[rayword45]

Day 17: This Is Our Science by Astronautalis (Album Choice: Efe Clemenza)

Today's review is of a white rap album. I'm not a fan of white rap, let me be honest. Some are okay, like the Beastie Boys (which has a fair amount of punk to it) but for the most part hearing white people rap is an exploration of hilariously pathetic attempts at flow and lyrics that make you want to burn someone (for that last one, looking mainly at Anthony Kiedis). It's even worse when people who are talented in rock music attempt hip-hop. And to think Chris Cornell was so good in Soundgarden. I don't give a shit if Scream wasn't actually hip-hop it was produced by Timbaland so I automatically think of it as such.

Back on track. So anyways, this guy is Caucasian, and he's a rap producer. This would normally be a red flag considering the past collections of musical sadness. (Hey, Al Sharpton said you can't be racist against white people, did he not?) This guy, however, is often compared to Beck, if Beck was more into hip-hop. I am a fan of Beck despite the many awkward rap tracks he makes. That would give me high hopes, except he's said to mix "electro house, blues and indie rock" into hip-hop. No folk or funk rock? Where the hell is the Beck comparison? There are other eclectic artists and I don't recall Beck ever really covering electro house. Ah well, let's give this a shot. I feel like quoting several websites counts as a prediction.

Meh, I'm not big on this dude's voice. But it's not excruciating like Lil B and his lyrics aren't excruciating like Lil B so I'm happy. This isn't entirely hip-hop, Measure The Globe seems very ballad-y. As a matter of fact, it seems this album is only hip-hop pretty sparingly, with a fair dose of eclecticism throughout. There's a mixture of acoustic instrumentation, synthesizers, and pop rock structures. I don't like most pop rock, just like I don't like most Caucasian rap. But this is a very respectable effort in music and I'm glad I wasn't subjected to the equivalent of an Anthony Kiedis solo hip-hop album. If such a thing ever comes into existence I must punch Rick Rubin in the face. Onto the lyrics, they also weren't a total disaster! I didn't hear everything, but never did I think to myself "This guy is a wigger." With the comparisons to Beck, I'll say these rap tracks are better lyrically then anything he has done in terms of hip-hop.

This is better then I expected, maybe I should leave it at that. Despite being a bit unfocused overall you have to admire this guys ambition in terms of musical versatility. And his total lack of suck when it comes to lyrics is a plus. I'm still not a fan of Caucasian hip-hop, so I guess the album wasn't so remarkable as to change my mind. But it's not painful, and that puts up above most white rap. Have I said that already? Whatever, that's my conclusion.