Scary shit

It's Halloween!! So here's a video for you to be mildly frightened by...



Lovely, spooky and with a twist at the end. What more could you ask for?

Heartbreaker?

Of all the musical genres, rap has never been one to flirt with experimentation too often. During the gangsta rap phase that blighted much of its recent history, you were lucky to hear a change of tempo let alone an interesting musical idea. More recently, rappers such as 50 Cent, Akon, Nelly and Ja Rule have stuck to a well-trodden path, using female singers to recite a (usually heavily sampled) chorus making it catchy enough for radio and benign enough for them to rap about nothing. Timbaland has tried his best to heave the genre into a new dawn and rappers such as Q-Tip, Common and Lupe Fiasco at least have interesting things to say.



Added to that list of both interesting rappers and exciting producers is Kanye West, a man who, despite his ego (or maybe because of it) has had a hand in some of the best rap singles of recent years. Perhaps aware of the shortcomings of his own success- he too has a habit of relying too heavily on a big sample- his forthcoming fourth album 808s & Heartbreak is shaping up to be a pretty huge departure for him and a fairly brave one at that. By now you've probably heard first single 'Love Lockdown', a song that relies solely on a simple piano motif and some frantic drumming. There's no rapping, just West's weedy voice heavily treated through an auto-tuner. Reaction so far has been mixed, with the single hitting the top 10 on both sides of the Atlantic, but with large numbers of rap fans ranting at West's mission to change things up.

The second single is mooted to be 'Heartless', another rap-free, auto-tuned ditty with a beat that sounds like it was created using a £25 Casio from Argos.



Another track that's leaked deals with the death of West's mother earlier this year. 'Coldest Winter' samples Tears For Fears (huh?) and is really rather lovely. For once West's singing voice sounds engaging and the minimal drums and ghostly synth lines help create a genuine atmosphere.



Strangest of all the new songs is 'Robocop'. Over exploding beats and robot sound effects (what else) a heavily-treated West talks of not wanting a robocop. Who does he know that's like robocop in the first place? Of all the new songs this is the only one that West claims is not finished, with Herbie Hancock (?) apparently working on it as we speak. Things just got very bizarre indeed...

Rosie Buhler

In Musick's continuing quest to find out the movers and shakers from across the globe, let's travel down to New Zealand to find out what native sounds are keeping those Antipodeans up all night.

Here's this weeks singles chart:

1. 'Whatever You Like' by T.I. (Big Hip Hop star from America, about to do time for some gun crime...that rhymes!)
2. 'Everything' by P-money Feat. Vince Harder (Have no idea I'm afraid. They're from New Zealand though. Vince Harder sounds like a porn star however)
3. 'All Summer Long' by Kid Rock (Proof that no-one is safe from Mr Rock and his lame summer singalong)
4. 'Sex On Fire' by Kings Of Leon (Ubiquitous American rock band, used to have facial hair but are now far too serious for all that)
5. 'Miss Independent' by Ne-yo (R&B superstar and feminist thinker)
6. 'So What' by Pink (She's like, totally over him already, like, oh my god)
7. 'Live Your Life' by T.I. Feat. Rihanna (He's back and he's brought a friend)
8. 'Poker Face' by Lady Gaga (Nice. Lady Gaga will be HUGE, trust me)
9. 'Just Dance' by Lady Gaga Feat. Colby O'Donis (This song's the better of the two, and that's before I tell you she's partly responsible for New Kids On The Block coming back...hey, wait!)
10. 'One Step At A Time' by Jordin Sparks (Former American Idol winner, this is her third single and is probably quite dull)

So what have we learnt? New Zealanders love American music even more then us Brits do, with 90% of the chart this week made by someone from the US of A. What can we deduce from this? Is it some kind of political statement? Are we headed for some New Zealand/ America alliance? Is it the start of one of the greatest super powers of all time? Or, more prosaically, is it a sign that most radio stations in New Zealand are as narrow-minded as the ones over here?

I will say two things however.

1). Lady Gaga looks and sounds like this:



Like Gwen Stefani before all the yodelling.

2). The T.I. song with Rihanna genuinely features a sample of 'Dragostea din tei' by those musical polymaths O-Zone



Of all the songs to sample. Bizarre.

Cover Uncovered

Razorlight: Slipway Fires.



At first this image for the cover of Razorlight's third album looks fairly innocuous. A simple premise of splitting the cover into four parts, a band member in each, and having the text run across the middle. Nice. Very clean and very simple. But look closer dear reader, for musical genius Johnny Borrell is trying to tell us all something. We all know by now that he's got the music thing sewn up, but did any of us really know what a brilliant aesthetic mind this man has? Firstly, he's the only one in white, because the rest of the band aren't beautiful angels like he is so they must spend their lives (or however long Razorlight are around for, or which ever ends first) in complete darkness, thus allowing Borrell to shine brighter. Also, just look at the way Borrell's shirt flaunts suggestively with his naval, the merest hint of nipple either side of those lovely pearls. Many would claim the pearls to be "a bit much", but Borrell is a brilliantly unique and carefree individual who panders not to any limitations of gender or typical rock star posturing. He's an artist and if this cover doesn't let you know that then you're not concentrating enough. I'm also a big fan of the hair being skillfully swept to one side to reveal an earring that finishes the pirate look with subtle aplomb. Perhaps undermining the whole tableau is the fact that the bass player (he has no name, but is situated top right) is looking over at Borrell and though he makes no face nor utters any words you know he's thinking "what a fucking cunt this man is". So much can be said in a simple photo. Art like this makes me proud to be alive.

Preach Melba

Lily Allen has been posting new songs on her myspace page for the past couple of months, whilst simultaneously using it's blog facility to tackle everything from knife crime to female body image. She's also hit back at the numerous newspaper and magazine articles that appear everyday, usually showing her falling in or out of some swanky bar or award show (she claims it's what most young people would be doing, I tend to agree, so I side with Lily. In your face Murdoch!). It's worth noting that until recently even her myspace page was more about Lily Allen the celebrity then it was about Lily Allen the pop star so it's worth re-adjusting the focus back onto the music.



'Everyone's At It' is the first single to be taken from Allen's second album, It's Not Me, It's You, which is out in February of next year. Musically things are a little different, with less ska affectations and more icey electronics. (EDIT: The first single will now be 'The Fear' and will be out in January. It contains a lyrics about blow-jobs). In fact, parts of 'Everyone's At It' recall The Killers' early singles, with rushes of synths and odd 'whoosh' noises. It also takes a few more listens until the chorus sticks in your head, but it will, don't worry.

Lyrically, it's less cockney swagger and more depressed celebrity, with the focus shifted to the drug habits of famous people, politicians and everybody else basically. The sentiments are laudable, especially the bits about people being honest about their own drug habits before vilifying and crucifying others, but it's also all a bit preachy and a tad dull. It's not easy to listen to a famous person moaning, especially one that's not yet 25 years old, and here's hoping the rest of the album shifts the focus away from how it's crap being a celebrity.

This is another new song, which may or may not make the new album. It's called 'I Don't Know' and is about how crap it is being a celebrity...oh.

They don't make 'em like this anymore

The best album cover of all time?



Grace Jones has been everywhere of late, promoting her new album Hurricane, and she's quite clearly a little bit mental. But mental equals good in the world of pop, and as with all good pop stars there's something undeniably otherworldly about her. The new stuff doesn't really interest me, however, so I decided to get Island Life, which has got all the 'hits' on.

This one's on it:



And this one:



Brilliant.

Gang bang

I was once in an art collective. I was 6 years old and me and some friends would go round to each others houses and make some pretty crazy stuff with fuzzy felts. We'd also daub some pretty out there shit on the walls, real aggressive stuff about Blue Peter or the latest episode of Grange Hill. Usually in a haiku. Brooklyn's Gang Gang Dance are also part of an art collective and make music as part of their art. This sounds incredibly wanky and yet their songs are really rather good. They are signed to Warp in the UK thus making their pretensions somehow more worthwhile and satisfying.

Here's a picture:



And some aural delight:




Now, I don't know much about art, but I know what I like.