POP TRUMPS: Week 9

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

The rules are here but it couldn't be simpler. 10 is the highest, 0 is the lowest, if you really don't know then go for 5. Giving reasons for your scores in the comments is encouraged!

This week our pop trump contestant is also at the top of the charts with a certain lady friend of his. He's got an ego the size of a planet and a colourful array of knitted jumpers - but how good is he at being a pop star?


Kanye West

[Poll #1161925]

Justin Timbersnake ratings:
- Singing voice/musical ability: 7
- Consistency: 7
- H0TTness: 7
- Dancing Skillz/Visual: 8
- Chart success: 8
- Extra-curricular activity: 6
- Party Animal Rating: 5
- Eccentricity: 2
- Legacy: 5
- Best track: Cry Me An River

Comments

Just so you'll know...

[koganbot]

I voted "Takeover" for best song.

Re: Just so you'll know...

[koganbot]

And I've already forgotten what I voted in the other categories.

Re: Just so you'll know...

[koganbot]

Oh, I voted 7 for "extracurricular," but if you include "producing" as extracurricular, he's a 9. But I include "producing" as music, and his saying that President Bush doesn't care about black people as "extracurricular."

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

You know, I totally forgive Kanye all his missteps and icky moments and occasionally awful rhymes, because when he's good he is so, so good. The College Dropout = definitely one of my favourite albums of the decade - I can't listen to the 'Jesus Walks'/'Never Let Me Down' section without welling up.

Plus, all those missteps are kind of crucial to what he does well, there are few pop stars who can turn their mistakes into successes quite like Kanye. Like, you'll lol at easily-ridiculed lyrics like that bit where he says "apologing" instead of "apologising" just for the sake of a lame rhyme, and then you realise that that's from 'Can't Tell Me Nothing' which is a fucking amazing track so really it didn't matter in the first place.

Kanyeticks

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Singing/Musical Ability: I really don't rate his rapping AT ALL! His style is very much personality-driven than technically-driven (which I think makes for good pop, but yes anyway)
Consistency: pretty even actually
H0tt: doesn't do it for me but not rough by any means (tho he has scary eyes!)
Dancing/Visuals: MUCH ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT HERE.
Chart: not sure about this one - I haven't really got much idea of his success stateside, but the stuff he's released over here has def had mixed results from Incredibly Popular ('Stronger') to stuff that's dropped out of the top 40 almost immediately.
Extra curricular/Party Animal: If guesting on dudes' tracks counts as extra-curricular then he scores highly, but does he do anything apart from music? I have no idea! Zero clue about Party Animalling.
Eccentricity: much better score here thanks to the reams of arrogance/daft sunglasses. However you still get the impression that he is Totally Sane underneath it all, so just an 8 here.
Legacy: I think this is his winner - I think Kanye has WAY more crossover appeal to dudes who wouldn't normally listen to hip-hop (hahahaha Kanye = the gateway drug!) and I'd be VERY surprised if he retired any time soon so there'll be plenty to come.

Re: Kanyeticks

[hoshuteki.livejournal.com]

Oh I guess I rated the daft sunglasses on the visual scale rather than the eccentricity. However, I agree that I don't think he's particularly insane, in fact he seems pretty grounded, so despite the odd moments (which come across as trying too hard at times), I gave him a 5 for that.

Re: Kanyeticks

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

you're right about 'Jesus Walks' btw - that any song with those sentiments can get me, an avowed atheist, feeling all emotional, is testament to its strength. Also, immense beats. PREACH, BROTHER.

Re: Kanyeticks

[koganbot]

This is like my reaction to Brooke White's version of "Let It Be"; not only am I an atheist, but I despise the song anyway, for a number of reasons, the invocation of Mother Mary, which somehow seems cheap, and the idea of "letting it be" just thrown at you: there certainly are times when "let it be" is the right choice, others when it's the dishonest one (e.g., the "change the things you can" is as crucial as "accepting the things you cannot change"), and again it just feels like invocation rather than an attempt to deal with struggle. And I've not liked the way Paul sang it. But Brooke not only carried conviction, but gave the song the struggle and release the words failed to give it.

(I also like "Jesus Walks" a lot. Just what's been on my mind a lot is how people his sensibilities are unlike mine seem to be doing a far better job of making good music than the people whose sensibilities are a closer match.)(Of course, this has been on my mind for about 27 years, actually.)

Re: Kanyeticks

[koganbot]

People whose sensibilities, that is...

[I really need to read before I post.]

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

Legacy is surely a 10 for this alone:

kayne i hope you get well and by da way YOU IS SO FINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (http://www.ilxor.com/ILX/ThreadSelectedControllerServlet?action=showall&boardid=41&threadid=13362)

[koganbot]

Yikes, I never saw that. (But the weird thing is seeing how witless so many of the ilXor wits were when they joined in and were thinking they were being funny.)

KANYE POX

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

All Falls Down
Jesus Walks
Never Let Me Down
Gold Digger
Crack Music
Barry Bonds
Gone
Slow Jamz
The New Workout Plan
Flashing Lights

[bengraham.livejournal.com]

I'm mostly indifferent to Mr. K. West's music, but I do think 'Touch The Sky' is pretty great.

Kat - at what point will the "cards" of all the past Pop Trumps be made available for comparison purposes? I know we're only on #9, which is far too few for a deck, but I'm intrigued to see who is leading the way in different categories thus far.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

I'm keeping a spreadsheet of all the scores (though I'm a bit behind, have only filled it in up to the Sugababes - my fault entirely). You can look back at the previous entries using the 'pop trumps' tag if you like?

[bengraham.livejournal.com]

I know, I'm just lazy. Also looking back across the tagged posts doesn't allow for easy comparison of mean/median scores for a given category. But don't worry about it... I'm sure you'll get around to doing the spreadsheet eventually!! Don't rush it on my behalf!

KANYE PRODUCTION POX

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Trina ft. Ludacris - B R Right
Jay-Z - Izzo (HOVA)
Alicia Keys - You Don't Know My Name
Ludacris ft. Shawnna - Stand Up
Twista - Overnight Celebrity
Lil' Kim - Came Back For You
Brandy ft. Kanye West - Talk About Our Love
TI - Doin' My Job
Lupe Fiasco - The Cool
The Game - Dreams

(NB there are LOADS I seem not to have heard!)

Re: KANYE PRODUCTION POX

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

I don't think I've heard any of these! Which is a shame as I think Kanye's strength is as a producer - he has an excellent ear for using famous samples without them sounding clunky ('Stronger' is perhaps an exception to this).

Re: KANYE PRODUCTION POX

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I'm SURE you've heard 'Izzo (HOVA)' and 'You Don't Know My Name'! If you have time you should def look at least the top 5 of these up on youtube. Kanye was an in-demand producer long, long before he was an artist in his own right, he basically invented the whole sped-up chipmunk soul sample sound (which he's now moving away from in favour of a more electro feel). I think he's a great frontman but he does have a propensity to fall on his face - when producing for others that risk is removed.

Apropos of nothing I have long repped for that 2004 Brandy album, which got ignored basically everywhere else, but god, if she'd only sat on it for a couple of years! Almost wholly Timba-produced, Kanye guest spots...that's the recipe for a No 1 these days.

Re: KANYE PRODUCTION POX

[koganbot]

You little fuck, I got money stacks bigger than you

H to the Izzo, V to the Izzay

Get hot and fuck me crazy

Re: KANYE PRODUCTION POX

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I always thought it was "get HIGH and fuck me crazy"!

'B R Right' = possibly best song ever.

Re: KANYE PRODUCTION POX

[koganbot]

I've never been able to tell, actually. First I thought it was "high," then I thought it was "hot."

Re: KANYE PRODUCTION POX

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

"And you always order the special...with the hot chocolate" (http://youtube.com/watch?v=rJiLcNQdye4)

Re: KANYE PRODUCTION POX

[mcarratala.livejournal.com]

An insanely great song – and I've really disliked Alicia Keys before and after!

[jel-bugle.livejournal.com]

Through the Wire is his best song. I liked that one. He's pretty much a straight 6 sorta guy.

[umlauts.livejournal.com]

I find him boring. Though didn't he produce most of the good things on "Damita Jo"? Points for that. Points for getting Estelle a hit - she deserves it to a larger extent than the song is good, but it's good enough. Points for bolshieness. Points for "Gold Digger" being the soundtrack to me once disgracing myself in a bar by making out with my mate's best friend's ex while totally pissed out of my tree to the general shock of 100 bar patrons.

But, really, so much of his stuff is just gash isn't it? TAKE A STEP BACK. "Stronger" is fucking shit. SHIT, I tell you.