Author: JD
Rock & Roll Legend Lou Reed Talks “Yeezus”
I LOVE READING AND SEEING THIS Lou Reed is a musician, songwriter, author and photographer based in New York City. The famed Rock & Roller is a founding member of the Velvet Underground and a co-host of New York Shuffle on Sirius XM. For The Talkhouse Reed reviewed Kanye West’s new album “Yeezus” from which we took some selected excerpts for you here. To read the full review head over to thetalkhouse.com. There are moments of supreme beauty and greatness on this record, and then some of it is the same old shit. But the guy really, really, really is talented. He’s really trying to raise the bar. No one’s near doing what he’s doing, it’s not even on the same planet. People say this album is minimal. And yeah, it’s minimal. But the parts are maximal. Take “Blood on the Leaves.” There’s a lot going on there: horns, piano, bass, drums, electronic effects, all rhythmically matched — towards the end of the track, there’s now twice as much sonic material. But Kanye stays unmoved while this mountain of sound grows around him. Such an enormous amount of work went into making this album. Each track is like making a movie. Actually, the whole album is like a movie, or a novel — each track segues into the next. This is not individual tracks sitting on their own island, all alone. Many lyrics seem like the same old b.s. Maybe because he made up so much of it at the last minute. But it’s the energy behind it, the aggression. Usually the Kanye lyrics I like are funny, and he’s very funny here. Although he thinks that getting head from nuns and eating Asian pussy with sweet and sour sauce is funny, and it might be, to a 14-year-old — but it has nothing to do with me. Then there’s the obligatory endless blowjobs and menages-a-trois. “I’m great, I’m terrible, I’m great, I’m terrible.” That’s all over this record. And then that synthesized guitar solo on the last minute and a half of that song, he just lets it run, and it’s devastating, absolutely majestic. But why he starts the album off with that typical synth buzzsaw sound is beyond me, but what a sound it is, all gussied up and processed. I can’t figure out why he would do that. It’s like farting. It’s another dare — I dare you to like this. Very perverse. “New Slaves” has that line “Y’all throwin’ contracts at me/ You know that niggas can’t read.” Wow, wow, wow. That is an amazing thing to put in a lyric. That’s a serious accusation in the middle of this rant at other people: an accusation of himself. As if he’s some piece of shit from the street who doesn’t know nothing. Yeah, right — your mom was a college English professor. The juxtaposition of vocal tones on “Blood on the Leaves” is incredible — that pitched-up sample of Nina Simone singing “Strange Fruit” doing a call-and-response with Kanye’s very relaxed Autotuned voice. That is fascinating, aurally, nothing short of spectacular. And holy shit, it’s so gorgeous rhythmically, where sometimes the vocal parts are matched and sometimes they clash. At so many points in this album, the music breaks into this melody, and it’s glorious — I mean, glorious. He has to know that — why else would you do that? He’s not just banging his head against the wall, but he acts as though he is. He doesn’t want to seem precious, he wants to keep his cred. If you like sound, listen to what he’s giving you. Majestic and inspiring.
Mercedes-Benz S Class Plug-In Hybrid to debut at the 2013 Frankfurt Auto Show
Mercedes-Benz has hinted at an S Class with plug-in hybrid for several years. Now, it appears those rumors are about to become reality when Mercedes introduces the S500 Plug-in Hybrid, it the model will be known, at the 2013 Frankfurt Auto Show in September. Reports indicate that the CO2 figure of the S500 Plug-in Hybrid will be 70g/km in order to better the 71g/km figure of current lowest CO2 emitter in the luxury segment, the Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid. Economy is expected to be above 90 mpg. The vehicle will be powered by a V6 engine working in concert with an electric motor. A battery pack which will be installed in the trunk so cargo capacity will be slightly lower than on the regular model.
16-Year-Old Girl Created a Beat for Jay-Z’s New Album
DOPE!!! Canadian teen Ebony Oshunrinde, who aptly goes by the moniker WondaGirl in the studio, has just finished the 11th grade. She’s also just been credited as a producer on “Crown,” a track on Jay-Z’s new album “Magna Carta Holy Grail.” Her story is insanely inspiring and impressive: after watching a video of Jay-Z and Timbaland working in the studio together at age 9, she began to download music software and teach herself how to use it by watching YouTube tutorials. “I wanted to do the exact same thing that [Jay-Z] did,” she recently told the Star. When she was 14, she made it to the quarter-finals of Toronto’s Battle of the Beatmakers. (FOURTEEN. I didn’t even know how to make a grilled cheese when I was 14.) She won the title the following year, because she is incredible, and went on to sign an exclusive management deal with Black Box. According to Ian Stanger, a representative with Black Box, “It’s amazing to see somebody with that much talent working as hard as she can to make the most of it at such a young age. It’s her work that people should be paying attention to, not the fact that’s she 16.” And her work is exactly what people have started to pay attention to. Earlier this year, Oshunrinde sent the beat to her friend Travis Scott, a young rapper and producer. He happened to be in the studio with Jay-Z when he received it — and when he told her that the cut had made it to the album, she thought he was joking. “Usually that kind of thing doesn’t happen to 16-year-olds,” she explains. No, Ebony, it usually does not.
Kate Moss To Unveil Tech Accessories
Kate Moss has inked a deal with the Carphone Warehouse to design a range of fashionable smartphone and tablet accessories. Set to drop later this summer, Kate Moss has designed an accessories collection with U.K. phone retailer Carphone Warehouse. Thirty-nine-year-old Moss will present two collections every year designed to work with a range of smartphones and other high-tech gadgets. It might seem a funny move for a high-fashion star like Moss, who has just starred in the latest Versace advertising campaign, but fashion and tech are continuing to converge: “My phone’s as much a part of my look as my bag or shoes, and yet there’s so little choice out there,” explained Moss. “My whole approach was to treat this as any other fashion collaboration; I was heavily involved in the design process and loved seeing my vision come to life in the final product. From the quality of materials to design, I wanted the best for my range that reflected my personal style,” added the model. More than 14 million mobile accessories were sold in the U.K. last year, and the market is now worth around $337 million in total. Sixty-four percent of women in the country own a smartphone with 1 in 4 women going on to buy at least one accessory for their mobile. Carphone Warehouse is joining a major trend with the fashionable collaboration. Luxury brands like Mulberry and Gucci have had particular success with their leather accessories and iPad covers which are often spotted outside fashion shows.
Ferrari 458 Italia by Vorsteiner
Automotive tuning company Vorsteiner announces its latest package for the Ferrari 458 Italia. Inspired by the performance-oriented efficiency of the vehicle, Vorsteiner’s design and development team create the perfect tuning package that compliments the purity, simplicity, and technology of the 458 Italia, dubbed the 458-V. At the nose of the Ferrari, they start with an add-on front spoiler that sculpts to the contours of the vehicle. The reason behind this design is to assist in directing air into the engine’s radiator located in the front end of the vehicle. This carbon fiber component assures that it is produced to have superior strength and durability in a lightweight part that improves performance. The design of the front spoiler is to have a profile that is practical for everyday use and enhance the performance of the vehicle. To balance the front end, they developed a rear decklid spoiler to be a lightweight non-obtrusive way to match the front end. Also included is a carbon fiber rear diffuser and forged aluminum monoblock wheels. Further information can be found here.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery. None but ourselves can free our minds.” -Bob Marley
Rare Qing Dynasty Stamp Sells for $1 Million
WOW!! One of China’s rarest stamps sold for $936,000 at auction in Hong Kong, the auctioneers said Wednesday. With just 32 recorded copies, the Qing Dynasty “1897 Red Revenue Small One Dollar” stamp is “China’s rarest regularly-issued stamp”, Interasia Auctions said in a press release. The bright red stamp, symbolising luck and good fortune in Chinese culture, is rare because the characters “Qing Dynasty postal service, one dollar” were considered too small, prompting the printing of a second version. The stamp was part of a three-day auction of Chinese, Hong Kong and Asian stamps which ended Monday bringing in a total of HK$71.9 million, Interasia said. “Philately has a special place in Chinese culture, with rare stamps regarded as important cultural icons and treasures, just like art,” auction house director Jeffrey Schneider said in the statement. A pair of rare stamps bearing an accidentally inverted picture of Chinese nationalist leader Sun Yat-sen sold for more than $700,000 in Hong Kong last October. Mainland Chinese are regular buyers of the top lots at sales of art, jewellery and wine as Hong Kong positions itself as an auction hub for Asia as well as the gateway to China’s vast market.