What Went Wrong: "T.I. vs. T.I.P."

I'm fallin' off like this hat!

I'm an admitted sucker for the concept album, especially when the genre is rap. I probably give "A Grand Don't Come For Free" too many free passes, for example, because the lousy songs can be justified by fitting into the overall story arc Mike Skinner is trying to create. So when I heard that T.I., self-proclaimed King of the South, critically acclaimed hitmaker, and Mannie Fresh BFF, was making an album called "T.I. vs. T.I.P.", and dividing it into three "acts", I got really, really excited. This was an example of an all-star MC, who scored a touchdown with "King" last year, getting a chance to add new depth, gain new respect, and give us something... new. C'mon, when has ANY commercial rapper released an album this bracingly ambitious? I heard the first single "Big Shit Poppin'", and despite the general consensus of "meh", I thought it was pretty great, with Tip displaying the right mix of arrogance and effortless cool. The stage was set.

"T.I. vs. T.I.P." is a dud. It's not going to cost T.I. any fraction of his fanbase, and it doesn't make me lose any respect for him or his skills on the mic. The concept -- his street side (T.I.P.) and his polished superstar side (T.I.) battle for supreme dominance -- really is an interesting one; it reimagines the generic "where you are vs. where you been" hip-hop struggle as a literal fight, and gets across how conflicted T.I. feels with his new stardom (reports have been heard that he wants to leave the rap game altogether). The problem is that it's just executed so poorly. I would have no problem if T.I. wanted to fuck with his sequencing so much that the T.I.P. act gets all the club-bangers and the T.I. act gets all the slow jams, but most of the songs could belong in either part of the album, which in turn makes the personae seem nondescript and the concept pointless. Even when Act III, "T.I. vs. T.I.P. The Confrontation", rolls around, and the two halves of the rapper trade verses, the voices are spitting such similar sentiments that the listener becomes confused and then apathetic to whatever's going on.

The real problem to "T.I. vs. T.I.P.", however, is much more simple than what many critics have made it out to be: the songs just kind of blow. No, they're not awful in that "goddammit this sounds like torture, turn it off!" way. It's just that each song rolls off of you unnoticed, so middle-of-the-road mediocre that you get mad that it didn't have any effect on you whatsoever. Despite the occasional all-out stinker ("Da Dopeman" is T.I.'s worst song, period), T.I.'s still too good a rapper to allow a song to become laughably bad. The stuff here is so bland though, from the Southern-fried Jay-Z collabo "Watch What You Say To Me" (props to Hov for finally writing a good verse after four years) to hip-hop assessment "Help Is Coming" that you'll never ask for a second repeat. Let's face it, "King" was so unstoppable because it was frontloaded with great beats and big hooks. "T.I. vs. T.I.P."'s undoing rests in the fact that most songs sound half-complete and entirely forgettable.

If you're a T.I. fan reaching for the panic button, calm down. T.I. is still one of the five most exciting rappers alive, and this is just his "Blueprint 2: The Gift and the Curse". It'll be interesting to see where "T.I. vs. T.I.P." leads Tip to. If I were to guess, I'd say he'll ditch the high-concept artistry next time around and churn out some more simple club anthems. And maybe that's not such a bad thing.

Underrated: Rider Strong

To all the cynics out there: no, I'm not trying to be funny, or ironic, or a complete dick toward Rider Strong, who played Shawn Hunter on ABC's "Boy Meets World". I just... really think he's a good actor. That's all.

Let me explain.

I watched "Boy Meets World" a lot when I was a kid, and probably even more so now that it's in syndication on ABC Family (right in between far worse shows "Step By Step" and "Sabrina, The Teenage Witch"). It's an okay family show that tries to deal with some serious issues, but there are a few things I've noticed as I've revisited this show in repeats:

1. Most of the characters' personalities completely change throughout the course of the show.

2. Corey and Topanga don't make any sense together.

3. Rider Strong is The Man.

I'll briefly touch upon those first two before transitioning into my Ode for the Strong: what's interesting about "Boy Meets World" is that, as the principal characters got older and had to deal with more serious issues, their personalities became goofier and unrealistically animated. Look at Eric Matthews: dude went from all-American girl-obsessed teen at the beginning of the series to absolute fucking whack job by the end. Corey went from relatable adolescent to painfully unfunny advice-giver, and Topanga somehow deserted her hippie/flower-child schtick to embrace an uneasy attractiveness. The show eventually became strained because its main focus - Corey and Topanga's relationship - became at once so predictable and so baffling. They got married, like, RIGHT after high school and ended any Ross-and-Rachel-esque suspense of staying apart, yet at the same time had absolutely no chemistry or compatibility. Blame this on the conflicting acting styles of Ben Savage, whose elastic expressions remind me of a young, humorless Jim Carrey, and Danielle Fishel, who just seems content to nod understandingly at whatever Savage is doing. Kids just couldn't handle the roles.

Meanwhile.....

Rider Strong played Shawn Hunter, Corey's best friend, with a perfect mix of modesty and gravitas. In my honest opinion, he was the saving grace of "Boy Meets World" and the reason the show lasted so long. At first glance, Shawn is just another cookie-cutter sitcom character, the loyal friend who's known for getting into trouble. Yet he clearly was the most complex character out of the bunch: Shawn came from a trailer park, never really had a family or any kind of authority figure, and has spent his whole life pegged as a womanizer when he's actually a tender soul. The writers of "Boy Meets World" obviously recognized the amount of material that they could create revolving around Shawn, since he's the main focus of several episodes, from the one where he's trying to get his dad to come home to the one where he's struggling with alcohol abuse. Shawn was a three-dimensional character in a cartoonish sitcom, and it seems like the episodes where he's the star are the most affecting.

However, the character would seem like a laughable PSA mouthpiece if Strong wasn't such a good actor, and he really does have the chops to make you care about Shawn. I watched an episode today where Shawn joins a cult-like group called The Centre, which "takes in" kids who don't have any role models and brainwashes them to worship a soft-speaking guy named Mr. Mack. Corey and his family and Mr. Feeny tell him not to, but Shawn does it anyway, and starts chillin with the cult! Sounds really ridiculous, right? Well, it is. But what could have unwatchable is actually pretty moving, because Strong makes us empathize with a character that has never had anything to hold onto. "I've always felt like something's been missing, like I've had this hole in me, that everyone else can see," Shawn explains to Mr. Turner. The way that Strong cuts to the core of Shawn's vulnerability is impressive, and he carries the episode to its emotional (if a little half-baked) conclusion. Honestly though, Rider Strong has always understood the dynamics of Shawn Hunter, and I wanna bring this back to my earlier claim that most of the principal characters have wildly changed over the course of the show, because Shawn Hunter never did. Sure, he evolved, but he never seemed malleable the way Corey or Topanga were, since Strong did such a terrific job staying true to his character. While Corey and Eric went from realistic teens to complete dumbasses, Shawn remained the good-natured friend whose morality balanced out his raw need for compassion and a sense of identity. Basically, Rider Strong nailed the role, and the fact that his performance goes so unnoticed (as far as I can tell) is preposterous.

So where's Rider today, you ask? Well, he starred in the 2002 horror flick "Cabin Fever"... and that's about it. IMDB tells me that he'll have some supporting roles in some upcoming minor theatrical releases, but nothing worth mentioning. To me, that's just not right. Anyone who can bring that much humanity to a show like "Boy Meets World" deserves to have movie offers lined up. I seriously believe that Rider Strong is a great young actor, and when I finish my first screenplay (god-willing, before I'm 50), you can bet I'll have a role for him. Until then, he'll have to keep subtly knocking my socks off in ABC Family syndication. Major props, Rider. Major props.

This Week In Wu-Tang: GZA at Pitchfork

So part of the reason that I haven't updated in so long is because I road-tripped with a bunch of friends to Chicago to see the Pitchfork Music Festival. We went to see a bunch of awesome artists -- Junior Boys, Jamie Lidell, Clipse, The New Pornographers, and Fujiya & Miyagi all played great sets -- but nothing was more exciting than the thought of GZA/Genius playing his classic album Liquid Swords in its entirety. Never mind that I was going to all of Liquid Swords live; one of the real thrills was getting to see GZA, a phenomenal MC whose persona is usually muted when performing with the rest of Wu-Tang, take center stage. Or maybe Wu-Tang would be there to drop their guest verses! Maybe just Method Man would stop by to annihilate "Shadowboxin'"! Oh, the possibilities...
Sadly, the rest of the Wu was absent -- "I'm missin a Wu-Tang show in Amsterdam to be here", GZA told the audience early in the set. Only Cappadonna was present, working as a highly-respected hypeman. My friend and I joked that Cappadonna was like the kid nobody really wanted around in Wu-Tang, and that the rest of the Clan insisted on him not performing with them in Amsterdam. In reality, this joke was a little harsh; although he sort of out of his mind and a sometimes-cab driver, Cappadonna dropped some fun verses alongside GZA. Killah Priest was there, and the only thing I remember him doing was trying to sell his t-shirts. Unsuccessfully.
But it was GZA's time to shine, and shine he did -- he played chopped-and-screwed versions of Liquid Swords songs to accomodate for the lack of guest stars, but the beats still sounded terrific, and the Genius still sounded impressive. He and the rest of his posse were wearing their own t-shirts, which was understandable I guess. After he finished "B.I.B.L.E.", GZA, looking like he didn't want to leave the spotlight, played some of "Reunited", did an ODB tribute with "Shimmy Shimmy Ya", and then goaded the crowd with a "New Wu-Tang album this fall!" before launching into "Triumph". Let's face it: 8 Diagrams will probably be the next Chinese Democracy, or at least the next Detox. In another interview, GZA said the album might drop in "October, maybe". Expect it in '09.
Whatever. We always have Liquid Swords to bask in, and I really think the DJ Muggs collabo Grandmasters is just going to get better with age. And I know it's basically impossible, but I would love for GZA to take Liquid Swords on the road, so I could enjoy it without being surrounded by a bunch of apathetic Sonic Youth fans. C'mon guys. It's muthafuckin Liquid Swords!

List Madness: Top 10 Albums of '07 (so far)

The halfway mark of the year just past, so hey, here are my ten favorite albums of the year so far. Obviously I haven't heard every album released so far this year, so there are a bunch that could have made this list that I simply haven't listened to enough yet (lookin' at you, new Dungen album). Also, there are a few that just barely missed the cut, like White Rabbits' Fort Nightly and El-P's I'll Sleep When You're Dead, that could definitely crack the top ten of my year-end list. But that's another time, and another list. The following are the ten albums from this year that I just really, really adore. Enjoy/don't be afraid to comment! Happy Independence Day!

1o. Battles - Mirrored

Gorgeous math-rock that's a ton of fun to both casually listen to and diligently unravel. Oh, and their chipmunk vocals kick the ass of Kanye's.

9. Frog Eyes - Tears of the Valedictorian

I've never been a big Frog Eyes fan, but Carey's sure gotten it all together on this one. Each song seems to jangle around Mercer's wicked voice instead of against it; check out "Bushels", especially its last three minutes.

8. The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible

Everyone expected a sophomore slump, but somehow I just knew that the Arcade Fire's follow-up to Funeral was gonna be a critical hit. Here they find their inner Springsteen and let the anthems fly, and the result is a collection of expertly crafted rock songs. Now... what to do for album #3..?

7. Lil' Wayne - Da Drought 3

Oh Weezy, you had me at "New mixtape, bitch!" Drought 3 improves on every aspect of last year's Dedication 2: better ripped beats, funnier guest spots (brush them shoulders off, Juelz), and a hungrier, higher Wayne, tearing shit apart and forcing doubters to bite their tongues. Can't wait for Carter III.

6. Patrick Wolf - The Magic Position

Boy-genius decides to get happy and make an album chock-full of perfect pop songs. Patrick's personality fuels the entire record, and what we get is a vibrant, deeply personal experience.

5. Panda Bear - Person Pitch

Person Pitch retains the complexity of Panda's work with Animal Collective, but it is also generally more accessible and melody-driven, so everybody wins. Repeat listens reveal a breathless sense of beauty, from the blissed-out sunshine of "Bros." to the gentle innocence of "Ponytail".

4. Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?

Does anyone else feel like this is the album that The Rapture should have made after Echoes? No matter: Hissing Fauna lets Of Montreal establish themselves as masters of indie glam-rock, with color bursting from every seam as Kevin Barnes harmonizes about how shitty divorce is. Gets better with every listen.


3. Menomena - Friend and Foe

It's hard for me to resist the urge to summarize Friend and Foe with a simple "this ROCKS!" or "sooo good", and I guess that's a testimony to how effortless each song on the album sounds. Menomena gather twelve unbelievably cohesive songs onto a single album and then let our ears pick apart the idiosyncrasies. This came out in January, and I STILL feel like there's a layer or four to each song that I have yet to recognize.


2. Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity

Okay, sure, call me biased. Tell me that you can't stand the vocals, and that Deerhoof are this high because I can. Whatever; you're missing the point. Friend Opportunity is the strongest album in terms of overall theme that I've heard all year. Every song crackles with Deerhoof's signature loud guitar riffs and chest-thumping drums, but this is really a record about being painfully lonely, and being desperate to find some sort of hope. So, haters: Deerhoof is just better than you, end of story.

1. The National - Boxer

What'd you expect, Perry Farrell's Satellite Party? Although it's only been out for little more than a month, Boxer can seriously be debated as an instant-classic. Take your pick of its most polished aspect: the air-tight drumming, Matt Berninger's xenophobic lyrics, the terrific bass work -- hell, you could just say "Brainy" and I'd be okay with it. Truth is, The National has followed up the impressive Alligator with a nearly flawless album that looks like it's capable of standing the test of time.