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Nelly
Sweat/Suit
In hip-hop, the double album is apparently the new Bentley, a status symbol representative of ridiculous industry sway and unsurpassed material excess. The impetus behind the two most recent double discs, released by Oukast and R. Kelly, varied to fit the artists; the former a result of creative differences and the latter a plea for criminal defense. Nelly's motivation,
however, can be considered little more than commercial convenience. The two albums have been released separately and simultaneously - "Use Your Illusion" style—with Sweat dripping with club anthems and Suit tailor-made for necking and chinning.
The two could easily have been combined to form one masterful pop album, but Nelly isn't interested in creating a legacy. He wants this party started, like, now. While both discs are easy listening, it's the brash and bluster of Sweat
that's moving units in the short-term. "Heart of a Champion" swipes the theme from Monday Night Football, fashioning an anthem that's one part goofy, two parts groovy. The Neptunes contribute another minimalist track in the release's first single, "Flap Your Wings," where Nelly unfathomably christens himself "Booteus Maximus" and instructs listeners to "Get Your Eagle On" Terrell Owens style. Among the remaining highlights is a potential halftime show opportunity in the Christina Aguilera assisted "Tilt Ya Head Back," a funk genre exercise that plays a tad too chaste to truly represent the individuals involved.
While Sweat is all football, hard hitting and over hyped, Suit is some satisfying stick-ball, a slow burn that reaches home base more often than not. Nelly spent some time as a minor leaguer with the St. Louis Cardinals before leaving the game for the Game. If there's anything he he's retained from his background at the ballpark, it's a penchant for throwbacks as well as a reverence for the old maxim "There's no 'l in team." On Suit Nelly has assembled an entire roster of major league
rhymers and B-list R&Bs. Ron Isley and Snoop Dogg steal the show on the Copa cabana of "She Don't Know My Name," while Jazzy Pha and T.I. play up the acronyms by touting the STL/ATL connection and praising all the country girls that reside therein.
The standout, however, is the unlikely pairing with country crooner Tim McGraw, who lends his twang to the saccharine break-up lament, "Over and Over." While Nelly's not the first hip-pop artist to meld country and rap (Bubba Sparks established the genre on last year's Deliverance), he is the most poised to take the style to the mainstream.
Nelly may not rank among the titans of the hip-hop world, but with the surprising consistency he exhibits on Sweat/Suit, he definitely holds the title as the most enjoyable.
Grade: B
If you got your eagle on with Nelly, pick up the last
Fabulous album, Street Dreams. Better yet, turn on MTV and watch a Ludacris video.
— Ahsan Latif
The Like Young So Serious
Like former touring partners Mates of State, The Like Young are a connubial duo with midwestern roots and cheery dispositions. On So Serious, Joe and Amanda Ziemba cram 24 minutes of insidiously catchy pop punk into 12 tracks with reckless abandon.
Sprinkled throughout the power chord hooks of So Serious are signs that main vocalist/guitarist Joe Ziemba's demeanor has shifted slightly from the sparklingly cheerful nature of The Like Young's 2003 debut, Art Contest. He sounds a little world weary on tracks like "Out To Get Me" and "Tighten My Tie." Fortunately for Joe, every time he tries his best to be a downer, his wife Amanda shoots Prozac directly into the band's bloodstream from behind her drum set with a sweet, lilting voice and the occasional NutraSweet synth line. With energetic, three-chord punk riffs and guy/girl vocal interchange, The Like Young are the house band for twenty somethings about to fall out of the sky and into the real world. On So Serious these wedded Chicago sprites let us coliectively indulge in our guilty pop punk pleasure for one last time, while issuing reminders that the innocence youth is far, far behind us. Listen to The Like Young while they're here and appealing, because this band cannot become Fleetwood Mac. If the Ziembas divorce, there is no one else in the band to hook up with.
Grade: B (A if you're 23 and in your second year of marriage)
Dave Ruigh
-Dave Ruigh
Paul Westerberg Folker
After leaving The Replacements 13 years ago, there's no denying that Paul Westerberg has had a solo career full of ups and downs. Before Folker, it seemed that he had disappeared off the face of the earth. Well, he has...kind of. Actually, he's been alone in his basement creating some of the best songs of his long career, and on a label you would least expect. For example, you may not remember 2002's low-fi masterpiece Stereo/Mono.
Well, Folker, which again is an album you can definitely tell he sloppily recorded in a basement, might be Westerberg's chance to reclaim some
old glory and score some new fans. Mixing folk and jangle-pop, Westerberg still has the formula down. He can write catchy melodies any time he wants to, but he does more than that. He creates a lush, beautiful atmosphere he can comfortably move around in and a sound that is distinct and trademark. There are times, however, when Westerberg tends to seem a little bit too comfortable on the album. Songs like "Gun Shy" cause me to suspect that everything he recorded, even the weaker songs, made the cut. The standout tracks, like "As Far As I Know," do make up for that, and his style remains unique and honest throughout.
All he needs is a guitar and his voice to create this, and that's what good folk music is all about. And don't be fooled by the title, Westerberg has been going folk for a long time.
Grade: B If you dig Westerberg, try The Lemonheads. And listen to Matt Beat on Focus, 8-10 PM Thursdays on KJHK, 90.7
Matt Beat
Remember when kids used to sniff Pixie Stix one after the other for that sweet, sugary high? It's this kind of hyperactive "glitch go happy" sound that comes across in the French trio DAT Politics' fifth release Go Pets Go. Some tracks like "Cat Polk" sound like my Casio keyboard skipping hand in hand with my old Atari through the park.
Despite this techno love, an underlying earthy feeling resonates throughout the album that gives it a natural, backwoods flavor. There's even a welcomed dose or two of heavy glitch and bass action as on "Tricky" and "Yha Hoo Tuning." However, it's the light-hearted vocals spread over the poppy cute songs with witty lyrics that are the icing on the cake. At the end of the third track, a reporter states "I've heard the phrase laptopianism to describe what you do." Yep, this album is one cute, sweet "laptopgasmic" experience.
DAT Politics Go Pets Go
Grade: A Love DAT Politics? You should try Mouse on Mars, Matthew Dear
— Derek Zarda
9.30.04 Jayplay
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