Kanye West - 808s & Heartbreak

[Smartly Pretty 0]

Uhm, 808s & Heartbreak is shaping up to be way better than The Love Below, which was ultimately little more than one transcendent single surrounded by a bunch of half-baked bullshit.

 

Are you talking about Roses or Hey Ya? Both were pretty great singles.

[Mik 0]

I haven't had the heart to listen to this yet. I have to admit... "Love Lockdown" grew on me a bit but I'm not really feeling it.

[Copper Feel 0]

I haven't had the heart to listen to this yet.

 

What do you mean?

[Smartly Pretty 0]

How could he be so heartless?

[Mik 0]

I like Kanye. I want to like the album. I have a very strong feeling that I won't like it. I'm still holding out hope that I will like it but don't feel strong about that... hence I don't want to confirm my dislike.

 

I'm going to download it soon, though.

[Guest Czecherbear]

Don't approach it with any preconceptions of what it should be because of who made it. Just enjoy it for what it is, which is a pretty good synth-pop album.

 

"Robocop" gets better and better, but the whole Robocop metaphor doesn't work for me. It'd be like writing a breakup song called "Howard the Duck." Still, though! Viva La Vida strings! E Street Shuffle glockenspiel! Saturdays = Youth crushing drum machines! He calls his ex Robocop!

[snuffbox 0]

I'm guessing this got a really good review from Pitchfork.

[Guest Czecherbear]

Didn't see it posted when I went to read the Chinese Democracy review, though in that very review there was a slight jab at it and how Kanye had nothing important to say. However, I expect them to like the musical aspects of it, so add and subtract those from their standard-issue 8.5 and it should wind up with a 7.9. Probably a little high, but who knows what numbers even mean.

[Mik 0]

More than half way through and I like "Paranoid" and "Street Lights" and if that's all I end up liking then it's two more songs then I honestly expected to.

 

And no Pitchfork review as of yet.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

I'd imagine the Thanksgiving "break" is what's holding up that review. They're usually pretty good about getting reviews of the more anticipated albums up quickly. I expect a favorable review. I'll reiterate that it's not a bad album; it's just not one I find myself revisiting a whole lot.

[Mik 0]

Didn't see it posted when I went to read the Chinese Democracy review, though in that very review there was a slight jab at it and how Kanye had nothing important to say. However, I expect them to like the musical aspects of it, so add and subtract those from their standard-issue 8.5 and it should wind up with a 7.9. Probably a little high, but who knows what numbers even mean.

 

7.6. You were very close.

 

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/reco...-and-heartbreak

 

[Gary Floyd 0]

I'd have to say, it get's better on the 3rd or 4th try for me. It's not great, but it could have been worse. The production on some of the tracks is excellent, though then again, the versions I heard beforehand were different than those on the album. The Autotune still annoys me, but whatever.

[Giuseppe Zangara 0]

Both the reviews for this album and Chinese Democracy are surprisingly well written. Are Pitchfork's days of self-consciously witty, "meta" reviews gone? I don't feel like sifting through current reviews of indie bands everyone will forget by next week to find out.

[Guest Czecherbear]

I'm surprised it's taken this long to get here. Brent DiCrescenzo quit the site all the way in like 2004.

[Giuseppe Zangara 0]

If the delay for both to appear was the result of each writer taking his time to write a fully considered piece on the albums in question, then good. Even though it was funny, the apologetic pugs from Partie Traumatic review must've taken less than an hour from concept to execution.

 

I say the above there, but I realize another part of what makes these reviews work is that Ian Cohen and Scott Plagenhoef (the latter of which wrote, or was at least credited for that Black Kids "review") actually talked about the records. For the longest time, Pitchfork's problem was its writers were so in love with their own writing that they assumed it was good enough to carry each piece. Perhaps Ryan Schreiber et al. have realized that anyone surfing the Internet for music recs can go to countless different blogs or message boards and get their fill of snark and instant opinions. So now they have to offer something different. Or maybe I'm giving them (Pitchfork) too much credit; maybe these two reviews are exceptions to the rule. Perhaps the review for the next Franz Ferdinand album will be a YouTube of a baby eating cat shit.

[Guest Czecherbear]

In Pitchfork's defense, they've only done two sight gag reviews amidst the hundreds if not thousands of reviews, and one of them was for a Jet album. I do appreciate that they deigned to talk about Chinese Democracy itself instead of doing a concept review like the Audioslave review that was just a bunch of bad Chris Cornell lyrics or something.

 

On the other hand, though it's much less important, they've really stopped putting much thought into assigning an objective rating to each album and just deem everything well above average. Maybe the preponderance of 8.5s is a commentary on how stupid it is to assign objectivity to a subjective practice, but my guess is they don't want to step on anybody's toes now that they have the whole pitchfork.tv thing on the side, nor they don't want to get caught with their pants down if something turns out to be a hit but one of their dumbass reviewers doesn't like it and gives it a 5.something.

[Giuseppe Zangara 0]

Oh, I know, but I couldn't think of any examples of oh-aren't-we-so-clever reviews off-hand. My point stands. All things considered, watching a video of a monkey drinking its own urine is preferable to reading 800 words of Brent DiCrescenzo's masturbation.

[BUTT 0]

Colleagues at Pitchfork have therefore wondered why this wasn't a private record West made for himself

 

Something about this sentence comes off as really hilariously dumb and idealistic to me. ONE: Thinking Kanye fucking West is the kind of Capital-A Artiste who makes records for himself, not money or fame. TWO: The ludicrousness of the idea that Kanye, king attention whore, would ever pass up the chance for recognition. THREE: "Man, my mom just died and I broke up with my fiancee. I'm gonna get over it by recording myself singin' like T-Pain, but nobody's ever going to hear it." Stupid Pitchfork.

[Giuseppe Zangara 0]

The writer himself doesn't fall into that line of thinking, though, yes, anyone familiar with West who would think that is displaying a certain naivety on his part.

 

Given that a lot of Pitchfork hip-hop reviews in the past have often been a shameless showcase for their writers to show just how much they supposedly know about rap, I like that Plagenhoef doesn't kid himself about who he's writing the review for. Where he asks "So why is this approach, from this guy, now such a problem?" after citing acts like Battles and Dan Deacon ("wtf do they have to with Kanye West???"), it makes sense as people who go to read a review of the new Kanye West album at Pitchfork Media are likely going to have a passing familiarity with those artists. This isn't The Source.

[Guest Czecherbear]

So what did you think of it.

[King Kamala 0]

On my third listen right now, I think I actually am with Czech on this one. "RoboCop" is the highlight for me though I'm still not sure how his failed relationship is analogous to that movie.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

I've just ordered this, with free super saver shipping. I'll report back in 5-7 days.

[The Niggardly King 0]

 

I've always enjoyed Kanye's animated videos.

[The Niggardly King 0]

Well, Robocop is pretty terrible, Coldest Winter and See You In My Nightmares might be my favorite songs on here... yeah, the latter is pretty amazing to me. Not bad, I'd say someone else in the West family needs to drop dead... maybe another nephew; might get some real hits then.

[This is Bo 0]

Regardless if West gets a shitty review, the dude will get a automatic Platinum album status, because he's Kanye fuckin west. I'm not a big fan of his lyrics, because, well you know, he's not the lyrical genius as to say Nas and them, but he does come with something 'different' and that alone will boost up his sales. I have yet to hear the album (only his singles), his first single to me suck ass, dont remember the name, its something with the heart, the other single is pretty decent, only heard it once though.

 

In his first two singles with this album, I sense that this album was going to be like a suicidal album, love ballets and shit...the type of song to cut your wrist. Reading what some of you wrote, that's what it sounds like. Personally, I am the type of guy that loves lyrics, (That's why I cant stand down south rap), and I think Kanye's lyrics are too simple. It's ok, he even's it out with his producing abilities and new/old sound.

 

I might download a few of his songs, which songs do people recommend?

[Kinetic 0]

"love ballets and shit." Yeah, all right. That's up there with the girl on OkCupid who claimed to love "classical music and Russian oprah."

 

I think "Paranoid" might be my favorite thing on this album.

[Jaxxson Mayhem 0]

"love ballets and shit." Yeah, all right. That's up there with the girl on OkCupid who claimed to love "classical music and Russian oprah."

 

I think "Paranoid" might be my favorite thing on this album.

 

 

 

Man. Who doesn't love Russian oprah? Always giving out free Vodka and Ushankas....

[BifEverchad 0]

Unfortunately, as a regular Kanye fan, I was very standoff-ish when I heard the plans for this 808s album. Seems as if Kanye is going with the flow the same as many of today's "hip-hop" artists have with these unoriginal, annoying robot-voice melodies. Kanye is better than that and I hope this album is just what he needs to get that fad out of his system. As much of a dick Kanye can be, the guy has skill and he has shown that on other albums time and time again. It's just that there's really nothing that stands out on this album (808s) and definitely nothing that makes me feel what he's saying. Kanye usually has the power to literally catch me during a song, be it a catchy lyric or a flashy hook, but most of this effort falls disappointingly flat.

 

I give it 2/5 Gucci Bags.

[Carnival 0]

album of the year!

 

word czech.

[Guest Czecherbear]

Kanye usually has the power to literally catch me during a song

Is that like one of those team-building exercises you have to do with other men in the middle of a forest?

 

I give it 2/5 Gucci Bags.

Shut up, Newfie.