as an early Christmas gift, Andrew and Lisa gave me two choice items which i really wanted: this book and the newest cd by kanye west, 808s & HEARTBREAK.after being wowed by kanye's first album THE COLLEGE DROPOUT, i scrambled to purchase his second LATE REGISTRATION the day it released. it rivaled the first for his best album and had me sufficiently charged to seek out his treble, GRADUATION. i gave it several good, hard listens and it left me unimpressed. i gave it a middling mini-review at this very blog. if the album was any indication of where kanye was heading, my excitement levels would diminish further. a few of his singles/collaborations kept me interested ("us placers" and "american boy," respectively). then "love lockdown", the first single from the new album leaked, and kanye had gone the way of the auto-tone, aping t-pain and all the other followers in that strange trend.
no rapping, no soul samples, and kanye singing through a computer. not bad, but not particularly good either. word came that the album was going to be entirely this way. my intense desire for getting the new album the day it released disappeared and while the album still opened to fanfare and decent sales, i did not run out and buy it immediately (ok, browse out and buy it). i secretly hoped it would be an amazon mp3 deal of the day and i could pick it up for a couple bucks and mitigate the risk.
and yet, it was on my radar. i read some reviews which praised it for its different direction and bold honesty, marking it highly. rarely did they seem to mention the actual music and its quality. still, my curiosity was beginning to be piqued again. my innate desire to be a completist fanned the fire of want further and besides, the amount of joy those first two albums provided for me far outstripped the cost i paid for them. i decided to get the album. but then Andrew and Lisa did for me. problem solved.
the first listen was as background music. unable to focus on the lyrics, the sounds and moods of the album came across the easiest. sanitary, cold, electric, martial. the sounds themselves emotionless, made more antiseptic by kanye's auto-tuned croon. synthesizers and drums. it was definitely successful as a mood-setter but i still had my reservations.
the second listen was done very intently. with my eyes closed and focusing only on the music, a different side to the album emerged through the lyrical content and softer secondary sounds. broken up over his mother's death and a break-up with his longtime girlfriend, the stainless-steel synthesizers and auto-tune appeared more as an attempt to put feelings aside for fear of turning maudlin. the lyrics reveal this. in "welcome to heartbreak" he shows confusion about the "good life" he has pursued in the past at the expense of his family and meaningful relationships. "love lockdown" reveals anguish at his feelings getting trounced. my personal favorite "street lights" (which desperately needs to be mashed up with "flashing lights" from GRADUATION) exposes his uncertainty about the path he has taken thus far. humanizing sentiments indeed.
musically, softer flourishes are present in almost every song, particularly through the middle of the album. i entirely missed the gentle piano in "amazing" and strings in "street lights" the first time through, lending further complexity and a life-like touch beneath the gloomy mood of synthesizers and drum beats.
i've heard a lot of people mention they can't get over the fact that kanye isn't a very good singer. it's true; he's not, even with the auto-tune to hid some of hid deficiencies. nevertheless, it didn't bother me since he was able to convey his emotion through it and that goes a long way with me.
turns out i really liked this album. after repeated listenings with varying levels of attention, i'm still enjoying the exterior of repressed sadness and emotion with the subtle hints of it welling up underneath. in some ways, my mind has started to associate this album with beck's "sea change." both are stark departures in form brought on by personal hardship, yet both albums are laced with resolve that things, with time, will get better.
