Kanye West is a visionary and other critical musings

Take a good deep look at that chiseled face. I'll wait.

That, my friends, is what visionary looks like. Now I'll admit, I am not a huge rap/hip hop person. Sure I do love me some old school Snoop 'doggy doggy' Dogg Lion but I am not what one would call a fanatic. Occasionally I listen to some Jay-Z as well.  

But Kanye? Man he blows me away. His songs are symphonic. Perfect blend of melodies, rhythm, lyrics creates a pretty powerful experience. I understand he probably has a whole army of sound engineers, sound technicians, sound advisers, sound managers, sound quarterbacks whatever tweaking every little note but the finished product still carries his stamp of authority and approval.

Here's 'Homecoming', a great example of what I mean by symphonic:



The dude from 'Coldplay' is on the piano and the song begins with a beautiful piano riff that forms the backbone of the whole piece. It was everything, the clever puns, a catchy refrain, good meaningful lyrics. Pretty powerful song, really, that stays with you long enough and succeeds at evoking strong nostalgia and a tinge of wistfulness.

John Coltrane, the legendary Jazz innovator and renowned saxophonist, pioneered a technique called http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheets_of_sound"> 'sheets of sound'

with his improvisation and creative arrangements. I think Kanye does something similar with his songs. He puts in a lot of thought, a lot of effort into creating the right blend of sound. Pick up his new album 'Yeezus' and listen to any of the songs on there ('Black skinhead' is my favorite) and you'll see what I mean.
Kanye may be a jackass, as President Obama so memorably called him in an off-the-record remark during a routine interview, but damn he is a visionary.

And since I promised other critical musings in my title to the post, you will be rewarded aptly:

It's Friday night so treat yourself...

...to this great jazz piece, the concluding track on John Coltrane's magnum opus A love supreme.

My favorite things

I am sure all you have seen the movie "Sound of music." I have seen it too, and to this day I have not yet recovered from the scars it inflicted upon my psyche. Those terrible terrible wounds will perhaps never heal...

And yet, the only part of the movie I liked is the song "My favorite things." Over the years there have been a TON of covers/tributes/interpretations/reinterpretations of that song by high profile entertainers and two cent schmucks. Like your annoying hipster neighbor looking for the right time to release his thereminized version of the song.

What I am about to show you, though, is absolutely breathtaking. This version is by the Jazz ubermench John Coltrane. Coltrane brings an amazing tenderness  to the song, taking his time meandering and brooding over the oh-so-sweet melodies.