Ask 10 people to apply the Cig standard to Kanye’s 808′s… and you’re likely to receive 11 different ratings. Read the rest of this entry »

With the majority of rap fans clamoring for a new “rap” album, Kanye ensures his 808s & Heartbreak breathes the air of another year and decade with the album’s (first) swan song. Read the rest of this entry »

If I hadn’t seen  Mick & Terry’s name on this cover, it’d been easy to dismiss this.  808s has been co-opted more than enough (both good & bad) for my liking, but the Northern Ohio duo are as close as you can get to a sure thing each time they put something out.  In the vein of Viva La Hova & Re-Living Thing, London based Indie Rock group The Noisettes Wild Young Hearts gets remix treatment thanks to an infusion of Kanye’s 808′s & Heartbreak. Read the rest of this entry »

Say what you will about 808′s…, but you know a sign that you’ve created something worthwhile? When it gets covered endless & reinterpreted countless times, both inside & outside the original genre. Yes, that will be one of the lasting monuments of the album. And since the ghost of Kanye Omari posted it, we’ll assume he/they approve, as we do.

Dear Lord another 808’s and Heartbreaks mixtape? Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s the finalized version of Kanye’s “Paranoid with that certain “je ne sais quoi” the rough draft was missing. In case Read the rest of this entry »

…with the main feature being a fully-clothed but nevertheless seductive Rihanna. Read the rest of this entry »

In the Gotty™ household, everyone except Gotty™ watches American Idol. Around dinner time, the television switches to the show and I switch rooms.

I won’t front like I don’t listen to it because the sounds of classics being alternately butchered & beautified waft their way upstairs. So when I heard Kanye’s tune come on during last night’s broadcast, my brain signals got jumbled & I thought “Oh, it’s just his ‘Amazing’ commercial.” Then I realized, a.) that commercial would’ve been on during a basketball game and b.) the sound I heard wasn’t “Amazing” but instead “Heartless.” I end up coming back downstairs to listen and watch Read the rest of this entry »

Ask 100 people & you’ll get 100 totally unique opinions on 808′s…. For moi, it was very hit & miss. When it worked, it worked well. When it stunk, it was spoiled milk funk. On “Amazing,” it was roses and, in my Gemini mind, I feel like this was Read the rest of this entry »

Words By Jesse H.

I try my hardest not to be one of those folks who endlessly cries foul about the state of pop music. But sometimes on old jam comes on and you find yourself wondering where all the effort went in modern pop records.

Case and point — one of the catchiest pop songs of the year, Kanye’s “Paranoid” seems to have all of the essential elements of a good pop tune; instantly catchy, extremely danceable and sing-alongability to the stars. I’ll take a wild guess and say “Paranoid” probably took Kanye a few hours, maximum, to create. It’s a simple melody with a minimal loop of repeating synth chords and some whipping drums. Add Auto-Tune and that’s about it.

Now compare the thin weave of “Paranoid” to the density of a song like Michael Jackon’s “Girlfriend.” Listen to the way Read the rest of this entry »

Newest visual from Lionel Ritchie Kanye West and Kid CuDi off the highly debated 808s & Heartbreak album (which pops up in the rotation every few weeks). I was just listening to this album Sunday night on the way from the bar to Waffle House and this song always manages to get on a repeat for about 3-4 spins, especially after a drink or two. Read the rest of this entry »

It was only a matter of time before the snow came.

Just a few weeks ago it was damn near 60 degrees and now I barely want to go outside. This morning, I woke up and looked out the window to see a world blanketed with snow. When I was younger, this would have been to perfect time to go outside and get into mischief. Maybe make a few bucks shoveling driveways, go sledding, snowball fights, throwing snowballs (actually, more like iceballs) at cars and whatever else. I’m sure my brethren from the Chi & Canada can relate to this. Read the rest of this entry »

I don’t ever want anything for Christmas. Most times I’d rather people forgot I was around so I could get a day off to just kick my feet up with a cigar, a good book and my iPod on shuffle.

But now, I’ve finally found something I want.

The Magpul FMG9. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s quite lazy of me to block out this whole article. However, I read it as a whole, not as bits & pieces, and I think that’s a key to understanding his points. Read the rest of this entry »

Solid performance, nice set…but that outfit? Read the rest of this entry »