Artist: DJ Shadow
Album: The Less You Know, the Better
I remember back in college when DJ Shadow's first album, "Endtroducing..." was released. It seemed every hip-to-eletcronica kid was wetting their pants over it, and at the time... Iignored it. What I didn't realize, was that it was the first album completely comprised of samples. (and has a Guinness World Record to prove it.) I must say that I STILL have yet to get into it, haven't followed his not very prolific career... but, I did take a listen to his latest opus, his fourth album entitled; "The Less You Know, the Better."
The album is a bit of a mess... jumping stylistically from track to track. I'm a fairly eclectic guy, so I appreciate his broad pallet. But jumping from hardcore, to hip-hop, to acoustic guitar-based folk, to a gospel-ish durge... then break-metal electronica. It sometimes feels like standing in the center of a musical six-lane highway with different genre's flying past you. And yet... it's a rather interesting mess. Like a mix tape that suddenly feels less random upon each listen.
I read a quote in which shadow stated:
"I don't put out a record every year so I can see what others are doing and learn from that and see things that are happening. So I feel that a good record from me never defines 2011 -- it should be totally timeless and be able to live in any era. I think I've done that with this one."
And really... it does seem timeless. It's all over the place, crazy, and often rather beautiful. I can't really nail any of it down just yet... it seems like an onion of an album, many layers to pull back and discover new ones. And yet... I completely own up the fact that all the searching might lead to nothing. If there's one thing I can say definitively... it's never boring.
Enjoy.
Warning Call
Stay the Course
I've Been Trying
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