring me...
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.