As I mentioned before, I am starting a project where I attempt to listen to all the Top 200 Highest Rated albums from Metacritic’s website. Since I originally ran my list, several new albums have made it onto the list, but I will ignore them for now. I will post the list once I figure out how to bring a table over onto the blog. Until then, take my word for it.
To understand why I am doing this project, I am trying to expose myself to more and more music. I love music, and I’m trying to stay culturally up-to-date. I want to know which artists are helping to move music forward. So, without further ado….
#14 – The Streets, A Grand Don’t Come for Free (Metascore = 91)
The Streets is the stage moniker for Mike Skinner, a rapper from Birmingham, England. His background from Wikipedia (yeah, the REAL source) says he’s a suburban kid who started writing raps at age 15. This is his second release.
1. “It Was Supposed to Be So Easy” – my first impression was this guy can’t rap. He’s slow when he raps…is he trying to say too much that he has to go slow to get his message across? Then I started listening to it, and he’s not bad. Obviously intentional going slow. As the song goes on, it’s a slacker rap. He’s struggling to get the day started, that sort of thing.
2. “Could Well Be In” – Streets meets a girl. He tells a story about meeting this girl, how he interacts with her, what she’s like, etc. The background music essentially is drums, keyboards, and piano. Maybe some bass in there. This song was pretty chill.
3. “Not Addicted” – This song has a cool beat. Several rappers appear on this track. You tell me what YOU think this song is about.
4. “Blinded by the Lights” – It’s at this point you can start to pick up that a unified story across the songs is going on. This one occurs in a club. As the night progresses, he’s tripping out more and more as the drugs. He’s obsessing over this girl Simone.
5. “Wouldn’t Have It Any Other Way” – I’m not really feeling this song. The music is kind of lame. I get it the saga continues, but to some degree it’s a little annoying.
6. “Get Out of My House” – Enough. Please.
7. “Fit But You Know It” – Ok, the music’s a little better. Raps are better. Our slacker rapper is moving on from Simone. This track actually lets Streets unleash, which is a lot more welcome than the previous couple of tracks. He has better flows on this track.
8. “Such a Tw*t” – Another good beat in a song. The song carries forward the theme of the album, but you could listen to this independently and understand. Listening to this album, part of me feels like the guys in Snatch. It’s actually kind of cool to hear it that way. Don’t know why. I guess I’m weird like that.
9. “What Is He Thinking?” – Interesting background, not-so-interesting raps.
10. “Dry Your Eyes” – Streets gets sentimental. Really? Do rappers do love songs? I guess there have been some, but Will Smith got out of the game years ago.
11. “Empty Cans” – The final song, I guess we assume this is a summarization of all that’s happened. Some of it is good, some of it is not. In the beginning, he’s moping around, breaking stuff in his house. Midway through, he’s wishing he hadn’t ruined what he had.
So, overall, I was impressed by the record (I know, doesn't seem like I did, does it?). Sure, parts of it were cheesy…really cheesy. At the same time, to carry a story through from beginning to end, that’s a concept that doesn’t get used nearly enough. I think cohesiveness is what makes a record special. Some of the best albums ever recorded, the songs were cohesive. They may not share a direct link, but they worked together. A Grand Don’t Come for Free does this pretty well.
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