Kanye West - 808's And Heartbreak
- Thread starter Tekneek
- Start date
Yeah, that's the thing. I have a feeling you always pick your favorite track based off of basically the highest quality production in a song and the most unique coupled with unique singing, melodies, etc.
It's like picking a favorite film based on the best cinematography and the best sound, instead of picking a film that resonates with you and makes you feel a certain way.
It's like picking a favorite film based on the best cinematography and the best sound, instead of picking a film that resonates with you and makes you feel a certain way.
Based on that theory, my favorite films wouldn't be The Godfather, Man on The Moon and Purple Rain. It would be Lord of the Rings or some shit.
Basically, I like hearing things I've never heard before. That is what resonates with me. I have no time for unoriginal, uninspired music that sounds like everything else out there.
Before I was a musician, the overall 'feel' of a song drew me to it. Now, with a musicians mind, I can't help but break a song down into it's individual parts when I hear it - original drum programming inspires me to up my own drum programming game. Original synth parts, well played funky lively basslines that emote, the lead vocal, the backing vocals. I think you know what I mean.
People who are not musicians tend not to look at music this way. For example, one of my favorite listening experiences of this year was when I found some Marvin Gaye multitracks online. It was insanely gratifying to hear each individual layer and really understand what went into the recording process, and how the engineers mixed it to sound how most people recognise it. I hear things in most songs that the majority of people wouldn't. As a musician, your ears naturally adjust to be able to do that. It's almost a spiritual feeling.
I don't think you can compare cinematography and sound of a film to individual layers of music, but that's just me. I'd appreciate it if you could go into more detail about why you find that to be an apt comparison, but frankly I don't think you really thought it through before you said it.
Basically, I like hearing things I've never heard before. That is what resonates with me. I have no time for unoriginal, uninspired music that sounds like everything else out there.
Before I was a musician, the overall 'feel' of a song drew me to it. Now, with a musicians mind, I can't help but break a song down into it's individual parts when I hear it - original drum programming inspires me to up my own drum programming game. Original synth parts, well played funky lively basslines that emote, the lead vocal, the backing vocals. I think you know what I mean.
People who are not musicians tend not to look at music this way. For example, one of my favorite listening experiences of this year was when I found some Marvin Gaye multitracks online. It was insanely gratifying to hear each individual layer and really understand what went into the recording process, and how the engineers mixed it to sound how most people recognise it. I hear things in most songs that the majority of people wouldn't. As a musician, your ears naturally adjust to be able to do that. It's almost a spiritual feeling.
I don't think you can compare cinematography and sound of a film to individual layers of music, but that's just me. I'd appreciate it if you could go into more detail about why you find that to be an apt comparison, but frankly I don't think you really thought it through before you said it.
^^
I sort of agree with that. I'm by no means a musician, but in my beat making era my ears also grew to hear things others couldn't. That's not just a presumption btw, I would point out things I thought sounded cool and people wouldn't know what I was talking about. It also made me appreciate music in a whole new way. I used to love listening back to music I had previously played a lot with my "new" ears so to speak. I was always more into mixing and tuning, so a song being perfectly mixed also drew me in, even at the expense of melodic harmony.
Now the elements of a song don't necessarily need to be innovative to catch my ear, but the word you used "emote" is a good one. Sounds, or a composition of sounds that in unity emote something draw me in. I also appreciate music on the purely "superficial" level though. The overall emotion a song evokes is some times enough for me.
I used to love Martin Houston's "That Girl" because it had a wah-wah guitar with no pick (like, how did they do that?) in the left channel, and the played melody grows more and more complex and varied throughout the song. E-40's "Things'll Never Change" is another instrumental that is mind-blowing to me because of all the little variations.
I sort of agree with that. I'm by no means a musician, but in my beat making era my ears also grew to hear things others couldn't. That's not just a presumption btw, I would point out things I thought sounded cool and people wouldn't know what I was talking about. It also made me appreciate music in a whole new way. I used to love listening back to music I had previously played a lot with my "new" ears so to speak. I was always more into mixing and tuning, so a song being perfectly mixed also drew me in, even at the expense of melodic harmony.
Now the elements of a song don't necessarily need to be innovative to catch my ear, but the word you used "emote" is a good one. Sounds, or a composition of sounds that in unity emote something draw me in. I also appreciate music on the purely "superficial" level though. The overall emotion a song evokes is some times enough for me.
I used to love Martin Houston's "That Girl" because it had a wah-wah guitar with no pick (like, how did they do that?) in the left channel, and the played melody grows more and more complex and varied throughout the song. E-40's "Things'll Never Change" is another instrumental that is mind-blowing to me because of all the little variations.
Say You Will - 3/5
Welcome to Heartbreak - 5/5
Heartless - 5/5
Amazing - 3/5 (Jeezy ruined it for me)
Love Lockdown - 5/5
Paranoid - 5/5 (Im guessing his next single cuz i loved it the first time i heard it)
Robocop - 3/5
Streetlights - 3/5
Bad News - 2/5 (Its exactly like the title says. Its bad news for the album..if that makes sense...) :wondering:
See you in my knightmare - 4/5
Coldest Winter - 4/5
Pinocchio Story - 1/5 Didnt even bother, i was bored with it.
This is after only one real listen though.
Some of the songs make it feel like emo rap though.
Welcome to Heartbreak - 5/5
Heartless - 5/5
Amazing - 3/5 (Jeezy ruined it for me)
Love Lockdown - 5/5
Paranoid - 5/5 (Im guessing his next single cuz i loved it the first time i heard it)
Robocop - 3/5
Streetlights - 3/5
Bad News - 2/5 (Its exactly like the title says. Its bad news for the album..if that makes sense...) :wondering:
See you in my knightmare - 4/5
Coldest Winter - 4/5
Pinocchio Story - 1/5 Didnt even bother, i was bored with it.
This is after only one real listen though.
Some of the songs make it feel like emo rap though.
Say You Will - 3/5 - the beat tends to get a bit annoying (the beeping), but another part of me really likes it lol..
Welcome to Heartbreak - 4/5 - mostly because of the lyrics, which I really, really like, and the hook.. The beat's a bit repetitive and I don't really like the singing..
Heartless - 5/5 - I just love this song! Amazing hook, very catchy, and I love the lyrics too.. Even liking the singing in this one
Not particularly fond of the beat, but it's still a pretty amazing song..
Amazing - 3/5 - Again, I like the chorus (which is really important to me). The beat is.. well.. amazing! Nice, relaxed beat, great piano.. I like the lyrics and the way Kanye's delivery on this is pretty nice imo! Would be a 4/5, if Young Jeezy didn't ruin it in the end..
Love Lockdown - 5/5 - Great lyrics, GREAT production, love everything about this song.. Besides, when I first heard this song, I thought it was pretty original.. That's before I found out he just had to do the whole album like that lol..
Paranoid - 3/5 - Thrown off by the annoying beat (the synths, dear God..) Sounds really, really pop Extremely pop lol.. Not a bad song by any means, but not my type of song. I like that he did a song with Mr. Hudson tho', I like his band 
Robocop - 3/5 - Meh.. Great beat, probably would've rated it a 2/5 otherwise.. Hook's alright too. The ending is very nice too imo..
Streetlights - 4/5 - Again, a song that's alright, but nothing special. I like the soft voice on this, like he's just relaxed, singing.. Very enjoyable song, especially for someone like me who also likes singer/songwriters, and soft rock Which is the only reason I give it a 4 actually.
Bad News - 4/5 - Nice intro, great beat.. Lol, he's not saying anything in this song, except for "I heard some really bad news".. Definitely not a song you should listen to for the deep content But I can dig it.. It's more like a 'bridge' to the album I guess.. And I can imagine what he's talking about..
See You in my Knightmares - 3/5 - Nothing too special here imo.. Just another song lol.. Don't really like the singing, nice beat tho'. Lil' Wayne manages to not add anything to this song..
Coldest Winter - 4/5 - Nice beat, the chorus is alright, I like this one. Really like some of the 'lyrics' on here.
Pinocchio Story - 3.5/5 - Don't really know what to think of this, is this a live freestyle? I like the fact that it's live to be honest, although I really wouldn't mind a studio version either. The soft beat serves more as background music than anything else, and the way Kanye's emotions seem to swell up at times is beautiful imo.. Overall it's alright, again, nothing special, but I like it.
Overall: 3.5/5
Overall, the album is alright, and I guess it's just something that Kanye needed to get off his chest. I wouldn't buy it, but then again, I haven't bought a CD in years (besides Justice's 'Cross'). I liked his previous albums better, but still some amazing producing and some nice lyrics to be found.
I liked it better than Ludacris' album, but then again I'm a real Kanye fanboy
Welcome to Heartbreak - 4/5 - mostly because of the lyrics, which I really, really like, and the hook.. The beat's a bit repetitive and I don't really like the singing..
Heartless - 5/5 - I just love this song! Amazing hook, very catchy, and I love the lyrics too.. Even liking the singing in this one
Not particularly fond of the beat, but it's still a pretty amazing song..Amazing - 3/5 - Again, I like the chorus (which is really important to me
). The beat is.. well.. amazing! Nice, relaxed beat, great piano.. I like the lyrics and the way Kanye's delivery on this is pretty nice imo! Would be a 4/5, if Young Jeezy didn't ruin it in the end..Love Lockdown - 5/5 - Great lyrics, GREAT production, love everything about this song.. Besides, when I first heard this song, I thought it was pretty original.. That's before I found out he just had to do the whole album like that lol..
Paranoid - 3/5 - Thrown off by the annoying beat (the synths, dear God..) Sounds really, really pop
Extremely pop lol.. Not a bad song by any means, but not my type of song. I like that he did a song with Mr. Hudson tho', I like his band Robocop - 3/5 - Meh.. Great beat, probably would've rated it a 2/5 otherwise.. Hook's alright too. The ending is very nice too imo..
Streetlights - 4/5 - Again, a song that's alright, but nothing special. I like the soft voice on this, like he's just relaxed, singing.. Very enjoyable song, especially for someone like me who also likes singer/songwriters, and soft rock
Which is the only reason I give it a 4 actually.Bad News - 4/5 - Nice intro, great beat.. Lol, he's not saying anything in this song, except for "I heard some really bad news".. Definitely not a song you should listen to for the deep content
But I can dig it.. It's more like a 'bridge' to the album I guess.. And I can imagine what he's talking about..See You in my Knightmares - 3/5 - Nothing too special here imo.. Just another song lol.. Don't really like the singing, nice beat tho'. Lil' Wayne manages to not add anything to this song..
Coldest Winter - 4/5 - Nice beat, the chorus is alright, I like this one. Really like some of the 'lyrics' on here.
Pinocchio Story - 3.5/5 - Don't really know what to think of this, is this a live freestyle? I like the fact that it's live to be honest, although I really wouldn't mind a studio version either. The soft beat serves more as background music than anything else, and the way Kanye's emotions seem to swell up at times is beautiful imo.. Overall it's alright, again, nothing special, but I like it.
Overall: 3.5/5
Overall, the album is alright, and I guess it's just something that Kanye needed to get off his chest. I wouldn't buy it, but then again, I haven't bought a CD in years (besides Justice's 'Cross'). I liked his previous albums better, but still some amazing producing and some nice lyrics to be found.
I liked it better than Ludacris' album, but then again I'm a real Kanye fanboy
After listening to this CD a couple times i came up with this conclusion...
I'll prolly bump it for the next couple weeks then put it away and only listen to my fav songs on the cd after that...
He's got really emotional, but thats a part of his life right now, thats how he's feeling, and thats all i ask from an artist is to be real and talk about shit thats affecting them and their opinions n such.... So the content is all good with me....
I'll prolly bump it for the next couple weeks then put it away and only listen to my fav songs on the cd after that...
He's got really emotional, but thats a part of his life right now, thats how he's feeling, and thats all i ask from an artist is to be real and talk about shit thats affecting them and their opinions n such.... So the content is all good with me....
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