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Lou Reed Compares "Yeezus" to Farting
Lou Reed Compares 'Yeezus' to Farting, Might Be the Only One Who Gets Kanye
Zach Schonfeld 2 hours ago
Lou Reed Compares 'Yeezus' to Farting, Might Be the Only One Who Gets Kanye
No stranger to popular music that pushes against the outer limits of sonic expression, Lou Reed thinks Kanye West's Yeezus is "majestic and inspiring." In fact, at some point between his reportedly life-saving liver transplant in May and his most recent stint in the hospital this past weekend — where he was sent by ambulance after suffering dehydration — the crankily aging rocker has found time to write a nearly 2,000-word screed for The Talkhouse laying out his views, and it's fantastic. The review, that is — although Reed mostly thinks Kanye West's sixth album is, too, decreeing from on high that "there are moments of supreme beauty and greatness on this record, and then some of it is the same old shit." As you'd expect, Reed eschews the flowery, overwrought prose of modern music criticism to tackle Yeezus in his own brash terminology. Marveling at the "typical synth buzzsaw sound" that opens the album, for example, Reed writes: "It's like farting. It's another dare — I dare you to like this. Very perverse."
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he can talk after the shitfest with metallica | |
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Pistols sounded like "Fuck off," wheras The Clash sounded like "Fuck Off, but here's why.."- Thedigitialgardener
All music is shit music and no music is real- gunsnhalen Datdonkeydick- Asherfierce Gary Hunts Album Isn't That Good- Soulalive | |
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Okay--the subject line is misleading--he compares the opening sound to farting. People should click through and read Reed's whole piece. Sure, there's "brash terminology," but there's also a lot of real interaction with the work in question, which Reed clearly values highly.
That is a review, now. That's a man who has listened and thought and listened to an album before he said something. I haven't listened to Yeezus, but I want to after reading this. And I've read several reviews, but none have really made me want to give the album my time before this one.
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that's precisely what i was thinking. how dare he? what was that shit he did with Metallica then? vomiting? | |
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Guys--
Read Reed's full review!!!
He loves the album!!!
Seriously--whatever you think about the Metallica/Reed album--or about Reed himself--read what he has to say. Then, if you disagree, fine.
Here's the first paragraph, to give you the general sense of the review:
Kanye West is a child of social networking and hip-hop. And he knows about all kinds of music and popular culture. The guy has a real wide palette to play with. That's all over Yeezus. There are moments of supreme beauty and greatness on this record, and then some of it is the same old shit. But the guy really, really, really is talented. He's really trying to raise the bar. No one's near doing what he's doing, it's not even on the same planet.
Some of the lyrics are what he means by the "same old shit"--some of the lyrics he's very impressed by. Musically, he seems blown away by the whole thing, except maybe that opening sound (the "farting"), which he's citing as an example of West's "braggadoccio," the sort of challenging the audience Reed is often accused of for albums like Metal Machine Music. He seems to decide that just like that wasn't really what he was doing with MMM, it's not what West is doing either. This is a review in which he repeatedly says things are incredible, un-fucking-believable, and that they "bring tears" to his eyes, or that they are "devastating, absolutely majestic." "New Slaves" gives him "goosebumps," the screaming in "I Am a God" makes his "hair stand on end," the mix of vocals on "Blood on the Leaves" is "fascinating, aurally, nothing short of spectacular. And holy shit, it's so gorgeous rhythmically, where sometimes the vocal parts are matched and sometimes they clash." And again and again he comes back to West's melodies:
At so many points in this album, the music breaks into this melody, and it's glorious — I mean, glorious. He has to know that — why else would you do that? He's not just banging his head against the wall, but he acts as though he is. He doesn't want to seem precious, he wants to keep his cred. And sometimes it's like a synth orchestra. I've never heard anything like it — I've heard people try to do it but no way, it just comes out tacky. Kanye is there.
He ends by praising West for the way in which he brings disparate musics together:
He obviously can hear that all styles are the same, somewhere deep in their heart, there's a connection. It's all the same shit, it's all music — that's what makes him great. If you like sound, listen to what he's giving you. Majestic and inspiring.
Seriously, this is one of the most positive reviews I've ever read. [Edited 7/2/13 17:43pm] | |
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It's a positive review and he only compares the synth sounds that open the record to farting.
This thread title is not okay. He clearly does not compare the album itself to farting. | |
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