If I weren’t nursing my sick 3-year-old, I’d be all over this GREY ALBUM controversy. So let me toss up a few notes: Danger Mouse is an ingenious DJ, not quite an artist, but the record gives you a LOT to listen to, and a lot to think about. He should be celebrated, not persecuted. Because of “Grey Tuesday,” the music has turned into a cause, and there have been a lot worse recordings turned into causes (remember AS NASTY AS THEY WANNA BE?). The flaws are less creative than aesthetic: the melding of Jay-Z and the Beatles doesn’t really tell you anything new about either, except, perhaps, that the Beatles are unjustly underused beat engines. If anything, it makes me appreciate Jay-Z more, on one of the few rap albums that had me craning my neck to hear more on first listening (except for the typical rap caveat: bitches, hos, macho preening, etc). Like a lot of rap dudes I admire, I look forward to his ADULT (as in GROWN UP) records. And the whole exercise will get you thinking about alchemies you’d LIKE to hear: how about REVOLVER adorned by Erik B. and Rakim? Or Eminem rapping over LET IT BLEED? You’ll notice rapper’s aren’t in a hurry to dress up DARK SIDE OF THE MOON, are they?
rock culture approximately
