We've reached a point where nothing Jack White does is surprising anymore. A collabo with Stephen Colbert? Sure go for it Jack. Faux-country with the Insane Clown Posse? Check. Rubbing elbows with Tom Jones? Why not? But when news came this morning that Jack White would be releasing a solo LP entitled Blunderbuss in April I was skeptical. This is a man who has spent the last decade plus with someone by his side, a person to bounce his musical ambitions off of. With a solo release, that's all gone and the only thing stopping Jack White is Jack White.
To celebrate the news, White released the first single "Love Interruption." The humble blues affair wouldn't sound out of place on a Dead Weather LP and White swaps his electric for acoustic. He sticks to things he wants out of love, backed by powerful vocals from an unnamed female vocalist. The single is out for purchase on his site.
OF-crooner Frank Ocean has dropped yet another song on his Tumblr, the 90s-indebted "Voodoo." Backed by a smoothly-squealing synth, Ocean goes the route of "older" tracks like "Acura Integurl" and "4 Tears," delivering a snippet of a song that's under two-minutes. In the little time he has, Ocean name-checks: Juicy Fruit, wedding bands, and the "Whole Wide World." The song isn't the sort of bubble-gum affair you would expect from those topics though, as Ocean declares "the truth is obsolete." No word yet on if these will eventually appear full-formed on an album.
Falling in and out of love is one of the oldest situations in all of popular music. Everyone from Roy Orbison to Morrissey to Drake has dealt with the topic at one time or another. In a jaded music-consuming society like America, we hate to hear that everything is "just peachy," it betrays our healthy skepticism. Yet, we tend to shy away for total dejection and denial, subjects a little to dark for our liking. It is into this darkness that Bright
Eyes plunges headfirst.
From the moment the melancholic, slightly out-of-tune guitar enters in we should know this isn't going to be a "sunny day song." "Yeah you still kiss me, but it's just on the cheek," Bright Eyes mastermind Conor Oberst warbles with naked emotion. A slight din of xylophone accompanies the broken Oberst and he begins to recall calling a former-flame turned friend's answering machine, only to have her roommate answer. "You're at the bar," is the realization in the verse.
As the track moves languishingly forward, Oberst recalls a scene at home where the two watch movies, but "don't share the couch." The few feet between the two is a chasm for Oberst, one that can't be overcome. It's a chasm created by unseen wounds, told of in a "voice like a prayer."
"I guess that the truth, was just the ghost of your lies," Oberst dramatically decrees as the guitar-playing grows more fragmented. The line is a drastic turn of events in the song, the girl moving from friend to foe at the drop of hat. She's a foe that can only be forgotten by getting "real f**king drunk," Oberst yells during the final verse. "So drunk that I pass out and forget your face, by the time I wake up." This is the moment of defeat we should've seen coming, his buoyant soul drowning in the despondence of drink. Temporary escape in a glass bottle.
That this song remains an "unknown" work in Bright Eyes bristly catalog is no surprise. For all of the abject loneliness in the Bright Eyes, there was often an air of hope. With "It's Cool, We Can Still Be Friends," that air is rendered toxic, muddied by the words of a man giving up the idealism of "being friends."
"It's Cool, We Can Still Be Friends"- Noise Floor (Rarities: 1998-2005)
Das Racist and Childish Gambino share an intense love for dropping as many dizzying pop-culture references as possible, so it was only matter of time before a collabo happened. DR rapper Heems and Gambino link up on "Womyn 2," one of the strongest tracks from Heems staggering Nehru Jacketsmixtape. Over a twisted-Indian influenced sample and booming bass, Heems declares "women are the best," while Gambino is content with name-checking Anthony RHCP's Anthony Kiedis, New Girl, and Looney Tunes. Here we have two dedicated jokesters bringing their best, bouncing back-and-forth like Bonkers, leaving everyone laughing.
Lock your doors and hide your daughters, because the ever-controversial LA rap-collective Odd Future is back with a new compilation album set to drop on March 20th. According to Rolling Stone, the comp will be entitled The OF Tape Vol. 2. Akin to the previous Radical mixtape from 2010, all the members of OF including crooner Frank Ocean will be involved, sans Earl Sweatshirt who is still M.I.A. The album will be officially-released through Odd Future Records and the Wolf Gang plans to promote the release with a 10-city tour.
In related news, MellowHype and Tyler, the Creator are both slated to drop their third albums this year. MellowHype has their album Numbers slotted for a summer release and we can expect Tyler to drop Wolf in the spring. Finally, hold out hope for Ocean's major-label debut which we may see before the year ends.
That album title of Aaliyah's about "one in million," is an underestimate. The R&B genius is one of a kind. While other divas were slowly figuring the whole hip-hop thing out, Aaliyah embraced it with open arms. On tracks like her magnum opus "Are You That Somebody?" she soared over and slide with beats that could be effortlessly rapped over. Working with producers like Static Major and Timbaland, she simply couldn't be stopped. All these years later, her songs remain stunningly fresh. Her life may have gone too soon, but her music will live forever.
In honor of what would be her 33rd birthday, here's a video retrospective of her greatest moments.
"Age Ain't Nothin' But A Number"- Age Ain't Nothin' But A Number
"If Your Girl Only Knew"- One in a Million
"Got to Give It Up"- One in a Million
"We Need A Resolution"- Aaliyah
"Miss You"- I Care for You
"Are You That Somebody?"- Dr. Doolittle Soundtrack
Channeling-her inner Aaliyah, Harlem-firebrand Azealia Banks has dropped the skittish "Needsumluv." Sporting a sample from Aaliyah's "One in a Million," and featuring production by machinedrum, Banks dials-down on the "X-rated," lyric of tracks like "212" unleashing a song of conflicted-love. "You don't really wanna leave her, but you're tired of her," she sings on the opening line. With infectious-brilliance like this, nobody should being tired of Banks any time soon.
