What are you listening to right now?

Got around to checking out the two new releases from Prince from last month.

IMO Plectrumelectrum probably won't get another real listen from me. Lots of bombast and good production but also a lot of predictable, recycled riffs (the title track sounds like Prince jamming on Living Loving Maid and Moby Dick) and it just comes across as an ovely self conscious Prince album, missing the risk taking that made his early albums fun. His all-female band is musically talented but as a pre-fab gimmick they come across as slick session players rather than a cohesive unit. Doesn't help that the material is derivative and often cheesy. "Anotherlove" is probably the best track as far as I'm concerned.

On the other hand, his other release, "Art Official Cage" is almost a triumphant return to form given the low expectations that Prince albums have created over the last 15 years or so. It's fun, loose and relatively diverse while incorporating all the touchstones that Prince created in his heyday. It's also sprawling without a real center or cohesiveness. If someone told me this was a collection of unreleased material spanning from the 90's to today I'd believe it.

It's it a great album? No. But if anybody digs Prince it's worth checking out for sure.
 
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Got around to checking out the two new releases from Prince from last month.

IMO Plectrumelectrum probably won't get another real listen from me. Lots of bombast and good production but also a lot of predictable, recycled riffs (the title track sounds like Prince jamming on Living Loving Mad and Moby Dick) and it just comes across as an ovely self conscious Prince album, missing the risk taking that made his early albums fun. His all-female band is musically talented but as a pre-fab gimmick they come across as slick session players rather than a cohesive unit. Doesn't help that the material is derivative and often cheesy. "Anotherlove" is probably the best track as far as I'm concerned.

On the other hand, his other release, "Art Official Cage" is almost a triumphant return to form given the low expectations that Prince albums have created over the last 15 years or so. It's fun, loose and relatively diverse while incorporating all the touchstones that Prince created in his heyday. It's also sprawling without a real center or cohesiveness. If someone told me this was a collection of unreleased material spanning from the 90's to today I'd believe it.

It's it a great album? No. But if anybody digs Prince it's worth checking out for sure.
i had basically the exact same reaction to both records. Plectrumelectrum is a fine display of musicianship with high production values across the board, but it moves me not an inch. Art Official Age, on the other hand, is something of an anomaly for Prince as far as his latter day releases are concerned. in my opinion, he hasn't sounded this confident since about '91. he's spent the last couple of decades unsure of where he fits amidst the "new," but Art Official Age has a bit of a "f*** it, I'm Prince" vibe going on that i dig.
 
Snarky Puppy and Lalah Hathaway. For my money that's a tough combo to beat. I love that Michael League and company can't help it and are just falling about the place when Lalah starts singing two notes simultaneously starting around 6:12

 

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
Been having this on repeat through out the day...Prodigy & Alchemist :)


Also, new artist I checked out today goes by the name of Logic debut album called 'Under Pressure'. It's good hip-hop. It lives on!
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
I don't want to have to repeat this numerous times but this is a family friendly board. That means no "N" words in the lyrics, no "M.....F....." in the lyrics, etc. We shouldn't have to police the YouTube videos being posted, you know?