Like Rod said, he’s a massive musical talent. I mean we’re talking extreme levels here, and to point at someone like that and say he’s no Mozart. The optics are terrible. I am not going to apologize for pointing that out. I’m not going to do it, and there is nothing disingenuous about what I said even if you don’t like it.
Dismiss him as a source of anything relevant as a politician. Say he’s crazy if you want but to say he’s no Mozart like he’s just someone to easily dismiss in the musical industry, no. That’s not appropriate. And there is nothing unique about QT3 that makes this conversation any different.
And just to clarify, me pointing this out is not the same as saying anyone is racist. I should be able to point out optics and not hit this auto-wall of but I’m not racist so this can’t be right response. If that is happening, this is part of the discourse problem in America and is also part the conflict since the election. There are number of individuals who have tried to cover why these conversations go this way, and why Whoopi Goldberg got her few extra minutes not long ago when she tried to express how difficult it is to talk about these things.
If you are mildly interested (and I dig it if you are not) but if I had to pick out a couple of tracks to get someone into Kayne West it would be:
so joyous
and
surprisingly vulnerable and auto biographical
I can tell you as someone who makes electronic music (maybe you do more than me, no patronising intended) some of the things he does during editing and his production skills are genuinely impressive. One of his skills which is really underrated is his mixing ear, the man can get the volume levels JUST right for each element at the right frequencies, that in itself is hard, but when he does it for say a dozen elements playing at the same time then I just hold my hands up and say “ok Kayne, you got me”
When we talk about geniuses like Kanye, do we think of them is being amazingly intelligent in many ways, and thus able to weigh in intelligently in any subject, or do we think of them as having some great skill or intelligence in some perhaps more limited area?
Scott Joplin was no doubt a genius. Every piece of his I’ve ever heard is a gem in its own way, and his music has certainly stood the test of time, being over 100 years old now. Add to that the fact that he accomplished that as a black man in the late-19th Century USA, when it was all hot-and-cold-running minstrel shows in blackface and “scientific” racism.
I disagree. I think because of the general lack of diversity here, people think that, but that doesn’t make it true. It probably feels good to think that, and it makes it easier to think that because there aren’t a lot of diverse voices saying otherwise, but you can go find Whoopi and find out why she says things like “this why black people don’t like talking to white people”. It’s not a unique engagement, but it’s an uncomfortable one. And it’s uncomfortable for everyone because pointing things out like this auto raises walls, followed by dismissals.
Be warned, they’re all prog metal. Which is appealing to me precisely because the musicians tend more towards virtuoso, and the bands tend to write and mix their own albums.
Nah, I did grow up playing instruments. Mostly jazz and march/ orchestral. Was a time when I could, on the fly, transpose any song in real time while playing any brass instrument. Loved playing in jazz band.
But that was all 15 years ago, and I’ve not touched playing music since, really.
See that I can appreciate, even if his style has less than zero appeal to me. Like I said, I have no skin in the game over Kanye. But I can separate my personal dislike of his music from recognition of talent, even if I can’t hear the talent myself. So I defer to those invested in those scenes, who know what the abilities of the artists there are, to tell me if he is some unique talent.
Similarly I understand that some may not appreciate the Wall of Sound stylings, or the forays into extreme metal of Devin Townsend. However for someone who knows the scenes, I can articulate why Devin is, among metal musicians, a singular talent whom has very few peers. I may love the guys from Threshold, or Michael Romeo of Symphony X, but in a pure level of broad ability and sophistication they are far short of Devin, even if they may be better technical instrumentalists.
I can only speak for myself, but when I think of intelligence or genius in this case, I am applying it in the latter sense, narrow and specific, which is how I interrupted the TMZ/Guy in the hoodie also was applying it to Kanye.
I agree with Nesrie. This, I am sure, is not the best article, but consider how people who read these kinds of articles might take everyone’s under-informed dismissals:
This isn’t a forum for good faith arguments to begin with, but it’s depressing to see how dismissive and over the top the comments are about how his talent just can’t exist for throw away reasons.
As for his performances, his show at Lolla had the best energy I have ever been to. No one was talking, everyone was rocking.
It’s difficult to label contemporary artists as genius. We don’t have the proper perspective. A lot of artists have been called genius who in a generation or two are no longer in the discussion.
How many people read Ezra Pound? He’s more a historical figure than a literary light at this point. He was sympathetic to the Italian Fascists during WW2, so that’s hard to reconcile. There are many artists like him, sharp points of intellect and creation in their time, often brief, who now are no longer discussed. It’s too early to know if Kanye will be no longer heard in 50 years. My guess is probably he won’t be, since he’s part of popular culture and there seems to be less reverence for the past in pop culture. The new is always more interesting.
