Most albums these days are not meant to be listened to in a progression. Download 1 or 2 of the songs on iTunes or off the web, and they have to be able to stand alone. But this album is really best listened to in a progression. Spend some time from the beginning to the middle to the end. The beginning of the album starts out as a pretty typical, young rapper's album. Rhyming about the comfort of California "trees" and p*ssy. About Cleveland, his home town, about territory. It's pretty typical and pretty boring. But then Solo Dolo(Nightmare) hits. And it's a delightful surprise of maturity from the Kid. The slow tempo, calculated rhythm and lilting melody "Why must it feel so wrong, when I try to do right?" The underlying ringing bell synths. This is where the album starts to open up and take on exciting curiosity. The piano loop, synths and the "No"s and "Yeah"s of Heart of a Lion express an angst of a growing, young rapper. No wonder the sub-title for the song is "Kid Cudi Theme Music". It's evocative and interesting. As a listener, I want to delve into the heart of this lion. I want to understand the deeper meaning contained within it. This is what makes the album progressively more interesting. I could do without the first few songs. Throughout the rest of the album, Kid Cudi introduces the listener to the darkness of his deep vocal rhymes (he has a relatively deep voice compared to some of his peers) and the darkness of themes. It's not an accident that many of the songs contain the sub-title "Nightmare". It's not the darkness of "the streets" that Lupe Fiasco rhymes about. It's the darkness of dreams. They can be hopeful, they can help us feel alive ("Everytime the moon shines, I become alive"), but they can very quickly change into nightmare, into death. In this way, the themes that Kid Cudi rhymes about are beyond his 25 years. This is where the magic happens. But don't worry, there's plenty to lighten the mood. "Make Her Say" uses samples from Lady GaGa's "Poker Face" to add a little sexual humor that works. It's could be crude and crass, but it definitely is humorous and you can't help but sing along with the sample that we know so well. (A song I didn't really like much until I heard as a sample in this song.) The collaboration with MGMT on "Pursuit of Happiness (Nightmare)" is badass. It's simple piano and rhythm is hypnotic. It's playful, like a kid in a sandbox, but he's rhyming about themes we all ponder as we grow up, as we get older; "Dreaming, dreaming, tell me what you know about dreams....about the night terrors...". I couldn't think of a better collaboration between Kid's deep vocals and MGMT's light melodies. It's a great pairing. And indicative of the sound and future of hip hop and electronic music, in general. The lines are blurring and Kid Cudi's right there in that dream-like space. "Up Up & Away" is really an indie song, not even hip hop as most know it. I can see Death Cab's Ben Gibbard singing this song. He's on the moon and many of us are still boarding the spaceship. Overall, this album is as enjoyable as a dream and as evocative as a nightmare. And like some of the best albums, I think I'll still be listening to it years from now.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Dreams & Nightmares, My Review of Kid Cudi's "Man On The Moon"
Most albums these days are not meant to be listened to in a progression. Download 1 or 2 of the songs on iTunes or off the web, and they have to be able to stand alone. But this album is really best listened to in a progression. Spend some time from the beginning to the middle to the end. The beginning of the album starts out as a pretty typical, young rapper's album. Rhyming about the comfort of California "trees" and p*ssy. About Cleveland, his home town, about territory. It's pretty typical and pretty boring. But then Solo Dolo(Nightmare) hits. And it's a delightful surprise of maturity from the Kid. The slow tempo, calculated rhythm and lilting melody "Why must it feel so wrong, when I try to do right?" The underlying ringing bell synths. This is where the album starts to open up and take on exciting curiosity. The piano loop, synths and the "No"s and "Yeah"s of Heart of a Lion express an angst of a growing, young rapper. No wonder the sub-title for the song is "Kid Cudi Theme Music". It's evocative and interesting. As a listener, I want to delve into the heart of this lion. I want to understand the deeper meaning contained within it. This is what makes the album progressively more interesting. I could do without the first few songs. Throughout the rest of the album, Kid Cudi introduces the listener to the darkness of his deep vocal rhymes (he has a relatively deep voice compared to some of his peers) and the darkness of themes. It's not an accident that many of the songs contain the sub-title "Nightmare". It's not the darkness of "the streets" that Lupe Fiasco rhymes about. It's the darkness of dreams. They can be hopeful, they can help us feel alive ("Everytime the moon shines, I become alive"), but they can very quickly change into nightmare, into death. In this way, the themes that Kid Cudi rhymes about are beyond his 25 years. This is where the magic happens. But don't worry, there's plenty to lighten the mood. "Make Her Say" uses samples from Lady GaGa's "Poker Face" to add a little sexual humor that works. It's could be crude and crass, but it definitely is humorous and you can't help but sing along with the sample that we know so well. (A song I didn't really like much until I heard as a sample in this song.) The collaboration with MGMT on "Pursuit of Happiness (Nightmare)" is badass. It's simple piano and rhythm is hypnotic. It's playful, like a kid in a sandbox, but he's rhyming about themes we all ponder as we grow up, as we get older; "Dreaming, dreaming, tell me what you know about dreams....about the night terrors...". I couldn't think of a better collaboration between Kid's deep vocals and MGMT's light melodies. It's a great pairing. And indicative of the sound and future of hip hop and electronic music, in general. The lines are blurring and Kid Cudi's right there in that dream-like space. "Up Up & Away" is really an indie song, not even hip hop as most know it. I can see Death Cab's Ben Gibbard singing this song. He's on the moon and many of us are still boarding the spaceship. Overall, this album is as enjoyable as a dream and as evocative as a nightmare. And like some of the best albums, I think I'll still be listening to it years from now.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
In B Flat! Amazing Musical Collaboration
This is an amazing site that combines YouTube videos of separate musical sounds all in B flat. The site let's you create a your own combination of musical instruments, sounds and samples to create a unique musical experience by playing some or all of the YouTube videos simultaneously. And it all works musically.
- Select a few and play til the end
- Play more at any time and keep it going
- Adjust the volume of any video to create a more layered effect
Do yourself a favor and play around with this. Enjoy!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Pride in Atlanta Halloween weekend!
Tryst was a blastie, blast!!! It was amazing how many people danced and danced hard. Some pics courtesy of Allie Royce Soble here. More to come from c. diesel soon.
Stay tuned for some very special events in October:
- Tryst: Oct 16th
- Titty Titty Bang Bang, a fundraiser for Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Oct 24th
- Atlanta Pride, The Heaven Party and other events: Oct 30-Nov1
October is going to be tons of fun, y'all. So get rested and ready...
Friday, September 18, 2009
TGIF Tryst Mini-Mix: Dance your sunny heart out tonight!!!
Yo, yo beautiful peeps out there!!! Tryst is tonight and we are going to have the most fun - rain or shine. This mini-mix is inspired by sunshine. For those of you in Atlanta, this constant rain and grey, cloudy skies can be a real bummer. OR, we can ignore it like all those folks in England, Seattle, Portland, etc do most of the year, generate some sunshine in our hearts and have a hella good time tonight!!! Whadya say? What choice do we have anyway? We can stay in tonight and be all boring and bummed out or come out with beautiful people, great music and dance our hearts out...The choice is yours.
This mini-mix is to help inspire that little sunshine from within you:
- California
- Jump in the Pool
- One More Chance (Bloc Party's vocalist, Kele Okereke always makes me smile)
- Sunglasses At Night
BRING YOUR SUNGLASSES TONIGHT!!! We gonna rock this rainy-ass, grey city!!! Watch out!
Tryst Mini - Mix Angie by Angie Terrell (24016 KB)
Listen on posterous
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Thursday's Gossip Tryst Mini-Mix
Hey y'all
One more day until Tryst. I'm super excited to bring some sunshine to those in rainy Atlanta. Keep in mind that Bellissima provides valet. So no rain can ruin our night of friends, music and dancing!
This latest mini-mix starts with a remix of The Gossip's Love Long Distance. Great song and great remix by Fake Blood. Love it.
Enjoy your Thursday! And stay tuned for one more mini-mix tomorrow pre-Tryst!!!
Tryst Mini - Mix Angi by Angie Terrell (15382 KB)
Listen on posterous
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Get Your Disco: Hump This! Tryst Mini-Mix
Tryst Mini - Mix Ang by Angie Terrell (18053 KB)
Listen on posterous
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