Tag: music

audio review : Blood On The Dance Floor ( song ) … Michael Jackson

The main flaw of this song has less to do with music than promotion. Epic Records, Michael Jackson’s label ever since Off The Wall, is trying to push this as a new single despite the fact that it’s (apparently) at least six years old. Some of the vocals may be new, I don’t know, but the music; the drumbeat of which is a replica of Remember The Time; isn’t. That’s a major marketing glitch that could’ve easily been fixed by simply releasing the song as an outtake from the Dangerous album. It’s also a bad look for producer Teddy Riley, considering the fact that it’s only taken six years for his New Jack Swing to sound old.

Other flaws, like lack of bass on a song that should be pounding the club and subpar vocal melodies during the verses, are relatively minor. Aesthetically this is a good song. The protagonist, a knife-wielding killer named Susie, is bad, at least in a moral sense, but the chorus sounds catchy enough, especially during the final peak when Jackson starts hyping it with his signature ad-libs. The song goes from good to great for about twenty seconds. “It was blood on the dance floor,” Jackson sings with masterful inflections, “It was blood on the dance floor.” The last two times he says it are particularly striking.

my rating : 4 of 5

1997

audio review : Blood On The Dance Floor [ History In The Mix ] ( album ) … Michael Jackson

audio review : Somewhere In America ( song ) … Jay-Z

It’s not the horn loop but the pianos that make the beat special. They carry it along with the ghetto elegance of a Dr Dre production circa 2001. It’s actually produced by Hit-Boy and Mike Dean. The best part is when the drums drop out and are replaced by what sounds like stringed instruments of some kind.

That’s the part rapper Jay-Z, wise enough not to bog the vibe down with one of his lame hooks, has sex doll Miley Cyrus dancing to. “Twerk, Miley,” he commands with a giggle. It’s a random way to end this semi-song and the music seems a bit slow to do that particular dance to, but it’s a cute nod nonetheless.

my rating : 4 of 5

2013

audio review : Magna Carta Holy Grail ( album ) ... Jay-Z

audio review : Piece Maker 3 [ Return Of The 50 MCs ] ( album ) … Tony Touch

audio review : Piece Maker 3 [ Return Of The 50 MCs ] ( album ) ... Tony Touch

There should be exactly fifty MCs, or rappers, featured on this set; the third in a series of mixtape-style compilations from DJ Tony Touch; but there isn’t. My count, not including a spoken monologue by Angie Martinez, goes over fifty. That’s a major conceptual flaw as far as I’m concerned. If there are more than fifty MCs, in other words, what sense does it make to say “50” in the title? It’s a nice solid number, yes, but I see no logical reason to round down to it. The best thing would’ve been to simply limit the guest-list to 49.

That’s because Tony Touch starts the set with a verse of his own. He doesn’t have anything particularly clever or interesting to say; that’s actually the case for most rappers; but his drunken Puerto Rican flow makes it one of the best. Two of my favorite rappers; Eminem, who spit the best Piece Maker verse back in 2000, and Masta Ace; are also featured, but both disappoint. The best verse this time around comes from Papoose on Brooklyn with an honorable mention going to a surprisingly fresh KRS-One on The Bronx.

He rhymes “delay” more than once; he should’ve looked over his verse more carefully to make sure he wasn’t repeating words; but it’s still a relatively impressive verse. The Lox and members of the Wu-Tang clan also provide verses for the album. This is New York hip-hop music, so it’s no surprise that one of the best beats; the horn-laced banger on the aforementioned opener; is provided by DJ Premier. Another banger comes from Statik Selektah on A Queen’s Thing, a borough anthem by Action Bronson and Kool G Rap.

my rating : 3 of 5

2013