Line #76 Music/TheHeadphoneMasterpiece


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/535422.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350: ''If Mary drops a baby girl tonight, I would name her rock 'n roll'']]
3
4	->''All I want is pussy, give me some religion\
5	A brand new cadillac and a winning lotto ticket\
6	I don't want no pretty city boys in makeup\
7	Showing me the goodies when I don't want to see it\
8	I'm all about boylife in America''
9	-->- "Boylife in America"
10
11	''The Headphone Masterpiece'' is the debut album of American singer-songwriter and guitarist Music/CodyChesnutt.
12
13	After his band, The Crosswalk, was dropped from Hollywood Records in 1997, [=ChesnuTT=] spent several months recording the record in his bedroom, which he used as a makeshift studio called "The Sonic Promiseland". Using a four track recorder and a pair of [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_MDR-V6 Sony MDR-7506 headphones]] as a studio monitor, he recorded and produced the double-disc record entirely by himself with only three other musicians appearing on the record (Sonja Marie on "With Me in Mind", RH providing saxophone for "Serve This Royalty" and Talley Thomas providing a spoken segment on "Family on Blast" and background vocals on "When I Find Time").
14
15	An eclectic record, it would feature elements of 70s soul, hip hop, synthpop, funk and 60s rock. That combined with the (literal) bedroom quality of the record and [=ChesnuTT=]'s sincere, almost diary-esque lyricism led the album to be considered a classic of [[NeoSoul neo soul]], a noted release in the lo-fi music genre and a precursor to the [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnagogic_pop hypnagogic pop]] and AlternativeRAndB genres.
16
17
18	!! Tracklist
19
20	[[AC: Disc One]]
21	# "Magic in a Mortal Minute" (0:38)
22	# "With Me in Mind" (3:51)
23	# "Upstarts in a Blowout" (3:04)
24	# "Boylife in America" (2:21)
25	# "Bitch, I'm Broke" (1:59)
26	# "Serve This Royalty" (5:42)
27	# "The Seed" (3:24)
28	# "Enough of Nothing" (0:58)
29	# "Setting the System" (0:46)
30	# "The Most Beautiful Shame" (0:49)
31	# "Smoke and Love" (3:38)
32	# "Michelle" (3:08)
33	# "No One Will" (2:59)
34	# "Batman vs. Blackman" (1:02)
35	# "Up in the Treehouse" (2:08)
36	# "Can't Get No Betta'" (3:32)
37	# "She's Still Here" (2:15)
38	# "Can We Teach Each Other" (4:02)
39	# "The World Is Coming to My Party" (4:26)
40	# "Brother with an Ego" (0:13)
41	# "War Between the Sexes" (1:36)
42	# "The Make Up" (2:31)
43	# "Out of Nowhere" (1:45)
44
45	[[AC: Disc Two]]
46	# "Family on Blast" (3:55)
47	# "My Women, My Guitars" (3:15)
48	# "Somebody's Parent" (1:46)
49	# "When I Find Time" (4:03)
50	# "Eric Burdon" (2:41)
51	# "Juicin' the Dark" (4;56)
52	# "5 on a Joyride" (3:32)
53	# "Daylight" (0:49)
54	# "So Much Beauty in the Subconscious" (2:03)
55	# "Daddy's Baby" (2:37)
56	# "If We Don't Disagree" (3:23)
57	# "Look Good in Leather" (3:55)
58	# "6 Seconds" (4:28)
59	----
60	!!''Tied to my own tropes, standing in my gutter with nothing to show''
61	* AlternativeRAndB: Considered a precursor to the genre given its blatant GenreMashup and intimate, epistolary lyricism.
62	* BoastfulRap: "Bitch, I'm Broke"
63	** "War Between The Sexes" deconstructs this with the lyric:
64	-->''It's a war between the sexes\
65	To find out who the fucking best is\
66	There's always a war between the sexes\
67	To find the weakness in the stronges
68	And I feel alive\
69	I feel alive\
70	But she breaks me down and she makes me cry\
71	Then I feel like I wanna die''
72	* ConceptAlbum: The record is typically viewed as a musical diary of sorts. Detailing Cody's emotions and aspirations at the time of its recording.
73	* CoveredUp: The much more rocked out version of "The Seed" done by Music/TheRoots is much better known than the quiet lo-fidelity original.
74	* GenreBuster / GenreMashup: The album toys with genres such as lo-fi, {{soul}}, British rock, synthpop, funk, 90s hip-hop and psychedelia between its 36 tracks.
75	* GratuitousPanning: "Serve This Royalty" does this having the vocals and organ mostly contained to the right channel, whereas the saxophone is solely in the left.
76	* InTheStyleOf: The album itself is based around doing this with [=ChesnuTT=]'s favourite genres. Be it [[UsefulNotes/TheBritishInvasion British Invasion]] rock 'n roll or Music/{{Prince}}-esque synthfunk on "The World is Coming to My Party", it's very much a trip through Cody's influences as much as its a independent debut.
77	* {{Instrumentals}}: "Batman Vs. Blackman"
78	* MinisculeRocking: People who saw the tracklisting and expected a particularly lengthy record were surprised when they realized that ''11 songs'' don't even reach the two minute mark.
79	* MisogynySong: "Bitch, I'm Broke" and "War Between the Sexes"
80	* {{NEET}}: "Boylife in America" describes this kind of guy.
81	* NeoSoul
82	* NostalgiaFilter: "Up in the Treehouse" and "5 on a Joyride"
83	* OneWomanSong: "Michelle"
84	* OneWordTitle: "Michelle" and "Daylight"
85	* PerishingAltRockVoice: Cody's voice just sounds an inch away from breaking (and on some tracks, it does) and generally amateurish on this record, but it somehow lends to the indie / lo-fi feel of the record

Context Music / TheHeadphoneMasterpiece