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![2. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by Kanye West
My dear friend Andrew asked me last night about my initial thoughts on the new Kanye album. Did I love it instantly? Did it take a little while to grow on me? Well, I downloaded it a few hours after it dropped ($5! Thanks again, Amazon MP3), only listening to a few songs before hitting the hay. I had already heard (and loved) a few of the songs, like “Power” and “Monster,” but I was afraid that the singles would be surrounded by weak filler tracks. Not the case.
The first half of the album is so good. The sample on “Power” is ridiculous, and Nicki Minaj’s verse on “Monster” shows some impressive vocal control. And don’t even get me started on “All of the Lights,” which features Rihanna, Alicia Keys, Fergie, The-Dream, Ryan Leslie, Elton John, Charlie Wilson, Kid Cudi, John Legend, Tony Williams, and Elly Jackson. If it weren’t for Fergie’s terrible verse, it would be my song of the year. Actually, it still might be.
The album’s low point comes in the middle with “So Appalled” and “Devil in a New Dress,” which aren’t terrible songs, just not really up to snuff. But then you get to the introspective, self-critical “Runaway” and all is forgiven. The album keeps cruising from that point on, finishing up with the Bon Iver-inspired “Lost in the World.” I skip the Chris Rock skit at the end of “Blame Game”; its vulgarity is over the top, and irredeemably pointless.
But enough about the individual songs. What I love about My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is much the same as what I love about all of Kanye’s albums (well, I wouldn’t say I love 808s and Heartbreaks). Kanye doesn’t just rap about money and cars and women (although I wouldn’t say he eschews those subjects). So much of his life, his history, his struggles show up in his music, and after you’ve listened long enough and carefully enough, you really feel like you know him. He’s a sympathetic character, and you feel bad for him trying to find satisfaction in being a rapper and getting famous (“Last Call,” “Touch the Sky”), then turning to having sex and living large (“Stronger,” “Good Life”), and now, after the Swift incident and other public meltdowns, having nothing left but this twisted darkness, both egomania (“If I ever wasn’t the greatest, n—— I must have missed it”) and self-loathing (“Baby I got a plan / Run away [from me] fast as you can”).
Really, I’m just waiting for Kanye to finishing trying every counterfeit god there is. He’s seen idol after idol go bust, and I hope the day comes when he’s ready to keep running from Jesus and start walking with him.
Top tracks: “All of the Lights,” “Power,” “Monster”](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_le81pxgVsL1qzrikpo1_500.png)
2. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by Kanye West
My dear friend Andrew asked me last night about my initial thoughts on the new Kanye album. Did I love it instantly? Did it take a little while to grow on me? Well, I downloaded it a few hours after it dropped ($5! Thanks again, Amazon MP3), only listening to a few songs before hitting the hay. I had already heard (and loved) a few of the songs, like “Power” and “Monster,” but I was afraid that the singles would be surrounded by weak filler tracks. Not the case.
The first half of the album is so good. The sample on “Power” is ridiculous, and Nicki Minaj’s verse on “Monster” shows some impressive vocal control. And don’t even get me started on “All of the Lights,” which features Rihanna, Alicia Keys, Fergie, The-Dream, Ryan Leslie, Elton John, Charlie Wilson, Kid Cudi, John Legend, Tony Williams, and Elly Jackson. If it weren’t for Fergie’s terrible verse, it would be my song of the year. Actually, it still might be.
The album’s low point comes in the middle with “So Appalled” and “Devil in a New Dress,” which aren’t terrible songs, just not really up to snuff. But then you get to the introspective, self-critical “Runaway” and all is forgiven. The album keeps cruising from that point on, finishing up with the Bon Iver-inspired “Lost in the World.” I skip the Chris Rock skit at the end of “Blame Game”; its vulgarity is over the top, and irredeemably pointless.
But enough about the individual songs. What I love about My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is much the same as what I love about all of Kanye’s albums (well, I wouldn’t say I love 808s and Heartbreaks). Kanye doesn’t just rap about money and cars and women (although I wouldn’t say he eschews those subjects). So much of his life, his history, his struggles show up in his music, and after you’ve listened long enough and carefully enough, you really feel like you know him. He’s a sympathetic character, and you feel bad for him trying to find satisfaction in being a rapper and getting famous (“Last Call,” “Touch the Sky”), then turning to having sex and living large (“Stronger,” “Good Life”), and now, after the Swift incident and other public meltdowns, having nothing left but this twisted darkness, both egomania (“If I ever wasn’t the greatest, n—— I must have missed it”) and self-loathing (“Baby I got a plan / Run away [from me] fast as you can”).
Really, I’m just waiting for Kanye to finishing trying every counterfeit god there is. He’s seen idol after idol go bust, and I hope the day comes when he’s ready to keep running from Jesus and start walking with him.
Top tracks: “All of the Lights,” “Power,” “Monster”
