I Miss the Comfort in Being Sad

This is the start of my “year-end” list. I always do this because I’m obsessed with music writers and this is my shitty, shitty attempt to practice my writing about music. Also, I have a decent amount of people who respect my opinion on music. I check every year end list and download every album off any writer I respect’s list, so maybe I’ll inspire someone to download some shit they skipped or never heard of (Although, to be completely forthcoming, it’s doubtful my list will be any different than anyone else’s. 2011 was the first year I saw everyone basically agree on what was awesome.). I’m also making this list incredibly personal, as opposed to just saying why it’s awesome. Also, I’m doing 11 because I fucking want to.

I moved to Atlanta at the end of the summer 2011. I work for my aunt in the real estate business here. She’s a self-made woman, who’s done amazingly well for herself in life. She’s had to overcome some crazy and terrible circumstances to reach her current status in life. Yet, she’s still has to be incredibly aggressive to get what she wants, because she’s a black woman.

I currently live in a pretty nice house. I’m renovating the basement (STILL). On more than 3 occasions, people in the subdivision (which is gated and pretty small) asking me who I was working for. MYSELF, FUCKER! is the answer I WANT to give them. However, I don’t want the HOA harassing me because I’m hostile. I worked hard to get this, yet there is still no respect.

This is why Watch the Throne resonated with me. It’s the sound of 2 black men overcoming all the various issues in their lives, and reaching the pinnacle of their chosen career path. Yet, they (especially Kanye) realize that they still don’t truly get the respect they deserve. As a general ruleI try to avoid issues of race, yet I have to admit it drives me nuts when white critics talk about the album being out of touch or overly excessive. This album sounds like the struggle to get what you want and then finally getting and GOING FUCKING NUTS ABOUT HAVING IT. I’d be buying made Rothko’s too and bragging about it. The production is top notch, and there are a few missteps (“The Joy” does nothing for me, “H.A.M.” is meh, everyone besides Jay & Kanye thinks “Lift Off” is terrible), but overall this is another great album from 2 black dudes who are excessively rich but won’t forget who they are. Also, I think Jay’s verse on “Primetime” is among his best. It’s pretty simple in execution, but it just works.