A self obsessed, self destructive, arrogantly self effacing egoist, solipsist and hedonist;the Westian model of tormented genius is as old and dated and it is consistently refreshing and renewing. The dichotomic lyrical explorations of Twisted Fantasy are gauged with what have already been correctly described as maximalist musical explosions and wide searching, far reaching sound scopes. With this dichotomy though, is a twisted and subverted attempt at monism – that is, West attempts to fuse reflective poetry, reflective religion, gluttonous materialism and a gluttonous lifestyle into a single, coherent philosophy. The incoherence and impossibility of this, does not matter, what matters is the struggle in trying to find it.
The mark of an alcoholic, or at least an obsessive, is marked by the apparent reasoning behind the continued use, or abuse, of a substance or thing. Is drinking done to prolong or intensify the moment, or to avert from it? A person’s answer to the question can be as revealing as it is confusing, “The plan was, to drink until the pain over/ But what’s worse, the pain or the hangover?” - as can be seen through Kanye’s answer. And continuing this self-supporting dualist idea, in that Kanye is reflective enough to mark what it is he is actually doing, but much too self-destructive to in fact not do it, is what he does throughout Twisted Fantasy. On one side we have Kanye the epicurean, pursuing pleasures and luxuries; in lieu of the American model of the pursuit of happiness, ie wealthiness. The best example of this being portrayed is in the maniacal chorus to All Of The Lights – “Cop lights, flash lights, spot lights/ Strobe lights, street lights/ (All of the lights, all of the lights)/ Fast life, drug life/ Thug life, rock life/ Every night/ (All of the lights). ” - A song which contains contributions and samples from Elton John, Alicia Keys, Fergie, The-Dream, Tony Williams, Rihanna, Kid Cudi, John Legend, Charlie Wilson, Ryan Leslie and Elly Jackson. So often it is the case that artists can litter rather than sprinkle their albums with guest features, Gucci Mane’s and Ludacris’ two most recent albums providing two concrete recent examples.
With this litter, the artists in fact can show artistic illiteracy in letting the album have no core or, no real dictator who takes creative centrality. The same argument though, cannot be said for Kanye’s approach here. Rather, Kanye shows at once his plurality of musical influence and scope, and his ability to transcend the genre-walls which oft separate them. The most obvious example of this is the final two tracks on the album (Lost in the World and Who Will Survive in America?), where a feature/sample from Justin Vernon/Bon Iver is fused with contemporary hip-hop in Kanye, and meshed with a long sample from Gil Scott-Heron’s Comment #1. (It is also important to note, that Kanye neither gives himself the first nor the last word on the album. The opening lyrics being a short lyrical feature from Nicki Minaj.) So, whilst this plurality that I mentioned can in some artists show the blending towards hip-hop memes (what is an album now without a Drake feature?) and a lack of creative industry, in Twisted Fantasy paradoxically, Kanye’s input is so central and so key; that his input is valued above the omnipresent features. What he does in effect, is transcend every and all features, and by refusing to take the obvious centre-stage in all his tracks; he creates an atmosphere of reverence when he does grace us with with it, “No one man should have all that power.” (Not is this to demean the features whatsoever though, the features are so masterfully spread and intricately chosen (it is possibly Nicki Minaj’s best feature, and Jay-Z’s verse on So Appalled is his best in years) that the album’s thrust in this regard is that appears to be an overarching expression of the hip-hop zeitgeist, of which there is no doubt Twisted Fantasy will be a re-defining seed.)
And that is one side. On the other side we have reflection, “Me found bravery in my bravado,” self awareness and (seriously) humility. The starting point for this Westian paradigm in fact stems from the previous point, in that Kanye knows that for him to create the sort of album he is attempting (note that this is the same man who called 808′s & Heartbreaks as the ‘creation’ of the musical genre of ‘Pop Art’) he really cannot do it on his own. 808s was noticeably bereft and avoided real opportunities for more varied features or explorative production. Twisted Fantasy though, is the natural and necessary extension of 808s.
Emerging as it did, in the midst of what has been to date Kanye’s most difficult period of life; 808s provided the foundational framework for the artist, who can thoroughly express emotive substance with passion and real content, “Never was much of a romantic, I could take the intimacy/ And I know I did damage, because the look in your eyes is killing me…Baby I got a plan, runaway fast as you can.” Bravado, in the sense which Kanye epitomises it, is most classically interpreted as a means of screening others, and indeed yourself, from weakness and inadequacies that you yourself are all too aware of. Twisted Fantasy though, is so fuelled with an awareness of this destructive side of Kanye, that it becomes the heartbreaking focus of the album,
Now I embody every characteristic, of the egotistic;
He know, he so fuckin’ gifted;
I just needed time alone, with my own thoughts;
Got treasures in my mind but couldn’t open up my own vault;
My childlike creativity, purity and honesty is honestly being prodded by these grown thoughts;
Reality is catchin’ up on me;
Takin’ my inner child, I’m fighting for it: custody.
Furthering this, drawn out tracks such as the final few minutes of Runaway appear to be prolonged expressions of exasperation and frustration at how Kanye himself deals with the world, and its paradoxical in-sustainability and unavoidability.
A longing for, and refusal of, further emotional attachments are the marks of this self-acclaimed 21st Century schizoid man. It seems to me far too easy and arrogant to dismiss Kanye on account of his own twisted arrogance. He has with Twisted Fantasy created the single most ambitious, sprawling, genre-exploding and redefining album in a long time. All of this without even mentioning the hugely impressive mini-movie named Runaway recently released by Kanye: which in itself is an expression of a strand of the album’s message. Kanye has, with My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy created an album which can bear an adjective which can rarely be ascribed to albums of the now: important. It’s importance can only be reviewed as time passes, but as it stands, there is no better word.
- 97%
just go by himself, he brought the circle pit outside with him, It was one crazy experience to watch but an awesome one at that. It was clear that the Sacramento band enjoyed their time playing to a hyped up Belfast crowd, even dedicating one of their songs to the boys in And So I Watch You From Afar. Trash Talk owned the stage, and from their performance, it was hard to see If the night could get any better.
His first album, Shallow Grave, fully introduced TTOE to the scene, infused as it was with a grip on the banjo. The Wild Hunt, the second LP, saw him reach more exclusively for his acoustic guitar. And here, with Sometimes the Blues is Just a Passing Bird – he plugs it in and increases his own dynamism and songwriting ability. His evolution is slow, but that’s the type that both works lasts.
