As the group that helped create the term "emo rap" and give Minnesota and Midwestern rap a place on the map, Atmosphere clearly feel a relative amount of freedom to express themselves however necessary on When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold, their fifth studio full-length. As he has on the duo's past albums, MC Slug plays the role of the storyteller, describing the lives of his various characters, all down on their luck (drug addicts, single mothers, homeless men) and struggling to just make it from day to day. The vitriol and anger that were found in Slug's earlier rhymes, however, has left -- along with much of Ant's heavier production -- and are replaced by lyrics that, though equally reflective, take a more resigned view of the world. These are people trying to cope with what they have and who they are, people who have accepted the facts that make their lives reality, who are no longer demanding something different. "They fight about money, they fight about life/So she concentrates so so hard on the music/And loses herself inside the bass and the movement" he rhymes in "In Her Music Box," describing a little girl, and in "Yesterday" he admits that "Leavin' me was probably the best thing you ever taught me." Slug has never been one to gloss over the ugly details, and when his characters are broken (and they all are, to varying degrees), he makes sure to let everyone know. "Your Glasshouse," which features TV on the Radio's Tunde Adebimpe on background vocals, tells of a woman for whom it "ain't the first time throwin' up in a strange toilet," and who then returned to the unknown bed "and fell back asleep," while "The Skinny" has the lines "Your lips taste like his dick/I can always tell when he's been in your whip," his pronunciation of that final syllable particularly exaggerated. The self-loathing and depression from Atmosphere's other albums are both still here, but they're less intense and immediate, reflected in Ant's concentration on live guitars and keyboards, a wholly more organic presentation. This is an understandably more mature group, but fans who've connected to the palpable anger found in the duo's music, if they haven't matured at the same rate or in the same way, may find Lemons to be lacking in the very thing that drew them to Atmosphere in the first place.
On their sixth studio album, Atmosphere have squeezed out some fresh, new elements to their sound, without straying from the well-delivered, intimate storytelling which fans have come to expect from Slug. Meanwhile, DJ/producer Ant has concocted a different sound, the most obvious addition being his synth-heavy beats, followed by jazzier touches of piano, horns, bare guitar riffs, and featured ...
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On their sixth studio album, Atmosphere have squeezed out some fresh, new elements to their sound, without straying from the well-delivered, intimate storytelling which fans have come to expect from Slug. Meanwhile, DJ/producer Ant has concocted a different sound, the most obvious addition being his synth-heavy beats, followed by jazzier touches of piano, horns, bare guitar riffs, and featured ...
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Indie Minneapolis-based hip-hop duo Atmosphere will release their sixth studio album When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold on April 22nd, 2008. This is the follow-up to the pair's 2005 album You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having, which lead them - producer Ant and MC Slug - to huge festivals and time on the Billboard Indie Chart. The band more recently released volumes 9, 1...
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Embarking on the final leg of their tours in support of their sixth(!) studio record When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold, Atmosphere will find themselves on the stages of clubs, halls and a few festivals, including...
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--- - |- a. RED is making a DSLR, watch out for this THING . b. Check out these pictures from LONDON from the sky, pretty great. c. NEW MUSIC: Pretty Whores of Manhattan, check em if you like.. Hot Snakes, a more rock-y early Vandals. THEIR MYSPACE HERE > d. Google has a new browser HERE > Check it. e. Been waiting on my Blackberry upgrade, here it COMES . f. so tell me longtime ...
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--- - |- Atmosphere, made up of frontman Slug and DJ Ant, will hit the road September 10 in support of their newest LP, When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold. Joining the group on the "Paint The Nation" tour are special guests Abstract Rude, Blueprint, and DJ Rare Groove. The tour will probably hit a city near you — just be sure to stay tuned for the second leg of tourdates. 09..
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Stumbled upon this on YouTube, looks like Slug and the crew held it down at one of America's largest music festivals.
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ATMOSPHERE: WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS - YOU PAINT THAT SHIT GOLD Ok we're talking Atmosphere. By the time any musician has been around this long we pretty much know what to expect. We're either into the artist or not. I doubt the Rolling Stones would have picked up too many new fans with their 2005 disc. [...]
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Wow, so many albums released this year and so little time! That's why we need YOU, TMT reader, to help us choose THE BEST albums of the year. Once you vote, we'll tabulate them all and then reveal the list December 15. Ready to do this? Great! Without any explanation, here are the albums you can choose from (in alphabetical order): Favorite Albums of 2008 (Please rate on a scale 1-5): Atmosph...
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Like The Rest Of Us |
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| 2 Puppets |
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| 3 The Skinny |
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| 4 Dreamer |
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| 5 Shoulda Known |
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| 6 You |
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| 7 Painting |
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| 8 Your Glass House |
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| 9 Yesterday |
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| 10 Guarantees |
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| 11 Me |
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| 12 Wild Wild Horses |
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| 13 Can't Break |
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| 14 The Waitress |
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| 15 In Her Music Box |
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© 2006-2009 Mog Inc. All Rights Reserved
 "When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold")
