Review: Jens Lekman - I Know What Love Isn't

Jens Lekman has been relatively quiet since the release of his last full length, the critically acclaimed Night Falls Over Kortedala, 5 years ago. For 5 years, Lekman toured, weighed the idea of quitting music, got his heartbroken, and in September of 2011 he released a scant 5 song EP, An Argument with Myself. As he discusses in an excellent interviewfor the music blog Stereogum’s ProgressReport, during his off time the Swedish born singer songwriter reevaluated his approach to music. The end result is the album that Lekman set out not to create, the epitomic heart break album, I Know What Love Isn’t.

Over two albums and one compilation, Lekman has crafted a finite image, placing himself as Indie Music’s lovelorn troubadour. With an often witty approach, Lekman tackles the complications of human relationships while focusing most acutely on young and/or unrequited love.  Previous albums have been strongly driven by storytelling and detailed, graphic songwriting. I Know What Love Isn’t does not abandon this approach but grows from this foundation, crafting songs that build more on an idea while showcasing a concise understanding of pop songwriting.

Short Story Idea to Work On

Christopher Guest's Best in Show gave me, what I think is, a fantastic idea for a short story.

A guy is released from prison after so many years and wants to reconnect with his family and in particular his son. The man was put in prison for depraved indifference to human and animal life. Before prison, he was a successful and highly lauded dog show judge, a master in every breed. During the grand championship of dog shows, he was the judge of best in show. First he had the handlers and dogs make their initial trek around the ring and then line up. After a few moments he asked them all to make another turn around the track and then another and another. Eventually the dogs grow tired and the exhausted handlers drop their leashes. The dogs retreat to the edge of the show floor to sleep or watch droopy eyed as their owners continue to circle the ring. The owners keep moving and some lose shoes, but they all begin to slow in gait, sweat pouring down their faces and showing through their blazers. Until one competitor falls limp to the ground,  dead.

Eventually a judge ruled that the handlers were not responsible for their actions nor were any other officials or people in attendance. Instead the blame is placed solely on the master judge and he is convicted of multiple counts of depraved indifference to humans and animals.

Review: Rick Ross - God Forgives, I Don't

Rick Ross is a point of contention among Rap music fans. He has been criticized for a lack of authenticity and street credibility since 2008 when photos of a young Ross working as a correctional officer surfaced.  Those images conflict completely with the drug kingpin of Miami image that Ross has built for himself, going as far as to adopt the name and characteristics of real life Los Angeles drug trafficker “Freeway” Rick Ross. Despite the arguments of authenticity, Ross has become one of the largest figures in Rap music. With each album he has built a finite image of a luxuriant lifestyle with a cinematic scope that could easily soundtrack a film about the rise, and eventual fall, of a major cartel boss.

The two years since Rick Ross released his last album, 2010’s Teflon Don, have seen the rappers reach and presence within the game grow. His Maybach Music Group imprint label has acquired new talent, signing Ohioan backpacker Stalley, R&B singer Omarion and rapper everyman Rockie Fresh, as well as released two compilations, Self Made Vol. 1 & 2. Earlier this year MTV named Rick Ross the hottest MC on their annual list, and he released his Rich Forever mixtape to much critical acclaim. With his stock rising, Ross has capitalized on the moment and dropped a summer blockbuster of a fifth album, God Forgives, I Don’t.

Review: Joey BadA$$ - 1999

There is an oft ignored word in the discussion of Hip Hop, one that has played an important role in the rise to prominence of many an MC: hunger. There is much talk of talent, style and personality. But as Hip Hop continues to descend into monotony and artistic intentions become more fiscally focused, a truly hungry artist is a rarity (this of course is not the same hunger that motivates Action Bronson).  In 1993 Wu-Tang Clan released Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) which represented the ravenous vision of 9 emcees. During an interlude at the close of the track “Can It Be All So Simple”, Method Man, Raekwon and Ghostface Killah expound on the thesis of the Clan’s purpose citing: world domination, establishing a lasting legacy for further generations and displeasure with the current musical landscape.

All of this is an important consideration when listening to 17-year-old Brooklynite Joey BadA$$’s debut mixtape 1999. Stylistically the album harkens back to the 90’s glory days of the 5 Boroughs, combining boom-bap, do-the-wop, and East Coast grit. Lyrically BadA$$ and his featured cohorts display a consciousness that surpasses their age, taking a critical eye to their surroundings, while also displaying an array of battle tested, braggadocio drenched rhymes. Despite being born at the tail end of his influences’ prominence, 1999 sounds like an album lost in the crates and just now unearthed.

Review: The Walkmen - Heaven

What could be expected from a band on their seventh studio album? In 2004 The Walkmen released what many view as their best album; this denotation is greatly indebted to the song “The Rat”. With its rhythm section that builds a back bone from which a thunderous, blustery guitar riff that is all blown about by Hamilton Leithauser’s urgent rasp, the song came to define the band. A song that even eight years removed still closes out most Walkmen live sets, and a song that sends fans clamoring to each new record in hopes of “The Rat II”. 

However, with each release The Walkmen has become a quieter, more melodic act. The music has grown softer, as if aging gracefully along with those teenagers who were hooked with their first record in 02, Everyone Who Pretends to Like Me is Gone, or joined the band wagon in 04 (for reference I was 15 when Everyone was released). And with each album the band delves into the crates of rock history to produce a modern yet decidedly cool take on the classics. Despite the pigeon holding, The Walkmen’s  latest  album Heaven is capable of breaking the spell conjured by “The Rat”. Where Bows +  Arrows relied on bombast, angst and urgency, Heaven relies on a romantic, quiet subtlety.