Tag: concerts

audio review : Mary Jane Holland ( song ) … Lady Gaga

The title is Holland but the chorus says “Hollands”. One spelling is the last name of a girl who I think is supposed to stand as a metaphor for marijuana, but which is it? That distinction, without an explanation from the artist, comes across as a glaring mistake. Not that the song would be something special otherwise.

It’s a noisy party in The Netherlands, but the only fun parts for me are the aforementioned chorus sections, which come after a bridge that sounds more like a chorus than the chorus. The aesthetic high can be heard in the final forty seconds; especially when the music subsides and a woozy Gaga goes, “Hoo-hoooo!”

my rating : 3 of 5

2013

audio review : Artpop ( album ) ... Lady Gaga

audio review : A Long Hot Summer ( album ) … Masta Ace

audio review : A Long Hot Summer ( album ) ... Masta Ace

The title is appealing because, while I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing a hot summer nearly every year of my life, long ones are something I long for. Time flashes by for adults, so the Long Hot Summer Masta Ace presents here is a fictional one in which he plays the role of himself, a rapper named Ace, on tour with an annoying drug dealer named Fats Belvedere. There lies a major problem.

This is a concept album that too often abandons its music for storyline interludes. There are several and every one takes away from what, with some chorus enhancements, could’ve been a season favorite. Ace’s rhymes aren’t nearly as “amazing” as he boasts, but they don’t disappoint. Neither do the beats, an impressive soundtrack of Brooklyn baps, most of which are lush enough to daydream to.

my rating : 3 of 5

2004