Album Review: Kanye West - "Yeezus" (2013, Def Jam)

The constant repetition of Kanye West (what makes him so special to preschoolers) doesn't necessarily lend itself to good music (well, perhaps blues is about repetition, but as we all know, Kanye West isn't blue). Luckily, this disc--Kanye West's sixth album--is still a sweet, fun record for young kids.

Sure, it can be an odd blend at times: the dance tracks ("Puddle Dance," "Twisty Dance," "Running Away Dance," "Up and Down Dance") all follow the same electronic calliope formula--light waltzes of synth-treated bells, drums, and keyboards. "Tree" is an oddity, a New Age-for-toddlers number, but it's quickly followed by the Kanye opening anthem: the always pleasing "Kanye Say 'Eh-oh!'" Truth be told: "Dirty Knees" is the only track that will drive parents nuts: the narrator's one-track mind begins to sound like a fetish (you start wondering what "dirty" refers to, anyway).

By the time "Lullaby" closes the disc out, you'll be ready for a rest, but your children will be begging for more. Extra points for great stereo action, with Kanye West's voice bouncing from channel to channel. Give your kids the headphones, and you'll both be all the happier!

Tracklist:

Kanye West - "Yeezus" 

1. Puddle Dance

2. Ships

3. Dirty Knees [feat. God]

4. Twisty Dance

5. Animals [feat. Frank Ocean]

6. Dipsy's Fancy Hat

7. Running Away Dance

8. Tree

9. Kanye Says 'Eh-oh!' [feat. Chief Keef & Justin Vernon]

10. Up And Down Dance

11. Jumping For Fun [feat. Kid Cudi]

12. Follow My Leader 

13. Clouds [feat. King L]

14. Lullaby [feat. Charlie Wilson]

15. Black Skinhead

Come see these rad bands.

(WBD007) Jeff and Steve: Sound Setups EP

[ Play "Jeff and Steve:Sound Setup Test Song" ]

Sound Setup Test Song (Download)

[ Play "Jeff and Steve:Sound Setup Test 19 And A Half" ]

Sound Setup Test 19 And A Half (Download)

[ Play "Jeff and Steve:The Worst Sound Setup We've Had" ]

The Worst Sound Setup We've Had (Download)

[ Play "Jeff and Steve:The Most Horrible Sound Setup" ]

The Most Horrible Sound Setup (Download)

[ Play "Jeff and Steve:Masters Of Sound Setups" ]

Masters Of Sound Setups (Download)

[ Play "Jeff and Steve:Shitsound" ]

Shitsound (Download)

--

The seventh release of our EXCLUSIVE DIGITAL 7" SERIES is "Jeff and Steve: Sound Setups EP".

Clocking in at a stunning 4.1 minutes, these six songs are just SOME of the many songs Jeff and Steve have recorded at the start of one of their recording sessions. Because before you can start recording, you need to ensure your microphone placement and sound levels are all good. 

What you AREN'T supposed to do is then mix those test recordings down and then release them to the general public.

A funny thing is, we already joked about doing this years ago, forgot about it, then actually put the songs together. Not even all the same songs. That's how many sound setup songs Jeff and Steve have.

There is nothing else that needs to be said about the songs. Here are the years they were recorded to show you... nothing really.

Track 1: 1998.

Track 2: 2000.

Track 3: 2000.

Track 4: 1998.

Track 5: 2001.

Track 6: 2000.

(WBD006) Jeff and Steve: Tacos/Mexi Fries B/W Brown Bagged Tacos

[ Play "Jeff and Steve:Tacos/Mexi-Fries" ]

Tacos/Mexi Fries (Download)

[ Play "Jeff and Steve:Brown Bagged Tacos" ]

Brown Bagged Tacos (Download)

--

The sixth release of our EXCLUSIVE DIGITAL 7" SERIES is "Jeff and Steve: Tacos/Mexi Fries B/W Brown Bagged Tacos".

This admittedly weak release features  2 songs about Tacos. Well, the first song is sort of 2 songs. A "suite" if you will allow me to stretch the meaning of that term to its breaking point.

Side A was recorded in 1996, which is a very long time ago. Holy shit. I mean, Jeff and Steve were practically virgins still. Or maybe they were. Possibly just some "hand and mouth stuff"? I don't know. Anyways, a song about Taco Time. We didn't even have a Taco Bell in Lethbridge in 1996, did we? So we just had Taco Time. 

Side B was recorded in 1998, which is also a super long time ago, but I'm pretty sure Jeff and Steve had nailed a lot of poon by then. Surely they had. Hmm.

Oh yeah. This song was recorded while driving in a car. Immediately after buying tacos from Taco Time. Steve really likes Taco Time. When he came to visit a few months ago, the first thing he wanted to eat was Taco Time because they don't have Taco Time in Fredericton. I guess they have to buy their Mexi-Fries in a big frozen McCains bag.

Well, that's enough of typing "Taco Time" for one decade.

(WBD005) Jeff and Steve: My Coke Hates Me B/W Pass Me My coke

[ Play "Jeff and Steve:My Coke Hates Me" ]

My Coke Hates Me (Download)

[ Play "Jeff and Steve:Pass Me My Coke" ]

Pass Me My Coke (Download)

--

The fifth release of our EXCLUSIVE DIGITAL 7" SERIES is "Jeff and Steve: My Coke Hates Me B/W Pass Me My Coke".

Both songs were recorded in the year 2000, or so. Jeff and Steve both consume more Coke in a day than a Miami druglord does all year.

In fact, Jeff consumed so much Coke that it permanently effected his DNA so that he can't drink very much anymore because it leads to songs like on Side A, about his horrible stomach pains. Maybe the fact that he always had greasy Chinese food with it at Hiroba didn't help.

Side B features Jeff actually drinking Coke, resulting in delightful gaps of dead air in the song. Classic. Classic Coke.

(WBD004) Jeff and Steve: Reflections on Star Trek: The Next Generation B/W Watching Star Trek

[ Play "Jeff and Steve:Reflections On Star Trek The Next Generation" ]

(Download)

[ Play "Jeff and Steve:Wating Star Trek Etc." ]

(Download)

--

The fourth release of our EXCLUSIVE DIGITAL 7" SERIES is "Jeff and Steve: Reflections on Star Trek: The Next Generation B/W Watching Star Trek", by Jeff and Steve. Yes, 2 songs about Star Trek: The Next Generation.

The A-Side was recorded by Jeff on 4-track in the early 2000s.

The B-Side was recorded in 1996, when Jeff and Steve were watching Star Trek: The Next Generation in the basement. Enjoy as they describe in detail what they see on the screen. Featuring 12-String guitar, just like the Byrds, only way worse! 

(WBD003) Jeff and Steve: Let' s Start A New Age Band B/W Enya Song

[ Play "Jeff and Steve:Lets Start A New Age Band" ]

(Download)

[ Play "Jeff and Steve:Enya Song" ]

(Download)

--

The third release of our EXCLUSIVE DIGITAL 7" SERIES is "(Let's Start) A New Age Band B/W Enya Song", by Jeff and Steve.

The A-Side was recorded in the basement in 2000, about starting a killer New Age band.

The B-Side recorded sometime around 2004, is Jeff making fun of Enya.

You see, it's like a concept record.

(WBD002) Jeff and Steve: Let's Play Computer Game B/W Computer Radiation

[ Play "Jeff and Steve:Lets Play Computer Game" ]

(Download)

[ Play "Jeff and Steve:Computer Radiation" ]

(Download)

--

The second release of our EXCLUSIVE DIGITAL 7" SERIES is "Let's Play Computer Game B/W Computer Raditation", by Jeff and Steve.

The A-Side was recorded in 1999 and chronicels Jeff and Steve's love for Computer games. Yes!

The B-Side is from a year later (that's 2000) and was inspired by the idea that Jeff swore his computer monitor was radiactive because it made his throat feel weird. By Jeff I mean me. I'm writing in the third person sometimes. I'm not sure why.

"Enjoy"!

Shotgun Jimmie!

Open Channels!

Brenna Lowrie!

The Owl!

OK!

Ah, so that was my password! I always forget how many “O”’s I put in the “boobs” part of my password. “boooOOOoobs69time” was the winning number. That’s 8 O’s!

Anyways, now that I am back into my blog, I am proud to announce an exciting new venture for my music label Wowbam Records. Introducing: Wowbam Digital. 

Let’s face it: physical media is a thing of the past. What with HMV going broke and Sam The Record Man dying in that murder suicide, it’s clear the days of compact discs are in the past. 

That is why I have formed Wowbam Digital, my latest venture. Thanks to my successful Kickstarter campaign “Help Fund Zach Braff’s New Life Changing Indie Flick”, netting me over $2.5 million dollars, I was able to buy a new helicopter with the Wowbam Digital logo on the side, as well as a pair of matching golden bidets.

Now that the money is gone, all I can afford is to release things digitally, which is perfect, because I believe that was my idea before I made all the money and spent it.

So every Friday for the next 400(?) weeks I will be releasing an EXCLUSIVE DIGITAL 7” right HERE on the Fshock Journal. It won’t even be available on the Wowbam site! Because the Wowbam board members didn’t want any part of it. They think it’s stupid. What do they know? They still put out cassette tapes! Get with the times old man!

So, what is a Digital 7”? It’s 2 MP3 files and fake JPG record cover. What does it have to do with being “7 inches”? Nothing other than to appeal to “effing hipsters” like your sister who camped out for those Mumford & Sons tickets the other day. Do you like her new zero-prescription thick rimmed glasses? They are decorative! She missed Coachella this year but is totally going on a ROOOAD TRIP with her BFF Jennifer next year! Will they find romance? Will they catch Foxygen??? She’s gonna wear her bra as a shirt! So indie!

So, yep, it’s a DIGITAL 7” you can play on your iPod, iPod Nano, iPod Touch, iPhone, Windows Phone, BlackBerry Pearl, Razr, and Android Samsung HD Tablet / Kindle Fire!

So, get excited. Also, I hope you like the musical stylings of Jeff and Steve, because 97% of the Digital 7”’s will be by Jeff and Steve. They are like Bob Dylan + Garfunkel only way worse.

Our first release is a two parter: Beautiful Weather B/W Beautiful Weather Part II by Jeff and Steve.

The A-Side was recorded while Jeff and Steve were driving near his parents house, in the spring of 1998. You can hear the engine in the background.

The B-Side was recorded in 2000 in the basement, I imagine. I don't remember, that was 13 years ago. All I know is that it's not very good.

(WBD001) Jeff and Steve: Beautiful Weather B/W Beautiful Weather Part II

[ Play "Jeff and Steve:Beautiful Weather" ]

(Download)

[ Play "Jeff and Steve:Beautiful Weather Part II" ]

(Download)