Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly: ALBUM REVIEW

Coming back into the world of popular music after being gone for two years on a mission was a lot different than I had hoped it would be. Instead of finding all of my favorite albums sounding new and fresh again, I found I still new every note and that I wasn't the same person who had connected so intensely to them before. Instead of being gloriously bombarded by the all new, life changing albums I had missed, I found that the best records of 2013 and 2014 didn't excite me or connect with me, either.

Now, through all of this, there was a 2012 album, widely regarded as one of the best hip hop albums of the decade so far, that dropped just twelve days after I left on my mission and to which I was completely oblivious. good kid, m.A.A.d city, the triumphant breakout album from Compton's 25-year-old Kendrick Lamar, had completely slipped me by. My introduction to him was November 2014's single "i" which I listened to because of the blogosphere's buzz, but I was at least as turned off by its pop-rap vibes as were Kendrick's hardcore m.A.A.d city fans. So, when To Pimp a Butterfly dropped, I dismissed it. What a wack album title from that pop-rapper. Black dudes flashing Benjamins and 40s in front of the white house, how clever and conscious.

But then I caught wind of what people were saying about TPAB, ("It is not a rap album: it is the absolute rap album") and I gave it a listen to see what all the buzz was about.

I remember it was about the time that "u," the emotional turning point of the album, came on that I knew I had found the sort of music I had been craving for almost 6 months. When he came on that track literally screaming at himself "Loving you is complicated!" I could almost tangibly feel the honesty and rawness and musicality I was hearing. I knew firsthand that sort of self-loathing and agony Kendrick was leveling at himself, as I think all human beings have felt at some point: "I tell you, you failure—you ain't no leader! I never liked you, forever despise you—I don't need you!" 

I was hooked. I devoured the rest of the album and for 78 minutes my hunger for meaningful, artful music was satisfied. 

Musically, this album is the rare rap album that maintains visceral power, street cred, and musical variety all at once. While being far more abstract than the straightforward (and delicious) m.A.A.d city, the beats on To Pimp A Butterfly catalyze Kendrick's charisma and flow with just as much power, if not more. Find me a banger more bump-worthy this year than "The Blacker the Berry." Find me jazz rap track this year more soulful than the duple-triple compounded "How Much a Dollar Cost." And find me any beat this year as dope as "Momma." Kudos to Knxwledge on that one; FlyLo, you better watch your back!

Yes, sometimes Kendrick experiments a little more than might be easily accessible.  But lyrically he never falters.  He weaves together a story arc over the course of these 16 tracks that I think is more dynamic and direct than the one that lit m.A.A.d city on fire. Kendrick, by way of a poem running throughout the album, takes us through his journey as an artist, fighting both the tides of personal sin and of institutionalized discrimination while trying to just make a difference to the people in his hometown. It starts with the deliberately bling-ish "Wesley's Theory" and the lines "When I get signed, homie, I'ma act a fool," and it ends with the raw, sober "Mortal Man" where Kendrick is talking to you, soul to soul. 

And yes, I choose to listen to the edited version, which does away with the vulgarity while leaving Kendrick's messages and stellar lyrics to enjoy.

Really, this album is so dense, so deep, and so effective that the only way to really get an accurate description is to listen to it yourself. It would take a textbook to divulge everything going on here (a textbook that will no doubt one day be written). I mean, an English professor sat down for 3 minutes to expose the layers of meaning in the 2 second lyric on "King Kunta": "the yams is the powers that be." 

All I can say is To Pimp A Butterfly impacted me in a way few albums have and, yes, I have thought through each of the 10's I'm giving these songs (including "i" which was revamped perfectly for the album). This album is one that I'll always poignantly remember. And I'll especially always remember how I felt the first time I heard the album-concluding ghost interview with 2Pac end in portentously abrupt silence, leaving both Kendrick and us without answers to the questions Kendrick has been so desperately pursuing on the album:

What is the place for a black person in America, when he can be hailed as a hero, a "butterfly" full of talent and beauty, one day but be devoured by fans, The Powers That Be, sin, hatred, cultural disunity, racism, "survivor's guilt," or lack of education the next?

How can Kendrick, African-Americans, or any American, really, keep a level of sanity in a backward nation of confused morals?

With decades of artists, centuries of philosophers, and millenia of human beings trying to identify and fix the ills that repeatedly, tragically ail the human race, is it even worth it for some Compton kid to put his heart and soul into a rap album to try again?

Pac? ....Pac? Pac!

OVERALL SCORE: 10
Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly
1. Wesley's Theory 2. For Free? - Interlude 3. King Kunta 4. Institutionalized 5. These Walls 6. u 7. Alright 8. For Sale? - Interlude 9. Momma 10. Hood Politics 11. How Much a Dollar Cost? 12. Complexion (A Zulu Love) 13. The Blacker the Berry 14. You Ain't Gotta Lie (Momma Said) 15. i 16. Mortal Man	O!HTT's COLORFUL SCORING SYSTEM 9-10 Holy. Crap. You must hear this song. One of the best of the year. 7-8 I'm so glad I have ears so that I can listen to this wonderful song. 5-6 Yeah, it's passable. Contributes to the vibe of the album, but not anything to write home about. 3-4 Ehh very mediocre or seriously flawed, there's a lot better music out there, or even on this album. 0-2 Good gravy, why must this song exist? One of the worst things that will enter your ears this year.

ALBUM REVIEW: Incubus - Trust Fall (Side A)

2015 has, by and large, been a bad year for big name bands and, sadly, Incubus not only characterize this on their new EP; they epitomize it. There have been some mediocre efforts this year by alt rock all stars, like Modest Mouse, Muse, Blur, Imagine Dragons, and Death Cab for Cutie, but none of them quite reach the level of atomic failure like Trust Fall (Side A).

These other bands are, at best, maturing into a more subdued, comfortable sound than their genre pioneering days, and four years ago, with Incubus' release of If Not Now, When?, I would've argued the same thing about Incubus. Sure, they were mellowing out like a pack of old dogs, but in trading their signature, earworm one-two punch riffs with earworm adult contemporary grooves, they were crafting their own, new sound that I was willing to follow.

Now, however, Incubus have apparently abandoned both sounds, both promising career paths, and both camps of fans, and have made Trust Fall (Side A), four of some of the worst songs they've ever written. Abandoning all of the groove, maturity, and musicality they forged in their adult contemporary foray, but retaining all of the lameness, these songs are too weak and lifeless and sometimes downright awkward to be enjoyable as the alt rock tunes they're trying to be.

Let's take a look at them one by one:

"Trust Fall" 
This opening, title track begins promising enough. Guitarist Mike Einziger opens the song with colorful, atmospheric sounds, previewing the fact that his instrumentation is one of the best elements of this EP. But... then the actual riff kicks in like an ostrich tripping over itself, and Brandon Boyd opens his mouth and we're exposed to this once powerful and thoughtful singer/lyricist's now pedestrian whine. If you're thinking it's just this one song, or just this one verse, that is awkward and hard to rock to, you will be disappointed. Especially on track 2...

"Make Out Party" 
Yes, it's safe to assume from the title: this song is objectively THE worst Incubus song ever written. Imagine being invited over to a party by that weirdo girl/neckbeard guy who is obsessed with you to find it's just the two of you and, while lumbering, boring music plays, he/she starts singing to you, 
"Girl I wanna kiss you/ But not just on your lips, no/ Tips of your fingers and every intersection/ Start again, then at your pinky toe." 
Nope.

"Absolution Calling" 
In my opinion the best track on this album, but even then it only lives up to some of the most mediocre tracks on Light Grenades, the "Melodies" side of Monuments & Melodies, or even the soundtrack they did for the movie Stealth. Eniziger's riffs, Jose Pasillas' asymetrical beats, and the synth textures added, I assume, by Chris Kilmore, are blend together nicely into a rock song that is more for listening to and thinking about on headphones than bouncing and screaming along to in crowds. Now, finally, the most intriguing song on the album,

"Dance Like You're Dumb" 
If any of these songs could make a case for being a new, viable sound for Incubus, it's this one. It's energetic and fun, more than any of the prior three, but... energetic and fun in the way that Meghan Trainor or Katy Perry is. Maybe a more flattering and more accurate comparison would be the fuzzy, catchy, virile dance-punk of Death From Above 1979, but a lot poppier. Although not as immediately enjoyable as "Absolution Calling," this song probably gives me the most hope for this new trajectory of Incubus' career. Even if it's poppier and more simple than I know they can do, if they mine this dance-punk vein more and develop this catchy, high energy sound, I can see myself getting behind it. And by the way, that line: "Like a pink Boba Fett, she calls you on your bet"? Awesome. That's the Brandon Boyd I know.

Overall, to be simple, this EP was a huge disappointment for me. If I've sounded critical or even harsh, it's because I know these guys can do better. So much better.

ALBUM REVIEW: Jeff Rosenstock - We Cool?

If pop punk inexplicably and dramatically burned to the ground in the late 00's (and it did), then here, in 2015, Jeff Rosenstock has risen from the ashes.

He has a quaint, almost picturesque origin story: in 1995, a twelve year old kid and his friend grab guitars and start playing Green Day covers, getting signed four years later and starting a modest music career as frontman for Bomb the Music Industry! and ASOB. Now, a good twenty years later, Jeff is some weird combination of 90's punk veteran, 00's punk underdog, and 2010's up-and-coming indie artist. The magic of We Cool? is how Jeff effortlessly pulls off all three while wrapping it all in natural, in-your-face charisma.

Based on the energy and vibrance of the most straightforward tracks on here, like "You, In Weird Cities" or "Hey Allison!", you would think Rosenstock and crew just plugged their instruments in for the first time and had a go at unleashing their youthful angst. But paying attention to the song writing and hook crafting on any one of these songs, it's clear that they are no musical tyros. 

Especially look at the more diverse tracks, like "Polar Bear or Africa," "Beers Again Alone," or "Get Old Forever." Musically, these songs blur the line between punk and... well, whatever they want: indie rock, ska, Americana, chiptune. With their layers rich in sound, be it accordion or 8-bit synths, and still contributing naturally to the vibe of the album, it's clear that no one could write songs like these without polishing, even mastering, the punk aesthetic, musically and lyrically. They've hit that sweet spot of being around the block dozens of times but still be pumped up about the suburban view.

But then again, "pumped up" is only the right phrase to use if you completely ignore Jeff's lyrics. For example, any line from album staple "Nausea" is enough to show that Jeff doesn't feel as bright or chipper or excited about living as is the music he and his band play. "I got so tired of discussing my future that I started avoiding the people I love," he chants rather catchily on the choruses.

Or on the equally catchy "You, In Weird Cities," Jeff speaks passively and forlornly to the ghosts of bandmates past: "When I listen to your records, it's like I'm hanging out with you." It's sad, but in a way it's like the perfect lyrical manifestation of Jeff's rather unique position: gifted with punk charisma and songwriting talent to make punchy choruses, but cursed by his veteran-ship to look back on all his former bands, crashed on the rocks, in an almost-PTSD, depression-inducing state, he combines the two and this is what we get. It's intriguing and authentic.

Basically, I can't get enough of this album. It's picking up where the best of third wave punk left off, and yet it crafts its own unique sound that makes it more than the simplistic label of "punk." It's a spiritual successor to such game changing albums as Is A Real Boy..., Keasbey Nights, and even the likes of Dude Ranch. Even more exciting than the music itself, what I love most about We Cool? is that it opens up the exciting prospect that, if Jeff Rosenstock can make punk like this in 2015, maybe others will too. 

Soundtrack of My Year So Far

Well, somehow 2015 is already half over. I could argue it's been the biggest year of my life, what with getting married to the girl of my dreams last month. It's at least certainly been the busiest year of my life. College, road trips, wedding planning, job hunting, growing up, bill paying, insurance, juggling priorities, playing in my (two) bands.

How does a twenty-three year old kid manage to keep sanity with all the daily insanity?

My easy answer is.... (big surprise)... MUSIC!

Every music fan has those songs that just connect, on a deep, essential level. Songs that seem written for you, or for important moments happening right now in your life, or that say things in just the right way to teach you powerful lessons. This is probably why I love music so much, why I spend so much time and attention to finding music: I'm looking for those songs that can bring me those powerful moments. And that, in turn, is why I want to make this blog: to share this with you, my friends.

Well, here's 10 of my favorite songs that have come out this year. Each has meant something special to me during the amazing and crazy events of this special year of my life.

Panda Bear - "Boys Latin"

Let's start this soundtrack with the song that sounds like January 2015 to me. When I hear the skittering drums and oozing synth in the beginning, I can literally hear my footsteps crunching in the snow with it in time. I can feel the whimsical feeling again of starting school again after four years. Maybe that's just the power of Panda Bear's boyish voice?

Young Fathers - "Rain or Shine"

Some quirky, lo-fi, genre-confounding R&B (or hip hop?) from February of this year. A confession: it took me a while after getting back from my mission to get really excited about discovering new music again. This album basically marked a turning point in that for me. Hearing this made me go, "Here's some fresh and risk-taking music I can sink my teeth into."

Father John Misty - "The Ideal Husband"

Transitioning from a mission to life at home is hard. For me, the hardest part was confronting my spiritual and personal weaknesses now that I was on their playing field again. This climactic song from Father John Misty's INCREDIBLE sophomore LP, I Love You, Honeybear, is about that sort of confrontation, showcasing Josh Tillman's incredible talent as a lyricist, "Telling people jokes to shut them up/Resenting people that I love/Sleeping till two then doing crap/Just stay in bed and later lie 'bout it." And to boot, it's in the context of anxiety about being "the ideal husband" or not.

Modest Mouse - "The Ground Walks, With Time In a Box"

Well, in spite of the challenges of balancing relationships with people, I've had amazing help me along every step of this  . Modest Mouse is a binding force between me and some of my best friends, meaning a lot to us. "The Ground Walks, With Time In a Box," while also proving that my high school heroes still have it, always makes me think of my best bros and how much I love them.

Kendrick Lamar - "The Blacker the Berry"

Another huge moment for my year so far musically and personally, here. Kendrick Lamar's masterpiece To Pimp A Butterfly shattered any lingering feelings that maybe music just couldn't do it for me like it used to. It also awoke in me a desire to figure out what I believe socially and politically, because, as Kendrick argues with throat-searing passion and tear-jerking realness, there are things going on in the world that need our attention. Is it okay if this song makes me tear up?

Joywave - "Nice House"

How are these guys not more popular than they are? "Nice House" has one of the best-written choruses of a song I've heard this year. It was my wife who deciphered the lyrics, which, after we figured them out, cemented the song's appeal to me. "There's a strange old man with a creepy coat in the bathroom peering up and down to the floor/I don't know him."

Shamir - "On the Regular"

Could 2015 have found a more representative artist? The 20-year old, gender- and genre-busting Shamir has at least one thing, beyond argument: charisma. It seems like he took a bunch of party balloons, breathed all that charisma into them over several days, and then just let them all go. This song is my summer of 2015 party jam.

Alabama Shakes - "Gimme All Your Love"

This song was my jam on the various road trips I took to California to see my bae. Speaking of whom, Rachel, my wife, is concerned that I have some sort of complex: I truly believe that I should've been born black. Whenever I hear the explosion of jazz organ in the chorus, it awakens something inside me that can only be what they call Soul. With hip hop helping excite me about music again this year.

Lupe Fiasco - "Mural"

Hot dang, Lupe. This dude knows how to spin a verse. Or two. Or nine. I don't remember the last artist to make me WANT to listen to nine verses of a song since Bob Dylan. This song has been with me through a lot of the same places as others on this list: road trips, snowy walks to campus, headphones playing video games for the first time in years. And, analogous to how Kendrick relegated this song and album to the "Underdog" bin in hip hop, this song has quietly stayed in my Spotify playlists, making me nod and scratch my head every time I hear it.

Sufjan Stevens - "Should've Known Better"

Lastly, I'm grateful for the role music plays in me and my wife's relationship. I love her showing me music that is important and fun for her, and I love sharing mine with her in turn. I showed her this song as I drove her to work in April. She woke right up from the drowsy, early morning grog she was taking and had me play it over and over again. Years from now, I know this song will remind us both of 2015