I agree. I want my artists to be creative and creating NEW art pushing the boundaries. When artosts become formulaic they are almost no longer artists but simply machines. They are trapped and confined by self created boundaries. I want NEW music otherwise frankly I'm not interested or it just doesn't keep my attention.

Then again i am a Deadhead and shit, the Dead don't even play the SAME SONG the same way twice let alone make music that always sounds the same ;)

Love the dead though. Love all the difference directions they went off in (sometimes... ok, often, simultaneously). I love Anerican Beauty and Anthem of the Sun. Love Old and in the Way. Love their restlessness.

Ok so I'm an asshole. I'm actually fine with that too.

But honestly it's just frustrating because I want to show you guys what I see/hear, and I can't seem to do it and also it doesn't matter how I see it or hear it. Still, I'm wylin' out with good intentions here. But fuck it.

LOL I wish I could love the album as much as you do. Enough people do though. It's rated higher than Graduation and Yeezus on RateYourMusic.com, I read a few of the reviews there and a lot of people were making comparsions to The White Album or Physical Graffiti..

Better late than never....

BJ the Chicago Kid's Motown debut album is out and it's excellent!

Features by Kendrick Lamar and Chance the Rapper.

Stream: http://www.npr.org/2016/02/10/466141...kid-in-my-mind

Buy: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/in...d/id1076040237

You bump that MC Tree??

If you like trap and like that oldschool Houston era gangsta rap, you will love Sunday School and Sunday School II When Church Gets Out by Tree

What was so fantastic about the Fare Thee Well tour was that Phil and Mickey/Bill were really trying to push the creative envelope. The Saturday Show was a supreme work of art in free associative jamming and spontaneous creating of music. It was as transformative a peformance as were the 1968 shows or that great run of Fillmore East shows in 1970..

It as such a trip to be part of that creative process live. I have been listening to hundreds of recordings of shows for over ten years now.. I have heard so much live Dead and even played in some Dead cover bands!!

However the experience in Santa Clara was unique. It was a trip to be a PART of the live creation. The band was creating NEW avenues LIVE on stage, and being in the audience felt like being a part of that active process. It was a live discovery of where it was going.. you could "feel" the twists and curves, you could "anticipate" what might be next.. it was so intuitive..

It blew my mind!

The New Year's Show here in LA was in many respects "better" and definitely more "polished" and especially "fun" BUT it was not anywhere near as "psychedelic" as the Santa Clara shows

Ooh! Hot shit! I've been looking forward to this.

It was well worth the wait. Such a soulful album.

White Album huh? I can kinda see that. Here I've been thinking of it as an Abbey Road or Let it Be, but yeah, that kinda works.

Especially with those fleeting moments of revelation that one almost wishes would go on a bit longer. That "how can I find you?" ultra robot voice interlude, the epic outro of FML, the songs between songs, etc.

I think it's a bit more unified than the White Album, which really has no theme to speak of, and is held together by nothing but the relentless genius of the individual Beatles. The gospel thing holds it together. But still, a good comparison.

Thanks for mentioning that

Wow, even as the album continues to frustrate, the reviews continue to come in, each seeming more favorable than the last.

From DrownedInSound:

"If the ego-stroking is incessant, tracks like ‘Famous’ and ‘Waves’ at least remind us why tribute is due. The former, already notorious for the line about Taylor Swift, is a magnificent piece of production, wrapping Rhianna’s rereading of Nina Simone’s Do What You Gotta Do into a sample of Sister Nancy’s iconic dancehall track ‘Bam Bam’ before an outro of Nina Simone’s original vocal. It’s a song dominated by strong female voices that undercut Kanye and Swizz Beats’ braggadocio. ‘FML’ and ‘Real Friends’ go further in undermining the deity Kanye; overexposed 3am synths collide with self-pitying narratives of failure. “I guess I get what I deserve, don't I?” he ponders.

So it continues – the ego is stoked (see ‘FACTS (Charlie Heat Version)’s overexcitement at shoe sales) only to be deflated (Kanye is barely there on dance to the death closer ‘Fade’). Once again, Kanye has released music filled with contradictions and confusion. Once again, it’s like nothing heard before. Once again, it’s good to have him back."

:)

It's almost suspicious that nobody's said, "dude, what the hell is FACTS doing on an *album*?" I mean, it's the worst Kanye song since "Take one for the Team" (which was actually quite hilarious, but it would have been insane to put it on MBDTF). I actually don't mind FACTS as a track. I could totally love with it as a bonus track or a b-side. But why, with songs like "All Day" and "Only One" at his disposal would he choose to make it part of this album? I was still in the city when those tracks dropped (in other words, I shared the road with a delightful plethora of rap fans, while now I'm the only guy in town blasting bass) and people LOVED those songs man. All day sounded electrifying coming out of people's cars. And Only One is obviously one of his best. Why aren't they here?

From the Atlantic http://www.theatlantic.com/entertain...sanity/463086/ The Life of Pablo and the Terror of Monogamy

Hah! Thanks for posting this Rob. Some great shit in here. Everyone has their own take on this record. That's Fucking exciting.

I'm so glad "30 hours" gets extended. The ad lib makes me laugh. That line a about it being his idea to have an open relationship, but now "a nigga mad" driving (said distance) just to "beat a nigga ass" ... "Beat his ass in a schoolyard just to show him I got class" (ha!)

But mostly I'm glad that he gives that beat some room. If that shit ended after 2 and a half minutes I'd be pissed as hell.

It's the best rolling beat song I've heard in as long as I can remember. Shades of Tribe Called Quest. Just forces me head to bounce!

Fire, as far as I can tell.
Are we ever going to get that A$AP Mob album??

I have to admit I lost a bit of interest in Rocky after coming to the conclusion that I only really loved about ½ of ALLA. But the half I loved was dope, and his first two records still beat my ass every goddamn time I listen to them.

I'd very much like to hear some new goddamn Mob music.

I dont know about the Mob album. I mean LORD got cancelled which was a total bummer.

They are all such perfectionists. Think about how little official output we've seen from such a large crew. But in my mind Live Love and Long Live were both 5/5's and ALLA and Trap God were 4/5's... these guys just really deliver strong final products. But it takes a long time.

I know it wasn't popular opinion but I thought ALLA was fantastic. I loved the majority of it.

damn it severian, you write more and better than any music blog I know, indeed in reality this whole thread and forum has essentially become your personal music blog and its part of why the handful of us who are still here continue to read, lurk, and post. But you disappoint me because I hoped to read your interpretation of the Dead, in particular responding to my post about how the Dead create new music spontaneously!

... I'm sorry dude ... :(

I mean, thanks and all, but also I'm very sorry to have disappointed you. I didn't realize a lengthy response was expected, and actually felt that it would have probably irritated folks.

Plus I was getting ready for work, literally brushing my teeth with one hand while responding to your post with the other. I'll get back to you on it, though. Don't want you to think I'm blowing you off (I had your back on Terminator, and got thee joke pre-explanation and should have said something then), so I probably owe you one.

Until then, here's a story containing a link to an alternate version of "Highlights" featuring Madonna instead of Young Thug on vox.

Loude, check that production. Is it me or is this version dancehall fucking crazy, and superior to the current version on the current TLOP?

http://www.spin.com/2016/02/kanye-we...gn=spintwitter