Alright, second listen. First was yesterday, but I was too tired to actually comment. I must say that I have a few new tracks that I like from Outkast. Of course I'd already heard "So Fresh, So Clean", "Ms. Jackson", and "B.O.B." on the radio. Ms. Jackson is okay. B.O.B. has a lot of energy that makes it fun. The last few tracks of the album were a let down, though. They just didn't hold on to that fun and interest that Outkast can have.
I have to agree that Humble Mumble is probably the best track, though.
Video Game Census. Please contribute.Yeah, I absolutely loved "Humble Mumble", and I definitely agree that the last few tracks just aren't very fun.
"I can't imagine what Hell will have in store, but I know when I'm there, I won't wander anymore."By the last couple of tracks, you're referring to, "Red Velvet", "Gangsta Shit", "Toilet Tisha", "Slum Beautiful", and "Stankonia (Stanklove)", yes?
edited 23rd Feb '11 9:54:44 PM by Wicked223
You can't even write racist abuse in excrement on somebody's car without the politically correct brigade jumping down your throat!I actually didn't like anything after "Cruising in the ATL"
"I can't imagine what Hell will have in store, but I know when I'm there, I won't wander anymore."The highlights of the album for me are BOB, Ms. Jackson, So Fresh So Clean, Spaghetti Junction, Gasoline Dreams and Humble Mumble.
The rest of the tracks are not that good, and the creative sound kinda fell apart, and those tracks couldn't deliver the greatness of the mentioned tracks.
Overall, I don't really like hip-hop in general (I like trip-hop though), but there are a few artists I can listen to and like. Outkast is now officially one of them
Okay, so, my official review: This album, overall, was pretty good, and I'm definitely gonna have to listen to it more than once to fully appreciate it, I think. Like some said, it took a few tracks to really get good. Interestingly, I didn't like "Ms. Jackson" like so many people seem to have, and now it's stuck in my head so ffffffffffffffff.
As I said before, the last few tracks of the album kinda fell flat for me. It's possible I simply wasn't paying close enough attention at that point, though, and when I do get around to listening to the album again, I'll probably start there.
The highlights, for me, were "B.O.B" and "Humble Mumble". I remember liking a few others, but those are the two that stand out the most.
"I can't imagine what Hell will have in store, but I know when I'm there, I won't wander anymore."I don't know much about audio mixing, but I think with most hip-hop albums, the vocals are given the most emphasis in the mix, to make the lyrics more audible.
not that it usually works
You can't even write racist abuse in excrement on somebody's car without the politically correct brigade jumping down your throat!I think hip hop is like metal in this instance. The songs are better when you can't understand what they're saying.
Video Game Census. Please contribute.That's my experience, though. Lyrics often get in the way of music rather than enhancing it. Especially when the music is very energetic.
Video Game Census. Please contribute.![]()
Too many (in other words seven).
Let me take a stab at the possible psychology behind this. People tend to be pickier about singers than instrumentals. This is because while you need to make a certain investment to be able to play an instrument (i.e. you need to buy the instrument in the first place), singing requires no extra equipment. Thus anyone at any time can sing if they feel like it. The low level of entry means there's a lot of singers out there. Everyone knows what they are supposed to sound like. The standard to actually stand out as a good singer is much higher.
That said, they're also the most subjective part of music. I'd say pretty much every singer we've listened to here has someone who thinks they're great. One person's horrible voice is another's fascinating one, and rarely is something in music so divisive as lyrics.
I'm listening right now. I already know that Outkast are one of the hip-hop acts I'm OK with, so let's see how this goes.
edited 25th Feb '11 1:46:36 AM by Morven
A brighter future for a darker age.So I've listened through Stankonia now. I think this album was definitely one that peaked in the middle. Gasoline Dreams was a terrific opening track, and obviously Ms. Jackson is a good song (but I've been a bit overexposed to it). But it took until B.O.B. for the album to really pick up again - and boy, did that track pick it up. It's one of those tracks where the raw electrifying power of it just thunders out of your speaker, like At the Drive-In at their best. Definitely one of my favourite tracks off the album. The trio of Humble Mumble, ? and Red Velvet was really good as well. I liked all three of them a lot, and I really wish that ? had gone on for a bit longer - although perhaps it'd just work better as a short sharp shock like it already is. Either, those three were all standout tracks too. However, the last few tracks didn't quite do it for me - but again, the last track was a great little funky number and perfectly placed.
So, overall a pretty damn good album, but it was too much like two good bookends, a cracking middle, but with too much filler in between that. Too many of the tracks were just a bit forgettable for me. It definitely has plenty of songs I'd listen to again, though. And the skits were surprisingly humorous - It's Cold and Pre-Nump both made me laugh.
So this album is amazing. Let's just put that out on the table where we all can see it.
It's strange: my usual Wall of Text tendencies have deserted me for this album. Partly it's because I don't have a lot of experience in the criticism of hip-hop; partly it's because I can't really find many major flaws in this album to nitpick. Instead, I think I'll just go though it and point out the moments on this album that most struck me.
- I quite like "Gasoline Dreams". The psychedelic guitar backing makes the whole thing sounds amazingly vicious.
- Some great wordplay in the super-cool "So Fresh So Clean". "A leopard-print teddy...Pendergrass" indeed. Though I don't know why Andre 3000 felt the need to namecheck Anne Frank; that only works for Jeff Mangum.
- I know it may be a bit overplayed, but I don't think I can gush enough about "Ms. Jackson". Seriously, this song has everything I like: backwards drums, slap bass, a hooky chorus, and lyrics that manage to tell an impossibly complex story, a conflicted internal monologue.
- "Snappin' and Trappin'" is another great song, but I can't help but notice how much Big Boi manages to overshadow guest rapper Killer Mike.
- "Kim & Cookie" is hilarious.
- Oh man, "I'll Call Before I Come". I actually did a double take when this song came on. Why? Because the kind of vintage synth-funk backing they're rapping over sounds exactly like Sly and the Family Stone's There's a Riot Goin' On, one of my favorite albums. Seriously: compare "I'll Call Before I Come" to this:
- "B.O.B." is, according to Pitchfork, the best song of the decade. For once, Pitchfork isn't all that off.
- The only song I really didn't like all that much was "We Luv Deez Hoez", though that may be a result of my hatred of fake laughter.
- "Humble Mumble" seems to be a favorite here, and I offer my complete agreement.
- "?" could've been a good deal longer. It could've been a great song on its own; instead it serves as an intro to the great dark soulful number "Red Velvet", but it could've stood on its own.
- Then again, I also thought "Cruisin in the ATL" could've been its own song, so what do I know.
- "Toilet Tisha" is way better than any song with the word "toilet" in the title has a right to be. It also manages to be scarier than any "horrorcore" rap I've ever heard; it perfectly captures the nightmarishness of the story it tells in the music.
- Hey, is that Cee-Lo Green on "Slum Beautiful"? I knew him mostly as a singer, but he's a rather taleneted rapper too. Cool.
- Not sure I would ever listen to "Stankonia (Stanklove)" on its own, but it makes a great album closer.
So in summing up: yeah, I really liked this album.
Words cast into the uncaring void of the internet.Fun fact about "B.O.B.": An unauthorized rock remix of the song has been credited to Rage Against The Machine, but I have no idea if it was actually them, it being unauthorized.
I was just about to give my thoughts on the album, but Sunshine and Merton have literally said everything I thought about the album. Damnit. Let me try and think of some other thoughts then....
So, yeah, I htought the album dragged on as it reached the end (Stankonia was far too long a song, and I didn't even like the start of it) but the rest? Really great. High quality lyrics throughout in my opinion. I don't quite understand why everyone is complaining about the lyrics overpowering the backing music though, the vocals are the entire point of rapping.
I had a bit of an advantage in that I am probably too young to have been around at the point this came out, and thus have no opinion on any of it's tracks being overplayed. I only first heard Ms Jackson about 2 years ago. By the way, that is definitely my 2nd favourite song on the album. The best? B.O.B. Oh my god, that song. It is without a doubt, the most unique rap song I have ever heard. The dance/electronic fast drum beat, the wonderful synth tune, the INSANELY fast rapping.....the whole song just had this amazing energy to it, racing along as fast it possibly can, and when it reaches the chorus, it brings in the gospel-sounding singers to sing the title....and it's just amazing.
Awesome.
I wonder who started the whole "fake intermissions between songs" on rap albums, every single rap album I've heard has them. Sort of reminds me of The Who Sell Out. And now I'm gonna look on Whosampled for samples in these.
Like this:
edited 25th Feb '11 9:31:50 AM by Drpepperfan
Not many people realize, 50 Cent is half man, half cossack. - Ross Noble

Listened to Stankonia once. Can't say I liked it very much. Lotta focus on the vocals while the backing music was kinda sparse and repetitive. Not my thing. On the other hand, I can't criticize the quality of the rapping, and they did a good job making each track sound unique.