Najee said:

But you're describing 90% of the musicians out there today. Emulation isn't always bad. Lack of originality is a drawback, but not a fatal one.

For the love of 'Trane, nobody's sayin' the boy is the second coming of anyone. He just made a damn good record.

chuckaducci said:

You? Anal?







I didn't say that. I just said you ignored them. Why does every song on the album HAVE to be a song of the year candidate for it to be the album of the year?

It's the best album of 2006, which has yet to conclude.




I think you're holding him to a tougher standard for that very reason. I really liked Van's first album. I was prepared for more of the same, but he exceeded my expectations.

Plenty of black musicians are playing "artistic black music." Corrine Bailey Rae, for example, who made a fine album in her own right..



[Edited 8/31/06 8:06am]

namepeace said:

I think someone has to have more going on than yourself for you to be hating on someone NEXT !!!
[Edited 8/31/06 8:52am]

Najee said:

When Prince came out they thought he was biting off Foxy. He even wrote a song years later called Gett Off (it means nothing to me, but when another artist drops a song with so much as the same letters in it as a Prince song, fanbots around here claim copycat so I was just making a point) I hear all kinds of originality in Van Hunt. I don't think he's emulating anyone. I just think it takes time for an artist to establish their sound and for it to catch on. People compare every new artist to someone else until that artist establishes their own identity in the eye of the public. Some catch on more quickly than others. Van is a top notch artist. He's a damn good writer, too.
ChuckaDucci, peep his lyrics on the songs you think sound similar. You'll find huge differences.
[Edited 8/31/06 8:57am]

prettymansson said:

Didn't know I was talking to a musician more successful than Van. You might be a swell person in a happier place than Van. But based on that comment, you MUST be a more successful musician. Otherwise . . . I'll keep that Propel cold for you.
[Edited 8/31/06 9:35am]

namepeace said:

prettymansson and chuckaducci need to start up a band and blow us all away.

I'm on the edge of my seat. Can't wait to hear it.

namepeace said:

That's still no reason for entitlement. He doesn't like Van. Cool. Not everyone will. I don't like a lot of artists. I even like some artists that suck. Its one thing to diss an artist because of lack of talent but another to diss an artist who is talented but you say they aren't just because you don't like them. At least have the honesty to acknowledge said artist's skills in the process.
Example: I don't like R. Kelly (never have, has nothing to do with the teen age pissing). I admit, he can sing and is a damn good hook writer and is able to keep his finger on the pulse of the mainstream when he writes. He's proven himself. I still don't like him.
See? It can be done!

minneapolisgenius said:

Okay, I actually remember that we talked about Van Hunt when we walked past the Canal Room in NYC where he played. I should have sent both of his albums to you too. They are definitely worth hearing.

I cant' even tell you how much I dig Van Hunt! To me he's one of the few newer artists who is actually worth supporting!

Far as On The Jungle Floor goes, the only track on there I DON'T dig is "Character" because it DOES sound like a leftover track from the first record. And i just LOVE that the record sounds kinda trashy. I mean, God, how many albums come out these days that are polished to the hilt, and perfectly executed?? Not all the notes are 100% in tune, some of the guitars sound really trashy, and some of the sounds a bit lo-fi, but it's deifnitely in character for the album and that itself differentiates it from so many records on the market.

Van's music definitely does grow on you. You won't realize how great it is until maybe weeks or months down the line, but when you do, it hits you, and the records become an indispensable part of your collection. There may have been better records released this year than OTJF, but I doubt you'll still be listening to those in 10 years.

Who IS this guy?!?!

badujunkie said:

http://www.vanhunt.com You'll find all your answers here.

badujunkie said:

Some neosoul act everyone's all excited about

sextonseven said:

We did?

But hell yeah! I've been meaning to check him out but I just haven't gotten around to it yet. After reading through this thread, I am more than intrigued.

minneapolisgenius said:

I'm almost positive I mentioned it. I know I told you I had been there recently and he was the last person I saw there. The only other person was Nikka Costa. This is before we started drinking so it has to be true.

After reading the many post about Van Hunt and how good his album is I went and pick it up myself. I have never hated a album more. I wanted my money back so bad. I wasn't impressed with any song. His style is cool, but I didn't spend $15 hard earned dollars for a CD full of nonsense.

If you are on the fence and thinking of buying his album, DON'T it isn't any good. I have never come on this site and openly said how bad any album is, I wouldn't play this CD if someone gave it to me for free. Its awful. For real.

csharp57 said:

... and there you have it folks. Let's wrap it up

FuNkeNsteiN said:

Like hell. If anyone is on the fence about Van Hunt, they should go to http://www.vanhunt.com click on music, listen to samples from BOTH Cds and then decide instead of listening to these lame tesimonials. If you haters ain't feelin' him - BOUNCE. There's hella threads on here for you. Better yet, there's the "Prince Music & more section...

csharp57 said:

If you're on the fence and thinking of buying this album and you don't.....it's probably cause you're broke. Otherwise, buy the shit for yourself and find out if you like it. Ain't no motherfucker, on this board or any other, able to decide for you whether something is good or not.

P.S. When all else fails, checking out the profile and musical tastes of some of the folks posting will explain a lot....

sextonseven said:

Ok if you say so.

No, actually it's all coming back to me now. I remember the Nikka Costa comment.

minneapolisgenius said:

Oh...it's you again. I thought I ran you off?! As for my music, I'll make it available when the album is done. Can you call up Page? I've got some things he could butcher, I mean, play on.



Just joking.

chuckaducci said:

Ran me off? To where? And how?

Yeah, I'm waiting to hear your music actually. It better be stellar. But I'm sure you're strong enough to withstand the "nitpicking" and general all around trashing from everyone that's sure to follow.


Not joking.

namepeace said:

No argument there, dude.





I do hold Hunt to a higher standard because as I've said in most of posts, even though I'm highly critical of OTJF, I still believe that he's capable of making an album that could potentially make one of the best soul/R&B albums of all time. I'm rooting for him.





I "meh-ed" throughout that record. If Bailey-Rae had released her debut, oh, I dunno, four years ago, like before Norah Jones did her thang, then yes, I would be excited about her. I like a good ol' fashioned challenge every now and then - CBR is too safe, too polished.





Interludes, as much as I despise them on non-hip hop records, are becoming essential entities of hip hop as a genre, especially when making albums. I've gone back to Fishscale twice as many times as OTJF.





I'll have to check out The Shining.



I'll give you that - Fagen's stuff will always sound Steely Dan-ish to me - but I thought this album was very well written and produced. And again, much more so than OTJF.





Make sure you also check out TV On The Radio's Return To Cookie Mountain. It was pretty astonishing. A couple of brothers doing their post-punk thing in NYC. And I'd also recommend Camerca Obscura's Let's Get Out Of This Country - that girl can write melodies for days.

chuckaducci said:

You gotta be kidding me - the end of that song sends me through the roof

I think some of you mf's are doing more "intellectualizing" instead of experiencing his shit, so eager to criticize it & not letting yourself feel it at all.

Whatever, I'm just glad I'm finally seeing this dude. He's great

minneapolisgenius said:

LMAO! I see you still can't write posts without bombarding them with those silly emoticons. As for making my music available to this board and worrying about it? Please. I'm my own most stringent critic - nothing y'all could ever say would hurt me. At least I like to think so. Anyways, the record will be done before the end of the year. I dare you NOT to dance!

chuckaducci said:

I'll take you up on that dare.

But not before you scroll up and check out your OWN emoticon-laden post.

BlaqueKnight said:

Actually, you bring up a good point about Van Hunt. He's a wonderful and original lyricist. The lyrics to "Being A Girl" are fucken dope. You can tell that he puts thought into what he's conveying. Even on tunes where it would be easy to be lazy and trite (Ride, Ride, Ride), he still manages to make me listen for every word.

minneapolisgenius said:

I was being sarcastic. I was giving a slight dig to Calhoun Squarehead, who is just like you - cain't make a post without slaughtering it with emoticons. It just offends my sense of "posting aesthetics".

chuckaducci said:

Yeah, ok, sure. Whatever you need to tell yourself.

chuckaducci said:

I don't know why you've got something against me, but you see that bold print? It's called sarcasm. It's kind of hard to detect on a message board, but c'mon, this isn't a case of us searching for Amelia Earhart's lost plane in the Pacific.

chuckaducci said:

You're quoting yourself now?