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The Vibranium Standard (Kendrick Lamar, Black Panther: The Album – Music from and Inspired By review)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

 

Comic book movie soundtracks are supposed to remind you of the movie, and by and large, most of them do the trick, though my favourites have always been the original Spider-Man trilogy OSTs. And it’s tough to stand up to those Sam Raimi films when we’re talking about thematic music. Nobody does it better then Danny Elfman, except maybe, Kendrick Lamar.

 

Kendrick Lamar – Black Panther: The Album, Music from and Inspired By

released February 9, 2018
******** 8/10

Black Panther: The Album – Music from and Inspired By (also known as Black Panther: The Album) is a soundtrack album for Marvel Studios latest and greatest, Black Panther. In case that wasn’t obvious to you yet, this is a project with some weight behind it.

Now, to be perfectly honest, this isn’t a Kendrick Lamar album, but it must as well be his love letter to Blaxploitation music of the 1970s and 1990s gangsta rap, with a conscious hip hop flavour of the day.

He pretty much curated the whole thing, and shows up on at least 40% of it’s tracks. His record label, Top Dawg Entertainment, also takes a producers credit. Consequently, each of the featured artists work really well together, and each song adds to the theme of the movie, with Lamar typically sounding the weakest of any of the authors. But if Lamar is one of the worst parts, then why do I say that this is a Kendrick Lamar album? Mainly, because he is all over the record, providing direction to it’s theme, and even Kendrick Lamar at his worst is far more interesting then the majority of commercial artists out there today.

I’m not going to spend a lot of time going over each of the individual tracks, but you should know that the themes of blackness as identity, politics, royalty, spirituality, and vulnerability all work together to show off the strengths of the movie, without actually being included in the film score. That’s right, this is a soundtrack inspired by the film, but when you listen to it, there are obvious lyrics which connect us to both protagonist T’Challa, and villain Killmonger.

Pros: There is a lot of amazing cultural influence going on here, from The Weeknd, to Vince Staples. to Khalid, to Schoolboy Q, to Ab-Soul, to Jayrock. It’s A-list hip hop and R&B artists working in concert to send a message about responsiblity.

Cons: If you are hoping for a follow-up to Kendrick Lamar’s 2017 studio album, Damn., then you are going to be disappointed. And as much as this is a Kendrick Lamar influenced soundtrack album, it would have benefited from being a true Kendrick Lamar album with artist features where necessary.

Runtime: 49 minutes

Points of Interest: In it’s first two weeks out, Black Panther: The Album has remained No. 1 on the Billboard album chart. There are a handful of direct references to the movie in certain tracks, rapped by Kendrick Lamar himself.

Getting the support of artists like 2 Chainz and Future is important to a whos-who of contemporary hip hop, but what is even more significant is the message contained therein and the status of the film as it reinforces the voices it needs to be heard. I haven’t seen the movie myself yet, but listening to the soundtrack on repeat of this week is making me even more impatient to check it out.

theories Summarized

It’s not a perfect album, but it is an essential soundtrack collection, and the best representation of a current hip hop to a commercial audience. I’m impressed by the album overall, and while Lamar is a bit subdued in the presentation, his voice continues to stand head and shoulders above the crowd.

And speaking of Kendrick Lamar, my official video review of David Bowie’s Blackstar is now up. In this video Brendon and I tackle the final work of Ziggy Stardust with humour, inspiration, and an extra-special dose of smooth jazz. And if you want to figure out the Lamar/Bowie connection, you’ll just have to watch the video.

Thanks for taking the time to read the review, watch the video review and hopefully you’ve left a comment or two. If you liked what you saw, click on the like button, and even better, subscribe to the channel! Come back tomorrow for a film review about The Florida Project. There’ll be more theories!

Tim!

A Model of Consistency (Goo Goo Dolls, Boxes review)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Have you ever heard that expression, the music that defined a generation? Usually its just a bunch of garbage marketing that encourages people to get nostalgic and appreciate something new. It got you here though didn’t it?

Well this week’s album review features a band that did help define a generation, in a time when Grunge was king, there was a band that did something different than Nirvana.

 

 

 

Goo Goo Dolls – Boxes
released April 29, 2016
********* 9/10

boxes-600

Goo Goo Dolls are an American rock group. The band was formed in 1986, a year after I was before, though that’s not relevant to their story, it’s a personal anecdote. Robby Takac and George Tutuska had been long-time friends and invited John Rzeznik to play with them. They had a gig but no band name and decided on Goo Goo Dolls after seeing a True Detective ad of a toy with the same name.

They released their first album, self-titled, in 1987 to a smaller label, but it wasn’t long before they were opening up for punk bands like SNFU and The Dead Milkmen. Two years later they released Jed. Their third release, Hold Me Up, allowed them to get into the legendary CBGB music club as they incorporated more heavy metal, punk and pop into their alt rock sound.

They released another album and got more success, but it was shortly after the fifth album, A Boy Named Goo, that Tutuska departed and the band began touring. With the release of the single Name, Goo Goo Dolls hit the big time. Then they had an opportunity to write a song for the City of Angels soundtrack, and that was it for them. Rzeznik came up with Iris during a serious case of doubt and feeling uninspired.

People went nuts.

I’ve linked to the music video here – In case you’ve been living under a rock or weren’t born at the time. Then they recorded Dizzy Up The Girl, their sixth studio album, and went triple platinum in the states.

Granted, that’s a lot of build up for an album, but here we are, eleven albums in, and 27 years later – Boxes.

Maybe it’s the nostalgia or the lack of viable reviews from other more famous and liked venues than mine, but I love this album.

I actually think that their sound has improved over time and while they’ve had success since Dizzy Up the Girl, this album feels like the spiritual follow up to it. The boys are more mature, and the songs are even more heartfelt, but seasoned. I like all of the songs on the record. I cannot find one that I dislike.

This band is in it’s middle age, and they are moving away from high energy and singles towards mood and depth. Of course, they still pay attention to the present. So Alive kind of reminds me of a Twenty One Pilots song with that sweet piano. Souls in the Machine  and Reverse are great examples of their anthemic rock.

My personal favourites are Flood, Free of Me, and then Boxes, which well represent the upbeat message of the whole album. This is Goo Goo Dolls at their best, negativity be damned. Okay maybe Lucky One isn’t the best, it’s a little contrived, (I still like it though. Hence the 9 out of 10.

 

 

 

Goo goo dolls will always have a place in millions of peoples hearts, and that Iris was ranked number 1 on Billboards Top 100 Pop Songs 1992-2012, simply proves it. If you don’t own Dizzy Up The Girl, you should. And if you already know better, give Boxes a listen too. It’s worth unpacking.

Tim!