What To Do About Wu?

is there really an underground/mainstream war? the Wu bridge the two i guess - sure they're still up there...'Pinky Ring' was a good track if unremarkable by their standards - i assume they're working on the new album? they still feature some of the best MCs around with Method Man, GFK and Genius. to be honest tho i'm not sure they've got much new or different to say

but i'm more worried about ODB's sanity - not that i guess he had much in the first place

(the wars thing was ironical mostly)

I too know nothing of the wars of which you speak, even the ironical ones.

But as it happens I am currently re-listening to the entire Wu back catalogue. (I am still only half way through, so I shall reserve full judgement for the moment.)

But I will say this. About a year ago on ILM I opined that the early stuff had dated really badly. On further reflection, I withdraw that. Certainly, most of the really important rap français LPs that have been released this year and last owe bucketloads to the Wu/RZA sound.

do you think the Wu members did better on their own or together? i love practically every debut solo release from them all e.g. 'ODB's 'Brooklyn Zoo', Method Man's 'Bring The Pain', GFK's 'Dayton 500', Genius 'Liquid Swords' - all fantastic tho i'm not sure about each one's own albums as i never heard them

the solo lps weren't exactly solo as such though were they? i mean, they all got in on the act on each others lps so...

Now Mr. Wu was a laundry man in a shop with an old green door.
He'll iron all day your linen away, he really makes me sore.
He's lost his heart to a Chinese girl and his laundry's all gone wrong.
All day he'll flirt and scorch your shirt, that's why I'm singing this song.
Oh Mr. Wu, what shall I do, I'm feeling kind of Limehouse Chinese Laundry Blues.

This funny feeling keeps round me stealing
Oh won’t you throw your sweetheart over do.
My vest's so short that it won't fit my little brother.
And my new Sunday shirt has got a perforated rudder.
Mr. Wu, what shall I do?
I'm feeling kind of Limehouse Chinese Laundry Blues.

Now Mr. Wu, he's got a naughty eye that flickers.
You ought to see it wobble when he's ironing ladies blouses.
Mr. Wu, what shall I do, I'm feeling kind of Limehouse Chinese Laundry Blues.
Now Mr. Wu, he's got a laundry kind of tricky,
He'll starch my shirts and collars but he'll never touch my waistcoat..
Mr. Wu, what shall I do, I'm feeling kind of Limehouse Chinese Laundry Blues.

Wu-Tang Clan LPs would have a higher profile if they didn't keep releasing them just before Christmas when nobody's paying attention

I still love the wu-tang more than anything i've ever loved before or since. i'm not sure how much love/attention they get nowadays from the hip hop community (of which i am definitely not a part), but you still hear echos popping up now and then - the first song off 'original pirate material' always strikes me as being a brummie take on 'Triumph'.

After the initial flurry where everything they released was better than everything else (between 36 chambers and Wu-tang forever) the quality control disappeared a bit (NO! to 'Tical 2000', or whatever it was called)and i stopped paying as much attention to the new releases, but 'the W' was utterly fantastic. still haven't found anything i like on 'iron flag',though.

The Wu are great, and almost every solo LP that came out has been good (exceptions are U-God's LP which is kinda bad, and the second Raekwon album which was so-so).

rza is putting out a cd full of international acts with him handling all the production "The World According to RZA."

The Wu are a hip-hop subgenre to themselves. And a pretty broad one at that, such the are stylistic differences between, say, Ghostface Killah, Method Man and Ol' Dirty Bastard. GZA is releasing a new album next month. His and Raekwon's second solo albums weren't very good.

The Ghost Dog score was ace. RZA's still got _some_ touch.

But:

I went in the Wu-Wear store in Virginia Beach a few years ago and they were playing Muzak. Twas the day the Wu died.

I love Iron Flag to death (it edges out Foxy Brown for my favourite rap album of last year) and I think its no-nonsense banging approach puts a lot of their more minimalist/eerie/soulful work into a new perspective. My opinion now is that a lot of the early work succeeds despite its grim rejection of the splendour of the mainstream, not because of it. Wu's quality exists in inverse proportion to their self-consciousness about providing an alternative to the Biggie/Tupac archetype.

how surprised was everybody when it turned out that Ghostface was the best?? (i'm not including Meth here who I consider a permanent cameo member at this point)

I think GZA's the best (Beneath the Surface notwithstanding).

Oh, today it was announced that RZA will score Kill Bill, Tarantino's next flick. So there's one reason to see that movie now, I guess.

Tracer - me definitely; he was my least favorite to begin with.

I still love them, and they have made, together and separately, a good few of my favourite hip hop albums ever.

Ooh, I shall look forward to Kill Bill for that - his Ghost Dog score (as heard in the movie and on the Japanese version of the soundtrack) is, for me, one of the all-time great scores (with Under The Cherry Moon, The Harder They Come, Shaft).

you forgot dude where's my car!!!

Yeah, the Japanese import soundtrack for Ghost Dog is great. And Kill Bill... well, I've read the script and it ain't too hot.

here's a wu tang mix i made a year or so ago. it still holds up pretty good! (it's basically chronological.)

side a:
wu tang clan - "protect ya neck"
wu tang clan - "cream"
wu tang clan - "method man"
method man - "sub crazy"
method man feat. mary j - "all i need"
old dirty bastard - "brooklyn zoo"
old dirty bastard - "goin down"
gza - "swordsmen"
raekown - "glaciers of ice"
ghostface - "wildflower"
ghostface - "all i've got is you"
wu tang clan - "as high as wu tang get"
method man - "dangerous grounds"
method man - "suspect chin music"

side b:
biggie/meth - "the what"
odb/alkaholiks - "hiphop drunkies"
gza - "crash your crew"
gza - "1112"
odb - "got your money"
ghostface - "apollo kids"
ghostface - "cherchez la ghost"
wu - "fast shadow"
wu - "hollow bones"
wu - "protect ya neck (the jump off)"
wu - "gravel pit"
odb - "goodmorning heartache"

that international thing sounds really intriguing; wonder what it'll be like. (like a Wu record w/folks rapping in other accents/languages, that's what, genius-not-GZA)

You missed Shame On A Nigga, Jess! It was probably my favourite track anyway, but it was confirmed there after the magnificent moment in the Larry Sanders show when Hank met the Wu.

heh, that RZA project sounds remarkably identical to DLT's Altruism.

dave lee travis??

Yes Mark - he is now a top hip hop producer and major playa.