Kanye West: 808s & Heartbreak
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I once dashed off a furious letter to an ex-lover. I demanded to know why she'd left me for somebody with "a huge nose". I argued that my ex deserved somebody with a standard sized snozz. Namely, me. A Shakespeare sonnet it was not.
The letter provoked reaction.
My ex-lover turned up to calmly request the return of concert tickets bought before the break-up. "Enjoy them!", I shouted on handover. "And enjoy the car!" (Her new beau owned an automobile and I did not. It rankled.)
My replacement confronted me in a nightclub car park. I prepared for the worst. I should have prepared for the bizarre. He asked me why I'd said he was "an alcoholic who sleeps with prostitutes". The fight or flight impulse within me gave way to monumental bewilderment. It was followed by heartfelt denials. He had no choice but to believe me and wander off in his own fug of confusion.
It later occurred to me what had happened. My miffed ex had told him about the letter, but had massaged the large nose accusations into something less hurtful; that is, allegations of dipsomania and whore-mongering. This was love, I was forced to admit. Sure enough the couple soon married.
What does this story tell me? One, I was once a young idiot in love. Two, I should be thankful for small mercies. I'd caused this trouble with a mere pen and pad. Imagine if I'd had a Roland TR-808 drum machine and Lil' Wayne at my disposal?
To aid our imaginings, let's turn to Kanye West. The Chicagoan's fourth LP is a lover's begging letter, writ large.
Yes, one song is about the tragic death of his mother, but the remaining ten concern the recent split from his fiancée. As such it's not a record full of dancefloor fillers.
Kanye brings to the party the very worst in break-up emotions. He whinges ("Welcome To Heartbreak", "Bad News"), accuses ("Heartless", "Robocop"), sneers ("Paranoid", "See You In My Nightmares"), and feels sorry for himself (1-11).
Much of the publicity surrounding the album has focused on its auto-tune vocals (more of which later). But what about the mono-toned emotions?
Thankfully West displays some genuine vulnerability in opener "Say I Will". Here the emotions are in stereo. He begs his lover to take him back, hates her desperate late night phone calls, fantasizes about her, and then issues an ultimatum. And that's just one verse. He's all over the place, yet the beats are steady and sparse. The chorus hook "Hey, Hey, Hey" is subtle. The gospel choir hushed. This is new territory for the normally bombastic West.
"Love Lockdown" is the other album highlight. It deals with conflicting emotions, too, this time of freedom and guilt. The narrator leaves a relationship yet is haunted. The production perfectly represents the feeling of running away. Heart thumping bass gives away to an urgent piano line, which bursts into a galloping drum beat. It's a visceral, exhilarating piece of music.
Throughout the record auto-tune strips all character from West's vocals. Perhaps it was done to enhance the deadness he felt after the split. Thematically, it works. (Who cares if T-Pain uses auto-tune to hide his backing singer origins?) West sounds like a sad robot. And, as everyone knows, sad robots rock.
West finally points the finger of blame at himself, albeit defiantly, on "Amazing". It goes, "I'm a monster/I know I'm wrong, yeah/I'm a problem that'll never ever be solved". Unfortunately the introspection is scuppered by a dumb pride in his own dysfunction and an insulating arrogance resulting from success, "You'll never take that from me/My reign is as far as your eyes can see".
That reign could be about to end. The pop leanings of this LP could lead the hip-hop community to drop him like he's hot.
Still, West has made the album he wanted to make. He's changed up his lyrical, singing, and production style. He's refused to play it safe. It's a brave, admirable move.
One he just might regret when the sales figures are tallied.
Not that it will stop him, of course. Plans are already afoot for a fifth album. Kanye is moving on. Just like I had to. Just like we all have to.
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Out Nov 25th
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Comments (23)
The excellent vid for Love Lockdown:
I don't want all the heartbreak music from a rapper!
I want and get all that from bands like Glasvegas. Plus, the robot thingy in the voice makes me unable to take anything he says seriously (oddly enough, I sometimes get the same feeling with Glasvegas' singer and his attachment to his wayfarers, but I can turn on the album and forget about it..).
"Yes, one song is about the tragic death of his mother" Daddy's Mommy's Gone?!
"West finally points the finger of blame at himself, albeit defiantly, on "Amazing". It goes, "I'm a monster/I know I'm wrong, yeah/I'm a problem that'll never ever be solved" so basically, "it's my own cheating heart that makes me cry"...who knew that Glasvegas and West had things in common!
Marvelous review as always, Fluxy. If I have to write a hate letter to an ex-lover, can I pay you to do it? Unleash the Machiavelli in you :)
Cheers, Anna. I'll do it for free. I have one about a guy with a big nose ready to go.
"Yes, one song is about the tragic death of his mother" Daddy's Mommy's Gone?!"
What a bastard, eh?! Copying Glasvegas like that!
I say we make them trade. West will take the Rayban wayfarers, and the Glasvegas guy the robot voice thingy, it will be an interesting experiment...
I can't say that I give two rips what Kanye West does on record, but this review was highly entertaining nonetheless.
Damn, Kanye's now lost the Dale community. :(
Thanks for reading, much appreciated!
He can't lose what he never had. ;)
I promise you, I mean nothing by this. It just came to mind ... :)
::giggling::
Excellent post Flux.
Kanye’s inflated ego is so over the top I can’t help but wonder if all just an act or he’s over compensating his actual lack of confidence.
Highly entertaining post guys!!! But I cant bring myself to listen... He supported U2 when they trekked out here but he was so bland that I took myself off to the bar and consumed several large glasses of whatever it was until he finished....
@ Erin - ::crying::
@ Dale - ::stop giggling!::
@ DC - Thanks very much. Yeah, it's a good point - his voice is his weakest link and he has found a way to mask it. I want to be generous though and think that it fits into the album concept and the musical style overall, that being 80s synth pop. Not too pushed about the arrogance, especially when as you say it's so over the top. Hard to think of a star who doesn't have a high opinion of themselves, suppose you need it with all the flak you take! But there is a couple of a moments when it drips into the lyrics and it adds nothing.
@ Zen Raven - Thanks! Blander than U2? Wow, that's some going - guy deserves a medal!
^"Blander than U2?" haha, Flux.
Love your review and big-nose letter.
I just listened to the full album all morning via Kanye's blog. It only makes a wee bit more sense to me hearing it as an album, rather than in various clips scattered across our dear ol' internets. The album has a few good moments but I'm too Kanye-d out to care at this point.
Tears of laughter I can only hope ... I was just being a goof, fluxy — with a big nose. :O) I failed to mention before, kudos on yet another great read!
love your assessment: alleged bad habits are less hurtful than obvious physical exaggerations. that goes down in the manual.
I like the tribes in the vid, and I just fixed a sink faucet like that one yesterday....if you ever need pointers...
I was once angered when the lead singer of our band made advances on the girl I had my sights on. this guy was 26 to my 17 and i never had a chance but it pissed me anyway 'cause his cock em and drop em attitude had no leash. I waited for him at the guitarist's girlfriend's house for hours (I knew he'd show eventually), until I saw his van pull into the drive. One of the few times i had decided on violence, i stormed non-stop out of the house and yanked open the driver's door. There sat Jack, with his freshly broken arm all slung up. crap, i wanted to do that!
I don't mind auto-tune as flavor, but this is about undiscussible.
The Tronicle PowerTune from Synthax will autotune your guitar with a twist and a flick.
didn't Cher already cover this song? :)
@ B - Aw, you were my last hope of finding a Kanye-lover. ;) Not to worry, I understand the weariness with him due to net overexposure. I didn't listen to anything until I heard the album this week so I'm not done with him yet. In fact at a conservative estimate I must have listened to Love Lockdown about 30 times these past few days.
@ Erin - They were laughing-and-crying-at-the-same-time kinda tears. Nah, yours was a delightful intervention as always. More I say! And I'm sure you have a beautifully proportioned nose. Otherwise your smiley would have to be :=====>O)
@ Scott - "love your assessment: alleged bad habits are less hurtful than obvious physical exaggerations. that goes down in the manual." Nobody can say I don't provide some ageless wisdom amongst the drivel and nonsense.
Yeah, the tribal drumming is great in that vid, wasn't expecting that at all. The sink was to be expected of course.
Great story! Good to see that you started out early on the path of jealousy and violence. Some people start later in life and never quite perfect it.
Kanye, you can sing like Cher, but please God don't start dressing like her.
Great track on that video. I'll settle for that. Love the album cover too; that's funny.
Hurrah! One person admits to liking one track at least! Thanks, Jonh. Yeah, the cover art is great. So simple, yet I haven't seen it done on an LP before.
I liked Love Lockdown so much I've bought the album! See the power you have as a reviewer?!? I wish I could do that. Kanye has always been pretty left field compared to most of the pack, but this is good in the background as I work away on stuff. Robocop is pretty good too.
That's great to hear! I've had Love Lockdown on repeat all week myself. Kanye genuinely surprises me sometimes. Standing up against homophobia in hip-hop, those sweaters, and now this new style. Hope this album works out for him saleswise.
I agree. I was a bit depressed by the number of people who were more or less taking a position against an artist doing what the hell he/she wants to. "More Kanye!" is my position - I like my artists to be completely bonkers, especially when they show such good taste in sweaters!
Indeed.