A Year In America November 20, 2008

[koganbot]

Thought on my mind today, as the stock market plummets another five percent and credit freezes up again: in 1933 "race records" pretty much disappeared, as its audience got too poor to buy. I don't yet expect a depression, and I know that r&b and hip-hop travel beyond demographics, and its core demographic reaches into the middle class. But I do wonder what genres will be hit hardest by the slowdown.

Taylor Swift "White Horse": A gorgeous purr of sadness in her throat, sudden snaps of the whip from her tongue. Gentle guitar chords at the start have the same quietly hair-rasing effect. The chorus can't maintain the mood, so the song loses itself, but the mood returns when the verse returns. TICK.

Guns N' Roses "Chinese Democracy": Dramatic chords to start, then an Axl squeal sampled from "Welcome To The Jungle," same dance rumble from the bass that was all over Appetite For Destruction 21 years ago, same subtle half-growl as in "It's So Easy." What's missing is any kind of release in the chorus; also missing is the high shriek with which Axl could have delivered it. Good song, exciting, even, but ought to have been far better. TICK.

Nickelback "If Today Was Your Last Day": Gremo? Grunge emo? Or would that term be redundant? Good tune, at least in the verse, and Chad's tonsillectomy gargle is less bothersome than on the track I hated on poptimists on Monday; but the deep sodden guitars sink these guys once again. NO TICK.

Jazmine Sullivan "Bust Your Windows": Man, another album I need to get to. Once again Jazmine's vocals overmatch her material, end up busting its chops even when she's stepping delicately. That's a drama to look forward to when I get the album: a bull of a voice dressed in a gown, trying not to rip the apparel. TICK.

T-Pain f. Ludacris "Chopped 'N' Skrewed": Mr. Autotune walks through a nondescript melody, while voice and beats are chopped and screwed to an annoying degree. Novelty number done wrong. NO TICK.

Comments

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Yeah - a (world music) record label owner who spoke at a Guardian lunch I went to recently said that the bottom has already completely fallen out of the live sector. Shows right now are sold out, because the tickets were bought 4 months ago, but shows for next year are selling on average something like 40% of what they'd be expected to sell, and many acts are being forced to cancel entire tours. Given that touring is basically the main matchstick still propping up the industry, it looks like everyone will be a bit fucked next year. Maybe we'll see more success through DIY, cost-effective channels?

On a nicer note, Frank is otm about Jazmine - as stunning as her voice is, I don't think she's quite learnt to use it in the right way all the time, and she can just blare and blare away when the song doesn't call for it. But this never detracts from the power of the song, and sometimes the overdone presentation is a bit disorientating, in a good way (eg 'Dream Big': most singers would have done this coquettishly or yearningly, but Jazmine blares away and ends up sounding appropriately massive). And of course it serves her amazingly well on the more emotionally raw tracks.

[koganbot]

Several weeks ago when I was randomly checking some of the new Jazmine tracks on MySpace Music "Bust Your Windows" was one of the ones I liked least, and it sounds pretty good now, so I'm looking forward to the album. And I'm not assuming that the mismatch between voice and style is necessarily a bad thing. It does seem, though, that she hasn't really given herself the option of thinning her tone (compare to Mariah, who can go from thin to thick at will, whereas Jazmine always draws with thick, heavy lines)(from what I've heard, obv.).