the slowest bump
so here’s the news:
+++ Popular music producer Timbaland’s new album, Shock Value, is a really good project. In fact, it’s a beautifully composed album including a probably carefully selected hodgepodge of artists from many different mainstream mediums (“Something for everyone”, eh?), and the production is nothing short of brilliant. The two things that surprised me were his usage and manipulation of Nina Simone’s “Sinnerman” in his opening “Oh Timbaland” and a very understated, but effective, remix of One Republic’s emotional “Apologize.” I don’t think that the track should have been labeled “featuring One Republic”, though, when the song had been released at least a year and half now. As for sampling Simone, the action is both tributary and trivializing. One must wonder if Timbaland intends to recycle in order to puff up his credentials or just because the hook is one of the most amazing in Twentieth Century American music.
While I did admire the aspects of the album that I previously listed, overall, I wasn’t particularly impressed with the music itself. Hubris-filled music doesn’t appeal to me, which is probably why I’ve never been particularly taken with hip-hop. The lyrics on the album are moreoften unattractive and uncreative than not. Some beats and transitions are loose and weak. But then, I have weird standards. So don’t even bother listening to me on that particular line of thinking.
Due to this, and because the version I listened to is the rather illegal leaked version, I’m deleting the album and am quite sure I won’t miss it. But I do recommend that people give it a listen anyway. The work is worth hearing. And I don’t doubt that it’s going to garner rave reviews when it is officially released.
- Shock Value tracks that stuck with me (which means they’re the ones no one will care about hah):
- “Oh Timbaland” – posthumously ft. Nina Simone (don’t deny it!)
- “Give It to Me” – ft. Nelly Furtado, Justin Timberlake
- “Time” – ft. She Wants Revenge (I really honestly have no idea what to make of She Wants Revenge. I’ve heard a decent amount of their music and it appeals, attracts, and disturbs me- in the bad way – all at the same time.)
+++ Today in Battlestar Galactica world, the series decided to kick back into awesome gear just as the season ended. And so I am compelled to write:
Dear Mr. Moore and Mr. Eick,
Thanks ever so much for a great season finale that did not reflect on the preceding string of considerably bland episodes. Thanks ever so much for getting the amazing production ideas and gears you had running in seasons 1 and 2 back running smoothly.
No thanks whatsoever for reveling in the sadistic pleasure you receive from fraking with your fanbase so much that you’re making us speculate ourselves weary until 2008. Because you all know darn well sure that we’re going to do it.
Sincerely,
a fan
p.s. No thanks for turning Gaeta into a jerk. Please reconsider his character direction. Thanks.
March 26 2007 07:52 am | BSG (and such) and music
dragon627 on 29 Mar 2007 at 11:05 pm #
I like Timbaland’s style a lot. He’d make a great trance-remix album if he tried, heh. I really like “One and Only” with Fallout Boy, nice work on that track. Overall awesome album. The only song I didn’t really care for was “Kill Yourself”.
I was actually bumpin to this CD at work today. A coworker walks behind me while I was in the middle of the song “Scream” (where the girl is uh… moaning loudly around the 2 minute mark, lol) and she quickly questioned me about it, hehe. Good stuff.