So Apalled

The past year or so, at least in the pop world, has been all about feeling good. Whether by fantastical theatrics, brain-dead escapism, manufactured nostalgia, or direct salutes to vapid hedonism, this has been a good time for the “me me me” mentality. Not totally surprising. We are in a recession, plus the internet has encouraged listeners to be less faithful patrons. So they want the quick fix, the easy escape.

But insularity due to internet and otherwise can also be the focus of an artist’s work. Interestingly, two albums of 2010 that took similar approaches and dealt with similar themes—willfully difficult, confessional albums that grapple with one’s success and image—were received by the music press quite differently: one was instantly panned or ignored, while the other was almost unanimously praised without qualification.

When M.I.A. released Kala in 2007, she was a critic’s darling, and not for nothing. The album took risks with its junk-chic appropriation of disparate styles, but its dance-floor accessibility hinted at the possibility that its follow-up album would send M.I.A. into the mainstream spotlight. Then, in 2008, Slumdog Millionaire introduced the mainstream to “Paper Planes,” and so a breakthrough follow-up seemed inevitable to many.

But then, once famous, the artist’s trademark taste for the provocative was shaped by the press as bratty and hypocritical. Lynn Hirschberg’s now infamous hit piece on M.I.A. seemed to seal the artist’s doom, even after it was revealed that Hirschberg herself was being a bit bratty, and was not being completely honest about the details of the article.

Weeks later, M.I.A.’s paranoid and defiant third album, MAYA, was released, and critics were no longer charmed by the Sri Lankan provocateur’s willful ways. Like Hirschberg, they characterized her as petulant and ungrateful. I’ll admit that M.I.A. does sometimes come off as a prima donna, but she’s hardly the only musician guilty of that charge, and yet she seemed to get shit for every little thing she did or said.

Contrast that with Kanye West. This man can do or say almost anything, and though he gets some initial criticism, all of the shit he pulls seems to work in his favor.

I am still almost utterly confused as to why Kanye West is worshipped by the music press, especially since his praise seems to increase with every album. His early stuff had a clunky charm to it, so I can see the appeal, but as his ambitions increase, his limitations as a performer become more and more apparent, so I’m baffled as to why no one seems to care.

On his new album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, the everyman appeal of his early albums is completely gone, and the egomaniacal superstar is in full effect. This is his own willfully difficult album that seeks to explore the less savory aspects of his psyche, a reaction to his latest peak in popularity and infamy. And, surprise surprise, everyone LOVES this album!

Now, I'm not surprised that Kanye has a bigger fanbase than M.I.A., or that his new album is selling a hell of a lot more than hers. After all, Kanye wants everyone's adulation, and practically expects it with this new album. M.I.A.'s new album was clearly designed as a reaction against her fame, and so it shouldn't surprise that it doesn't have mass appeal. Plus, the opinion of the larger public depends more than anything on promotion and exposure, something Kanye's got in spades, while M.I.A. only got a spotlight from Paper Planes due to its inclusion on the soundtrack to a popular film.

I'm not talking about popularity. What I don't get is the reaction from people who should know better: The music press. I’ve listened to MAYA and Dark Fantasy quite a bit, and I am just totally incredulous as to why M.I.A. got bashed and Kanye got blown, both nearly unanimously, by music critics.

MAYA isn’t as brilliant or exciting as Kala, but it’s great for what it is: a lo-fi mood piece for the underground clubs. Dark Fantasy is far from anything that should be considered for Album of the Year; it’s got some good moments, but largely showcases Kanye’s lack of true pop star chops. A review from AllMusic argued that even the less savory aspects of Dark Fantasy made it fascinating. A comment like that is perfectly valid, since at least it openly acknowledges the album's flaws, and its polarizing appeal. To me, anyone who says it's perfect or majestic or important just sounds like they are ignorant of a lot of other music, both past and present, and simply lack a proper context for this music.

This entry was written to set the record straight.

For those who are interested, here’s a track by track rundown of both albums:

1. Kanye – Dark Fantasy: From the first few seconds (after Nikki Minaj’s poor attempt at a British accent, that is), you already know that Kanye is going for BIG on this album, but the yearning gospel choir wailing throughout makes the track sound more like an embarrassing throwaway demo from the Soft Bulletin sessions than anything actually moving or gripping. Like the album itself, the song wants to be important, but doesn’t try too hard to reach this goal. Cringe-worthy Moment: “Too Many Urkles on Your Team, that’s Why You’re Winslow”

M.I.A. – The Message: Not really a song, but a decent intro track. It doesn’t overstay its welcome, and sets the tone of technoparanoia that permeates the rest of the album.

2. Kanye – Gorgeous: The wank-fest continues, this time with some electric blues guitar noodling through the whole track. Raekwon has a good verse, and Kanye pops out a clever line (“What’s a Black Beatle anyway? A Fuckin Roach!”), but the raps are buried in that repetitive guitar sample, which plods through with no force or rhythmic pull, making this a stagnant second track.

M.I.A. – Steppin’ Up: The first proper song starts things off with the shrieks of power drills, and the beat builds from there. M.I.A.’s vocals are icy and ominous, and the use of autotune accentuates the robotic detachment of her delivery. The lyrics are silly compared to her verses in Kala, but still, this is a totally bad-ass way to get the album started.

3. Kanye- Power: The main sample here is pretty cool, and adds an energy that is absent from the preceding tracks. Things get less impressive when the song veers into arena rock territory, with King Crimson’s “21st Century Schizoid Man” providing a clunky refrain. A decent party track overall, but certainly not brilliant.

M.I.A. – XXXO: As a single, this was underwhelming, but as a smooth chaser to the caustic Steppin Up, it works nicely. The rapid switch from aggressive cacophony to melodic pop accurately sums up the schizophrenic mood of “MAYA,” and also teases listeners who wanted M.I.A. to assimilate into the pop pantheon. Not for nothing is the refrain of the song “You want me to be somebody who I’m really not.”

4. Kanye – All of the Lights (Intro): A fine instrumental prelude to the next song.

M.I.A. – Teqkilla: Here’s a proper club anthem, in the vein of “10” and “Bamboo Banga,” but it revives the abrasive edge of Steppin Up, with M.I.A.’s vocals buried under booming claps and braying analogue synths. Although not immediately obvious, the lyrics here reveal a much more intimate side of the artist; the fierce woman who famously aimed to speak for dispossessed people around the world now trapped in a haze of hedonistic inebriation. Seen in this light, and taken in context with the rest of the album, the overpowering sugar rush of the beats and synths take on an oppressive, claustrophobic quality, adding a layer of irony that is almost certainly intentional, but no less tragic for that.

5. Kanye – All Of the Lights: Finally, something to be excited about! This is a killer tune, and I’ve been playing it a lot. It’s not unqualified genius here—tellingly, Kanye still gives a delivery that is eaten up by his own production, this time resembling a strange fusion of Lil’ Wayne and Eminem—and so the track doesn’t stand up to his earlier successes like “Jesus Walks.” Still, the gestalt really works despite some lackluster components. This is what the rest of the album should sound like: grand, sweeping, larger-than-life stuff that is moving and yet makes bodies move.

M.I.A. – Lovalot: Another dramatic switch in sound from the previous number, yet Lovalot’s quiet ambience is no relaxing escape; it uses space to create tension, sounding akin to the early works of Suicide (an obvious influence on this album). Describing the brutal determination of the wife of a freedom fighter, the song also serves as a statement of purpose for M.I.A. herself. And nowhere is the album’s uncanny mix of confessional tenderness and defensive ferocity more deftly blended than here.

6. Kanye – Monster: This is another attempt at a banger, and it works reasonably well, despite being long and fairly monotonous. Yet again, though, Kanye as an MC is upstaged, this time by guests Jay-Z and Nikki Minaj. He does make an effort to stand out, with exaggerated phrasings of his verse and some ear-grabbingly inscrutable lines (“Ever had sex with a Pharoah? I put the pussy in a sarcophagus!”), but he just doesn’t have a gift for vocal command. I don’t worship Jay-Z, and think Minaj’s verse here to be all affectation/no feeling, but both guests clearly dominate the track. This one’s not bad, but the whole approach, along with some other tracks on the album, sounds like a lesser version of what the Roots did on their last three LPs.

M.I.A.-Story To Be Told: A relatively minor song, which isn’t the strongest on its own, but fits rather well within the album. Its murky mixing and repetitive mantra make for a thoroughly hypnotic mood piece, albeit one that keeps the heads nodding and sounds great at high volumes.

7. Kanye-So Appalled: Taken on its own, So Appalled is enjoyable, especially in that rap tracks rarely bask in noisy melancholy as much as this one does. Listening to the album as a whole, though, this is where the momentum starts to putter out. Plus, the backing track may be unique for mainstream rap (see Dalek for a purer version), but it’s not unique in and of itself; it actually recalls late 90’s electronica (think movies like the Matrix), which is hardly earth-shattering.

M.I.A.—It Takes a Muscle: A cover of the obscure 1981 tune by Dutch synth pop group Spectral Display. M.I.A.’s version has more feel-good vibes than the haunting and glacial original, but there’s a weariness in her delivery that may or may not be related to the topic of the song, but is nonetheless quite affecting.

8. Kanye—Devil In a New Dress: This starts out nicely enough, with a RZA homage of cooing R&B vocals lending a sensuous and mysterious air to the proceedings, but it just doesn’t go anywhere. Kanye has no problem turning various found sounds into interesting hooks; but he really seems to falter when it comes to shaping the hooks into something more substantial. Like so much of the album, this is a decent idea that is stretched into nearly six minutes of nothing, save for his puzzling/charming nasal chant of “Satan, Satan, Satan.” I’m officially bored here.

M.I.A.—It Iz What It Iz: My description of Story to Be Told pretty much fits here as well, except the sound isn’t as murky or spooky, and also not as interesting. Still, it keeps a decent groove, and works fine within the album.

9. Kanye—Runaway: A spare, dramatic solo piano intro erupts into a seemingly earnest “Toast for the Douchebags/A Toasts for the Assholes,” an anthem of blatant, cliché-ridden crudity that would make R. Kelly proud. Then, once the song proper fizzles out, we get four whole minutes of…autotune solo! Pointless note wanking that exists only to establish some rock-centered notion of artistic credibility and ambition, and to take the run time to nine minutes. What a joke of a song. Kudos for lifting my boredom, I guess, but irritation isn’t the cure I was hoping for.

M.I.A.—Born Free: This relies heavily on Suicide’s “Ghostrider,” but it turns that spooky churner into a full-on rocker. This is a perfect example of how purely electronic sample-based music can be as exciting and dangerous as punk was. Gritty, snarling, sardonic, and unapologetically lo-fi, Born Free is one more gleeful middle-finger to the crowd that just wanted another “Paper Planes.”

10. Kanye—Hell Of a Life: The dirty analogue bass riff here is a nice start (furthering the later-period Roots connection) but the Black Sabbath interpolation is both too obvious a sample and too wayward a mutation of it. If you want a huge rock sound, Iron Man is the song to take from, but this doesn’t go for caveman thomping metal riffs; it goes, once again, into noodling territory, so the Sabbath reference just reinforces Kanye’s desire to be a 70’s arena rock dinosaur. Hell of a Life Dream. For a genius, that is.

M.I.A.—Meds & Feds: Taking the snarl of Born Free up a couple of notches, Meds & Feds borrows a fragment of the guitar from Sleigh Bells’ “Treats” for its amped-up mayhem. Where the original song was a blissed-out amplification of Sabbath-grade monster riffs, this a club stomper that’s as psychedelic as it is vicious.

11. Kanye—Blame Game: With Kanye’s touch, even John Legend’s velvety voice can be made hard to listen to. More R.Kelly-esque fusions of earnest R&B sound and cheap smutty “honesty.” Then, instead of another aimless solo, we get three minutes of Chris Rock bantering away at how great Kanye made some girl’s pussy. That probably sounds more interesting than it actually is, though; the real thing is almost impossible to get through without advancing to the next track.

M.I.A.—Tell Me Why: This doesn’t work too well for me. It sounds like it could have been a stomping pop anthem, but was released before it was completed. Most of the songs on MAYA benefit from a murky, moody production style, but this just sounds confused.

12. Kanye-Lost in the World: This owes a lot to the Bon Iver song it samples, but it’s a good track, and thankfully resurrects my interest in the album. This and the proper outro are an effective way to end the album.

M.I.A.—Space: To me, this is an improved version of Tell me Why. They share similar melodies and tempos, but this is much better realized. Sweet, psychedelic, and…spacy. In a way, it also makes Tell Me Why more relevant, since these two similar tracks make for a nice closing medley. Intentional? Probably not, but it solidifies the sonic consistency of the album, and bows out gracefully.

13. Kanye – Who Will Survive in America: A fine outro that makes extensive use of Gil Scott-Heron’s poetry. Perhaps not so wise to showcase someone whose work is so obviously superior to everything on this album that precedes this homage, but hey, it sounds nice.

.....

To reiterate: I'm not faulting Kanye for making this album, or anyone for liking it. I'm also not faulting anyone for disliking any M.I.A. Taste is subjective, and everyone's entitled to an opinion. What is troublesome to me is that people frame Kanye as what I call a musical Shaman: a figure who can do things that normal people cannot do (or at least have never done before). And this just isn't true. Kanye has some gifts as a producer, but his sound is largely derivative of other more innovative producers (most notably RZA), and there are others who make far more impressive music, both performed (the Roots) and sampled (Big Boi/Outkast). It's as if there's a tendency to rely upon the more traditional requirement of worshiping a musical genius (like a Beethoven, a Miles Davis, or a Jimi Hendrix), while having no real criteria for their talent except for the fact that they are popular. Without the magical ether of press hype and internet gossip to frame Kanye as this generation’s troubled genius, he’s only a mediocre producer and performer. It's fine to like music from someone who's just okay, but do we have to act as if they are some sort of God?

And why this difference between MAYA and Dark Fantasy? Maybe it's an issue of contrast from past albums: people were excited by the diplo-matic promise of Kala, and so were disappointed when MAYA was so damn negative. As for Kanye, people were puzzled and divided by his synth pop/autotune/emo experiment "808s & Heartbreak," and so were positively joyous to get a good ol' fashioned hip hop release with Dark Fantasy. But even Kanye's polarizing Metal Machine Music-album got better reviews than MAYA! "808s" has a 75 on Metacritic, while MAYA has a 68.

And sure, MAYA may have been intended to shed fans simply wanting another Paper Planes, but that doesn't justify the critics belittling her efforts as whiny or cheap. Why are Kanye's whining and cheap quips written off as "fascinating?" Is it Sexism? Ethnic or political xenophobia? Simply the fact that some writers have a critical narrative they had already invested in Kanye (particularly his Importance), and perhaps can afford to be more fickle with their treatment of M.I.A.? There may be a bit of all involved. But I'm still largely at a loss to explain these two divergent critical reactions.

All I know is that I gave both albums a chance. With MAYA, my perseverance paid off, and I was pleasantly surprised. With MBDTF, I mostly got bored and frustrated.

Here's hoping next year will see more integrity in our music press.