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Nana-Viewed: "SEE YOU AGAIN" by Tyler, The Creator
(11/24/18 8:30pm)
RATING: 6/7 After hearing my grandmother’s thoughts last week, when she heard and watched the music video for “YONKERS”, I was curious what her opinion would be on something Tyler had done more recently. So, I decided to have her listen to “SEE YOU AGAIN.” We started just with the audio for the song, so she could experience the song on its own before seeing the music video or reading the lyrics. Loretta’s Grandmother: Well this is a nice one. Why is it so different? After hearing the song one time through, I had her pull up the lyrics to look through them. Loretta Sperry: So what do you think? LG: I like it but seeing what he did in the first place… this doesn’t seem like his same type of genre. You can see there evidently was a transition somewhere in his life. LS: Now, looking here at the lyrics. Does anything stand out as your favorite? LG: I like a few different parts. Yeah I give up my bakery for a piece of your pie - Verse 2 of “SEE YOU AGAIN” by Tyler, The Creator LG: It’s cute. It’s them rose tinted cheeks, yeah it’s them dirt-colored eyes LG: I think it (that line) stands out because he doesn’t talk about blue eyes or green-eyes girls. It’s not the typical stereotypical song lyrics about the perfect girl with blue eyes. I like that line. LG: I just figured out why I like this one better, it reminds me of Ludacris. After talking over the lyrics, I had her finally watch the music video. https://youtu.be/TGgcC5xg9YI LS: So, what did you think of the music video? His style? LG: This is something I would listen to because it is appealing. The way he’s styled, what it represents, this is something, to me, that he should make more money on. I liked him much better in this, this type of music. I liked him because he was different, facial expressions, body movements, the way he danced. She giggled at the end of the music video when Tyler is dressed as a ghost for the last verse. Overall thoughts about “YONKERS” and “SEE YOU AGAIN” LG: I honestly, now that I have seen both of these eras, kind of just want to go see what else he has out there. I am kind of interested now. He won me over with “SEE YOU AGAIN” not with the other triceratops-sex having thing. So it seems, we may have created a Tyler, The Creator fan! You can follow more Nana-Viewed here.
'Bohemian Rhapsody' Pays Tribute to Freddie Mercury
(11/24/18 8:00pm)
***Spoilers Ahead*** The long-awaited, Queen-inspired film hit theatres November 2. My friends and I took an impromptu trip, an hour away on November 1 to see the movie for its first Greenwood, Indiana showing. Now, I do like Queen, casually, but I was not waiting anxiously for the release of the movie. I did not even plan on going to see the movie in theatres originally, but a random trip to the movies with my friends (and not paying for my ticket) was motivation to go. Maybe it was the excitement of randomly trekking to the movies late on a Thursday night, or maybe it was the excitement of the reclining movie seats but in contrast with the opinions of most critics, my friends and I loved Bohemian Rhapsody. The movie follows Freddie Mercury’s life, beginning before his race to stardom, when his name was still Farrokh Bulsara, up to Queen’s iconic Live Aid performance in 1985. The movie is more of a Freddie Mercury biopic than a Queen biopic. It does follow the band’s rise to fame, although through a Mercury lens. The movie is rated PG-13 which did limit how explicitly Freddie’s life was depicted. While the movie did go into detail about his life, his sexuality, his relationships, it did not explicitly say most things, inferences had to be made. Had the film been rated R, I think it would have been more direct about the things going on in Mercury’s life. Originally Freddie Mercury was to be portrayed by Sacha Baron Cohen, most known for his role in Borat, who ended up not being cast due to conflicting ideas of how the film should portray Freddie. In conversations with Associated Press, Roger Taylor, Queen’s drummer revealed that he did not think Sacha Baron Cohen was right for the role, “I don’t think he took it seriously enough — didn’t take Freddie seriously enough.” Ultimately, Rami Malek ended up filling the role of Freddie Mercury and he did it beautifully. There were points in the film that Malek was so similar to Mercury that I was freaked out. I loved every part of his performance and I am not the only one. Roger Taylor and Brian May were “blown away” by Malek’s performance per an interview with Cinemablend. The film highlights Mercury’s relationship with Mary Austin, in a heart-warming yet devastating way as he struggles with his sexuality and his love for Mary. Paul Pretner becomes the love interest in Mercury’s life and the main villain in the film. Paul Pretner, in the film and in real life, was a part of Queen’s management team. In the film, Pretner is put to blame for causing issues between the band, and he is made to be the cause for Freddie’s destructive path as a whole. As the relationship with Pretner and Mercury goes on, Freddie’s health deteriorates and he becomes more and more distant from the band. The film ends with the Live Aid performance, Malek does a phenomenal job of recreating this iconic performance. The Live Aid performance is a great ending because it offers resolution; Mary is present at the performance, and so is Jim Hutton, who Freddie spends the rest of his life with. This part of the film seems to offer closure as well as forecast a new, better beginning for the rest of Mercury’s life. While it is a good ending for the film, it leaves the rest of Freddie’s life out of the film because the performance took place in 1985 and Mercury did not die until 1991. It leaves an open ending in regards to his solo career, his love life, his health… and most of all what comes of Queen.
Nana-Viewed: Tyler the Creator's "YONKERS"
(11/09/18 5:30pm)
RATING: 3/7 My grandma hates on Tyler, the Creator. After my grandmother’s reaction to “Slob on my Knob,” I worried that I would not be able to find any song that would shock my grandma, or elicit any response from her that wasn’t laughter. After thinking over it and rejecting several songs, I finally had the idea to have her listen to Tyler, the Creator’s YONKERS and watch the music video from 2011. Keep in mind that she has never really been exposed to music with abstract concepts, like the ones Tyler uses on his Goblin album. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSbZidsgMfw My grandmother went into this song knowing nothing about Tyler, the Creator, not even having heard of him ever before. Initially, I had her pull up just the audio to the song so she could give her full attention to the overall impression of the song without distraction. We videochatted this time as well, so I could see her facial expressions, even if she did not have anything to say. While listening to the song, there was a lot of shocked eyebrow raising and mutterings of “oh my jesus.” About halfway through the song, she added a “this is worse than the last one” (the last one being “Slob on my Knob”). “Is this music he just wants to make to use profanity? Nothing makes sense, all I hear is a bunch of profanity..” - Loretta's Grandmother After the song ended, we discussed how she felt about it. She was very opposed to the song. Loretta’s Grandmother: I don’t like this one at all. I don’t hear a message. Loretta Sperry: What do you think the message was in “Slob on my Knob?" What do you think about the beat, and the lyrics together, like the song as a whole? LG: The beat is good. I just don’t care too much for the lyrics. LS: Many fans think this is Tyler kind of disputing with or about his personalities and they think that when he says “Wolf Haley,” that he is referring to an alter ego of his, who he says directed the video, which you’ll see soon. What do you think about that? LG: I don’t know if I believe that [but] it reminds me of those places that do abstract poetry. She did not like that the song did not have a repetitive, defined chorus. Next, we looked at the lyrics of the song which reinforced her distaste for the song. And stab Bruno Mars in his goddamn esophagus - Line 16, Verse 2 of "Yonkers" by Tyler, The Creator G: Sounds like he feels threatened, is he worried Bruno Mars is better than he is? I like Bruno Mars so I kind of don’t like that. LS: What do you think about him discussing therapy and his dad? LG: I don’t see the message, I think he’s just making it up as he goes along so that people will listen to it. Lastly, I had her watch the music video, which I hoped would elicit some crazy response from her… Throughout the video, she looked extremely unamused. LS: So what are your first thoughts? LG: Not a fan, at all. I don’t like it. I think he just wanted to make it as crazy as he could make it then he threw this crazy story behind it. Stupid video. To eat a cockroach and then throw up, then to hang yourself at the end, I’m not happy with it. LS: What part did you find the most bothersome? LG: I don’t like the cockroach. LS: Do you think he has talent? LG: No. There you have it, folks, my grandmother hated YONKERS and thinks Tyler, the Creator has no talent. Watch out for next week’s article, in which we’ll be discussing "SEE YOU AGAIN." I have a feeling she’ll change her mind... Read all of the hot takes brought to you by Loretta's grandmother here.
Nana-Viewed: Three 6 Mafia’s "Slob on my Knob"
(11/02/18 1:00pm)
RATING: 4/7 Welcome to the first review of my new bi-weekly column, Nana-Viewed, where I’ll be posting my grandmother’s opinion on all sorts of songs. First, I would like to give some background on my grandmother before I dive into the first song review. My grandmother is a young grandma, she’s 54. I would say she is fairly liberal for her age, so finding songs that get a reaction out of her will be a challenge. Her all-time favorite musician is Elvis Presley. She has lived in the Midwest her entire life and she is a hard-working woman. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lt1AS3RTFT0 I had her pull up a lyric video from Youtube so she could read along as she listened. If you’ve ever listened to Three 6 Mafia’s "Slob on my Knob," then you know that the song comes in heavy and fast. My grandmother did not know this. As soon as the song began she uttered “holy crap,” clearly caught off guard and then the giggling started. This woman giggled throughout the entire song, throwing in a “holy moly” every here and there. “The beginning really caught me off guard.” - Loretta's grandmother Next, I had her pull up the lyrics online to read for further discussion. As soon as she pulled the lyrics up, the laughing began again; she was hysterical. Loretta Sperry: So what did you think? Loretta's Grandmother: Some of the words were hard to understand, it sounded like he was slobbing on a knob himself. LS: Did the song shock you? LG: I thought it was more funny than shocking. I think you’d have to be really uptight...to be repulsed by it. LS: Do you think any of the lyrics in this song are dehumanizing to women? LG: I think all this is, is them trying to make the song shocking. People listen to music sometimes for the shock factor and this thing made me laugh like crazy. I think they made the song like this because this is what the kids are doing nowadays; sex is not a love-y thing. That’s not a bad thing though, there is all kinds of music like this, even country. LS: Should we work to prevent lyrics like this from existing in music? LG: I think there are a lot more things in the world that need to be changed than music. If you don’t like this music, don’t listen to it. Stay tuned next Friday for the next segment of Nana-Viewed!
Twenty One Pilots - Trench
(10/30/18 9:00pm)
Released October 5, 2018 RATING: 6/7 After a long year off, Twenty One Pilots is back with an album full of meaningful bops. Trench continues and deepens the storyline that was created with their last album, Blurryface, which was released in 2015. Lead singer Tyler Joseph creates these incredibly captivating and cryptic storylines that are left open for interpretation. In this last album, the Blurryface character was introduced as a manifestation of Tyler’s insecurities and things holding him back. Blurryface details Tyler’s battles with his insecurities and depression in the form of this character. This storyline, while taking a different shape, continues in Trench with a story following a group of ‘banditos’ who are trying to escape this place called DEMA. It is difficult to place this album under a specific, narrow genre. Overall, it’s classified as alternative, but it also encompasses sounds of pop, electronic, hip-hop, and reggae-rap genres. Twenty One Pilots is known for constantly changing their sound and Trench is a new kind of Twenty One Pilots sound in comparison to past albums. This constant changing of style keeps Twenty One Pilots fun to listen to and creates excitement because there is no knowing what to expect. Four singles were released over the summer of 2018: “Jumpsuit,” “Nico and the Niners,” “Levitate,” and “My Blood.” The singles were released with music videos in which it seemed to follow a storyline where Tyler Joseph is trying to escape this place that has been referred to as DEMA. It is somehow associated with the hooded figure in the Jumpsuit music video, who is perceived to be Blurryface. In the second single, “Nico and the Niners”, Tyler sings about escaping DEMA: “DEMA don’t control us.” The last verse of the song is quick, acting as a sort of pep talk, “what a beautiful day for, making a break for it.” While the tracks on Trench work together to create one whole concept, each song tells its own individual story. Joseph includes a song called “Legend” which is a tribute to his late grandfather, who he got his middle name from. While the lyrics are sad in some ways (“My middle name / my goodbye”), the song is upbeat and gives off happy vibes. The first verse starts with “You were here when I wrote this / But the masters and mixes / will take too long to finish to show you” which alludes to a video on the internet of Joseph’s grandfather asking for a song to be written about him but he died before he could ever hear the completed song. Joseph’s grandfather also appears on the cover of their third studio album, Vessel. https://twitter.com/twentyonepilots/status/1048061826355875841 Possibly the most depressing song on the album is “Neon Gravestones” which discusses the glorification of suicide in the media. The song has a slow, somber beat. While being sad, the song is lyrically dense and pushes a message about the importance of not glorifying suicide. “My opinion, our culture can treat a loss like it’s a win…further engraving an earlier grave is an optional way / no.” While Twenty One Pilots are known for talking about themes of depression and suicide in their music, this is the first time they have been so explicit about the way that media addresses suicide. The song is very emotional, and it touched people so much, some already have tattoos for this song. Aside from the usual somber topics in the band's song, this is the second album with a very direct love song, dedicated to Joseph’s wife, Jenna Joseph. “Smithereens” is a song with a lot of cymbals and love. Joseph sings “For you, I’d go / Step to a dude much bigger than me / For you, I know / I would get messed up / weigh 153.” Twenty One Pilots is a band who really cares about being true to their sounds and making the music they want to make, not what they think will please the public most. Joseph addresses this in “Smithereens” when he says “They think it’s messed up to sell out for your girl” but he does not care. The song on the album that was most surprising (and my favorite) was “Pet Cheetah”. The song starts off with a slow, menacing beat then picks up with a more electronic sound and added drums. “Pet Cheetah” is fast-paced, very high energy and full of lyrics documenting Joseph fighting with his writer’s block, which he also references in an older song called “Migraine.” “I’ve got a pet cheetah, down in my basement” is thought to be a reference to Joseph himself when he is in the studio. Joseph goes on to sing “I’ll sit here ‘til I find the problem” which could be about him searching for problems in his writing and what can be improved. While being an upbeat song that is good to dance to, Joseph alludes to his anxieties about his fans, ‘the clique’ hearing his new music, “the clique means so much to this dude / it could make him afraid of his music”. By acknowledging the fans in the song, Joseph allows for a type of solidarity to be felt between the band and the fans which make the music more meaningful. The album ends with “Leave The City” which is another slow and sad yet peaceful song which seems to be about something coming to an end-- definitely the end of the album but maybe also the end of an era, maybe the end of Joseph being held by his fears and insecurities. The song is more personal to the fans; “they know that it’s almost over...they know / what I mean.” A very popular concept with Twenty One Pilots is this message to stay alive, and there is a reminder of that in this song “In time, I will leave the city / for now, I will stay alive.” With an ever-changing sound, it is difficult to compare new Twenty One Pilots albums to older ones but Trench is their most mature and abstract album yet. While their albums are all so unique in comparison, the music just gets better and better, and their concepts get more interesting as they build on each other. https://open.spotify.com/album/621cXqrTSSJi1WqDMSLmbL
Lil Wayne - Tha Carter V
(10/16/18 3:50am)
Released September 28, 2018 RATING: 5/7 “Thank God Weezy back. Order is restored, all is right with the world.” On September 28th, the long-awaited, fifth addition in Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter series dropped. Weezy first teased this album in 2012, a year after Tha Carter IV drop, but encountered multiple issues with his label and his mentor, Birdman. It ended up in a lawsuit and Wayne became the owner of his record label, Young Money Records, which was originally a joint project with Cash Money Records. The 7-year period was hardly a break for Wayne, as he used this time to continue to develop the album. “Let It Fly” and “Mona Lisa” featuring Travis Scott and Kendrick Lamar, respectively, have older sounds while “Don’t Cry” has a feature from XXXTENTACION, an artist who was newer to hip hop. As a long-time Weezy fan, listening to Tha Carter V was a nostalgic experience. While the song topics are a lot more melancholy and personal than previous Wayne albums, it still has the same, familiar sound showing that this is still the Lil Wayne who wants to prove that he is the best rapper alive. The Carter IV is still the superior album, but it is exciting to finally have some new Lil Wayne music with the same Wayne sound that I grew up on. Wayne promotes a message about mental health by detailing his experience with attempted suicide at the age of 12 when his mom told him that he couldn't rap anymore. He had referred to his suicide attempt as an accident until now. The album includes his mom’s thoughts on this self-inflicted gun wound: “I still don’t know today, was he playing with the gun and was it an accident?” In the last track, “Let It All Work Out,” Wayne gives insight, not just to fans, but to everyone about what happened with that gun when he was only 12. Although the song is upbeat, the lyrics are strong and emotional. “I tried compromising and went kamikaze.” - on "Let It All Work Out" Tha Carter V is more intimate than any of the preceding Carter albums because of all of the dialogue from Weezy’s mother, a feature from his daughter, and these personal stories he shares. The second track on the album, “Don’t Cry,” features the late XXXTENTACION on the chorus. This track is particularly somber with the late rapper’s feature and lyrics like “Bring me back to life. Got to lose a life just to have a life.” The song acts as a tribute to XXXTENTACION when Wayne raps, “and triple extension on my motherfuckin’ afterlife / Rest in paradise.” Even though Tha Carter V includes sadder songs than we usually get from Lil Wayne, the album is not without its bops. “Used 2” has a slow, menacing beat but bumps. The third track, “Dedicate,” is a banger with ad libs from 2 Chainz which come directly from "Dedication," 2 Chainz’s song about Weezy. "You tatted your face and changed the culture." - 2 Chainz on "Dedication" “Dedicate” is about the impact Lil Wayne has had on hip-hop culture, with the typical hype and self-love that Weezy is known for: “I started this shit, they borrowed this shit. I thought of this shit, they thought it was it.” On “Let It Fly,” the fifth track, Wayne comes in with a quick, smooth flow that contrasts nicely with Scott’s heavy autotune. After spitting a verse in which he uses internal rhymes, “But front line, you crossed the line and you better know your lines,” he reminds everyone that he is the “best rapper alive.”
Travis Scott - Astroworld
(09/24/18 4:05pm)
Released August 3, 2018 RATING: 6/7 Travis Scott’s newest concept album, Astroworld, pays tribute to an old Six Flags theme park that was once in Scott’s hometown of Houston. Astroworld was originally set to release in 2017 after the album name was announced back in May 2016, but with delays, we saw the official release in 2018. The album was anxiously anticipated and when it finally dropped, it did not disappoint. Astroworld gives the listener a highly imaginative experience of being at an amusement park, tripping on hallucinogens. Prior to the release of Astroworld, Scott released “Watch” featuring Lil Uzi Vert and Kanye West, which heightened excitement for the album as a sneak peek of what was to come. Because “Watch” perfectly matched the Atsroworld aesthetic with its intense amusement park sound, it was surprising and a bit disappointing to see it not appear on the album. The night of the album release, Scott played a set at Lollapalooza and the energy was high with fans all over already sporting the new era’s merch to get early access for the album. https://twitter.com/trvisXX/status/1024696444949676032 The set was exciting and Scott promoted his new album by including new songs: “NC-17,” “BUTTERFLY EFFECT,” and “5% TINT." The festival also had a balloon of Travis Scott’s head like the one on the album cover. All of this happening right before the release only increased the hype around Astroworld. There is no doubt that the tracks on Astroworld live up to the theme park concept presented on the album cover and merch that Scott was shooting for. Astroworld is an immersive experience into a world of amusement with its psychedelic and space-like beats which pair nicely with the amusement park sound effects. The first few songs on the album roll into each other like a rollercoaster ride with its many beat and tempo changes. The opening track, “STARGAZING” perfectly sets the mindset for the rest of the album with lyrics like “rollin’, rollin’, rollin’, got me stargazing,” and "psychedelics got me goin’ crazy.” Similarly to Travis Scott’ previous albums, there is a heavy presence of drugs in Astroworld but with more emphasis on the effects of hallucinogenic drugs. However, unlike past music, Scott used these drug references to emphasize the album concept. Scott manipulates his voice in a way that is gritty yet pleasant and it fits with the concept seamlessly. The smooth instrumentation of the tracks contrasts with his voice, giving his songs a twisted dynamic. Astroworld provides good vibes with an edge, leaving the feeling that there is something lurking around the corner. “Who’s that creeping through my window? Before you come outside I got the M4.” While it's a jam, “5% TINT” contributes to the feeling of underlying suspense. Scott and his team did a phenomenal job of putting the featuring artists into songs that fit their personal styles while still enhancing Scott’s influence. The tracks conform to the typical styles of the featured artists with a Travis-like twist. “NC-17,” for example, could easily be imagined as being on 21 Savage’s Issa Album. The second track, “SICKO MODE,” stays exciting with three beat changes and a feature from Drake. Hearing features from big names like Nav and Frank Ocean make the album even more worthwhile. The last track, “COFFEE BEAN” is a laid-back, melodious jam that closes the album perfectly with its old hip-hop vibes. “COFFEE BEAN” offers chill vibes that transitions away from the rollercoaster feels of the preceding tracks, giving a sense of closure. As a casual pre-Astroworld Travis fan, this album was a game changer for me. I feel myself slowly becoming more immersed in Scott’s music. Astroworld shows a different kind of Travis Scott that has not been heard before with a fun narrative to follow as well as some hip bops to play on repeat. Scott’s lyricism does not seem to have improved that much, but Astroworld shows that his production work and collaboration with other artists are improving, which builds expectation for future Travis Scott records. Let’s just hope there are more concept albums in Scott’s future because Astroworld has been a fun ride and the most exciting Scott album to date. https://open.spotify.com/album/41GuZcammIkupMPKH2OJ6I?si=1-DSJG3zTIyDUtjiv4FKXA
