Corpsey
bandz ahoy
Strikes me as odd that there isn't a thread about Kanye already on here (perhaps there is and my search function ain't shit). 'Yeezus' is topping all of the end of year polls for music critics, and not a day goes by that I don't see something about Kanye beating up paparazzi, or chucking hecklers out of his ridiculously grandiose operap shows, or being parodied on SNL, or going off on a radio show host. Love him, hate him, he's surely the single most divisive and interesting figure in popular music at the moment.
It has struck me recently how important image/marketing can be in pushing an artist or indeed musical style over into mainstream popularity/notoriety and thus sustainability and Kanye is a striking exemplar of this - his personality, the images and words SURROUNDING his music, are arguably as important as the music itself - if not MORE so - in turning him into such a figure of importance. Of course, his music has often been brilliant (although I'm not all that au fait and hope that this thread might help me/us bone up on Ye's back catalogue) and certainly very controversial. Whatever you think of 'Yeezus', the sheer boldness and of it is admirable - as with his narcissism, his music feels undiluted. His lack of self-awareness, and of shame-faced-ness, and of irony, makes him an easy target for parody. But I have to also say that this confidence, this passion and sheer belief in the seriousness and importance of his music makes Kanye an interesting figure for throwing a lot of the electronic/dance music I listen to into relief. Where is the personality, the ideas, the gravity (even if ridiculous) in dance music at the moment? Should electronic/dance music exist for escapism only, and has it always existed for just that purpose? Was grime the last time music that would get salivated over on dissensus really ''MATTERED''?
I see I've ended up ranting like Kanye here. I really just was surprised that one of the most discussed artists of 2013 hasn't really been discussed on here much (to my knowledge).
It has struck me recently how important image/marketing can be in pushing an artist or indeed musical style over into mainstream popularity/notoriety and thus sustainability and Kanye is a striking exemplar of this - his personality, the images and words SURROUNDING his music, are arguably as important as the music itself - if not MORE so - in turning him into such a figure of importance. Of course, his music has often been brilliant (although I'm not all that au fait and hope that this thread might help me/us bone up on Ye's back catalogue) and certainly very controversial. Whatever you think of 'Yeezus', the sheer boldness and of it is admirable - as with his narcissism, his music feels undiluted. His lack of self-awareness, and of shame-faced-ness, and of irony, makes him an easy target for parody. But I have to also say that this confidence, this passion and sheer belief in the seriousness and importance of his music makes Kanye an interesting figure for throwing a lot of the electronic/dance music I listen to into relief. Where is the personality, the ideas, the gravity (even if ridiculous) in dance music at the moment? Should electronic/dance music exist for escapism only, and has it always existed for just that purpose? Was grime the last time music that would get salivated over on dissensus really ''MATTERED''?
I see I've ended up ranting like Kanye here. I really just was surprised that one of the most discussed artists of 2013 hasn't really been discussed on here much (to my knowledge).