VH1 Storytellers: Kanye West
- Thread starter Kerouac
- Start date
Sad Navigator
Banned
I think hip-hop outsells rock and has for quite some time. It's a pretty big circle. The Blueprint was a major hit by a rapper who is as big as most of the contemporary "biggest bands in the world." Jay-Z is kind of a big deal.
I think your conception of "everyone" and "knowing" isn't necessarily accounting for the large number of disinterested adults who may have known the Beatles as an annoying punchline who made noisy repetitive music. The "kids" knew the Beatles like the kids now know Kanye West. Aging white rock fans who dismiss Kanye West are, quite possibly, the new sock garters and fedoras crowd. Why won't autotune get off my lawn?
Sad Navigator
Banned
I did, when it came up.
jaxn slim
Your Worst Nightmare
Maybe. I won't claim to know how much any given genre sells. He still came off pretty strongly as a douchebag to the majority of people in the US before they developed much of an opinion about him. That's really my point. First impressions are a big deal. Plus you can't really get away from him, and that fatigues on people.
Personally, I'm pretty indifferent to him. Some of my good friends were rocking out to his stuff around 2004, and I thought it was decent. Not really my thing but better than most of the shit out there.
Johnny N.
Kick Henry Jackassowski
messedup0
Anyway, it is likely that we are all morons who are easily swayed by media but I like to think that we also hold onto things that have meaning or can be associated with things that have meaning. For instance, I like Johnny Cash primarily becuase my dad had a JC 8 track in his car and would play it and sing along when we were all in the car together. My mom would tease him about his singing and we all had a good time. I've held on to those experiences and can still picture the grey 8 track of Ring of Fire. And Johnny had his share of "issues".
What we call "classic rock", and "southern rock" is what I listened to with my friends during the impressionable years so I, like so many old farts, have held onto that. Conversly, there is nothing about hip-hop music or the associated culture that I can identify with or find appealing in any way. I worked for several years in the area of teen violence prevention and gang prevention so my association with hearing that genre is not as warm and fuzzy. Or maybe there just isnt enough guitar. idn_smilie
Sad Navigator
Banned
Where are you hearing about him? News items pop up on Pitchfork or Rollingstone.com. Sometimes Slate or Salon will run a story that mentions him, but I don't really run across him unless I'm looking for him or listening to his records. Is this on cable? Because he doesn't really show up too frequently during the handful of hours I spend watching network teevee.
Johnny N.
Kick Henry Jackassowski
You say this as if it were a bad thing.
Or maybe we are right and the music of the past is better.
Sad Navigator
Banned
Who called anyone a moron?
Sad Navigator
Banned
You say this as if it were a bad thing.
Or maybe we are right and the music of the past is better.
If you're cool with it, own it.
Rock on w/ your bad self.
Johnny N.
Kick Henry Jackassowski
I said "maybe" and I included myself buy using "we". That makes it PC, right?
Arent we all capable of at least some degree of douchebaggery?
jaxn slim
Your Worst Nightmare
I hear about him on GJ and from talking to people IRL. I don't really watch TV news or read entertainment magazines. This isn't about me. As I said, I'm pretty indifferent. This is about what I hear from people I speak with in the public at large. If you are skeptical that the majority of typical people think he's a douchebag because his antics eclipse his musical accomplishments in their eyes, then maybe we'll have to agree to disagree. I don't have any data to back that up, just anecdotal evidence. But it seems pretty reasonable from where I'm sitting.
Sad Navigator
Banned
Well, maybe with some practice you could get up to speed.
Kerouac
weird musical dildo
FWIW and I will admit this as an uber-Beatles fan, but John Lennon was a DICK. I'm not making any excuses for their behaviour, but lots of incredibly brilliant and creative people are clusterfucks of ego and to really make a mark on this industry it's kinda necessity. 
SN, there were definitely parts of it that didn't shine, but I loved how he actually interacted with the musicians and would just call out new sections or make new arrangements on the fly. It was like Ableton Live with humans. The set was heavy on 808s but that material translated remarkably well with a live band and the auto tune was kept to a minimum.
SN, there were definitely parts of it that didn't shine, but I loved how he actually interacted with the musicians and would just call out new sections or make new arrangements on the fly. It was like Ableton Live with humans. The set was heavy on 808s but that material translated remarkably well with a live band and the auto tune was kept to a minimum.
Sad Navigator
Banned
I'll have to check Storytellers out. I really like 808s and I think it could definitely work live. I was gonna check out that big ass tour he was gonna do in support of that record before he Taylor Swift Boated hisself and canceled.
Kerouac
weird musical dildo
I think that musically 808s was definitely his strongest album. Before watching Storytellers I wouldn't think about seeing him live, but now I definitely would, especially if he tours like that.