NOZ SPEAKS THE TRUTH

[soulmarcosa]

"Crazy" and "Smiley Faces" are dope songs IMO, period.

And I made that judgment call solely from someone posting MP3s here. Not from their Myspace page, not from their PR hype, not from their ironic photos, not from their hipster quotient, and not from someone telling me how great they are despite my not really previously caring about either Dangermouse or Cee Lo in the first place.

Just on the basis of the music.

That's why I couldn't be bothered to do more than skim Noz's blog entry. He may be completely correct in his assessments such as

It???s the type of ???music??? that exists more as an idea than as a finished product and by the time people hear the record they???re so enamored with the concept that the quality of music doesn???t really even matter any more.

But dude, it's 2006. Who fucking cares. I can't even count how many OTHER records could be described this way, and fail miserably at the attempt. At least this one has two good songs on it.

I guess I don't see the reason to wave the "I'm way too smart to buy into this premanufactured bullshit" flag when you can spend your time big-upping the music you DO like.

And Bsides - homie - you do realize how amusing it is for you to go from praising Swizz Beats and the new Lil Romeo joint to decrying the death of hip hop at the hands Gnarls Barkley, right? I think you do - I just wanted to make sure.

 

[sticky_dojah]

I also like "crazy", but please just in doses...this is a song that can be really annoying after a while and you should check yourself latest when u go and use "I remember when" as a joke line with your hipster friends when talking about the past...but it is a strong song, mos definitely....

 

[Bsides]

And Bsides - homie - you do realize how amusing it is for you to go from praising Swizz Beats and the new Lil Romeo joint to decrying the death of hip hop at the hands Gnarls Barkley, right? I think you do - I just wanted to make sure.

Yeah, lol, pretty much. Just having fun on the internets.

 

[noz]

i genuinely expect gnarls barkley to ruin hip hop forever and then go on to sign a lucrative contract with creed taylor.

 

[faux_rillz]

And Bsides - homie - you do realize how amusing it is for you to go from praising Swizz Beats and the new Lil Romeo joint to decrying the death of hip hop at the hands Gnarls Barkley, right? I think you do - I just wanted to make sure.

A straw man if I've ever seen one.

I don't think noz, bsides or anyone else has advanced any broader a postulate than "This Gnarls Barkly schitt is annoying trash" in this thread... nobody has said anything about "the death of hip-hop," much less that Gnarls Barkley is sufficiently important to bring it about.

And again, why are you guys acting so ass-hurt? Noz's is the first critical voice to be directed at the schitt within either the blogosphere or the print media--his piece isn't superfluous, isn't gratuitous and isn't unnecessary. Why are you dudes so upset that one person is making these points?

 

[soulmarcosa]

his piece isn't superfluous, isn't gratuitous and isn't unnecessary.

Actually it is quite gratuitous, which is why I think it's getting a cold reception here. But 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

 

[canonical]

If you're going to hatt on noz's post, at least try to write as well as him. Regardless of content, that post was a good READ,

 

[bull_ox]

I guess I don't see the reason to wave the "I'm way too smart to buy into this premanufactured bullshit" flag when you can spend your time big-upping the music you DO like.

Possibly because he seems to be the lone voice of dissent in the critical realm thus far...

 

[33thirdcom]

I whole heartedly agree with Noz on this. Shit is just bad. Possibly a good career move for Cee-Lo, but the music itself is just bad.

And when did Dangermouse become the go-to producer of the year? He has yet to make a beat that is 1/2 way decent.

 

[Imperial_Mao]

Actually thought he was dead on...He's calling a novelty a novelty, while most people are calling it 'groundbreaking/innovative/earth shaking'. He points out that 1) people have been making records like this for a decade, and 2) its not that good.

Sooo true, most people I know thought the track was by Moby when they first heard it surely the definition of

 

[faux_rillz]

his piece isn't superfluous, isn't gratuitous and isn't unnecessary.

Actually it is quite gratuitous, which is why I think it's getting a cold reception here. But 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

What's gratuitous about it?

He's offering a counterperspective to overwhelming critical/bloggeur dickriding.

It's getting a 'cold reception' here because dudes are poptarts that don't actually like rap and who are overly susceptible to diaper rash. Just saying. I want to see actual counterarguments rather than asshurtedness over the fact that Noz would dare to make the argument.

 

[Mongo_Slade]

i like the piece because it's funny, provocative and well-written. i think Noz goes a little overboard with some of his critical judgments-- there was enough superfluous hatting to fill a byron crawford post-- but it's nice to see someone call bullshit on the hype machine.

favorite snippy aside:

a number one record (even in a country that doesn???t matter)

 

[soulmarcosa]

his piece isn't superfluous, isn't gratuitous and isn't unnecessary.

Actually it is quite gratuitous, which is why I think it's getting a cold reception here. But 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

What's gratuitous about it?t.
Oh I don't know. Maybe the fact that he wrote THIRTEEN PARAGRAPHS about how bad a record is. That's undeniably gratuitious no matter what record is being discussed.

Don't get me wrong - I don't necessarily disagree with his sentiments; I've got a 5-song promo for the album and haven't even bothered listening to the other three songs. But after about the 5th paragraph mark, such harsh criticism comes across less as critique and more as personal vendetta, which diminishes the impact of his piece IMO.

 

[soulmarcosa]

in other words

i like the piece because it's funny, provocative and well-written.

YES

i think Noz goes a little overboard with some of his critical judgments

YES

there was enough superfluous hatting to fill a byron crawford post

YES

but it's nice to see someone call bullshit on the hype machine.

YES

 

[faux_rillz]

his piece isn't superfluous, isn't gratuitous and isn't unnecessary.

Actually it is quite gratuitous, which is why I think it's getting a cold reception here. But 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

What's gratuitous about it?t.
Oh I don't know. Maybe the fact that he wrote THIRTEEN PARAGRAPHS about how bad a record is. That's undeniably gratuitious no matter what record is being discussed.

Don't get me wrong - I don't necessarily disagree with his sentiments; I've got a 5-song promo for the album and haven't even bothered listening to the other three songs. But after about the 5th paragraph mark, such harsh criticism comes across less as critique and more as personal vendetta, which diminishes the impact of his piece IMO.
Your beef is with the number of paragraphs? Jeezus, M**k.

 

[soulmarcosa]

your beef is with the number of paragraphs? Jeezus, M**k.

Let me put it this way, if this was the entire review:

It ranges from innocuous car commercial music to indulgent car commercial music to music that would be best suited for a car commercial.

I would think Noz was a genius.

 

[noz]

But after about the 5th paragraph mark, such harsh criticism comes across less as critique and more as personal vendetta, which diminishes the impact of his piece IMO.

Well in all fairness, that's also about the point where i stop talking about gnarls specifically and place it in the larger and disturbing trend of post-rap. But you're partially correct. I do have a personal vendetta against bad music. And if i can't write gratuitously on the internet where can i write gratuitously?

additionally marco, i feel obligated to say that i primarily write about the music that i DO like, but for some reason positivity doesn't get these ass hurt little dudes chirping okayplayer threads to ten pages like that, so i could see how you might have missed it.

 

[Jonny_Paycheck]

A bit hypocritical coming from a Lester Bangs fan...

 

[soulmarcosa]

But after about the 5th paragraph mark, such harsh criticism comes across less as critique and more as personal vendetta, which diminishes the impact of his piece IMO.

Well in all fairness, that's also about the point where i stop talking about gnarls specifically and place it in the larger and disturbing trend of post-rap. But you're partially correct. I do have a personal vendetta against bad music. And if i can't write gratuitously on the internet where can i write gratuitously?

additionally marco, i feel obligated to say that i primarily write about the music that i DO like, but for some reason positivity doesn't get these ass hurt little dudes chirping okayplayer threads to ten pages like that, so i could see how you might have missed it.
I'm down with that.

 

[soulmarcosa]

A bit hypocritical coming from a Lester Bangs fan...

Hey, I dig his stuff too but as I recall, his pieces on Lou Reed & Barry White were pretty gratuitous IMO as well.