ESSAY INCOMING

Alright, alright... So, I'm super fuckin late to this as per usual (you expect different from me? LOL). But I promised I'd listen, and listen I did. And I have a confession.
I may have judged Kanye a bit harshly and a bit unfairly in the past.
For so long I have put off listening to his stuff just because I assumed it wouldn't be my thing. Never been much of a rap person, aside from a few guilty pleasures I found in a game or two (this is relevant later, I promise), so I just stuck to the shit I liked. But I will say, I was actually pleasantly surprised when I went thru this album. It might not be one that goes on my everyday playlist, at least for now, but I think I will definitely return to give this a few more listens.
Now, I haven't gone too far into the lyrics. I feel like I'd be here for a bit if I did. I will say that from the stuff I did pick up on, there's some parts that thematically it might not entirely be my thing. But that's okay! I still got a lot of enjoyment out of the tracks regardless.
So now, I shall go thru a few tracks I especially enjoyed to give my thoughts, as well as some general, overall notes.
General notes - Most tracks have a background of orchestra/choir, which makes it sound like the kinda shit you'd play in a big hall or even a church. I think Syn described one of the tracks like pop/gospel, which holds up imo. But the classic rap/R&B beats on top and the vocals, effects and samples give it that really interesting spin that to me, seems like what everyone associates with Kanye. I think I see why people are so attracted to and enjoy his music, but also why it's so love or hate. There are some REALLY creative uses of sounds and samples, especially with how they're turned into their own instruments or percussion, but also some that I find a bit repetitive, which honestly, I think does balance it out a bit. There is a LOT to take in, I think that the repetitive background themes actually allow for more creativity with other sounds without completely overwhelming the listener.
DARK FANTASY - Okay, the autotuned chorus in the background of the intro is a vibe, and the introduction of different voices is done in a really cool way. This is a recurring theme in this album, which I talk about in my general notes. I really dig the melody and chords. Then the samples come in, and this is more what I was expecting tbh when I first saw this album. Sudden switch to piano is a bit jarring with that sudden pause, but somehow it works, and flows back into the rap. I'll give him credit, the way the lyrics flow too is good, and this is all across the album. There's a lot of sounds I'm hearing in the background like the twinkling-like chimes. The next transition works so much better, and the mix of the orchestra/vocals is really nice. Maybe I'm nitpicking, but it bothers me that I can hear the sample looping so much, but I'm a perfectionist and tbh I think it's a stylistic choice, so I'll leave it be. Maybe that's the whole point, drags you back into the song because it kinda jarrs you? See my point above in general notes. Love the ending.
POWER - Okay, I already know this song. And I already
love it. It was in Saints Row The Third, I got the game on Christmas of 2012 (which means I've actually been an A7x fan longer than I thought, but that's another story.) and this was essentially the main theme. I still remember skydiving onto the penthouse with this in the background, and it was an experience.... what a game. ANYWAY! The backing vocals are beautiful. The various effects and panning added to them as the song progresses is a really cool way to build up to different sections. The progression is seriously catchy, and also the message in some of the lyrics (chorus particularly) is honestly quite powerful, if you'll excuse the wordplay. This is a perfect example of my point in general notes about a repetitive background allowing room for all kinds of cool effects. Having just the vocals, (some) drums and piano around 3mins in is beautiful. THAT SYNTH SOLO. UGH. I love that section so much, that and the last minute of the track. The maniacal laughing fits so well. On a side note, one of the playlists of this album only had the short version of this, and I was about to complain it wasn't long enough and I must've imagined the solo bit. LOL.
ALL OF THE LIGHTS - I am delighted that this keeps the intro from the interlude. I love the piano following the violin's notes rather than just being the chords. Hello brass section, hi Rhianna! That drum beat is... really, really cool, but also reminds me of the bongos when you play music from an SD card on a DSI/3DS. If you know, you know. I really love the chorus to this song. I think Kanye and Rhianna's voices work really well together and for this track. Bridge was also really cool. The build up with the first chorus after that into the last section was nice. Very catchy track.
Also, that music vid is VERY COLOURFUL, OW MY EYEBALLS. LOL.
MONSTER - Well, those vocal effects are very fitting! I think the mostly (somewhat?) stripped back feel of this song in compared to those previous (though lets be real, the pounding synths in the back really give some power), puts more emphasis on the lyrics. That lion/tigers roar as a riser was AWESOME. The theming around them is honestly cool too, at least the bits I picked up on, referencing all kinds of popular monsters like vampires, mummies (well, there's mentions of pharaohs and shit), zombies, all that lot. Though I may have missed a lot of the context. Around the 5min mark when there's some vocal-like sounds that are unintelligible, they're both really spooky but work well. To me, it fits the theme. Monsters making noises that almost sound like humans but aren't quite human, are easily the scariest thing (often done in horror games, I may add). Might be taking things too literally and missing more of the song's meaning, but yknow. I said I didn't go too deep into the lyrics.
RUNAWAY - There's something really haunting about the individual piano notes before the drum machine comes in with the bassy synth. This one has a lot more of an RnB feel to it, reminds me of a few songs I used to listen to when I was younger. In comes the rap! I actually really enjoyed this one. Not as intense as the others, but very nice.
HELL OF A LIFE - Lowkey thought my headphones broke. That is an aggressive saw wave synth (I think?? please correct if I'm wrong, very rusty here). That chorus? bit at around 0:55, that melody instantly made me think of Sabbath's Iron Man. Intentional? It's strange to hear with this style and the very, VERY different lyrics. That breakdown with the "lights on" section was different. That ending minute or so reminded me, weirdly enough, of Banjo Kazooie with the percussion (big surprise. But it did.) Breathing is spooky
BLAME GAME - This track is similar to Devil in a New Dress in the sense it feels like an old vintage track with Kanye's signature spin on it. I wondered if he created that part of the tracks too or if it's a really creative use of samples? Anyway! Something I notice in these tracks (especially here) is that there's a really interesting juxtaposition between the lyrical themes and tones and then the music that backs it up. The music mostly sounds really beautiful, soothing, classical even. But then the lyrics are the complete opposite, nothing like you'd expect. Lots of panning, distortion, filter effects. I noticed a lot of reversed crash cymbals used as risers, a trick I absolutely love to both use and hear. I... have no comments on the lyrics towards the end. As I stated above, not really my thing. But glad he had a great birthday LOL
LOST IN THE WORLD - Hi autotune! Hearing it applied so heavy and then layered with harmonies is really weird, sounds like a crazy glitch, but it's cool! I like how it's used as it's own instrument, like the choirs were before. Hell, this is a big thing in this song it seems, with all kinds of vocal samples coming into play for this purpose, but it also occurs in the other tracks too. The two sets of overlapping vocal sets in the 2nd chorus confused me for a moment.
Jesus, that was long. If you made it thru this rambling essay, I applaud you. I hope you got something interesting from my thoughts, even if it's that I talk too much and probably have no idea what I'm talking about., TLDR - I liked the album a lot more than I thought, I was wrong about you Kanye, I'm sorry

Cheers for a truly creative and eye-opening AOTM,
@Syn Gates!


