Kanye West & Daft Punk (Discovery Pt. 2)

I figured since I mentioned it yesterday and in an effort of trying to keep consistent (January already has more posts than December!) I thought I would mention the one song I was familiar with off Discovery – albeit super popular!

I first heard the mention of “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” off Kanye West’s “Stronger.” I loved the way the was able to slow it down and build it into a tremendous flowing of dynamics and thrills. The original version by Daft Punk is fueled by high-paced beats that sound both 80’s-inspired and entirely robotic. The inflection of their voices, the way the beats are layered on top of each other, the way it all seems to speed up as it passes by, is seamlessly rendered. The song continues to build and build off the original melody in magnificent effort: harder, better, faster, stronger. It has the perfect combination of utter pop and catchy dance while encompassing a greater reach for the dramatics of cymbals and snares, ha. There’s a back-paced slow section at the end that feeds off the glowing crescendo from before and with a timeless synthesizer, an obvious hit.


The West version is entirely a few 60 bps or so slower and much more altered – in terms of everything from speed, to flow, to vocals. Here the climbing melody from the Daft Punk original is twisted into a looping scale that supports around the verses that ‘Ye delivers. The sample comes in every form – through the counter melody, the robotic atmosphere, the synthesizers – there’s an obvious influence from the robotic state Daft Punk perfected on Discovery. It’s much more a back-drop to the chanting chorus on this song and the way West inflects it all with bite and grit but the sample is definitely Daft Punk. There’s a few parts where the music cuts away to reveal a few sections where a speed up seems possible and while this is probably mostly a nod to Daft Punk, “Stronger” ends up killing it on its very own right; while still showcasing the magic found on just one amazing song off Discovery. – Bryan

Jay-Z / The Throne / Kanye West - "Lift Off" Featuring Beyoncé

Through it all, I’m glad this blog will have more posts already in August than the month of July. It’s been a sad couple of months for relationships and still, thriving in some scenarios. It’s strange for a myriad of reasons. This album hasn’t nearly died down yet, here’s more ranting on another song and more.

The way Yeezy allows the strings to declare the beginning, like some kind of fanfare is truly creative on its own. The album is segued with these panther roars and an old sample that West inflects after/before some of the songs and here it leads into those aforementioned strings perfectly. There’s a bellowing horn and then “All engines running.” Some would call it typical, others call it amazing, while I mostly think it’s genius for artists to surround themselves with amazing artists and here, Jay-Z and West bring in Beyoncé for what is definitely one of the album’s extreme highs.

It’s the kind of song that will surely get ton of radio play once everyone realizes that behind the coincidence of the artists, the song is flawless in every kind of pop sensibility. West allows the drums to take over with more rapid snares and although people forget he’s made so many albums on his own, his drums are the magic behind his production. You see, Watch The Throne isn’t just a duo album where they phoned it in, West produces most of the album’s highest points and him and Jay-Z were relentless in ensuring they worked together, face to face. This makes for moments on the album where the energy is bursting with chemistry and brilliant skill. There’s another song that showcases that better than no other which I can hopefully mention soon.

This particular song is, for me, a highlight in Kanye’s compositional skills. The booming of the synth that background’s Beyoncé’s voice is married beautifully to the backing vocals and they all just melt away. It’s masterful the way he cuts the bass away in various parts – revealing his awkward voice and a jittery piano sometimes, or just Beyoncé in other parts – the way a true composer would take works and re-craft them to create both not just highs and lows but changes in mood, style and theme. Here it’s done with artists that are making music in the here and now. I don’t think there could be anything more terrific than that last fact: that there is gorgeous new music being made now and here.

By the way, I mean, they did whatever it took to prevent a leak. We all got to hear this and are getting to hear this exceptional album at the same time. That’s petty for most but for me, it’s astonishing. Being able to allow artists to dictate when we hear their music is talk for another day but boy, no leak, so we all get to hear it together, hell yes. – Bryan

Jay-Z & Kanye West ft. Beyonce - Lift Off from XOXOXOXOXOXO on Vimeo.

Jay-Z / The Throne / Kanye West – Watch the Throne: The Beginnings

I hadn’t bought new music in so long. I’ve been writing much much more. I feel as if it could possibly get somewhere pretty great if I really keep pushing. But I needed to pick up the Yeezy album after hearing it in entirety over the weekend. (Part of the absence comes in seeing so many movies at the Plaza Classic Film Festival. Part of me wants to write about some but part of me says not to, either way, awesome thing they have here) I heard it and was so sad I couldn’t finish all of it right then and there! It’s mind-blowing the strength that Kanye West blows into all of his albums. It’s no wonder why both the aficionados and lame masses can combine in really admiring West’s skill, this time with Jay-Z. So here are some songs from it until more digesting can be done.

By now many have probably already had enough time to blast “Otis” and hopefully we can sort out how stunning it is. The liner notes say ‘featuring Otis Redding’ and well, Jay-Z starts off by saying “sounds so soulful don’t you agree?”— and later on he asks “I guess I got my swagger back?” Hell yeah. You’d think that the bitterness of haters would tear at you til it took over (they can really be annoying as hell) but instead, West’s ability at placing the perfect samples, the perfect hooks and aligning them with something both fresh, refreshing and simply sublime – there’s nothing but genius going on here. Picking apart the way they each rap within each other’s spectrums, playfully borrowing ideas and chantingly singing together, “What more can I say?”, there is absolutely nothing but greatness going on here. Or something the other, here is “Otis,” officially:


After the ornately lush ending to “Made in America” (where the strings are left to bounce against the backdrop with absolutely zero support) there’s a brief half second pause before the intensity of “Why I Love You.” It’s fair to take the immediately catchy chorus and throw it out there:

“ooooh, I love you so but why I love you, I’ll never know…”

The ooooh is pretty important, too, because it just screams of emotion. Many of us live our lives with sordid relationships that never reach that maximum output and whatever it may be, the longing for more is felt. It’s like a wicked kind of love that teases you while never fully satisfying you at the same time either. Here you take Jay-Z and Kanye West rapping in between this hyper-melody that features Mr. Hudson’s maddening vocals and a celebratory, 80s-flowing drum machine. There are so many lyrics that jump out at you; part of the album’s greatness is how well Jay and Yeezy compliment each other. And here they are rapping about how people are fake and how the closest ones to you will tear at you when you’re least looking. It’s sad, really, how jaded we allow ourselves to get and they never cease to mention how we’re all human, all filled with flaws. There’s one line where Jay-Z questions, “What do you do when the love turns to hate?” and West quickly replies “(Gotta separate from these fuckin’ fakes).” Here they are breaking down life and relationships and showcasing their stronger-than-ever unity (The Throne) – they’re both amazingly flashy – but amazingly great, no doubt. – Bryan

Kanye West – Late Registration

I still remember when people would talk about Kanye West’s rapping as something that was decent, never amazing but promising and always improving. I’m not sure how much I agree with that kind of thinking but when The College Dropout came out, a lot of the purists bashed its rhymes and MCing while many, loved its production. So I love how even that album’s big triumphs, Kanye is still optimistically down and slumbering at the beginning of Late Registration. Like always, feeling behind, always running late, the album’s dark tones run a gamut through times where everything still seemed ominous. It’s not quite like Graduation’s tight and concise way but perhaps, his hungriest and grittiest (well, that was until My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy) album and maybe, his best.

The simplicity of “Roses” was always the most endearing to me. It’s like Kanye’s basically speaking to the crowd while a vibe gently lulls behind him. The soul samples and the choir of voices that come through take over at the end with an over-pouring of sounds; while at the beginning it was the lonely keys and Kanye’s genuine, “he’s stttrrrroooong” words. I’ve always appreciated the honesty and the earnest sincerity behind his music and how everything almost feels relatable in many ways and this song is a slamming basher that kills with grace.


I really like the middle section of this album so I was trying to pick a song between either “Crack Music” or “Bring Me Down” and I wanted to mention the latter mostly because it’s still minor and I think Kanye’s choice of Brandy to sing the hook and chorus is surprising but definitely awesome. There’s so many great things about a Kanye West album and while the samples is a personal fave, just his list of guests is never without class either. On “Bring Me Down”’s sour and uplifting mood, Brandy sounds raw and somehow, there was an injection of great singing done all throughout the song. It sounds so nice right before “Addiction” and its rhythm-heavy, stunningly beautiful sounds. Man, maybe that’s the best song in the end. – Bryan

Kanye West - Monster

If anyone’s gonna embrace the Kanye West theme of our blog lately, it’s me. The crazy thing with all of the guests on the album is – again – how seamless West makes everything work. The song Nick mentions, “Lost in the World,” is an unbelievable song that serves strangely awesome as the next to the last song. Crazy is that the last song is one called “Who Will Survive in America,” which I am still researching in order to be able to write about it better. But needless to say, it’s a less-than-2-minute song that leaves everything, almost, well unanswered.

But speaking of Bon Iver, he’s on “Monster” as well – which is my current favorite off My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. I mean, I didn’t even like Nikki Minaj before but her verse on this song simply kills, alone. Sure there is Rick Ross, West’s awesome verses, too, and hip-hop royalty with Jay-Z but Minaj destroys everything in her path with a ridiculous display of game. She sounds fiercely in-your-face and like The National sung, she’ll eat your brains, too. Here is a version with the lyrics to read along with, more on this album (another cover up top) to come for sure. – Bryan

Kanye West is "Lost In The World"

So I had heard about the "Runaway" video a few weeks ago as well, and like Bryan I hadn't had a chance to see...till now that is. And let me tell you, regardless of whether you're a Kanye fan or not, anyone can take some sort of appreciation from this short film. From the cinematography, scenery, and to obviously the music, the aesthetic he creates here is amazing! Based around the story of the Phoenix myth, or better know to many as the Firebird, Kanye creates a lengthy exploration of love and acceptance (something I think we can all agree that Kanye struggles with). I won't get into the video too much, I think you just gotta watch for yourself. But I will say Miss Selita Ebanks of Victoria's Secret fame stole my heart in this video. She is absolutely gorgeous and I think does an amazing job portraying such a frail and beautiful character. There's a lot going on in this film, almost to much to talk about with out sounding like I'm writing a term paper for a film studies class, but I think its obvious Kanye took this process very seriously.

The one song I found myself addicted to after watching the film was the closer. Entitled "Lost In The World" it is featured as the closer on the album as well and features indie darlings Bon Iver. It's a beautiful song that starts out with some intense autotune very reminiscent of Imogen Heap's "Hide and Seek". The beat finally drops with the heavy tribal drums we heard on 808's. The vibe is very upbeat and almost danceable, however the accompaniment of Bon Iver keeps the track undeniably melancholy. Check it out below and I'll be waiting anxiously to hear the Album in its entirety very soon ;) Enjoi -Nick

Kanye West – Runaway

I recently got Kanye West’s newest, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, and it’s been on constant rotation. Personally, it’s pretty spectacular but to me, I’ve enjoyed everything West has ever put out so I am terribly slanted. But the facts remain that it’s unlike his previous album, 808s & Heartbreak, and a complete return to form to his hip-hop grandiosity that he displayed on his first three albums. The album is sprawling with various styles and well, twisted fantasies (up top is one of the many different covers), and all are outstanding.

Dreary-eyed and coughing with a sore throat, I saw the official video for “Runaway” on TV last night and was blown away. Supposedly there is a 35-minute official video, too, and I don’t include either here; instead, here is the explicit version because it’s definitely better. On the album the song is 9-minutes long and it stretches out into a massive mix of auto tune and walls of sound. In all honesty, it’s a pretty special album but I might just be wrong as well. I’ll talk more in detail about it later, maybe. – Bryan

Kanye West – 808s and Heartbreak

It’s the first day of the new month today and it almost feels relieving to have September behind us. For the most part it was a good month but with so much promise and potential in October, there is at least logical reasoning behind partial optimism. Kanye West is supposed to have a new album out soon and the word is that it’s supposed to pretty awesome. I’m a ‘no-questions’ Kanye fan in that I don’t really ask or wonder why he says some of the things he says, or acts the way he does sometimes, because in the end – and in my lowly opinion – his music does all the walking to back up his talking.

This album is probably the people’s least favorite but I love it just as much as the other three. I loved how it came out in the winter of 2008 to a quiet affair and yet, it was a noteworthy explosion. It’s intertwined with feelings of love loss, despair and heartbreak. And to evoke his feelings in the cold and almost robotic ways he felt them, Kanye would use a ton of auto-tune on his 808 machine. “Love Lockdown” was the first song to jump off the album and here is the video to it:


I mean, he HAD to make this album so I’m not sure what all of the haters’ problem is. Besides losing the love of his life after she broke up with him, West lost his mother whom was, without question, the closest person in Kanye’s life. “Coldest Winter” is the epitome of what this album is about – the snapshot of all the bitter darkness and cold moments that Kanye lived through. “Goodbye my friend, will I ever love again?” is what he continues to ask as the drums pound away in a furious manner. This was definitely what I listened to for about three months straight and I loved it so much that I thought it was the best album of 2008, sure, I’m crazy. But the video to the song is awesome. – Bryan