[Severian]

Originally Posted by noisereductions

fav b-side is probably "Pink Cashmere" ...probably.

Another excellent song.

[Severian]

I just read through Stereogum's list of Prince albums "from worst to best." Weird list. Doesn't even include all of his actual albums, for some reason only permitting an arbitrary two "internet albums" to be included.

It also puts Batman ahead of 1999. And puts his self-titled in the top 5. (???) but the top two make sense. Sign and Purple Rain. Otherwise it's kind of a WTF exercise.

[louder]

The self titled is a fun listen and has "I Wanna Be Your Lover" which is one of my favorite Prince songs. But yeah, nowhere near his top 5.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by Rob Instigator

Chuck D used to tell people who asked him how to be a better MC that they needed to read and learn as much as possible, for you can only put out through your mouth what you put into your brain. Sadly, education and learning are not important in pop music or in much of today's pop-hip-hop.

(there have been linguistics studies done that compare the word usage in current songs to previous decades, and they show that most songs on today's radio use the vocabulary of a 7th grader. Most songs on radio 30-40 years ago used the vocabulary of a 11th grader...)

Hey, I'm a big fan of reading really long boring scientific studies and research hypotheses. (Seriously.) I haven't read anything about this particular finding, but I'd like to. Link me that dhit.

Also, I find it unsurprising that most popular music uses simple language. But while this is certainly the case with a lot of popular artists from all genres, I don't think hip-hop is a specifically major offender by any means. Yes, the hit songs need to be relatable to most Americans (so hence the seventh grade vocabulary) but hip-hop is not less verbally sophisticated than modern pop, country or rock. Ever heard a 3 doors down song that didn't sound like it was written by a 10 year old? (And when I say 3 doors down, I mean every pop-rock group since 2000, including Nickelback, Daightry and blah blah.)

Also I want to say that lyrics do not have to use advanced vocabulary to be complex and interesting and to tackle larger subjects. Look at a song like "Norwegian Wood (this bird has flown)" ... All very simple words, but the story between the words is in the way those very simple words are paired. In other words, the substance comes from the song as a whole, not from a coded breakdown of the complexity of the individual lyrics. If high vocab meant better music, Aesop Rock would be the best rapper in the world.

Still, yes most music is dumb as hell.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by Severian

I just read through Stereogum's list of Prince albums "from worst to best." Weird list. Doesn't even include all of his actual albums, for some reason only permitting an arbitrary two "internet albums" to be included.

It also puts Batman ahead of 1999. And puts his self-titled in the top 5. (???) but the top two make sense. Sign and Purple Rain. Otherwise it's kind of a WTF exercise.

I haven't read a music magazine or blog since 2002..

Last review i remember reading was when they said that Hail To Thief wasn't a guitar oriented album

[Severian]

Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous

I haven't read a music magazine or blog since 2002..

Last review i remember reading was when they said that Hail To Thief wasn't a guitar oriented album

Weird, cause Hail to the Thief came out in 2003.

Also, that comment you made about me and how I write "more and better" than any blog you read suddenly means A LOT less.

[noisereductions]

Doftones x Bushwick Bill !!

http://pitchfork.com/news/64252-deft...-bill-at-sxsw/

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by Severian

Weird, cause Hail to the Thief came out in 2003.

Also, that comment you made about me and how I write "more and better" than any blog you read suddenly means A LOT less.

Hey asshole its called a typo. Weird because its not like that wasn't obvious. Also you should be honored as you remember it wrong, i didn't say just that yours was best, i said it was ONLY that i read

[Severian]

Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous

Hey asshole its called a typo.

Maybe the Hail to the Thief thing, yeah, but he smoke you blew up my ass about music writing? That's called bullshit.

[Severian]

If this thread's just gonna fizzle out then I'm going to resume praising TLOP every time I have a TLOP thought.

I listened to TLOP today and it was SOOO GOOD. Skipped "I love Kanye," but listened to several tracks twice. It puts me in the mood for more Kanye, but there's no other Kanye that's like TLOP, so I listen to TLOP some more.

What a great album.

[noisereductions]

Phife has died.

This is one of the worst hip hop tragedies ever.

[Rob Instigator]

8 years after a kidney transplant. Diabetes sucks.

My man Phife....

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by noisereductions

Phife has died.

This is one of the worst hip hop tragedies ever.

While i love phife its a human tragedy not a hip hop tragedy. What has phife done for current hip hop? Nothing in like 15 years! I ain't pissing on his grave just saying what it is in hip hop cpntext

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by Severian

Maybe the Hail to the Thief thing, yeah, but he smoke you blew up my ass about music writing? That's called bullshit.

Bro you been waaaaaaaay to sensitive lately.. turn it down a notch

[noisereductions]

Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous

While i love phife its a human tragedy not a hip hop tragedy. What has phife done for current hip hop? Nothing in like 15 years! I ain't pissing on his grave just saying what it is in hip hop cpntext

lately? Nothing. But we wouldn't have gotten here had it not been for work that Phife and Tribe did many years ago.

I think that if The Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders had never been released, hip hop would have taken a very diff path in that Butterfly Effect version of the universe.

[Rob Instigator]

his favorite rap group was EPMD and his fave track was Eric B For President....

[noisereductions]

Originally Posted by Rob Instigator

his favorite rap group was EPMD and his fave track was Eric B For President....

and his favorite rapper was him (cuz he did go solo).

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by noisereductions

lately? Nothing. But we wouldn't have gotten here had it not been for work that Phife and Tribe did many years ago.

I think that if The Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders had never been released, hip hop would have taken a very diff path in that Butterfly Effect version of the universe.

My point is you said its biggest tragedy in hip hop. But hip hop hasn't lost phife influential discography so its not lost anything. The tragedy is the human side, the loss of life. Also a moral here.. phife didn't take care of his health

[noisereductions]

I didn't say it was a loss to hip hop, I said it was a tragedy. This is semantics now. Whatever.

It was a tragedy - you agree?

He was a hip hop artist - you agree?

I don't know how well he did or didn't control his diabetes. He had a kidney transplant in 2008. They don't tend to do that for someone who isn't taking care of themselves do they?

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Yes but its not a tragedy to hip hop because hip hop doesn't lose anything. Everything phife brought to hip hop is legacy.

Its not semantics, its reality. I know what you MEAN to say but its not communicated in how you said it

I been trying to find more details to cause of death but none of reports mentioned it at all. What is known is phife never took good care of his diabetes, indeed it in part contributed to the split of Tribe because tip was increasingly frustrated seeing phife harming himself and phife was gettingincreasingly obstinate and defensive about people checking on his health.

As i said, its a human tragedy. And i love phife especially. His brash attitude and straight up ill sense of humor (pun intended) made him one of my all time fav rappers. And that even in New York he repped Lakers hard i found endearing cuz yall know im caught up in that westcoast eastcoast shit.

When i saw this morning in my Twitter feed it shocked me... but not because i thought hip hop was losing anything. Hip hop will ALWAYS have phife's legacy. No, what we lost was a unique and inspiring human being who can never be replaced