Greetings, beautiful people. International Baba Day was the best on record, so thanks to all of those responsible. Had a lil potluck at the Estate on Friday and Saturday’s Int’l Baba Day celebration was too good to describe.
And now, back to real life. Dammit.
Anyway, went to see Idlewild on Sunday. It was pretty good. Nothing too spectacular, but really good.
(Well, every suit Big Boi sported was spectacular, but that’s neither here nor there. In a way, he’s still the cat I wanna be when I grow up.)
It didn’t really help with digestion of the soundtrack, though. It did make a few of the songs on Speakerboxx/The Love Below easier to understand, but that’s about it.
Long of the short–this was Under the Cherry Moon ’06. But it was waaaaaaay better than that drivel.
(If you think that movie was good, save the drama for your mama. I love Prince more than I love most of my relatives, but that movie sucked.)
It’s Under the Cherry Moon because the music is primarily unfitting of the time period covered in the film. Remember when “Anotherloverholeinyohead” came on toward the end of Under the Cherry Moon? What drum machine where they using back then? You’ll get the same feeling when you hear any of Big Boi’s joints or “She Lives in My Lap.” The New York Times said that the setting was basically used for aesthetics, and that’s true. The other funny note from the Times was that Big Boi essentially invented rap in the ’30s. Great insight.
But I’d go check it out. The music is good, the cinematography is fantastic–shouts to CAU alum Bryan Barber–and I don’t think there’s an ugly woman anywhere to be found on screen. No complaints there.
As for the soundtrack, the people saying it’s booty are crazy. It’s not classic, but there’s a lot good there. Some of Andre’s joints are hot, particularly the incredible “Bad Note.” His problems are borne of same stuff as those on The Love Below–Dre’s just not as creative as he thinks. “Idlewild Blues” is just “Higher Ground” with some Prince-like synth lines. It’s no different than how “Dracula’s Wedding” is just a ripoff of something on There’s a Riot Goin’ On. I think he just needs to stop listening to old records.
Big Boi’s stuff points out two things–his Purple Ribbon roster is strong, and he’s got some really interesting things going on.
All those years, people thought Big Boi needed Dre, and that Dre was the “creative” one out of the two. If you can’t listen to Idlewild and see how fallacious that is, you’re just deaf. Or foolish.
Anyhoo, gotta get back to work. Have fun.
31 thoughts on “Idlewild and more”
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Musicals are hard to pull off, whether they be on film or staged, (maybe it’s me, but there’s just something really unsettling about folks bursting into song), and there are more than a few comparisons to be made between Idlewild and UTCM (you already know how I feel about it, so I won’t go there). My main problem with Idlewild was that the story was thin, thin, thin. I would have loved to have seen more exploration of the relationship between Rooster and Percy (when you have two characters who are supposed to be so different, it kind of helps if you tease out a little bit of what makes that partnership work). As you stated, the cinematography was fantastic, as well as the set design and choreography, although, there were a few scenes I could have done without (and one thing that “the attention to detail department” failed to catch). The opening and closing credit sequences alone are worth the price of admission, and I can’t wait for all of the DVD extras that couldn’t make it in (I think a special director’s cut would suit this movie well.)
Musicals are hard to pull off, whether they be on film or staged, (maybe it’s me, but there’s just something really unsettling about folks bursting into song), and there are more than a few comparisons to be made between Idlewild and UTCM (you already know how I feel about it, so I won’t go there). My main problem with Idlewild was that the story was thin, thin, thin. I would have loved to have seen more exploration of the relationship between Rooster and Percy (when you have two characters who are supposed to be so different, it kind of helps if you tease out a little bit of what makes that partnership work). As you stated, the cinematography was fantastic, as well as the set design and choreography, although, there were a few scenes I could have done without (and one thing that “the attention to detail department” failed to catch). The opening and closing credit sequences alone are worth the price of admission, and I can’t wait for all of the DVD extras that couldn’t make it in (I think a special director’s cut would suit this movie well.)
Thanks for the reviews, now if I can only convince my fiance’ to go see the film… BTW, the sooner 3000 grows out of his “I Want to Be Prince” phase and denounces Baduism, the better off hip-hop will be.
Thanks for the reviews, now if I can only convince my fiance’ to go see the film… BTW, the sooner 3000 grows out of his “I Want to Be Prince” phase and denounces Baduism, the better off hip-hop will be.
Got Purp? is one of my favorite cds of the last year and Big Boi definitely has one of the deeper rosters of somewhat-knowns and unknowns.
If they could have extended it by another 30-60 seconds Me, My Baby and My Cadillac (Sleepy Brown) would have made a fantastic single and video. The video would have been straight bananas with Barber at the helm and felt a Fresh & Clean visual vibe. I wasn’t a big fan of having Kryptonite as the only single because there were 2-3 more that could have been definite radio play.
In fact, the way that singles have been handled over the past few Outkast albums is terrible (released to radio, not just an record/cd single). The handling of Speakerbozzz/TLB completely screwed their chances for having one of the few mega-selling records post-2000. Got Purp could have had Body Rock, Claremont Lounge, Cadillac and Lovin’ This were all solid candidates, only got one single and no real mention that it came off a compilation.
SPK/TLB missed singles – Behold a Lady, Roses, Prototype. SPK had better songs for singles and I’m going with Bowtie, Church, Tomb of Boom, Unhappy. Released on its own and promoted the right way Speakerboxxx would have been massive amongst rap cds with only 50 and Em putting up similar numbers.
evan
Got Purp? is one of my favorite cds of the last year and Big Boi definitely has one of the deeper rosters of somewhat-knowns and unknowns.
If they could have extended it by another 30-60 seconds Me, My Baby and My Cadillac (Sleepy Brown) would have made a fantastic single and video. The video would have been straight bananas with Barber at the helm and felt a Fresh & Clean visual vibe. I wasn’t a big fan of having Kryptonite as the only single because there were 2-3 more that could have been definite radio play.
In fact, the way that singles have been handled over the past few Outkast albums is terrible (released to radio, not just an record/cd single). The handling of Speakerbozzz/TLB completely screwed their chances for having one of the few mega-selling records post-2000. Got Purp could have had Body Rock, Claremont Lounge, Cadillac and Lovin’ This were all solid candidates, only got one single and no real mention that it came off a compilation.
SPK/TLB missed singles – Behold a Lady, Roses, Prototype. SPK had better songs for singles and I’m going with Bowtie, Church, Tomb of Boom, Unhappy. Released on its own and promoted the right way Speakerboxxx would have been massive amongst rap cds with only 50 and Em putting up similar numbers.
evan
I doubt I’ll see the movie, but you’re right about the soundtrack. It isn’t horrible and it isn’t classic. When it comes to odd high-profile projects like this, people tend toward hyperbole.
The 30s influenced stuff should have been fleshed out more and then it could have served as the soundtrack. The other songs sound like they were made during the SB/TLB sessions and could have been a proper Kast release. Thus, the album is kind of disjointed, not only because of the Dre/Big Boi split that hindered their last album, but also because of the split between the “typical” Kast sound and the 30s influenced stuff.
The music is on point for the most part. And I appreciate that they worked hard to craft layers of meaning, the most obvious being the domestic/divorce theme paralleling their professional/artistic relationship and inevitable split. Both of them have great lyrics, sometimes self-deprecating, sometimes ironic, but generally clever.
But the bad songs are really bad and weigh down the album, making it seem worse than it is. And yes, Dre’s singing is responsible for most of the terrible songs (Macy Gray doesn’t help either). Dre singing hooks and staying within his range is OK. Him actually trying to belt out notes, e.g. the middle of “Idlewild Blues,” is unbearable.
And blaming Badu for the fact that Common and Dre (but especially Common) aren’t as good as they used to be is the same sort of adolescent male nonsense that makes people hate Yoko Ono to this day. How could Badu “ruin” them? Don’t they have their own wills? Was Badu responsible for the changes of Cee Lo, Q Tip, and Lauryn Hill too? Granted, Dre peaked close to 10 years ago, and Com peaked maybe 12 years ago, before they met Badu, and I know it’s mostly said in jest, but still.
I doubt I’ll see the movie, but you’re right about the soundtrack. It isn’t horrible and it isn’t classic. When it comes to odd high-profile projects like this, people tend toward hyperbole.
The 30s influenced stuff should have been fleshed out more and then it could have served as the soundtrack. The other songs sound like they were made during the SB/TLB sessions and could have been a proper Kast release. Thus, the album is kind of disjointed, not only because of the Dre/Big Boi split that hindered their last album, but also because of the split between the “typical” Kast sound and the 30s influenced stuff.
The music is on point for the most part. And I appreciate that they worked hard to craft layers of meaning, the most obvious being the domestic/divorce theme paralleling their professional/artistic relationship and inevitable split. Both of them have great lyrics, sometimes self-deprecating, sometimes ironic, but generally clever.
But the bad songs are really bad and weigh down the album, making it seem worse than it is. And yes, Dre’s singing is responsible for most of the terrible songs (Macy Gray doesn’t help either). Dre singing hooks and staying within his range is OK. Him actually trying to belt out notes, e.g. the middle of “Idlewild Blues,” is unbearable.
And blaming Badu for the fact that Common and Dre (but especially Common) aren’t as good as they used to be is the same sort of adolescent male nonsense that makes people hate Yoko Ono to this day. How could Badu “ruin” them? Don’t they have their own wills? Was Badu responsible for the changes of Cee Lo, Q Tip, and Lauryn Hill too? Granted, Dre peaked close to 10 years ago, and Com peaked maybe 12 years ago, before they met Badu, and I know it’s mostly said in jest, but still.
Saw Dre’s video for the first time this weekend and loved it. Regarding the question you asked sometime back about who sings better, Dre or Nelly, I’m still not sure that I really care for either. But I don’t think Dre thinks he can sing. I think he LIKES to sing. I think there’s a difference. I don’t think he sings for us. He wants us to get it. He doesn’t expect us to, and probably doesn’t care much if we do. But I really think its for him.
Saw Dre’s video for the first time this weekend and loved it. Regarding the question you asked sometime back about who sings better, Dre or Nelly, I’m still not sure that I really care for either. But I don’t think Dre thinks he can sing. I think he LIKES to sing. I think there’s a difference. I don’t think he sings for us. He wants us to get it. He doesn’t expect us to, and probably doesn’t care much if we do. But I really think its for him.
I couldn’t agree with ETS anymore. I think the first mistake that people make with sizing up OutKast in given platform (cd, movie, music video) is that we assume that they care what we think or if we like it. I think artistically, they have never catered to the masses. Therefore, I think it’s safe to say that shit ain’t changed. They still live up to their group name, OutKast.
I don’t think Andre’s style is a result of Baduism or Prince anymore than anybody else’s style comes from their primary musical influences. Andre 3000 is fresh to death. It’s refreshing to see someone make music for themselves.
And Big Boi . . . I think he’s on fire right now. Bring the buckets of water for dat dude.
‘Kast is dope.
I couldn’t agree with ETS anymore. I think the first mistake that people make with sizing up OutKast in given platform (cd, movie, music video) is that we assume that they care what we think or if we like it. I think artistically, they have never catered to the masses. Therefore, I think it’s safe to say that shit ain’t changed. They still live up to their group name, OutKast.
I don’t think Andre’s style is a result of Baduism or Prince anymore than anybody else’s style comes from their primary musical influences. Andre 3000 is fresh to death. It’s refreshing to see someone make music for themselves.
And Big Boi . . . I think he’s on fire right now. Bring the buckets of water for dat dude.
‘Kast is dope.
wow – that’s what happens when you don’t proofread. hopefully, everyone gets the gist of it.
I too saw Idlewild this weekend. I’m no professional movie critic, but I did think that some of the scenes were drawn out a bit. I also felt a slight disconnect between the ‘period’ setting and some of the music.
Overall, I did enjoy the movie if for no other reason, than it may be symbolic of a new era in black film. Think of it, two young black celebrities, who put aside their creative and personal differences to tackle a very ambitious project. So what if it wasn’t all it could have been, the miracle is that the movie was made and that two brothers had the clout to push for it to be made.
P.S. The best scene is when the closing credits roll and Andre’ is surrounded by beautiful black women and an amazing stage, the likes of which few black performers in 1930’s America would have been allowed to grace.
I too saw Idlewild this weekend. I’m no professional movie critic, but I did think that some of the scenes were drawn out a bit. I also felt a slight disconnect between the ‘period’ setting and some of the music.
Overall, I did enjoy the movie if for no other reason, than it may be symbolic of a new era in black film. Think of it, two young black celebrities, who put aside their creative and personal differences to tackle a very ambitious project. So what if it wasn’t all it could have been, the miracle is that the movie was made and that two brothers had the clout to push for it to be made.
P.S. The best scene is when the closing credits roll and Andre’ is surrounded by beautiful black women and an amazing stage, the likes of which few black performers in 1930’s America would have been allowed to grace.
Well isn’t this just flashy as all get out.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>And blaming Badu for the fact that Common and Dre (but especially Common) aren’t as good as they used to be is the same sort of adolescent male nonsense that makes people hate Yoko Ono to this day. How could Badu “ruin” them? Don’t they have their own wills? Was Badu responsible for the changes of Cee Lo, Q Tip, and Lauryn Hill too? Granted, Dre peaked close to 10 years ago, and Com peaked maybe 12 years ago, before they met Badu, and I know it’s mostly said in jest, but still.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>And blaming Badu for the fact that Common and Dre (but especially Common) aren’t as good as they used to be is the same sort of adolescent male nonsense that makes people hate Yoko Ono to this day. How could Badu “ruin” them? Don’t they have their own wills? Was Badu responsible for the changes of Cee Lo, Q Tip, and Lauryn Hill too? Granted, Dre peaked close to 10 years ago, and Com peaked maybe 12 years ago, before they met Badu, and I know it’s mostly said in jest, but still.
Bo, you can’t be serious about that intro photo, can you? It’s a joke, right? Please tell me. I thought I knew ye. I know you don’t take yourself THAT seriously. Please Bo, come back!
Bo, you can’t be serious about that intro photo, can you? It’s a joke, right? Please tell me. I thought I knew ye. I know you don’t take yourself THAT seriously. Please Bo, come back!
As seriously as you can take yourself in your aunt’s mink.
…while on the front page of your website.
…while on the front page of your website.
Well goodness gracious…talking about stepping up..This is like going from OE to Courvoiser to Pinot Grigot (SP) in a single bound.
But what’s up with the Irish Spring Soap Green baba…Kinda Matrix-y isn’t it..
However…like the interior decoratin…
But I’ll be damned if somebody says N2U and Hollywood Divorce ain’t up there with Call of the Wild.
Awite, I’m out…remember..a sad note ain’t a bad note or something like that.
But everybody was screaming bout BomaniJones.com like Holyfield just won the fight…..And somebody took they shirt off and said…..
Well goodness gracious…talking about stepping up..This is like going from OE to Courvoiser to Pinot Grigot (SP) in a single bound.
But what’s up with the Irish Spring Soap Green baba…Kinda Matrix-y isn’t it..
However…like the interior decoratin…
But I’ll be damned if somebody says N2U and Hollywood Divorce ain’t up there with Call of the Wild.
Awite, I’m out…remember..a sad note ain’t a bad note or something like that.
But everybody was screaming bout BomaniJones.com like Holyfield just won the fight…..And somebody took they shirt off and said…..
Man, Bo get’s nominated for the Black Weblog Awards and his head swells up. Next thing you know he’ll be blogging in the 3rd person
Bomani will not blog about himself in the third person simply because he has got a few colors and a swell mink on the site. Bomani will simply ask one thing…
“Now who else wanna fuck with Hollywood Court?”
ba da da da da, ba da da da da da da, da da da da da da ba da da da da…
Oh, by the way, country ass Wisconsin suburbs wanna fuck wit Hollywood Court. Whatchu know about that? 😛
i could never say a bad thing about outkast. to me they are the best. you either feel them or you don’t. everything they do is heading in a certain direction. i’m glad they don’t have another big hit like hey ya on this album. it spells longevity and credibility to me.
it’s wise not to give people what they want, you can’t be expected to please everyone all the time. sometimes its best to let people down or they start expecting too much. just do what you want to do. experiments lead to marvellous things.
p.s i like the mink 🙂