Kendrick Lamar - "XXX." ft. U2

[mama cass]

awesome segue from hip hop to trip hop hehe

 

[JoRu]

Man, I think it can't be overstated how lovely the second half is instrumentally. I assume U2 came up with it and plays it (at least the drums and bass), but regardless it's so good. The bass groove in particular is dope.

 

[BoMac]

I hear piano chords at the beginning and also the middle, so it's possible Edge did that as well, assuming it's him playing the piano.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Am I the only one who in first listen started hearing Bono sing "this country is..." and started having convulsions over the next line being "an idea" and then let out a huge sigh of relief after hearing the drum and bass line?

 

[dan_smee]

Am I the only one who in first listen started hearing Bono sing "this country is..." and started having convulsions over the next line being "an idea" and then let out a huge sigh of relief after hearing the drum and bass line?

Not the only one. I still semi cringe at "you close your eyes to look around"


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[BoMac]

Am I the only one who in first listen started hearing Bono sing "this country is..." and started having convulsions over the next line being "an idea" and then let out a huge sigh of relief after hearing the drum and bass line?

Nope, I had the exact same thought.

 

[Axver]

Am I the only one who in first listen started hearing Bono sing "this country is..." and started having convulsions over the next line being "an idea" and then let out a huge sigh of relief after hearing the drum and bass line?

The whole lyric makes me wince.

I'm amazed this has gone down so well.

 

[cobl04]

As I said, it's typical 00s Bono, empty, vague, meaningless. But it doesn't matter, cos it all sounds so good.

 

[lazarus]

To call it empty and meaningless is disingenuous, no? The guy isn't going in with zero idea of what he's singing about.

Vague is appropriate, but I don't think there's anything wrong with expressing something in the abstract.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Yea I made my comment as a compliment to his not going back to his horribly overused "America is an idea" line... not a bash of the lines he did sing.

But yea, ever since 2000 he's been so vague in his writing. I wish he'd go back to being more direct, ya know? Like on Bad

 

[superchuk5]

The stages of reaction (to anything):

1. It's amazing!
2. It's not that great...
3. ?????

 

[corianderstem]

4. Profit!

 

[CosmoKramer]

4. Profit!

Damn(Gnomes)


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[Mack_Again]

You guys are bin ridiculous this song sounds so fucking cool

 

[digitize]

I wish he'd go back to being more direct, ya know? Like on Bad

Lols.

I'm assuming you're kidding, but the vagueness/abstractness of Bono's lyrics has always been a feature of the band to me, not a bug. This isn't a hard-and-fast rule, but I find that his more direct lyrics are less appealing to me, and I think those have been more common since 2000, if anything.

 

[Nick66]

Lols.

I'm assuming you're kidding, but the vagueness/abstractness of Bono's lyrics has always been a feature of the band to me, not a bug. This isn't a hard-and-fast rule, but I find that his more direct lyrics are less appealing to me, and I think those have been more common since 2000, if anything.

Quite right. Bono's lyrics have been significantly more literal post 2000. He's writing more in prose than poetry now.

And it's certainly been a feature...JT and TUF ("true colours fly in blue and black, bruised silken sky and burning flag") in particular are almost all poetry. Bono's more literal lyrics, the worst offenders being on NLOTH and SOI, can be excruciating. The "vagueness" that some are misguidedly complaining about has actually always been one of Bono's strong points as a lyricist.

 

[BigMacPhisto]

Agreed. He's better as a painter of verbal imagery than accurately describing a situation in detail. The problem isn't just that Bono often tries to be overtly literal with his modern lyrics, but that he'll also shoehorn in some stupid phrase that he thinks is clever. So it's double bad.

I'm only just now hearing "XXX" as I was out of range for a few days. I like it, especially the U2 section, but it's one of the weaker tracks on the record and ultimately rather forgettable.

As for the album as a whole, it doesn't really seem to be as creative musically as Lamar's previous offerings. Take Kendrick out of the picture and this would be indistinguishable from a lot of other rap records.

 

[cobl04]

Your post makes no sense.

 

[cobl04]

?????? 9.2 BNM from the 'fork??????

Section.80 - 8.0
good kid, m.A.A.d city - 9.5 BNM
To Pimp a Butterfly - 9.3 BNM
untitled. unmastered - 8.6 BNM

What a run.

Personally I'd rank them

TPAB 9.8
GKMC 9
u.u. 8
S80 8
DAMN tbc

 

[Nick66]

I think SNL needs to do one of these for DAMN.

 

[subnet]

I just listened to this Kendrick Lamar tune and WOW is this Bono guy....he's so Jerry.

 

[Raid]

Only good song on Kendrick's new album. The rest is garbage.

 

[mikal]

I think those of you who simply don't like hip hop should refrain from calling the album garbage. It's the genre you don't like, not the album.

 

[BoMac]

Only good song on Kendrick's new album. The rest is garbage.

Something tells me that if Bono had sung another another song then U2 fans would be calling that one the best one on the album.

 

[BigMacPhisto]

I think those of you who simply don't like hip hop should refrain from calling the album garbage. It's the genre you don't like, not the album.

I don't think that's necessarily the case...but I will admit that the group of people like myself that aren't wowed by the album but have respect for and love some hip hop is probably a rather small group.

I'd say hip hop and metal are the two genres that are pretty overrated in my eyes and I think they should be listened to in the grand scheme of things (from the perspective of somebody like myself that listens to a ton of the music) in the same manner you would listen to a subgenre like chillwave or baroque pop. In other words, out of all the many hip hop and metal albums that get like an 8.0 or higher from Pitchfork, I'd say there's a handful every year that truly are a must listen and the rest will be dismissed out of hand for anybody who isn't in love with the genre.

For every Kanye LP that enters new territory, there's five other hip hop albums getting raves that are just repetitious bullshit about getting laid and being the best. And that's not me being patronizing or anything and it's exactly the sort of crap that the superior rappers like Kendrick will diss about on occasion. And then Pitchfork will interview these guys (like in an Over/Under video) and they'll basically cop to knowing nothing whatsoever about music. So, to me, the worst of the genre that I hear (in other words, the worst of the well-reviewed) is like listening to some crazed guy with problems and not much to say yelling on the street corner.

But I do agree with your broader point. People who don't like hip hop at all aren't going to dig this...and to reiterate my thoughts on XXX and the new record since they might have appeared muddled earlier....

1) The U2 track is one of the album's weaker moments although the part with U2 is actually a highlight for me.

2) The album, as far as the music behind Kendrick goes, isn't as innovative as his other LPs. I give it a 6/10 overall which by my metric is a "Good" album and a score I hand out often since I let the reviews guide me to most of what I listen to. But I should cop to the fact that I am not the sort of person that really cares much about lyrics unless they're just really stupid (as I talked about above). They're an important piece of the puzzle, mind you, but if I'm just bored by the music in a hip hop record, to begin with, I don't really care what the person is saying - even if it could be high-level poetry or a truly astonishing public revealing of somebody's internal psyche.

And I guess that could apply to SOI as well. I don't care about U2 coming of age if the music is some bland MOR schlock.

 

[cobl04]

You're an idiot.

 

[BigMacPhisto]

Yeah, god forbid my opinion differ from yours! I must know nothing of what I speak, even though I listen to dozens and dozens of new hip hop albums every year.

 

[Catman]

You're an idiot.

C'mon, maaaaaan... Don't be like that! While his opinion is definitely in the minority, you could've expressed your discontent with a more amicable tone. Next time just say, "That's silly" or "You're a silly-goose."

 

[cobl04]

Yeah, god forbid my opinion differ from yours! I must know nothing of what I speak, even though I listen to dozens and dozens of new hip hop albums every year.

Well I'd love to hear some examples that can back up this bullshit:

For every Kanye LP that enters new territory, there's five other hip hop albums getting raves that are just repetitious bullshit about getting laid and being the best. And that's not me being patronizing or anything and it's exactly the sort of crap that the superior rappers like Kendrick will diss about on occasion. And then Pitchfork will interview these guys (like in an Over/Under video) and they'll basically cop to knowing nothing whatsoever about music. So, to me, the worst of the genre that I hear (in other words, the worst of the well-reviewed) is like listening to some crazed guy with problems and not much to say yelling on the street corner.

Why listen to dozens of new hip-hop albums every year if you're clearly not that fond of the genre?

Other points:
- I do not recall one song where Kendrick disses other MCs for rapping about "getting laid and being the best"
- Kendrick has a ton of songs where he raps about getting laid and being the best - Backseat Freestyle, Control, Humble, Wesley's Theory, Sherane, Rigamortis, that's six right off the top of my head.
- What is inherently wrong about rapping about getting laid and being the best
- White rock musicians have been singing about getting laid and being the best for fucking decades

Show me an Over/Under vid where a rapper "knows nothing" about music.

Danny Brown's MO is literally a crazed guy with problems yelling on a street corner and his music fucking rules.

I have a big issue with your implication that the majority of rap lacks substance. It's completely wrong.

 

[DaveC]

Other points:
- I do not recall one song where Kendrick disses other MCs for rapping about "getting laid and being the best"
- Kendrick has a ton of songs where he raps about getting laid and being the best - Backseat Freestyle, Control, Humble, Wesley's Theory, Sherane, Rigamortis, that's six right off the top of my head.
- What is inherently wrong about rapping about getting laid and being the best
- White rock musicians have been singing about getting laid and being the best for fucking decades