![audio review : Filthy America [ It's Beautiful ] ( album ) ... The Lox](https://marcellee.com/posts/64646.jpg)
This is the first Lox album since 2000. The Trininty set was EPs and a mixtape. Perhaps Filthy America should’ve been another one. The album, which would time in at a mere thirty-something minutes if not for two skip-worthy interludes, sounds more like a mixtape than the long-awaited follow-up to We Are The Streets. Ryde Or Die Bitch remains my favorite Lox song. Nothing here comes close, though The Agreement, which has a similar concept, is a notable highlight.
my rating : 3 of 5
2016
Baby Damien seems normal enough, at least as far as his adoptive parents are concerned, but as he grows older, strange things start happening around him. This is a horror movie based on Christian theology, so the monster is an unseen force known as The Devil and Damien is its son.
With that, The Omen might be a real scare for Bible believers. To me, it’s sort of silly. The Nanny should’ve been the lead villian. There’s some interesting tension happening between her and the parents early on. Damien and his evil antics, which, to his credit, are inadvertent, are comparatively dull.
my rating : 3 of 5
1976
![audio review : We Got It From Here [ Thank You 4 Your Service ] ( album ) ... A Tribe Called Quest](https://marcellee.com/posts/63788.jpg)
Fans of A Tribe Called Quest; a rap group from the 1990s; should be relatively happy. This new album, as far as beats and rhymes go, sounds a lot like their old ones. In fact, listening to Q-Tip’s voice, you’d think it was. It’s as if he hasn’t aged. Phife Dawg died earlier this year, which means a major part of the album, which is reportedly titled by him, was recorded before he died. It was also reportedly recorded not long before, as a new project, as opposed to stale leftovers from previous albums.
The best parts are the aforementioned beats, one of which I wish backed guest verses from De La Soul or the Jungle Brothers, Black Sheep even. Enough, Q-Tip’s charismatic rap of which is my favorite part of the album, could’ve been a sequel to La Menage. But that’s nostalgia talking. Busta Rhymes is featured. Andre 3000, Kanye West, Anderson Paak; they only manage to annoy. This final Quest album is ultimately decent, though it is off-putting how it comes so long after the others.
my rating : 3 of 5
2016
Fans expecting Lady Gaga to return to her electro-synth roots after that ill-conceived jazz album she made with Tony Bennett will be disappointed. There are hints of nostalgia; Dancin In Circles and Perfect Illusion are vintage Gaga; but Joanne is ultimately another detour, this time on the back of a horse thru the world of contemporary country music. Left behind are the pulsating club beats that have always generally been the best part of a Lady Gaga song.
Those beats are what almost made Artpop, her previous solo album, good. Even its worst songs; Donatella and Swine; are laced with innovative production. Joanne, while not bad, is comparatively mundane. So its worst; the sappy Million Reasons; is a chore to get thru. The dreamy coda of Angel Down is enchanting though; it’s a shame the whole song doesn’t sound like that; and Joanne, the song, has some interesting vocal melodies happening on the chorus.
my rating : 3 of 5
2016
Bat Out Of Hell 3 came a decade too early. This should be it. The first two Bat albums consisted of Jim Steinman songs. The third broke that tradition. Braver, the title of which comes from a song I’ll get to shortly, takes it back. Every song is composed by Steinman, though they’re not really new. Most were performed years ago by other singers, the oldest going back to the 1970s. That makes this a Meat Loaf cover set.
Listen for an epic entitled Going All The Way Is Just The Start, a quote of which also titles the album. It’s one of the best songs Meat Loaf has ever sang and Jim Steinman has ever composed. Why it doesn’t Start the set like the similarly majestic Anything For Love did on Bat 2 is a mystery to me. Godz, a quirky military anthem, is fun, but Going All The Way is in a class by itself. Everything else here pales in comparison.
my rating : 3 of 5
2016
The problem with this De La Soul album is that there isn’t enough De La Soul on it. Almost every song includes a guest vocalist and often those guests steal the show. The Memory ballad is all about the glossy vocals of Estelle. Drawn is literally a Yukimi Nagano song. Lord Intended becomes a Justin Hawkins solo before the halfway point. It’s conceptually off-putting, odd even, how many bars go by with featured singers taking the place of the guys whose album this is supposed to be.
It’s not like the songs are good enough to get away with it. The rhapsodic changes of Snoopies; it’s not this but another song that features Snoop Dogg; is jarring. Most are so-so, though it’s worth mentioning that the Trainwreck beat, while amateurish, is quirky and cute. It’s also worth mentioning that Exodus, an “outro that’s also an intro”, could be something remarkable if it’s enchanting chorus and orchestration were developed into a proper song with actual rap verses.
my rating : 3 of 5
2016
Machiventa :
“The problem with this De La Soul album is that there isn’t enough De La Soul on it.”
Exactly! For me the concept, guests, music, and feel of the album are incredible, it just needs more Pos and Dave! It feels like all the Kickstarter funds went into paying the collaborators and actual making of the album, with them ultimately not having enough rhymes written to compliment the music. Maybe they were going for that intentionally but it leaves me wanting to hear more of them.
Frank Ocean is sort of annoying. It’s not so much how he sounds; though the Chipmunk voice effect he occasionally uses is silly; it’s more the juvenile things he sometimes says. An early interlude suggests he gets it from his Mom. “Don’t try to be someone else,” she commands via phone, “Be yourself and know that that’s good enough.” Generic advice like that is as useless as hot air on a summer day. What’s wrong with trying to be better than good enough? At one point, her son mentions Michael Jackson. If he tried to be (like) him, he’d be diversifying his voice by using it for more than just the whiny crooning he does on these songs.
But that’s not fair. There’s nothing wrong with a one-trick pony if the trick is good “enough”. And when it comes to whiny crooning, Frank Ocean is a talent. It’s specifically his melodic compositions that impress. A lot of people can sing well. Far fewer have the ability to compose vocal melodies people want to hear. He’s having a hard time evolving those melodies into full songs though. His previous album, Channel Orange, is better than this one. That’s not just because of the vocals but also the music. Lacking are pulsating thumpers like Thinkin Bout You and Pink Matter. Andre 3000 is back, but this time he’s rapping to a drumless piano riff.
my rating : 3 of 5
2016
The start of this ditty, the closest Paul Simon’s come to hip-hop since his Wyclef Jean feature, sounds splendid. “My heart goes out to the street angels,” he says over blastworthy drums, but it’s a delightful background vocal sample that sells it.
After the first twenty seconds or so, the song instantly goes awry and becomes a bit of a mess. The main problem is the structure or lack thereof, specifically the fact that Simon never properly brings back the aforementioned chorus section.
my rating : 3 of 5
2016
![Brunswick Sardines [ In Spring Water ]](https://marcellee.com/posts/61785.jpg)
I eat sardines not because I like the taste; I don’t; but because they’re a cheap side filler and among the healthiest foods people can eat. That said, these Brunswicks; remarkably tender fish carcasses in spring water with no salt added; are probably the best-tasting I’ve had. If you’re eating them with something runny and tomato-based, like pasta with pasta sauce, they barely have any flavor at all, which is great.
my rating : 3 of 5
Men go to war over a cut-up whore. That’s the gist of a plot that’s about as silly as it sounds, especially at the end when a previously decrepit character suddenly becomes invincible.
Clint Eastwood plays an assassin recruited by a Kid to help him kill the cowboy who cut-up the aforementioned whore, but the story lacks in the way of tension and often goes astray.
my rating : 3 of 5
1992
This album begins with a John Lennon song. It’s an odd move starting a set of otherwise original songs with a cover; one that makes for immediate conceptual awkwardness the album never gets good enough to make forgivable.
There are notable songs. Waterloo, about the train station in London, is relaxing. Saint Valentine’s Day offers sweet celtic vibes and a sweeping bridge-to-chorus section. Lowlands is also nice, but most of the rest is a dreary affair.
my rating : 3 of 5
1990
The box boasts “no artificial flavors”. What it doesn’t tell you is that, compared to the average kid-themed cereal, there’s hardly any flavor at all. The taste; imagine Trix with less punch; is frustratingly bland. That’s partly because the ingredients list is new-age healthy. The cereal, based on Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon series, gets its color from vegetable juice and turmeric.
my rating : 3 of 5