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Got some iTunes giftcards for Christmas so I figured I’d look into buying digital music, instead of just buying the cd. Not too happy with my findings. As anyone who’s been buying music off the internet probably already knows, this isn’t a rare occurrence.
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Got some iTunes giftcards for Christmas so I figured I’d look into buying digital music, instead of just buying the cd. Not too happy with my findings. As anyone who’s been buying music off the internet probably already knows, this isn’t a rare occurrence.

Too much to say about Kanye West’s 808s and Heartbreak

Kanye had pretty much fallen off of my radar recently. I loved Late Registration and College Dropout, but when I heard the outright theft of Daft Punk’s Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger, I decided to completely ignore Graduation. Honestly I ignored it so much I had to look up the name of the album so I could sound like I know what I’m talking about.

That said, I’d heard a lot about the new album, 808s and Heartbreak, and figured I’d eventually check it out. I hadn’t heard anything from it other than people’s very polarized opinions about the album until I saw his abysmal performances on SNL. More on that later.

A friend assured me that the album was better than what I had seen on TV, so I got ahold of it to try it out. 

My first impression was complete disappointment. I listened and heard nothing but auto tuners and totally flat and uninteresting beats. Honestly it was a struggle to listen to any of it, but I wouldn’t let myself pass judgement on just five tracks that I felt might as well have been dead air.

And then something wonderful happened – after Love Lockdown (which, believe it or not, was better on SNL because it actually had energy) the album actually started. Hearing Paranoid made me feel like I’d finally escaped a 25 minute prelude and come across an actual pop song on an honest-to-God pop record. The beats became more complex and songs actually had body and substance. I can’t say I care much for the vocals (I don’t care about you trying to grow up K), but at least he’s trying to make an effort. On that subject, I can appreciate and respect that Kanye realized that he’s not a rapper, or a singer, but the auto tuner gets to be a bit much after a while. It’s even more grating once the album starts to slow down again.

In the end, after a few pretty good listens, I gotta say it’s very hit or miss. I can see how some people will like it, and some will hate it, but I think I’ll just uncheck the songs I can’t get into so iTunes will never ever play them. Gotta say that I really like the parts I like, but there aren’t many of those.

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