Saturday, April 25, 2009

Asher Roth - Asleep In The Bread Aisle


Asher was making a name for himself for a while with a dumb little song called "I Love College" (see below). One of those viral campaign things followed and he got a big record deal and got a couple of guest to stop by, including Cee-Lo Green and Busta Rhymes. He made a big splash at the SxSW festival and got hyped by the important people to get hyped by. And like many things that get hyped by the hype-important people... it kinda sucks.

Asher was being positioned as the next Eminem, a wordy white rapper, in the absence of Eminem. His vocals even sound like Eminem. He addresses this topic specifically in "As I Em", where he almost apologizes and admits Slim Shady as his biggest love and influence. The problem with this positioning is that a.) Eminem actually has a new album now. and b.) While Asher is wordy and maybe his rhymes have some uniqueness, he's really just rapping about stupid mundane shit.


Playing MarioKart, screwing moms, being a lazy stoner, Sour Patch Kids. Maybe I'm spoiled on smart intellectual/emotionally-stirring hip-hop- but I found Asher more than a little boring. (2/5 stars)


Saturday, April 4, 2009

Queensrÿche - American Soldier

Well, the 'Ryche has been pretty hit and miss this century. They came out with an unnecessary sequel to one of the greatest albums ever, and then followed that up with a cover record. This release sees them in another concept record, and one I was not necessarily too excited about. The life of the American soldier.

I'm as political as the next guy, but I just assumed I wouldn't relate to anything here. Which is true, but I was still able to enjoy it from a songwriting perspective. It was a compelling account and it wasn't too trite or ass-kissy. The narrated stories are a hard sell initially, but it wasn't just ham-fisted flag waving like Kid Rock and it's certainly not protest music. This album really compels the listener to take the perspective of the conflicted integrity of the character(s).

For example below, "Home Again" sees Geoff Tate singing with his real life daughter. It describes the hardships of going off to answer your call of duty while leaving something behind. It works for any vocation or any trade in one's life experience. And while I don't need to carry these themes around with me forever, I can still stand up for the effort. (3/5 stars)