Wow. I woke up this morning, having not watched the Grammys (because, come on, it's the Grammys. They don't matter) to see that once again, Kanye West decided to open his noise hole. For those who have not heard, he ran up on stage once again, this time during Beck's acceptance of the Album of the Year award. Nothing was said, but in a later conversation with E! (Irefuse to put news after that), he stated that Beck should have given the award to Beyonce, and that he needs to "respect artistry"and accused him and the Grammys of "diminishing art".
While I can definitely agree with the Grammys diminishing art, I have to stand up for Beck here. Even though Morning Phase wasn't one of my favorite albums by Beck, it demonstrated an artistry and talent that neither Kanye nor Beyonce will ever even dream of possessing. Not only that, but Beck writes his own material. Beyonce's album had a list of writers and producers longer than a novel by Tolstoy. To me, nothing diminishes art like song writing by committee, but this isn't about how overrated Beyonce is as a performer and artist. This is about how Kanye West needs to re examine his life choices, and maybe listen to some music.
While I can respect some of Kanye West's work as a producer, even though all of Yeezus could easily be seen as co-opting the sound of Death Grips and other noise hop artists and not at all innovative as it was so hailed, I could never stomach his attempts at rapping. If one wants to accuse someone of diminishing an art form, look no further than Kanye. His lines are corny, offensive, and often, total garbage. He's made puns of civil rights slogans to the point that they have lost all meaning, and 90% of his recent offerings are collapsing under the weight of their own hubris, misogyny, and general tastelessness. For him to accuse Beck of any lack of respect is the definition of hypocrisy. He has never, and will never, respect any human being, as he is completely incapable of thinking about anyone outside of the context of himself. His comment about not saying anything to protect his daughter, and then turning around and saying it, seems just stupid to me. No one is going to blame North West for your behavior, Kanye. We're going to blame you. You were a tremendous ass long before she was born, and you will remain one long after she reaches adulthood, not that you will even be relevant by then. But you know who might be? Beck. Someone actually innovative, and who has been making quality music since you were tinkering around with a keyboard in your parent's basement.
I know I sound pretty harsh here, and I really don't try to be, but the fact that Kanye has yet to learn from all of this is simply appalling. I commend Beck's behavior in largely ignoring this, but honestly, I would have taken great offense not to the walk on, but to the post show comments. Those really got under my skin. With all these big words, Kanye had better deliver an amazing album next time around. And from the look of the 2 singles released, that's definitely not going to happen. Working with Paul McCartney will not make your album any better if you refuse to do anything besides slather a bunch of piano chords with auto tune. Just saying.
So in conclusion, Beck, you are a class act, Generation X's Bob Dylan, and an amazing musician. I can't wait until your next album. Beyonce, you are kind of boring, and oversing to almost Aguileran proportions. Every note you sing is like you're trying to cave in my ear drums and you are overrated as all hell. Kanye. You need to learn to shut the hell up, respect actual artists, and not to take these Grammy things so seriously. Milli Vanilli had Grammys, for God's sake. Also, instead of picking on artists who just do their own thing and are awesome, you should focus on your own music, since it is terribly uneven. I look forward to your new album, mainly so I can appreciate the production, get massively let down by the same old boring subject matter, and then reassert that you have no place criticizing any one else's music. I will most likely be in the minority here, since apparently most critics seem to see something in what you try to pass of as lyrics that I will never see.
So that was the Grammys for me I guess. Also, people won stuff. Sam Smith had a nice haul, so that's good I guess. What did you think of Kanye's little outburst, or any of the 583,000 previous ones?
I'll be back later to take a look at the new kigo single, "like amber", as well as some other reviews or album spotlights.
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