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Randy

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500,000 people have supposedly already illegally downloaded The Life of Pablo because TIDAL sucks. And if there's not going to be a physical release, I'll be pissed. I snagged a vinyl version of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and the thing is gorgeous.

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DVR'd the Grammys, and skimmed through. Some good(Kendrick Lamar, Eagles, that Hamilton thing), but LOTS of bad(Adele, that Alice Cooper/Johnny Depp mess, Gaga). Oh, and Taylor Swift really needs to give up the fake, wide-eyed humble act. It's laughable. 

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500,000 people have supposedly already illegally downloaded The Life of Pablo because TIDAL sucks. And if there's not going to be a physical release, I'll be pissed. I snagged a vinyl version of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and the thing is gorgeous.

I was gonna try TIDAL - I hop around trying different services trials, right now I'm on Apple Music which BTW was super fun to set up on Android - but the thing a couple weeks ago where they reactivated people's cancelled accounts, fixed it, and then gave them three free months... With an opt-out rollover into a paid account... Yeah no fuck them.

But I'm listening to it on my phone right now, so....

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I can't get iTunes or anything on my Chromebook, so I have a Spotify subscription. And TLOP isn't on there, unfortunately. Which doesn't even matter really, since the version on TIDAL isn't even the 100% completed album according to Kanye. Nonetheless, I got a physical copy last night and enjoyed it on my way to a job interview this morning... ;)

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I'm went with the free Tidal month and we will see how it goes.  If he really does have 40 songs with Kendrick I might keep the damn thing. 

 

This album, man.  I can hear the sound from all of his other albums at various points, and even though people have tried to copy these sounds for the last 15 years, there is still no one else who could create this.

 

Ultralight Beam is perhaps the most beautiful thing he has ever made.

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It's probably going to be great.  It also might never be released!  Damn you, Kanye!

 

These last few days have been peak Twitter, though.  His little mini-rants during studio breaks, the release of those text messages about inviting awesome wrestlers, etc etc.  My favorite bit was the rule list that his models had to follow for the MSG show.

He's the perfect rock star for our time.  

 

 

 

I was thinking that the other day. Like, Axl Rose used to cancel shows and set off riots in cities across the country. And when he did show up two hours late, he would literally JUMP INTO THE CROWD AND FIGHT PEOPLE. But everyone is so worked up now over Kanye tweeting random shit? I don't think America today can even handle a real "rock star" of that caliber.

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He created a near decade long riot at Bonnaroo, when he delayed his set by SEVERAL hours and made people wait until almost 5am. That happened in 2008, and it's now 2016 and people are still pissed at the guy and yell FUCK KANYE randomly in line for shows and spray paint it every year. He's a rockstar, but he's a different kind of rockstar. He's a rockstar for a new generation. People went to his show in 2014 at Bonnaroo just to heckle the guy, and that shit doesn't happen there.

 

I'm going to skip those 40 songs with Kendrick Lamar, because I hate K-Dot. Literally the only time I fast-forwarded on this album was No More Parties in LA during Kendrick's part.

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Bonnaroo related Kanye slander is the only Kanye slander I'm OK with.  I was there in '08!  I was also there for his glorious return in '14.  Looking for Kanye hate graffiti is one of my favorite little Roo moments every year.

 

I honestly had a blast waiting for that show in '08.  In part because of this girl I was with and the drugs I was on, but also because of the absolute chaos unfolding around me.  People remember the fans throwing stuff and breaking his screen, Kanye walking off, the sun coming up and ruining his light show, etc etc.. but.... that 5AM to 6AM chunk of his set right before the sun came up?  It was amazing.

 

Hating Kendrick is weird to me, but to each his own.  Speaking of 'Roo, I missed last year, but I did get in the pit for Kendrick's '13 main stage show and it was one of the wilder concert experiences of my life.  The moment the beat dropped on m.A.A.d city was maybe the wildest a Bonnaroo pit has ever been.

 

This video doesn't really do it justice, as you can't really make out what is going on the first 10 rows or so, but it sort of gives you the scope of things:

 

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I just think Kendrick is overrated and I don't really see the appeal. And I hate his voice, so that doesn't help me enjoy his music either.

 

2008 was the only year I've missed since I started going in 2007, so I wasn't there for the Kanye Incident. But the 2014 set was fuckin' lit. Apparently if you were towards the back, it didn't sound good or whatever. But I was right near the VIP entrance, on the guardrail to the left of the stage. I lost my mind when he did Runaway, oh my god. That's my favorite set out of 8 years of performances, even more than seeing Paul McCartney. It was just amazing, and an artist I never thought I'd get to see honestly. LOVED his rants, too, hahahaha.

 

WHERE DA PRESS AT?!

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We have a big group meet spot where we walk in the open space directly behind the main light/sound rig and then pop over one direction or the other to get a view.  It sounded great from there.  His Bruno Mars/Superbowl rant was the best.

 

'08 was my first year and I've only missed '10 and '15 since.  '08 was probably my favorite year still as I was front row for the legendary Raconteurs set.  Chris Rock followed them on the main stage, which was awesome and maybe the last time a comedian has been on the main stage?  The 3 1/2 hour Pearl Jam set that contributed to the Kanye controversy was also pretty epic.

 

'14 was a close runner up.  Going from Kanye directly to the greatest Super Jam I've seen in all my Bonnaroo years was a hell of a 1-2 punch.  Jack White went WAY long on his headliner set, too. He played some super deep White Stripes cuts that he hadn't performed in years.  As a Jack White fanboy that was something else.  

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"I'm comin' after Walt Disney, I'm comin' after Howard Hughes, I'm comin' after Elon Musk... well, Elon still alive but he's my boy."

 

I think most people in the back were just bitching because Kanye had them turn off the screens on the side of the stage so you couldn't see shit unless you were close. I'm now rewatching his set on YouTube.

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I honestly think Chance's verse on Ultralight Beams is in my top 10 rap verses ever.

Chance needs to figure out song writing, because he has all the potential in the world.  Acid Rap was full of songs that were about 75-80% good, but there is not a single undeniable song.  If he can make that one song that connects completely, he could be a huge star.  I'm rooting for him, he has a really unique style that really appeals to me. 

 

I don't know how much I like The Life of Pablo, but the good shit on that album is outstanding.  I think the problem with Kanye is that he cares so much about his music, but he doesn't really understand what makes him a great artist.  All of his best work is his more introspective, personal music, but he seems to believe we want the more of the superficial nonsense.  I like some of those songs, but I don't see myself listening to Freestyle 4 next month let alone next year.  My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is still his best album, because I believe he means everything he says on that album.  I don't think he means anything on this album, it sounds really good, but it doesn't really have a feel to it.

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My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is still his best album, because I believe he means everything he says on that album.  I don't think he means anything on this album, it sounds really good, but it doesn't really have a feel to it

 

MBDTF might be his best album, but I would disagree with this.  On FML, for example, it feels like he is pulling the curtain down in a way that he normally avoids.  It's in the middle of a 5 song stretch on TLOP that I would consider some of his most introspective work.

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My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is still his best album, because I believe he means everything he says on that album.  I don't think he means anything on this album, it sounds really good, but it doesn't really have a feel to it

 

MBDTF might be his best album, but I would disagree with this.  I find Kanye most interesting when his truth is buried deep in the hubris.  It's there on this album in little short bursts.  Nothing as sustained as, let's say, his verses on New Slaves, but it's there.  

 

See, I'd argue that New Slaves is the worst of his "introspective" songs.  He is just spouting off false equivalencies.  He might as well be yelling, "why are the black olives in cans, when the green olives are in jars?"  That is just a loudmouth spouting off bullshit.  Songs like Runaway, where he talks about knowing he's 100% at fault for the failure of his relationship, but would be devastated if his lover left, are honest and actually introspective. 

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I actually edited that part out because it muddled up my point ha.  Damn, you're quick.  

 

I took it out because I feel like New Slaves is in a different category than the stuff I was talking about on the new album.  I will say his 2nd New Slaves verse might be the greatest political Kanye verse.  It's truth, obscenity and defiance all rolled up into one messy ball.

 

Edit: When it comes to the Runaway type introspective stuff I would go back to that stretch of TLOP I mentioned earlier as a comparison.  I Love Kanye through Wolves.

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I actually edited that part out because it muddled up my point ha.  Damn, you're quick.  

 

I took it out because I feel like New Slaves is in a different category than the stuff I was talking about on the new album.  I will say his 2nd New Slaves verse might be the greatest political Kanye verse.  It's truth, obscenity and defiance all rolled up into one messy ball.

 

Edit: When it comes to the Runaway type introspective stuff I would go back to that stretch of TLOP I mentioned earlier as a comparison.  I Love Kanye through Wolves.

That is kind of my issue with TLOP.  Everything between Ultralight Beam and I Love Kanye is about as shallow as a West Virginian's gene pool.  I like a lot of those songs, but I don't know how clever I'm going to find getting bleach from a model's asshole on his t-shirt in three weeks.  I am not one of those, "rap about something" dudes.  I don't really care what people rap about as long as it's good, but I do find that shock rap has limited legs.  I used to love Eminem, but I can't remember the last time I played any of those Eminem albums.  There are a couple songs I may go back to, but why would I ever need to listen to "Kill You," or "Criminal?"  Those songs just plain don't have anything to go back to after the shock value wears off.  Kanye has some great songs, some of them are on TLOP, but at this point in his career I don't think it is too much to ask for timeless.  I don't know how many of these songs are timeless.

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