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I was thinking about the two albums yesterday and, while I was about to fall asleep, I came up with how I feel in entirety. Mainly, I had been asking how I could even compare two albums like those, since they're so different. Obviously, there are stylistic inclinations people could have while listening; if you only listen to rap, you'll probably prefer TPAB. Same goes for C&L if you only listen to indie folk. I try to be objective with my judgment of music and try not to overrate a single genre, though, so I wanted to come up with solid reasoning on why I subjectively prefer C&L.
When I listen to Kendrick, I feel like I'm listening to something unique from other rap that I've listened to. He uses sounds, that while not sonically original on their own, have never been used in the way they were in rap before, much less mainstream rap. He also comes close to pure poetry at certain points with his lyricism. In all, it's a style that's not only new to him, but also the rap game as a whole. No one has made an album like this, not even Kendrick himself. GKMC was more of a typical hip hop album. This is not to say that is a negative thing: I look at GKMC to be a masterpiece of contemporary hip hop and probably one of my top 5 rap albums of the last 5 years, if not of all time. It mastered the type of music that it is musically and thematically comparable to.
However, while TPAB is something new to rap, it has its flaws. At times, I feel like Kendrick is still feeling out the new style and, perhaps, he's hesitant to fully separate from the music that made him as big as he is today. There are some times when he says things that don't belong on the record at all; things that are corny and belong on less talented rappers albums. These are remarks that are stuck in between where he's been and where he's going. Additionally, he makes quite a few poignant political remarks but this is another place where I think he's still finding himself. As he gets older and, hopefully as he's exposed to more diverse political theory, he'll round out to being as politically educated as some other rappers in the game today. He's obviously an intelligent individual. Even though it's not easy to bring complex politically thought into mainstream rap, he's already done more to do that than any other rapper in the game today.
The strengths of TPAB definitely outweigh the weaknesses and I think it will shift the rap game entirely because of the way it sounds, the way he rhymes, and the political overtones. It won't be quick but hopefully all the top minds in the game today listened and were inspired. This truly seems like the beginning of something important.
C&L is an entirely different beast. You can listen to it and compare it to plenty of different folk artists in history, from Simon & Garfunkel to Jose Gonzalez to Bon Iver, etc. It doesn't introduce anything new to folk but it stands out in its perfection. The lyrics are heartbreaking and meaningful. We enter Sufjan Stevens' heart and experience his love and his pain, his strength and his weakness. It sounds great from top-to-bottom and there isn't a misplaced note on the entire album. The record is virtually flawless and I have no problem in calling it his masterpiece.
The best comparison to how I could look at it that I came up with, is to art in 19th century France in painting. Now, I'm far from an expert on the matter but there were many styles of art popular at the time. Perhaps the two most dominant were Realism and the emerging Impressionism. You can take a time period (let's say 1860-1880) and you can find all sorts of great art. Much of it was art that was Realism, as that was the popular movement of the decades prior. This was a genre that was fleshed out by plenty of artists but, in my opinion, the master of the genre for the period was Gustave Courbet and, in 1970, he panted "The Wave". While it didn't bring anything new to art or Realism, it was a true masterpiece. It's a brilliant painting, visceral really. Perhaps, it is his finest work (that's obviously a matter of opinion).
Around the same time, Claude Monet was emerging and hanging around with a radical group of artists (Renoir, Pissarro, among others) and, in 1974, he painted "Impression, Sunrise". This was a painting that did not look like Realist paintings of the same period; it was a direct challenge to the style. Although TPAB is almost universally acclaimed, "Impression, Sunrise" was such a divergence from what was accepted at the time, that it rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. However, the legacy of the painting is undeniable as it created the label of Impressionism and is generally regarded as the first Impressionist painting. It's not the best Impressionist painting but it was a true game changer.
Obviously, I'm comparing C&L to "The Wave" and TPAB to "Impression, Sunrise". C&L, like "The Wave", masters an already existing style and that's why it stands out. TPAB, like "Impression, Sunrise", is of extremely high quality itself but the importance in either by what it signifies (TPAB changes hip hop, "Impression, Sunrise" changes art).
Basically, at the end of the day, I feel like TPAB is the first of an emerging trend in hip hop. It's powerful but it's not a masterpiece. The importance is more symbolic than because of its quality. It's an album that's good enough to change the way people treat music but it's rough around the edges and I have little doubt that Kendrick will surpass it in his next release when he himself comes to term with what he has created. GKMC is a masterpiece of a genre that's now in Kendrick's rear view mirror; TPAB is a game changer but it has it flaws. Meanwhile, there are plenty of albums like C&L but there might not be any album to have done it that well. C&L is a masterpiece of indie folk, inspired by personal experience and presented flawlessly.
I love both works but I have to choose the masterpiece, as those are the albums that stack up through time. TPAB is great, I'd even say its more important... but C&L is the better piece of art and the best album to have come out this past month.
TL;DR: I wrote an essay on why C&L is better. In my opinion, of course.
@comcgee89 Thank you; I love when people get in-depth on their thoughts on a record. People on here should do it more often.
Last Edit: Apr 3, 2015 9:30:06 GMT -5 by Jaz - Back to Top
5.5/four tet, daphni b2b floating points, avalon emerson 5.12/neil young 5.19/mannequin pussy 5.21/serpentwithfeet 5.25/hozier 6.12-16/bonnaroo 6.28/goose 6.29/goose 9.17/the national + the war on drugs 9.23/sigur ros 9.27-29/making time 10.17/air
Post by andyhopps0707 on Apr 3, 2015 9:31:47 GMT -5
Tobias Jesso Jr. - Goon
I don't know if voting is still going on but I really like TBJ's new record. I don't know if it's because the sound feels so familiar or if I just like cheerfully depressing piano songs but I think I'll probably listen to this album longer than anything that came out this month. Great month for music though, I also very much liked Courtney Barnett and KL's new albums. Kendrick's records have both been awesome, but I just kind of get sick of the skits and the poetry after the first couple of listens. I know that they're important to wholeness of the record and that they're prevalent on most rap albums, but after a while I really just want to listen to music so TPAB and GKMC both kinda fall out of my rotation despite being amazing records.
The beauty of this thread is that any album can win. It's purely based on everyone's individual opinions. However, if Kendrick loses, I will be very surprised. In a world where an album like Benji (an album that I still have not been able to finish in it's entirety because I get so bored with it) can beat out St. Vincent, Beck, and Angel Olsen for AOTM Feb 2014, I guess it's not crazy to think that Sufjan can beat Kendrick.
I at least kind of enjoy Sufjan's album. The fact that he whispers the entire time is aggravating, but it's much better than Sun Kil Moon's ramblings. But TPAB is probably the greatest album I've heard in three years. I am just one vote, and there are many votes left to be made. We'll see what happens next Tuesday.
I'm in the reverse of this.
I realize this going to be blasphemy to say this, but I thought C&L was boring and I pushed myself to finish it. Benji meanwhile, it was a bunch of ramblings yes but I still enjoyed it.
@comcgee89 Thank you; I love when people get in-depth on their thoughts on a record. People on here should do it more often.
Thanks! I was mainly trying to flesh out my own opinion when I wrote that and it just kept growing in length. I didn't mean to write so much, lol. I really haven't voted in these threads before and doing so forced me to confront how I perceive music and even art in general, in a way. I'm going to stick with the whole "masterpiece trumps game changer" philosophy though it's not likely to come up on a regular basis. It's rare that a month has two albums of this quality.
If you want to cast a vote for an album, please post a picture of the cover as well. It's helpful for those keeping tallies to know what is a vote, and what is not.
I write a freaking essay about Sufjan Stevens and then I listen to Lower Dens for the first time and fall in love with it. Of course, it was going to be impossible for me to dislike it; I'm a huge fan of 80s sounding retro-pop synthy stuff.
March was too good.
Last Edit: Apr 4, 2015 5:33:40 GMT -5 by Deleted - Back to Top
Basically, at the end of the day, I feel like TPAB is the first of an emerging trend in hip hop. It's powerful but it's not a masterpiece. The importance is more symbolic than because of its quality. It's an album that's good enough to change the way people treat music but it's rough around the edges and I have little doubt that Kendrick will surpass it in his next release when he himself comes to term with what he has created. GKMC is a masterpiece of a genre that's now in Kendrick's rear view mirror; TPAB is a game changer but it has it flaws. Meanwhile, there are plenty of albums like C&L but there might not be any album to have done it that well. C&L is a masterpiece of indie folk, inspired by personal experience and presented flawlessly.
I enjoyed reading your perspective and I admire your optimism for the future of hip hop. I wish that rap would trend toward a more jazz influenced sound, but I find it very unlikely. You aren't going to see Migos bust out beat poetry over a live sax anytime soon. I believe that Kendrick's album is brilliant, but for some reason, most of his influence does not get picked up by many other artist. I found that the poetic aspect of the album can already be seen in rap specifically Chance who has embraced that style and brought it to a mass audience. Despite many people's opinion, Kanye often times drives many of the trends that are seen in hip hop and has embraced the digital side of production while staying away from jazz lately (he chooses many interesting producers, but has yet to work with Flying Lotus even though the interest is there from Ellison). I love jazz and hopefully we will see more albums of this vein in the future, but at this moment I find this album to be fantastic outlier.
I will echo your praise for the Sufjan album. In my opinion, it is the best intimate folk album since Mutual Benefit's album in 2013 and possibly since For Emma, Forever Ago in '08.
My first time voting in this thread. I followed along all month to this and the Now Playing thread, and listened to as much as I could (how some of you listen to as much as you do amazes me, in a good, slightly jealous way).
Thanks for the votal update. Here's your April cheat sheet.
6 April 2015 Nadine Shah - Fast Food Young Fathers - White Men Are Black Men Too
7 April 2015 Aceyalone - Action Adam Cayton-Holland - Backyards [Comedy album] All Time Low - Future Hearts ALSO - ALSO [Appleblim and Second Storey] American Wrestlers - American Wrestlers Blues Traveler - Blow Up The Moon Brian Wilson - No Pier Pressure Callaghan - A History Of Now Darius Koski - Sisu [Of Swingin' Utters] Delta Rae - After It All Doldrums - The Air Conditioned Nightmare Drenge - Undertow Drug Cabin - Wiggle Room East India Youth - Culture Of Volume Folk Family Revival - Water Walker Lapalux - Lustmore Lee Harvey Osmond - Beautiful Scars Marriages - Salome Matt & Kim - New Glow Mew - +- Priory - Need To Know Royal Thunder - Crooked Doors Shlohmo - Dark Red Sworn In - The Lovers/The Devil The Mountain Goats - Beat The Champ The Very Best - Makes A King The Waterboys - Modern Blues [US release] Toro y Moi - What For? Trickfinger - Trickfinger [John Frusciante] WATERS - What’s Real Waxahatchee - Ivy Tripp Weed - Running Back
lord huron - strange trails is missing. it comes out on april 7th and I can't fucking wait.
edit: also, all y'all need to listen to young fathers. especially any of you who love hip hop... seriously.
Alabama Shakes is dropping the new one on the 21st. If Blues Traveler can be on this cheat sheet, surely the Shakes can.
haha whoops! I just showed the albums from the date the missing one was on sorry if that was confusing - the full post is a page back.
Oh yeah. I deleted my post right before you quoted me after checking Coke's original cheat sheet. I see you were referring to that specific date for releases. My mind is racing with caffeine and I was speed reading recent posts. Sorry.
Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit
3
fearofpride, Spicoli, sleepy
"
Kendrick Lamar
To Pimp A Butterfly
3
Jim, jakicker, Dale Cooper
Third
Brodinski
Brava
1
Pizza Pussy
"
Lightning Bolt
Fantasy Empire
1
garageland
"
Liturgy
The Ark Work
1
Dave Maynar
"
The Soft Moon
Deeper
1
Redman's Meth
edit. Lemme know if anything is wrong or doesn't make sense. I'm tired and kinda drunk.
I had my vote in for sufjan.
Oh. Your post about it was very neutral to a decision, I thought you were just talking about it. No worries. It's been noted in my personal tally. I'll post an updated one before I head to sleep in a few hours since a new page has begun.