There is almost no logical explanation for enjoying this album. The beats are repetitive, the hooks pummel one to death, and the overarching themes of love and sexuality have been treated in far better detail by countless other artists. The essential saving grace of the vast majority of Pharrell’s recent work, this album and other collaborations included, is its incredible catchiness.

The relatively narrow focus of each song in production and lyricism is more than sufficient given how well these earworms are pulled off; some of these songs represent the epitome of pop music.

The only real question to determine your enjoyment of this album is whether you can tolerate excellent segments being expanded and repeated over the course of an entire song. Not enjoying one section of a song can also completely ruin the rest of the song, which represents an all-in strategy by Pharrell. Listeners will absolutely love or absolutely hate parts of the album.

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“Marilyn Monroe” starts off the album with a love letter to a beautiful girl. Pharrell proclaims his willingness to abandon conventional symbols of powerful, sexy women throughout history for his subject.

On this note, another saving grace that drives the entire album from potentially mediocre to greatness is Pharrell’s confidence. This shines through when he elevates himself to the level he described the girl at, stating, “We’re so hard, I was so hard that they can’t chew,” which is a play on the phrase, “don’t bite off more than you can chew.”

Despite praising this girl so heavily throughout the song, he considers her capable of handling his desires and vice-versa. This line is incredibly important, as it best represents the rest of the album. Pharrell fully believes himself and the target of each song to be engaging in the greatest love and lust the world has ever known.

This is the catchy, confident, must-listen pop album of the year in certain sections. Buying into Pharrell’s ambitions and intentions is absolutely essential, and often easy as a result of Pharrell’s ability to clearly convey his aims. The only potential issue is the collapse of the whole experience due to excessive repetition.

G I R L fully represents Pharrell’s abilities, and shows he is poised for a potential stranglehold over the pop scene of 2014.

4/5

Shane Madill
The Silhouette

Oxymoron
Artist: Schoolboy Q

Hip Hop has changed a lot over the last 20 years. The deaths of Tupac and Biggie in 1996 and 1997 created a void in the industry. While this allowed the influence of southern hip-hop to grow, primarily through OutKast, there was still a vacuum. This was eventually occupied by two divisions: artists such as DMX and Eminem, who attempted to emulate the emotion of Tupac, and more pop-influenced rappers, such as Jay-Z and 50 Cent, who represented the looser flow of Biggie Smalls.

In the background, however, another small group was rising. These were more socially conscious rappers who attempted to break away from prior notions of hip-hop with modern production and a wider variety of lyricism. With Kanye West’s Graduation defeating 50 Cent’s Curtis in sales in 2007, the dominance of gangsta rap was symbolically ended, opening the door to an entirely new generation of rappers. J. Cole, Drake, Wiz Khalifa, and Lupe Fiasco are just a few examples. Groups such as the A$AP crew and Odd Future, in turn, provide some throwbacks to earlier rap influences.

The evolution continues with artists such as Pusha T, Danny Brown, and Kendrick providing introspective lyrics influenced by time on the streets, while still being relatively accessible, not in terms of radio-readiness, but in terms of content and messages.

Schoolboy Q is obviously influenced by this newest evolution, while also having fully internalized his gangsta rap label. But he does not quite reach the level of his peers. In an interview leading up to the album’s release, Schoolboy Q stated, “The oxymoron in this album is that I’m doing all this bad to do good for my daughter. That’s why I’m robbin’. That’s why I’m stealin’.”
He is successful for the most part. Tracks focused on his lifestyle, such as “Los Awesome,” complement his more introspective feelings on tracks like “Prescription/Oxymoron.” However, these inward-looking moments are few relative to the more radio-friendly ‘bitches, money, and weed’ tropes.

While the production and Schoolboy Q’s overall flow is good, the lyrics can be extremely spotty. This does not help the theme of the album as these lapses are unintentional, purposeless, and unfortunately feel like filler. The overall message is muddled, and while still a great album to enjoy in individual pieces or songs, it simply cannot reach the level of more focused recent albums by other artists. This is not the complete album Schoolboy Q seems capable of.

3/5

Shane Madill
The Silhouette

Revenge of the Dreamers
Artist: J. Cole

January 28 was a massive day for J. Cole. He marked his 29th birthday by announcing a partnership between the powerhouse Interscope Records and his own Dreamville Records, on top of a newly released mixtape from Dreamville.

Later that night, his headlining performance at a sold-out Madison Square Garden included surprise guest Jay Z performing a few collaboration tracks. A piece of hip hop history was then gifted – Jay Z gave his original chain from when he first founded Roc-A-Fella Records to J. Cole.

Kendrick Lamar then came onstage as another surprise guest to perform some songs from good kid, m.A.A.d city, and to give praise to J. Cole. “He was one of the first people to accept me in the music business,” Lamar said, “This is not a regular rapper friendship; this is my brother.”

With these votes of confidence, J. Cole had to be feeling on cloud nine. But how does the mixtape hold up?

Though he is considered to ‘play it safe’ relative to other modern rappers, J. Cole still offers crisp lyricism and production on all of his efforts, and members of the Dreamville group, consisting of KQuick, Bas and Omen, manage to hold their own.

KQuick may only show up on the hook and background of the track “Lit,” but his silvery voice singing, “Do you believe in love?” and “What’s your drug?” provide an interesting contrast to lines like, “I never thought that I would fuck Irish hoes.”

Bas spits about New York in “Golden Goals,” about money, weed and girls in “Ceelo With the G’s” and joins J. Cole and Omen on “Bitchez” to talk about pulling even more girls.

Omen provides the surprise of the mixtape in expanding from these conventional themes expected to be associated with a J. Cole project to talk about more personal and introspective matters on “Motion Picture” and “Henny Flow,” which adds an additional layer to his represented persona on the previously mentioned “Bitchez.”

All in all, this is another relatively safe mixtape from a prominent artist expected to put out material like this. J. Cole might not win any new fans, but interest should definitely increase for his supporting crew of KQuick, Bas and Omen, as they hopefully explore new territory with Interscope in the future.

The production, flow, and lyricism are all quite good for what the mixtape represents, but what it represents is content that has already been explored by countless other artists.

3.5/5

Shane Madill
The Silhouette

Launched from the small town of East Point, Atlanta, André “André 3000” Benjamin and Antwan “Big Boi” Patton have released five studio albums as OutKast, with almost every one changing the face of hip hop.

As the duo prepare to reunite and tour more than 40 festivals this summer, it is a fitting time to look back on this remarkable discography.

Their first album, Southernplaylisticadillacmuzik (1994) consisted of soul and funk influences in the production, below the lyricism about coming of age topics and urban life.

At the time, some responded negatively to the album, due to the stark deviation from past genre conventions, and to the west coast versus east coast rivalry of the 90s.

However, this album expanded the range of hip hop to incorporate different influences and more emotional lyricism, and it is now considered to be a classic in southern hip hop.

The events after this album resulted in a maturation that would greatly influence of OutKast’s subsequent work.

Confidence from their first large tour gave them a real sense of the influence that their music had on people. Big Boi also saw the birth of his first child, whereas André experienced the end of a two-year relationship and underwent lifestyle changes that included sobriety and vegetarianism.

Their follow-up album, entitled ATLiens (1996), reflected this personal growth and resulted in the creation of another classic.
It was more laid-back than Southernplaylisticadillacmuzik, and took influences from dub and reggae, but persisted in conveying the group’s ever-developing perspectives on life.

Though their first two albums gave a voice to the south and essentially established the entire subgenre of southern hip hop, the group somehow managed to top their previous efforts with 1998’s Aquemini.

Their lyrical and production skills increased, and this album represented a total package of 90s hip hop from any region.

Their first real mainstream hit, however, came off of 2000’s Stankonia. “Ms. Jackson” became their first single to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

The group also began tobroaden their style even further, with André transitioning to his modern melodic style of vocals, and influences from drum and bass and rock starting to appear.

Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (2004) remains the only pure hip hop album to receive the Grammy for Album of the Year, even though it was basically two solo albums by Big Boi and André, packaged together under the OutKast name.

Unfortunately, 2006’s Idlewild marks the one low point in the groups’ discography.

Accompanied by a musical movie starring the two, the album and film were considered merely average and unfocused.Though there were high-points, it contained too much filler and not enough substance; this is especially true relative to any of their previous work.
While never officially breaking up, the two decided to go their separate ways to explore their own styles and skills with solo work.

They have not officially released any new OutKast material together since 2006.

With the group about to embark on a major tour in celebration of Southernplaylisticadillacmuzik’s 20th anniversary, however, hopefully that will soon change.

ANDY asked its writers about arts and entertainment that affected them most this semester. Here’s what they said.

Shane Madill

My state of mind is regularly conflicts with my thoughts of everyday life, and my desire to be grounded while also achieving success. I often think about the paradoxical idea of zoning out into “Mittyesque” fantasies. I feel bittersweet nostalgia for the past as I remember both good times and bad times. I look back with 20/20 hindsight, and consider how my experiences have molded me into the person I am today and how they have influenced my future.

Recently, I’ve find myself constantly going back to Converge’s discography. I discovered Converge at an especially dark point in my life, and I always go back to them in as a constant reminder of who I was, who I am, and who I want to be. Singer Jacob Bannon once stated, “People will identify with the darkness you’re feeling,” and sometimes we just need a reminder that we are all connected, even by the basic humanity of the darker emotions we struggle all must struggle through.

Alison Piercy

This past semester I read a countless number of books. All of them were for class. None of them felt very artistic. All of them were non-fiction and World War II related. Most of my time off has been spent looking at graduate school or continuing education programs. Whenever I go out with friends, or family, or colleagues, everyone wants to know what I plan to do next year. In retrospect, I probably should have expected this, given that I’m in my fourth and final year at McMaster. Sadly, the arts haven’t been able to affect me very much this semester because I’ve had no time for them. And life feels empty. And maybe that’s their affect. Here’s hoping for a new year filled with the arts. And less WWII.

Michael Gallagher

While this may be a bit cliché, music will always be one of the most important artworks in my life. I cannot imagine going through a semester without it. Almost everything I know would just feel so empty. How would I pump myself up at the gym if I didn’t have an awesome collection of songs to get me going? Would I even go to my classes if the long walk to school wasn’t made better by shuffling through my iPod? I can’t even try and imagine a semester without music that would me through it. And for me, it is most beneficial to listen to music while I’m studying.

Despite being a music lover, I always had trouble listening to music during a study session, because it was often too distracting. Thankfully, I soon realized that instrumental music – or music without lyrics – was the answer. Soon, some of the most played songs on my iPod were old Jazz albums, hip-hop producer beats, and artists like Ratatat, or BadBadNotGood. They helped get me in the zone I needed to boost my grades.

While I’m sure there are other reasons for the improvement in my grades over the years, I can’t help but decide that music helped me focus, and this was a huge part of it.

Lene Trunjer Petersen

I am a film nerd with a growing taste for controversial, independent films. The very different languages in many of these films is what amazes me. One film in particular that I saw this past term made my reconsider my knowledge of the environment – The East, starring Swedish actor Alexander Skarsgård. Skarsgård portrays an eco-terrorist fighting for the world against big corporations. When I walked out from the warmth of the cinema, I stared up in the darkness questioning whether he was committing acts of terrorism or if he was actually saving our world. The film had a grave impact on my own way of thinking and made me strongly consider how I personally can work to save our planet hopefully before it is to late.

Shane Madill
The Silhouette

Whenever we listen to music, it is difficult to separate the music itself from the circumstances of the artist. What you know about the artist tends to influence your perception of the music. Death Grips, however, bridges this gap between reality and music; they complement one another.

Exmilitary, the initial Death Grips mixtape, was released with a sense of mystery in 2011. The physical cover image, described as a “power object,” was a photograph that one member of the group had in his wallet for ten years without knowing the origin. MC Ride was also the only known member of the three-piece group at this point. They are now recognized as a three-piece, consisting of Ride, Zach Hill, and Andy Morin.

Although Exmilitary’s follow-up, The Money Store, was released without any major complications and with critical praise on an actual record label, Death Grips’ subsequent decision to abandon their international tour to work on their next album angered the label and fans. The content and more industrial production of The Money Store further polarized fans, both those who were expecting something similar to Exmilitary and new fans attempting to get into the band.

This next album, entitled No Love Deep Web, turned out to be what launched Death Grips into widespread popularity. In a rebellious gesture towards their label, Epic Records, who wanted to delay the release of the album until 2013, the group leaked No Love Deep Web to the masses. The now infamous cover featured an erect penis with the album title written on it. The band described this as a spiritual thing, not too dissimilar from Exmilitary’s cover, and further explained how peoples’ hang-ups with sexuality, gender, nudity, and religion were “toxic and poisonous to the human mind, and the development of humans in the modern world.” This perspective also corresponds to The Money Store’s cover of an androgynous masochist on the leash of a smoking female sadist.

Death Grips was dropped from the label after this incident and for posting private emails in a Facebook post titled “HAHAHAHAHAHAHA NOW FUCK OFF.” At Lollapalooza 2013, they never showed up for their performance and instead displayed a suicide note written to them with a child’s learning drum kit in front, which was destroyed by the audience.

On Nov. 13, 2013, Death Grips released Government Plates without any forewarning and for free, similar to the methods they used for No Love Deep Web. The physical release of No Love Deep Web finally took place on Nov. 19.

Surrounded with self-created controversy, deeper societal observations, and a polarization over all of their actions, Death Grips represent the punk ideology of separating oneself from society only to criticize it. This is ironically coupled with an overarching feeling that they do not care about themselves or who they anger, even if who they anger is the intended target of the message.

Shane Madill
The Silhouette

 Reprise EP
Artist: Gold Panda

In the genre of ambient or minimalist music, every little detail included or omitted by the producer has a significant effect on the listener’s interpretation of the music. Unfortunately, this also means that every single mistake is able to take centre stage, and often for extended periods of time.

In the case of Gold Panda’s Reprise EP, none of the songs really evoke any kind of reaction. Every track leaves you feeling completely neutral and without any real connection to the music. If you were a fan order levitra of Gold Panda’s prior music, this EP may even induce frustration, as it is nowhere close to the emotional depth and ability that Golden Panda has demonstrated before.

The one standout track that saves this EP from complete mediocrity is “Community (Fort Romeau Remix).” It progressively develops and balances the fine line between conventional dance and experimentation very effectively. “If U Knew (Reprise Long Live Take)” is an honorable runner-up, though it also suffers from the mistake of trying to add in too many meaningless details.

Had Gold Panda and company trimmed the fat off of some of the tracks and nailed down what they wanted to present, this EP would have been substantially better.

2/5

Shane Madill
The Silhouette

It is really, really easy to just watch and cheapest viagra anywhere consume more popular modern horror movies. This year The Conjuring, Insidious: Chapter 2, and Mama all managed to gross over $100 million at the global box office, with relative successes such as Evil Dead and The Purge also being noticeable. However, this Halloween I would like to encourage you to experience some other, lesser known scary movies to experience different styles and stories possible within the large horror spectrum.

Martyrs (2008)

This French film depicts the attempted revenge of two women against their previous captors. The movie does a fantastic job of escalating the scares over time while taking a relatively simple premise and adding smart elements to make both the plot and specific scenes very memorable.

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (2010)

A legitimately funny comedy/horror movie about two hillbillies and a bunch of college kids who mistake them for blood-thirsty murderers. Well-paced, perfect dramatic irony, and plenty of laughs wrapped in a homage allow this to be comfortably compared as a funky cross between Shaun of the Dead and Cabin in the Woods.

Shane Madill
The Silhouette

This movie is terrible. The words to fully describe what I felt while watching this escape me. The sheer amount of disappointment, boredom, and overall lack of interest combine together to create a bottomless pit into which I thrust any positive emotion I could have had about this movie. Though the first bit was fun to break down and analyse, the film’s themes are repeated to an absolutely mind-numbing point. This movie may be one of the most overanalysed pieces of work in the history of cinema. I guess if you chuck enough art house tendencies at a metaphorical wall, some critic will find a way to make it all stick.

There is absolutely no reason to care about any of these characters. No one has any goals to aspire to or any meaningful struggles or challenges they actually want to get through. The movie purposely shoots itself in the foot by ensuring that nothing meaningful happens at any point during its span. For over an hour, it drags itself through insanely simple characterization and the idea of how Bob and Charlotte provide each other a release from the rest of their lives. This is not an uncommon theme, and it should not be the only forward momentum this film has for its entire duration. Having a movie of completely passive and malleable characters, though easy to write, is poison to the viewer. Pick any four-minute segment in the movie, put it on repeat for the next hour and a half, and you have the same experience.

The acting was pretty good, though. No real complaints about that.

Shane Madill
The Silhouette

Pusha T’s My Name is My Name and Danny Brown’s Old should be your front-runners for hip-hop album of the year. It is honestly that simple. Contrasting both, however, provides perspective on two entirely different experiences and styles that operate on opposing sides of the hip hop spectrum.

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Pusha T’s My Name Is My Name is classic hip hop lyricism with modern production. He balances being faithful to the streets that raised him and his new found prosperity, a classic dichotomy for rappers. These themes are further supplemented by the production from a more established tier of artists, primarily Kanye West and Pharrell Williams.

Pusha T raps about his place in the music scene and how this is his time to rise up to greatness. He raps about women and, more often than not, with surprising emotional sincerity. He raps about pushing drugs to get by in the streets and how these drugs affect strangers and friends. Though these are all relatively common themes in hip hop, the overall polish of his craft and the production leave this album achieving relative greatness.

Danny Brown’s Old, however, combines alternative lyricism with alternative production. XXX, his previous mixtape, was essentially about his personal experiences with hardcore drugs and his realizations about what these seemingly positive experiences were actually doing to him.

Old represents the relapse and breakdown of Danny Brown into the person he used to be. The escapism that drugs provide from his struggles, such as near-suicidal depression, takes control and consumes him. Unlike the beginning of XXX, he is fully aware of the consequences of taking these drugs, but does not care because the benefit of temporarily forgetting his experiences keeps him in the vicious cycle of dependency. It is a harrowing experience to hear him speak from his heart about all of his conflicting emotions and experiences. Fear, depression and pain are the core of this album, though they are masked under the veil of drugs and the resulting trip.

The contrast between these two albums demonstrates how hip hop can achieve greatness through multiple approaches, and how the genre allows for a wide variety of stories to be represented. If you are just a casual fan of hip-hop, the recommendation is that you experience and attempt to internalize both of these albums.

4.5/5 each