Girl, You So Well Spoken!

MR HUDSON "There Will Be Tears" Directed by: NABIL from nabil elderkin on Vimeo.

Ok... so I've heard a lot about Mr. Hudson. Since the heavily lauded hype that resulted from him being featured on KanYe West's 808s & Heartbreak, magazines and the internets have been abuzz about this soulful Oxford-grad who, along with the rest of his band (Mr. Hudson & The Library), was already a fixture in the hip-hop scene over in the UK, having worked with the likes of Sway and Dizzee Rascal. Now signed to G.O.O.D Music, Mr. Hudson's solo album is in the works.

I get that he's "different". I get that he has a great voice (though it's hard to tell through all the d@mn autotune on this song), as he's been compared to the likes of Sting. But, really?? This video left me scratching my head.

Maybe I'm not deep or artistic enough to recognize a "great" artist, but give me a freaking break here! I had high hopes up until the 1 minute mark: "Oh no I stubbed my toe/ Crack comes the pain like a bullet/ But at least it goes..." What the f*&# are you talking about, Mr. Hudson??

We hear so much hype about these artists, but they just seem to lyrically disappoint. The same can be said for KiD CuDi. It took me about 8 tries to listen to his mixtape, and I probably enjoyed 4, maybe 5 tracks. Out of 18. I feel like this is bandwagon fandom (these are KanYe's artists, so they must be hot, right??), and I just don't get it.

I'm waiting for Mr. Hudson to impress me. In some way. Yeah, I get that, oft times, the best lyrics make no sense at all. But there should be something else, something underlying in the music that touches its audience in some way. Something artistic about its nonsensical nature. With the likes of Hudson and CuDi, most times it just sounds like they put some sh!t together just because it rhymed and they couldn't think of anything else.

I'll say it again: I'm not yet impressed.

But who am I, right?

I'm pretty much convinced that anything Justice touches turns to gold. You may not agree, but there can be absolutely no denying that their remix of U2's "Get On Your Boots" is definitely an upgrade.

Justice x U2 "Get On Your Boots" (Remix)

Source

If you've ever watched the movie Twilight or seen the trailer and/or watched the movie Watchmen, then you've listened to Muse without even knowing it ("Supermassive Black Hole" is the song heard during the baseball scene in the movie Twilight, and "Take A Bow" is the harrowing tune heard in the Watchmen trailer and during the movie). Muse is an English rock band that was formed in Teignmouth, Devon, England in 1994. ... anyway, while reading a piece about the influences in the sound of the song "Supermassive Black Hole," I noticed the following:

Bellamy [Muse vocalist, guitarist and songwriter] said that the song ["Supermassive Black Hole"] was "the most different to anything we've ever done". Influences included bands such as The Beatles, Millionaire, dEUS, Evil Superstars and Soulwax. Bellamy said that "these groups were the first to mix R&B rhythms with alternative guitar. We've added a bit of Prince and Kanye West. The drumbeat isn't rocky, with Rage Against the Machine riffs underneath. We’ve mixed a lot of things in this track, with a bit of electronica; it’s different, slow, quite funky."*

I find it to be so interesting that an English alternative rock band formed in the 90s says that they are influenced by KanYe West. Considering his latest endeavors, interviews, and musical collaborations, it's beginning to look like he is definitely, as he desires, one of the most influential artists of our time.

*

Just spotted the video for the next single from Lily Allen's latest album, It's Not Me, It's You, over at We Are Pop Slags. Even though she's reputed to be quite the terror, I happen to love Lily Allen. She's fresh and she's different. Yes, perhaps she does tend to throw back one too many, but I just graduated from college, so I guess I'm slightly desensitized to the sight of weekend binge drinking. (sadly..)

Anyway... Enjoy!

Have you heard? Liam Gallagher is launching his own clothing line, Pretty Green, named so after, yes, the song. There aren't any pictures of the line for your viewing pleasure, but I'm definitely curious to see what he comes up with!

(Spotted over at Selectism)