Chris Cornell - Scream (2009)

Hearing the golden throat of the Evergreen State try his dice in the hip-hop/R&B market seems like an absolute disaster on paper, and in fact it's quite near a disaster in its execution. Chris Cornell is one of the most distinct American male vocalists we have. His legacy with Soundgarden was spotless, and though Audioslave and his first solo album were mediocre at best, it wasn't for the lack of a good voice. Carry On, however, was quite good, a more accessible take on his final years in Soundgarden. I also loved his Bond theme "You Know My Name".

So what we have here was originally a remix project, a team-up between Cornell and R&B/pop mogul Timbaland, that took on its own life and turned into a slew of new originals. Timbaland's influence here is obvious, you could have just as easily used Ginuwine or Justin Timberlake's vocals over some of these tracks and not had much of a difference. Some of the tracks just flat out suck. I mean who wants to hear Chris Cornell, who once fronted brilliant albums like Ultramega OK and Louder than Love, chanting:

That bitch ain't a part of me
No, that bitch ain't a part of me
I said no, that bitch ain't a part of me
No, that bitch ain't a part of me
I said no, that bitch ain't a part of me
No, that bitch ain't a part of me
I said no, that bitch ain't a part of me
No, that bitch ain't a part of-part of-part of me
I love the girl, I'm lovin' the dress she wears
She's got a hold, got a hold of me neck, oh yeah
I wanna cry, the way that she moves
I want the girl, but not what she's going through

Who exactly thought this would be a good idea? Is Cornell desperate? This holds true for a number of the tracks on Scream, but here's the kicker...which I admit with great trepidation. There are a few moments where this team-up actually *clicks*. "Take Me Alive" has a nice Middle Eastern spin to it despite it's layman hip hop beats which any 3 year old could program in 5 minutes, driven home by Cornell's scintillating mid register vocals and a chorus which ALMOST recalls the rock. "Long Gone" is an extremely fetching love song despite the Beverly Hills 90210/Melrose Place emo guitar line which breaks forth in its chorus. This latter is the best song on the album and hopefully its used as a single. "Climbing Up the Walls" is also pretty nice, a moody atmospheric. "Never Far Away" is like a Kelly Clarkson song but with Cornell. It works.

The album is true Timbaland, I do like his use of very 80s pop synths amidst the more modern and robust beats. Say what you want about the host of shitty, trendy artists he has produced, but the guy has an ear for sounds that stick with you. The biggest distraction is all the chorus and R&B effects used on Cornell's voice, often these fail. You cannot contain this man's vocals with studio wizardry. He's got one of the most glorious throats in the goddamned world. Badmotorfinger, anyone? Yeah. It doesn't belong over a cheap throwaway get up! jump up! pop track like...err..."Get Up".

In the end, Scream doesn't entirely suck, it's an interesting collaboration. But I truly hope the man returns to form at some point, as he seems to be entertaining an ever downwards spiral of bankrupt ideas. I just feel I have to point out the obvious.

Chris Cornell.
Seattle.
Shake out that Hollywood, California crack.
Seattle.
Take it back, man.
Take it back.

Verdict: Indifference [5/10]

http://www.chriscornell.com/

MC Frontalot - Final Boss (2008)

MC Frontalot represents a lot of what I love about underground music. He has taken a concept so bizarre and outlandish as nerdcore rap, and invested so much talent and creativity into it that he's not only legitimized the genre, but expanded the entire sound. Final Boss is his most diverse and impressive album thus far, and if there is justice in this world, his music will start reaching far beyond the Penny Arcade geek scene which has already transformed him into something of a demigod. Traces of soul, electronica, pop, funk, and jazz all blend nicely into a beautiful painting, with his dorky flow as the brush.

Of course, the joys of this album come at a cost...the first two tracks are its most dull and uninspiring. In "Wallflowers", he's got decent flow, but the 'Do the Margaret Thatcher' refrain is weak and the music is merely annoying. "Tongue-Clucking Grammarian" is better, with a nice, uptempo beat and a few cool sounds in there, but still one of the weak tracks here. After these, the rest of the album is golden. "Shame of the Otaku" is a fucking J-Pop song...with Front rapping the verses. It's quite nice, and quite true to its source...this sounds like something you'd actually hear on some domestic pop there (I should know, I collect the stuff). "Canadia" is a nice electro rap, Front shares the vocals with Jesse Dangerously and Wordburlgar, and his chorus is just magnificent. The song is a nice mockery of the US's supposed national xenophobia, targeting its least likely neighbor. "The AM Radio Skit" is...well, strange. "Scare Goat" is a groovy, 80s nu wave gothic soul inflected tribute to cryptozoology. "Diseases of Yore" is a cheesy, tongue-in-cheek, dance backed devotion to the fatal maladies of history. "Black Box" is a political track about voting, featuring some input from Random. Other highlights include the excellent "In Arrears", with some nice singing in the chorus; "A Skit About Vocation" which features actor/geek Wil Wheaton RAPPING ABOUT FUCKING SEAFOOD ('Shellfish, specifically' hahaha). The album closes with the incredible title track, which is of course rapped through the perspective of its namesake, the classic video game boss. Absolutely incredible.

What more to be said here that Front doesn't say already in his clever, cerebral lyrics? He seems to branch out a lot into other subjects than just the normal video game worship, but it works. He makes a tasteful use of his guest rappers and singers, they all shine on the album. The band knows how to write a hook, and it's such an original blend of styles well worth the attention. Front remains the elder statesman of this blossoming micro-genre, and unlike a few of his...errr, more annoying peers, I think he has some staying power. This album proves it. Can't wait for the next.

Verdict: Win [8/10] (doesn’t matter how you struggle, never gets you past the end)

http://frontalot.com/index.php/

Nuttin' But Stringz - Struggle From the Subway to the Charts (2006)

God, what a disappointment. Disregarding their horrible name, I grabbed this to hear their mixture of hip hop and classical violin, as I find both of those to be pleasant and a possibly gold combination.

The album starts off strong with "Broken Sorrow", showing off great violin work combined with some basic hip hop beats and minimal vocalizing. The next song, "Struggle", hints at problems to come. It begins great, with some violins and a spoken passage of someone being kicked off the subway (fun fact: these two started their career playing on the NY subways), but then, then it kicks into a very sterile hip hop song. Not to say that the music is bad, or that they just grunt and pose all over it, but...it just has that super processed and produced sound, like any big radio hit. The lyrics aren't bad - they're not great, but not bad - and the music is pretty rad, but it was just a big turnoff. Ok, moving on. The next song is another violin-centric piece, with the hiphop elements relegated to small portions of it. If all the songs were like this, I would call this album a rousing success. But then the album degenerates further, going so far into generic hip hop territory that it made me cringe. Even while they're being backed by smooth violin prowess, each song has that same old feel to it.

I should have known by their name, sure. But fuck me, the violins are so good, and ultimately so wasted. This would be a fantastic way for the mainstream rap listeners to get into more intelligent material, but for me, it's just disappointing.

Verdict: Fail [2/5] ( give me strings, not stringz)

http://www.myspace.com/nuttinbutstringzmusic

Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip - Angles (2008)

Well this was a surprise. I don't really pay much attention to hiphop, so having this recommended and finding out that it is indeed a brilliant work wasn't something I expected.

Dan le Sac is in charge of the music on this album, providing solid beats and creative electronic melodies with subtle tweaks and embellishments. While not extremely complex (Pip is the real focus here), there's definitely a lot more fun and thought put into the beats than is normal. On the forefront, Scroobius Pip is a white English "rapper" with a killer voice and a masterful handle on lyrics. Never one to settle for monosyllabic grunts, Pip delivers on all topics with spunk and aplomb. For a rough idea of how they come together, I'd say the sound is what one would expect if Art Brut tried to do grime.

So far, so good. But the thing I find the most impressive about this duo is that their songs go the extra mile, from the progressive development of the music to the story-focused lyrics. Verse/chorus structures are never impressive, and they seem to plague hiphop with more regularity than most genres (barring techno, haha), so it's quite refreshing to hear an act that rises above that and provides songs that actually go somewhere. Scroobius Pip covers some fantastic topics, from the ramifications of suicide to using cliches of hiphop (and music in general) as a parody of the genre. Also, extra points for making a non-negative song about god that keeps my interest.

The album isn't technically consistent in terms of interest. This is not a negative aspect, just something that I always notice and what keeps this from getting an Epic Win. At its best, the songs are nothing short of perfect. The title track alone can get me shuddering as it rises to its final climax:

" I went straight up to the counter, I said I’d like to speak to the guard who nicked my brother on Tuesday of this week. As the girl knocked on the door and disappeared out of sight, I put my hand in my pocket, gripped the knife tight. This was it, as she pointed me out to the guard, My hand began to shake I held the knife so hard. As he approached me, there was nothing to say. I stabbed that Fucker eight times, before they could take me away."

Pip's delivery is fucking impeccable in this song, conveying the emotions of each person's part of the story. The music rises with the mood, helping drive the end to its impassioned climax. This song alone earns the album a Win. However, there are only a few other perfect songs on the album. Others don't initially impress, but draw you in through the lyrics or even through a point that they want to make. On its own, "Tommy" isn't the most engaging song, but I really love the story about comedian Tommy Cooper. Another example is the next song, "Fixed." Although the song is a sarcastic piece about how they're fixing hip-hop, it features a highly repetitive guitar loop taken from Dizzee Rascal (Roll Deep, yah!). The point is to highlight how simple hip-hop music can be, but the push to make a statement seems to drag down the song overall. I think a little work could be done to integrate the intent with an overall smoother setup, something for future releases.

Verdict: Win [4/5]

http://www.last.fm/music/Dan+Le+Sac+vs+Scroobius+Pip