yeah...
― flopson, Wednesday, 16 October 2013 23:57 (ten years ago) link
in my defense, there is barely any room left to put new CDs atm.
this is not an adequate defense, i know.
― arctic mindbath (President of the People's Republic of Antarctica), Wednesday, 16 October 2013 23:58 (ten years ago) link
because every song on it is a jam????! i mean, if you doesn't grab you don't sweat it but i am having a hard time imagining anyone, much less somebody who posts on a discussion board called i love music, not hearing anything in a tough and beguiling song like "spanish joint"
― TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Wednesday, 16 October 2013 23:59 (ten years ago) link
lol @ this thread started by poster called "the_splooge"
― flopson, Thursday, 17 October 2013 00:00 (ten years ago) link
appropriate imo
― J0rdan S., Thursday, 17 October 2013 00:04 (ten years ago) link
Tracer: well, I've only ever listened to it on spotify, which is probably not the best medium, but it just seems to drift endlessly, my eyes glaze over and I'm lost.
Still, it'll probably sound better on my stereo, so I'll head back tomorrow and grab it.
― arctic mindbath (President of the People's Republic of Antarctica), Thursday, 17 October 2013 00:51 (ten years ago) link
If you need something extra to get you kickstarted on "Spanish joint" keep in mind that Charlie hunter is playing the bass and lead guitar parts simultaneously on a crazy custom guitar thing
― 6 Tuesdays on every Tuesday. This is called dumpy pants. (Sufjan Grafton), Thursday, 17 October 2013 01:32 (ten years ago) link
You know, if you need to distract yourself, delay the_splooge
― 6 Tuesdays on every Tuesday. This is called dumpy pants. (Sufjan Grafton), Thursday, 17 October 2013 01:35 (ten years ago) link
It took me a lot of time to understand this album before it became the greatest thing ever.
― old homophobic boom bap rap traditionalist (The Reverend), Thursday, 17 October 2013 01:53 (ten years ago) link
Yeah it's not really THAT immediate. Although if the groove of Devils Pie doesnt move you from the jump then something may be really wrong with you.
― Me & Mahomies (Spottie_Ottie_Dope), Thursday, 17 October 2013 02:42 (ten years ago) link
i heard "Spanish Joint" for the first time in forever outta nowhere recently, that song is pretty nuts.
― deez so unusual (some dude), Thursday, 17 October 2013 03:44 (ten years ago) link
this is one of those albums that doesn't make a ton of sense playing it at moderate volume via some lossy mp3s on your computer, pop in the CD and turn it up loud and it makes perfect, beautiful sense. it's all about the details.
― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Thursday, 17 October 2013 05:10 (ten years ago) link
which is to say, but that CD for fuck's sake
― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Thursday, 17 October 2013 05:11 (ten years ago) link
i played it so loud the other week that my downstairs neighbor started banging on the ceiling
it was only 9 PM, he can fuck off
also that weird descending flutter thing in devil's pie.
― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Thursday, 17 October 2013 05:14 (ten years ago) link
HOWDOESITFEEL
― ᶓ͠סּᴥ͠סּᶔ ᶓͼ᷆ₓͼ᷇ᶔ (gr8080), Thursday, 17 October 2013 12:41 (ten years ago) link
can't see much here but they used to start off the show with that devil's pie guitar thing, everyone wearing robes and hoods, so sick:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zr5nYtxUfxw
― festival culture (Jordan), Thursday, 17 October 2013 13:42 (ten years ago) link
Went back and bought this today.
After one listen on my stereo, I can tell I was missing an awful lot of detail from listening on my meager laptop speakers. I'm appreciating the grooves a lot more. Like someone said upthread, there are a lot of details to absorb. I dunno if I can consider it one of the greatest albums ever just yet, but I'm willing to entertain the notion, and look forward to the next few listens ahead!
How's Brown Sugar?
― arctic mindbath (President of the People's Republic of Antarctica), Friday, 18 October 2013 19:24 (ten years ago) link
i've said this before but this album is like a dance record, imo
― rap steve gadd (D-40), Friday, 18 October 2013 19:28 (ten years ago) link
― old homophobic boom bap rap traditionalist (The Reverend), Wednesday, October 16, 2013 9:53 PM (2 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
i_splooged the first time i heard it
― flopson, Friday, 18 October 2013 19:33 (ten years ago) link
but it's true that it does just keep getting better & better
― flopson, Friday, 18 October 2013 19:37 (ten years ago) link
nah this is totally a slow grower, still not sure i've fully appreciated it yet
― k3vin k., Friday, 18 October 2013 19:38 (ten years ago) link
woah
http://insideplaya.wordpress.com/2014/05/25/an-open-letter-to-dangelo/
― °ㅇ๐ْ ° (gr8080), Tuesday, 27 May 2014 20:45 (ten years ago) link
Hell of a read.
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 28 May 2014 01:58 (ten years ago) link
i made it like 15mins in to that red bull npr interview but it was really boring
― °ㅇ๐ْ ° (gr8080), Wednesday, 28 May 2014 02:50 (ten years ago) link
there was some discussion on the other d'angelo thread...idk, i didn't find this super revelatory but i've been reading everything i can about about the dude for awhile. it's so bitter...like, if D had given him a proper thank you, would he no longer be a 'charlatan and a pimp'?
― festival culture (Jordan), Wednesday, 28 May 2014 12:43 (ten years ago) link
It seems more than that, doesn't it? Like, this guy was key to giving the guy his career, but also the implication is that in his absence D'Angelo's reputation as some sort of reclusive genius has only increased, yet this dude basically calls that out as a ruse, and that D absolutely needs someone around him providing direction and guidance to write or write well and actual produce. So that ties in with his resentment as one of those folks absolutely (allegedly) essential to D'Angelo and yet absent from the story. The thing is, D'Angelo's songs themselves aren't terribly earth shattering, are they? It's really the whole package, from production to approach. Frankly, I could imagine putting, say, ?uestlove and Pino Palladino in a room together with only the sketchiest of a song idea and getting something awesome out of it by the end of the day. By turning his back on all the people who helped him, D'Angelo makes it seem like he's the reclusive mastermind rather than the holdup. The lesson I got from this missive/rant is basically: this is what happens when you turn your back on all the people who helped you.
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 28 May 2014 13:54 (ten years ago) link
The dude made it sound like he was the only one who really helped D. The rant would have been more effective without the disses of Nelson George and others, and all the sanctimonious self-praise and bitterness.
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 28 May 2014 14:00 (ten years ago) link
Oh, absolutely, but it sounds like he was pretty essential, and iirc, it ends with basically D'Angelo asking him for help again after years of blowing him off and then going back to ignoring him again. Basically the behavior of an addict, really, and also par for the course from an act; the comments are illustrative in this case, basically saying you shouldn't be in this for thanks and credit. Then again, it's been 15 years between albums, so clearly something is missing from the equation when even the ace, dogged direction of ?uestlove can't get results.
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 28 May 2014 14:04 (ten years ago) link
if anything Gary Harris doesn't take as much credit or discredit D'Angelo as much as he could've in that post. he was the person who put D in the studio with Raphael Saadiq, who co-wrote the biggest singles on BOTH of D's albums, which is something that always made me kind of look askance at D's songwriting abilities.
― ςὖτ ιτ Οὖτ (some dude), Wednesday, 28 May 2014 15:54 (ten years ago) link
i'm totally comfortable placing his genius in interpretation/performance/style/production rather than songwriting.
― festival culture (Jordan), Wednesday, 28 May 2014 16:02 (ten years ago) link
it doesn't take a psychiatrist to sense bad blood in that essay. without an unbiased appraisal, i'm taking it with a grain of salt. Looks like a good jumping off point for an article about the powers that brought D'Angelo to prominence and have continued to keep him levitating through this extended (and apparently self-abusive) fallow period... there's a few people in this thread who should have a go at that piece!
― Look at this joke I've recognised, do you recognise it as well? (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 28 May 2014 16:07 (ten years ago) link
also the whole penultimate paragraph about dissing d'angelo's lack of 'funk' makes me think that he's a little deaf to what makes 'voodoo' special. sure, the saadiq single + sexy video blew it up in the first place, but that's not why it's continued to find a new audience over the last ~14 years.
― festival culture (Jordan), Wednesday, 28 May 2014 16:33 (ten years ago) link
i think its a direct response to stuff that was discussed in the recent RBMA/NPR thing too tho
― °ㅇ๐ْ ° (gr8080), Wednesday, 28 May 2014 16:37 (ten years ago) link
re: "funk"
― festival culture (Jordan), Wednesday, May 28, 2014 11:33 AM (6 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
isn't he arguing that d'angelo isn't responsible for that part of the record, not that his albums lack it altogether
― rap steve gadd (D-40), Wednesday, 28 May 2014 16:40 (ten years ago) link
it seems pretty evident to me that d'angelo's albums were always collaborative efforts. that's the soulquarians era ... obviously though he brought something to the table or itd be electric circus lol
― rap steve gadd (D-40), Wednesday, 28 May 2014 16:41 (ten years ago) link
wasn't D "yoda" in that round table?
― Look at this joke I've recognised, do you recognise it as well? (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 28 May 2014 16:43 (ten years ago) link
didn't D produce & play almost everything on 'brown sugar' himself? and yeah, voodoo is definitely the ultimate result of that collaborative era/space, but i don't think that takes anything away from him. i've read a lot about D writing all the basslines for pino, nudging the grooves around in Pro Tools to get the feel just right (although i can't find confirmation of that right now), and basically being involved in every aspect.
― festival culture (Jordan), Wednesday, 28 May 2014 17:01 (ten years ago) link
but i'm also sure that he needs people to push him in just the right fashion and is probably a nightmare to work with in any sort of conventional, professional way.
― festival culture (Jordan), Wednesday, 28 May 2014 17:04 (ten years ago) link
do we have anything approaching an actual reason that the album is not out beyond "D is kinda crazy"? Did George seriously not ask when the album was due? If so, that omission had to be some sort of contractual stipulation for the conversation to take place.
― Look at this joke I've recognised, do you recognise it as well? (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 28 May 2014 17:06 (ten years ago) link
^my assumption as well
― festival culture (Jordan), Wednesday, 28 May 2014 17:07 (ten years ago) link
I assume that when this album eventually comes out it will be some Chinese Democracy-style trainwreck. if it ever comes out. nothing that gestates this long is ever any good (I certainly can't think of any precedents)
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 28 May 2014 17:07 (ten years ago) link
probably only going to get a posthumous release
― °ㅇ๐ْ ° (gr8080), Wednesday, 28 May 2014 17:11 (ten years ago) link
Jordan: your assumption on the former, the latter or both?Shakey, I disagree: the new songs i heard from d'angelo from the brooklyn bowl show sounded pretty dang good to me. my guess is that his label needs reassurance that D's mental state to a place where he can tour before they release the album and that's the hold up.
― Look at this joke I've recognised, do you recognise it as well? (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 28 May 2014 17:12 (ten years ago) link
this discussion is getting kinda rockist fwiw
― le goon (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 28 May 2014 17:15 (ten years ago) link
from what i understand the songwriting process for 'voodoo' was a bunch of people in a room jamming off of prince or sly or soul train until they came up with workable bits that then were molded into songs? i could be misremembering/projecting
it no doubt seemed collaborative but who cares? what does that take away from the music or even his legend, i don't get it.
― le goon (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 28 May 2014 17:18 (ten years ago) link
Jordan: your assumption on the former, the latter or both?
the latter. although i've also wondered the same thing about the label waiting for not just the record but a full promo campaign, i know people who were on the recent tours and uh yeah.
from what i understand the songwriting process for 'voodoo' was a bunch of people in a room jamming off of prince or sly or soul train until they came up with workable bits that then were molded into songs?
that happened too from what i understand. seems like it was one approach among many (solo writing, co-writing, jamming, working with dilla & premier, etc).
― festival culture (Jordan), Wednesday, 28 May 2014 17:26 (ten years ago) link
i've always kinda assumed that he has tons of really good stuff finished for album 3 and it's just personal setbacks/insecurities keeping him from mixing it all down and sending it to the label.
i don't think it takes anything away from his talent that he's gotten help from a lot of people, every big star has gotten help from a lot of people, even the total inarguable geniuses. but it seems like he's sheltered himself in his golden boy aura for so long that it was just a matter of time before someone he never gave much public credit to decided to pull his card.
― ςὖτ ιτ Οὖτ (some dude), Wednesday, 28 May 2014 17:29 (ten years ago) link
btw i played a show at the Brooklyn Bowl the other night and near the end i had this (silly) moment of "oh shit, this is right where D'Angelo was on this stage." :)
― festival culture (Jordan), Wednesday, 28 May 2014 17:30 (ten years ago) link