The Severed Cortex

During the course of our recent move I didn't buy much music. Maybe I should caveat that. I didn't buy my normal amount of music. I still bought music, just not as much. And then somewhere during the move I completely messed up my iTunes library. I didn't lose any music. I was just moving my library off my already filled laptop hard drive and onto a portable drive. Somehow in the process I managed to lose all the info about my purchased items. I have no idea what order I bought stuff. I'm sure I'll miss one or two and I know I'll mess up the order I bought them in, but for the sake of getting caught up I'm just going to find a couple and write about them.

Atmosphere - When Life Gives You Lemons You Paint That Shit Gold

Atmosphere is a walking exception to the hip-hop genre. Most glaring is the fact that they are white. Yeah, Eminem is white and so are the Beastie Boys, but you get much past that you start delving into the Vanilla Ice territory. The second odd fact about Atmosphere is they are from Minneapolis. Not exactly the hip hop capital of the world. In the years that east coast battled west coast, Atmosphere was making records from the land of Prince. Not with Prince, but in the same town that brought you Prince and Paul Westerberg and Bob Mould.
I can appreciate some gangsta rap every once in awhile, but I tire of it quickly. I like Eminem and the much harsher D12 style but again it delves into gangsta territory. If not gangsta, then certainly violence and drugs. No, I don't have a problem with violence and drugs. Just don't sing about it over and over and over again My hip hop tendencies tend to gravitate toward the socially concsious style of rap. The Pacific Northwest is cranking out a lot of these guys: Blue Scholars, Common Market, Michael Franti, etc, and Minneapolis is still cranking out Atmosphere. This style tends to be less aggressive, has smoother beats, and raps about real life in ways that make you question whether American life is really so good for everyone. If it is, how come so many people fall through the cracks? Music in the sixties was really good about enlightening the masses about social injustice. Today, in a world where social injustice is just as prevalent, there are few groups willing to explore that territory. Those that do typically get pigeon holed into the Move On crowd. (See Steve Earle) Somehow the socially conscious rappers manage to be included in that political spectrum without being defined by that solely. Perhaps that's just the nature of hip hop, impossible to corral.
This release richly explores the world of those that are struggling to make it in America and the pitfalls that confront them. Drugs, unexpected pregnancies, dead end jobs, bad relationships, and the realization that the American dream does not come to everyone. Laid back rhymes, reserved beats, and slick lyrics are the trademarks of Atmosphere and this release is covered up in them. You is probably the standout track on here as far as infectiousness, Yesterday walks the fine line between John Legend piano jazz and rap, but In Her Music Box is far and away one of the finest heartfelt rap songs ever written. Call this stuff candy ass if you want, but it shows that the hip hop genre is much wider than gangstas, bitches, and ho's. For that you should give it a chance.

The Presidents Of The United States - These Are The Good Times People

Are the Presidents of the United States of America a novelty act or are they legitimate? Kitty at my feet and I want to touch it!? She's Lump!? Moving to the country gonna eat a lot of peaches?! WTF! Surely this makes for a solid argument for a heavy lean towards novelty. Couple that with the fact that these guys started playing on a 3 string guitar and a 2 string bass and you have to say they are definitely a joke. Plus their songwriting material is pretty hokey. They sing about animals and insects in the same way that Gary Larsen used to draw them in his Far Side cartoons. In literature the device is called personification. I guess it would be the same for music too. The Presidents are the kings of this and they don't let up with this new release. In the past it was boll weevils and cats. This time it's butterflies and ladybugs.
Write them off as a novelty act and you grossly overlook the obvious; these guys write funky little tunes that are hilarious and catchy. They Might Be Giants are the cerebral version of this. Weird Al Yankovic is the most successful at it, but his method is kinda hackneyed. I'm not saying he's not funny, I'm just saying song parody's are hackneyed. I also throw The Flaming Lips into this type of music. They're pretty good at the comic relief when they want to be. But the Presidents are the most fun at it. Just look at the lyrics to More Bad Times and you can't help but laugh.
The debut release from Presidents of the United States is still probably the best offering but this new one gives it a run for its money. Try Mixed Up S.O.B., Ghosts Are Everywhere, So Lo So Hi, or Warhead. You'll probably wind up buying the whole release just for the sheer fun factor.