By
Jesse Kornbluth
Published: Mar 13, 2012
Category:
Soul
The funniest moment I’ve seen on film or TV recently appeared in a commercial for Dos Equis beer. It’s in the new "Most Interesting Man in the World" series, and it lasts for no more than two seconds. As the voiceover tells us about The Most Interesting Man’s latest feats, we see him huddled with three or four Buddhist monks in orange robes. Someone — I’d bet on The Most Interesting Man — has just told a joke, and everybody’s laughing heartily at the punch line.
A scene you never imagined. A great sight gag. A scene that made my wife and me laugh as if suddenly demented.
The second best moment on film or TV I’ve seen recently involves music. It’s the new commercial for Budweiser Platinum, which seems to be sponsoring all upscale content except HeadButler.com. Watch it. I mean: Listen to the music as you watch it.
Did you know that was the beginning of Kanye West’s "Runaway," the emotional centerpiece of his most recent CD? It’s wonderfully choreographed and so original your ears can’t get enough of it — come for the ballet dancers, stay for the self-hatred.
You didn’t see Kanye West at the Grammys, and for good reason. He won 4 hip-hop awards: Best Rap Album, Best Rap Song and Best Rap Collaboration for "All of the Lights" from his My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and Best Rap Performance with Jay-Z for "Otis." But he wasn’t nominated for Best Song or Best Album, which was, in this scribe’s view, nuts. (Not that he would have won. This year was all Adele.)
The Grammy slight and the Bud commercial made me think about Kanye West again — and play his music. Which is not, perhaps, the first thing you think of when Kanye West’s name comes up.
This is what — if anything — you probably know about Kanye West.
During a telethon to raise money after Hurricane Katrina, he said, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.” (George Bush called this “one of the most disgusting moments in my presidency." Optional essay question: Who was more wrong?)
Kanye West might not have a gold grill on his teeth. He might not be the king of bling. But I think it’s fair to say that most people reading this know more about his personality than about his music. And their assessment is probably uniform: He’s an asshole.
This is not a view unknown to West, so he Took Steps.
First, he spent about six months holed up in the studio, making a CD laden with guest stars: Elton John, Chris Rock, Rihanna, Fergie, John Legend, Kid Cudi, Rick Ross and Jay-Z — even Bon Iver.
Then he went out and gave the music away. He started with a solo performance at the offices of Twitter and Facebook. He was so active on Twitter that, at one point, he was attracting 200,000 new followers a day. He put some of the songs on the Web — no charge.
And then he released “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.” (To buy the CD on Amazon, click here. For the MP3 download, click here.)
You know the ending. Five stars from almost every reviewer. “Album of the Year” on a lot of “10 Best! Lists. Killer numbers on YouTube. Etc.
I haven’t heard — or heard of — most of the bands and artists on those end-of-year lists. And I don’t listen to enough rap or hip hop to place “Dark Twisted Fantasy” in context. All I can respond to is what I hear.
And what I hear is addictive. It’s music you remember, tunes you hum. Orchestral. Sometimes with smart technology: vocoders and synthesizers. Play it once, and it will move into heavy rotation.
That’s the music. The lyrics? Depends who you are.
I’m mad for lines like:
They say I was the obamanation of Obama’s nation
Well, that’s a pretty bad way to start the conversation
and
Never was much of a romantic
I could never take the intimacy
and
Restraining order
Can’t see my daughter
Her mother, brother, grandmother hate me in that order
On the other hand, if you find rap lyrics offensive, there’s plenty to gross you out: “No more drugs for me, pussy and religion is all I need” and “Champagne wishes, thirty white bitches” and “I sent this bitch a picture of my dick.”
Does that language invalidate the CD? Not for me. It’s the language of the street, and there’s a lot of street here — that is, a street with no jobs, a street where all a man really wants to do is feed and shelter his children. And, also, Easy Street, where Kanye West lives, buffered by success. For me, the language is the least of the CD. Arrogance and hyperbole are the bedrock of rap — and, as we know, of Kanye West’s persona.
Let’s put this CD to the test and then decide what we can handle, okay?
Consider “Power.” It starts slick as Beyoncé, then West takes over with a catchy refrain, “No one man should have all that power.” Now let’s separate one strand from the song. If you will, just listen to the drumming. Have you ever heard a bass drum play that much — and that syncopated? You can’t help but feel the military cadence, the menace of power. At the same time, the snare and high hat push you forward, make you tap your feet. Listen:
Now consider the introduction to “All of the Lights.” This song will get to Kanye’s request to turn up the lights — all of them. “I want you to see everything.” Which you understand means: while they’re making love. Would you have guessed you’d hear cello and piano? Or that the next part of the song would begin with….French horns?
The centerpiece of the CD is “Runaway,” a confession that’s almost credible:
And I always find, yeah, I always find something wrong
You been putting up with my shit just way too long
I’m so gifted at finding what I don’t like the most
So I think it’s time for us to have a toast
Let’s have a toast for the douchebags
Let’s have a toast for the assholes
Let’s have a toast for the scumbags
Every one of them that I know
Let’s have a toast for the jerk-offs
That’ll never take work off
Baby, I got a plan
Run away fast as you can
Whew. On the other hand: The first words sung on this CD are “Can we get much higher?” Take that as a cue. Listen to “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” in darkness and in light, while drinking coffee or on stronger stimulants — the more you hear it, the more the answer to that question is: no, we can’t.
Kanye West sets the bar. And he sets it very high.
