{"id":582,"date":"2013-01-03T22:43:32","date_gmt":"2013-01-04T03:43:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/enielson\/?p=582"},"modified":"2013-12-27T12:08:11","modified_gmt":"2013-12-27T17:08:11","slug":"2012-albums-for-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/enielson\/2013\/01\/03\/2012-albums-for-2013\/","title":{"rendered":"2012 albums for 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the past several months, a few albums have really caught my attention. \u00a0I’ve already lavished enough praise on Killer Mike’s\u00a0R.A.P. Music<\/em>, so let me give a brief shout out to Kendrick Lamar, Macklemore\/Ryan Lewis, and Big Boi. \u00a0Then I will deviate from hip hop, just for a moment, to acknowledge Shiny Toy Guns:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Declared a classic before it was even released,\u00a0Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City<\/em> definitely delivers. \u00a0It pays tribute to west coast gangsta rap in innovative ways–the twist in “M.A.A.D. City” on Ice Cube’s classic “Bird in the Hand” is just one example. \u00a0The executive producer on this was Dr. Dre, so as we wait on\u00a0Detox<\/em>, we can enjoy this. \u00a0I don’t know anyone who doesn’t think this album is really good…<\/span><\/p>\n

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The considerable press on Macklemore and Ryan Lewis is only going to increase in the coming months. \u00a0The Heist\u00a0<\/em>is excellent, not only on its own merits, but because it challenges the mainstream rap orthodoxy. \u00a0While clowns like Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, and Kanye West wear out the tired aesthetics of excess, for example, Macklemore’s and Lewis’s (recently certified platinum) track “Thrift Shop” celebrates bargain hunting at the local Goodwill. \u00a0Their two self-produced videos–for “Thrift Shop” and the refreshing “Same Love”–have nearly 50 million YouTube hits between them, and their 70-city world tour is sold out. \u00a0Not bad for a couple of white guys from Seattle.<\/span><\/p>\n

Check out their music videos on YouTube, but go to last month’s NPR Tiny Desk<\/span><\/a><\/span> “concert” to really get a sense of why they’re catching fire.<\/span><\/p>\n

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I am still working my way through Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors,\u00a0<\/em>but so far I am impressed (even though it’s probably not quite at the level of the other two albums here). \u00a0I am admittedly partial to slick production and heavily synthed dance music, so the rap\/electronic hybrid in some songs works for me. \u00a0This definitely isn’t\u00a0ATLiens<\/em>, but it’s still very much hip hop–maybe a modern take on\u00a0Planet Rock<\/em>? \u00a0In any case, for me Big Boi was always the “other guy” in Outkast, which is pretty much the default role for anyone next to Andre 3000. \u00a0But since his effort on\u00a0Speakerboxxx,\u00a0<\/em>I’ve been paying attention to Big Boi, and Vicious Lies<\/em> is another solid testament to his talents.<\/span><\/p>\n

I like several songs here, but I keep going back to “Cpu” and “Apple of My Eye.” \u00a0If you’re planning on listening with the headphones that came free with ________, don’t bother.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/a>I don’t just<\/em> listen to hip hop–I often let my MOG radio or Pandora go for hours at a time so that I can find stuff I wouldn’t ordinarily seek out. \u00a0One example is Shiny Tony Guns. \u00a0After MOG served up their cover of Depeche Mode’s “Stripped,” I started checking them out, and their latest album, III<\/em>, is really good. \u00a0An AP music writer called it<\/span><\/a><\/span> “The year’s best dance and electronic-based album,” which is hilarious because that’s not at all what it is. \u00a0Don’t think David Guetta or Tiesto; there are no club hits here. \u00a0Think more like an updated, more electronic Fleetwood Mac. \u00a0This is the rare album that has several repeat-worthy songs, including “Fading Listening,” “Carrie,” “Waiting Alone,” and “I Lost You.” \u00a0I actually\u00a0paid for<\/em> those songs.<\/span><\/p>\n

In any case, my wife and I frequently disagree on music, but on\u00a0III<\/em> we definitely agree. \u00a0This is good stuff, and further evidence that the Top 40 has nothing to do with the top 40.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the past several months, a few albums have really caught my attention. \u00a0I’ve already lavished enough praise on Killer Mike’s\u00a0R.A.P. Music, so let me give a brief shout out to Kendrick Lamar, Macklemore\/Ryan Lewis, and Big Boi. \u00a0Then I will deviate from hip hop, just for a moment, to acknowledge Shiny Toy Guns: Declared … Continue reading 2012 albums for 2013<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1656,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/enielson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/582","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/enielson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/enielson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/enielson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1656"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/enielson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=582"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/enielson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/582\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/enielson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/enielson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/enielson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}