Few things will motivate me to listen to an album more than Pitchfork giving it a rating of 0.2 out of 10. I don't have anything specific against Pitchfork (other than their entire system of precision rating), but a 0.2 is something you don't see very often. So when I read Pitchfork's review of Dan le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip's new album, Angles, I instantly searched YouTube for their music. After listening to Thou Shalt Always Kill"" and ""Letter from God to Man,"" I wondered how bad the other 10 songs had to be to drag the album down so far.
As it turns out, a couple of the songs are really bad. The second song, ""Development,"" is phenomenally so. The first verse is simply mediocre until Pip ends with the cliché ""I ain't riding the beat / It's the beat that's riding me."" After that, it quickly becomes unlistenable. The second verse starts with the line ""I aint an alcoholic, I just drink a lot / Maybe I'm a genius / Or maybe I just think a lot"" before an unknown voice (apparently Dan le Sac) mercifully cuts him off. Pip then randomly starts to rap about nine assorted elements from the periodic table before name-dropping Mos Def, KRS-One, Slick Rick and Chuck D, claiming that they are his ""role models"" and that he stands out from today's class of rappers.
He reiterates this sentiment in ""Fixed,"" his attempt to ""fix hip-hop the best we can."" Here, Le Sac samples Dizzee Rascal while Pip talks about the relationship between art and popularity in the music industry. While this is a valid topic for discussion, Pip's lyrics are virtually unintelligible because of his desire to cram as many words as possible into a line.
Le Sac and Pip manage to completely miss the most important part of being a revolutionary figure in the music industry - good music. In ""Thou Shalt Always Kill,"" Pip lists off the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, the Beach Boys, the Sex Pistols, the Clash, Crass, Minor Threat, the Cure, the Smiths, the Pixies, Oasis, Radiohead, Bloc Party and Arctic Monkeys, saying that each of them was ""just a band."" True, but they were all bands that made good music (or in the case of Oasis, two good songs).
If Le Sac and Pip want to influence and change the industry, they first have to focus on making good music. Most of this album is solid, especially the songs where he doesn't talk about the state of hip-hop. The third track, ""Look for the Woman,"" is about something that actual songs are supposed to be about - relationships. The beat and the almost alt-country hook work perfectly with the subject matter and the tone of the song. Simply making great music, no matter what genre you fall in, no matter how unconventional you are, will give you the credibility to legitimately talk about the industry.
So, for anyone out there who wants to change the music industry: Thou shalt always focus on making good music, for then Pitchfork shall not give your album a 0.2. Then thou shalt always kill.
Want Dale to analyze your least favorite album of all time? Then thou shalt e-mail him at dmundt@wisc.edu.
