Shakespeare In The Alley

Really? The only songs I think are typical hip hop bragging shit are the last two. Tracks 1-6 are some of the best material I've heard this year, but the second half is still strong in terms of lyrical content. The bragging shit is what keeps me away from most hip hop. But the Roots tend to minimize that enough that I can really respect Black Thought' (and others') talent.

Bizarre. They have so many better albums. Listen to How I Got Over. Pretty good case for hip hop's potential to really say something lyrically. I put that album up there with the best I've ever heard, lyrically.

Likely the best thing I've ever read on this forum.

It's dumb. But at least in that case it's ridiculously politically correct both ways. "White people and African-Americans" is 50% ridiculous attempt at political correctness. I think it sounds like patronizing, honestly.

Ratios.

It often bothers me how it's "white people" and "African-Americans." Every time I read them used together it just feels like a ridiculous attempt at being politically correct.

Nice, I'll check that song out. I'm really liking how all over the place this album is. Very unique sound. Seems weird as hell to throw this out there as a two-disc debut loaded with great material then release nothing for 8 years.

Cody ChesnuTT - The Headphone Masterpiece What a bizarre album. Bought it on a slight whim this weekend, because I love the Roots' cover of The Seed, and I found a brand new copy for $7. I've never really heard anything like it, but I'm really enjoying it. It's kinda like a really lo-fi 80's Prince album. Neat stuff.

Yup. I never listened to the acoustic disc that much, but I always thought the electric disc is pretty great. Serve Your Soul is especially incredible. I've revisited that disc recently and it's held up quite well.

In Rainbows is my second favorite Radiohead album. HTTT has so much potential to be my number one Radiohead album, but it has too much filler. In summation, I strongly disagree about your views on Radiohead's recent stuff. A Radiohead/Wilco tour would be awesome, but two massive and loyal fanbases fighting for prime tickets wouldn't be pretty. I know there's a fair bit of overlap, but still.

Man, high school me LOVED Ben Harper's music. But I lost interest sometime after Both Sides Of The Gun, which I still consider a great album. I have all his releases up to that point, but I never paid any attention to Lifeline, Relentless7 or this new band. Am I missing anything good?

Hilarious. Also hilarious.

How did you take anything from that interview as proof of Nels not being happy in Wilco? Nels is in a pretty admirable situation, as he gets to tour the world and make a presumably good living with Wilco, then do whatever the hell he wants when Wilco's not touring. Not much to complain about, I'd say.

Streaming on NPR. Sounds great. The Roots are further proving themselves as one of the tightest bands out there in any genre. I haven't listened to much by John Legend, but he holds his own here. It's worth checking this album out for their cover of I Can't Write Left Handed alone. Great performance.

Frankly, I've always though Nels is an auxiliary piece of the band to begin with. So his job is to embellish upon the tracks that have been laid down. I mean that in a good way, of course. I would imagine he gets a decent amount of say in what his guitar parts are. But I don't think Tweedy and the other 7WC guys laying down basic tracks, then adding Nels' parts is much different from Tweedy bringing his demos in to the studio and having the other guys lay their parts down on top of it. Or around it. I could be way off, but I've never gotten the impression that Nels steers the songs too much

I don't think it foreshadows anything. They recorded demos (essentially) when the time was right, then Nels added stuff on top of it. Not the same as creating an album without him.

I don't really think it's too out of line or petty for Lou to say she can't sing it. It's his song, and if he's been smart enough to not make business decisions that take away his right to say who can or can't sing it, then tough luck for Susan Boyle. There are plenty of musicians out there who are outspoken critics of these "talent" shows, and would likely make the same decision. Good for Lou. All that being said, Lou Reed is pretty much known for being a massive jackass. So this can't be a shock to anyone.

Pretty sure you have the best taste here. In addition to being one of the 2-3 other SFA fans I've seen on here, you always post albums with the best covers.

See? It's an elite crew.

I think it's an amazing thing that Weezer has basically six records in a row (Green-Hurley) that can be ranked anywhere from 0-8, depending on who you ask. How many bands can claim that?

Where's My Sex is the closest to an embarrassing song on here. Stupid lyrics stemming from one of those cute baby stories that loses its humor the more you tell it. But the music/chorus comes close enough to making up for it. Just to clarify, I won't ever argue that their best days aren't behind them. Can't be done. But I've found worthwhile tracks on every Weezer album, this one included.

If it produces a consistently non-embarrassing album and potentially brings Rivers back on the right track, I couldn't care less who helped write the songs. Hurley's (so far) not an embarrassing album, and time will tell how Rivers moves on. But there's nothing on here that makes me cringe. Nothing mindblowing either. But it feels like a step in the right direction. He might have worked with other songwriters, but they sound like his songs, as opposed to awkward forced team ups. And collaborating with seasoned pop songwriters is infinitely more appealing than collaborating with Lil' Wayne.

It's not bad. There's nothing that approaches the low points of the past few albums. And there are some pretty good high points. A lot of it reminds me of past Weezer material, in a good way. I only expect 2/3 decent songs per Weezer album these days, and my expectations were super low for this one, but it's been a pleasant surprise so far.