I know we have a post for the De La song and video but this album deserves its own post.

Top to bottom...another Hip-Hop AOTY contender.

Production is flawless and every MC brings their own vibe and add a dynamic to the overall concept.

Thoughts?

Favorite tracks?

GO!

Listening now... feeling a bit mixed.

-thebigfunk

~ i could still snort you under the table ~

the instrumental part of the album was pretty boring. the songs that used similar beats were meh. there were some nice songs though, the RTJ one is the first to come to mind.

which sucks... i still bump early shadow often as hell, but he just fell off a cliff.

reminds me a little of prefuse 73 in that sense.

One of the best albums I've listened to this year

It seemed like ever song with an MC I wasn’t too familiar with, I initially thought “ok this is cool” and then by the end of the track I was thinking “this shit is great”

It just feels like some classic hip hop to me

The vocal half is definitely the stronger of the two, and mainly because the best cuts are really really good and it opens super strong with that four track sequence (although how is Monch coming off looking like the weakest link here???). Only one or two tracks that I'd completely scrap ("Small Colleges" especially), one or two tracks like "Jojo's Words" that are really good but just feel out of place here, and a few tracks that aren't great but are cool enough to appreciate for what they are.

I actually think the instrumental half will grow on me but it's dragging the album down... mood-wise it's overly, melodramatically, on-the-nose heavy and Shadow's been watching too much Stranger Things. There's actually a lot of really good stuff (Slingblade, Beauty..., and then everything from Weightless through the end are super nice to me). But the sequencing just drags it down unnecessarily.

I actually think Shadow's post-Private Press output will be looked upon more favorably as years go by - he's never given up on the sort of relentless attention to detail that make him so good at what he does best, and that shows here. But beyond Endtroducing he's always struggled with sequencing (surprisingly) and that, unfortunately, buries some of his best moments in less-than-ideal places.

-thebigfunk

~ i could still snort you under the table ~

The album is called Our Pathetic Age and I appreciated that everyone brought a topic that added to that narrative.

JoJo’s World spoke on broken families, insecurities, mental health and did so in a way where the act of suicide wasn’t overly descriptive...he spoke on the issues that led him there and then just sprinkled in a little more of the actual moment.

Small Colleges I also like but probably was one of the weaker songs.

Clown me if you want, but sounds like Q-Tip with effects on his voice to me.

Just googled him and he's a white cat from the UK

Yeah...this shit is official.

Not sure what y’all looking for lol.

I’ll agree that Small Colleges could’ve been cut but I’m completely ok with that being the weakest song on an album.

I should be clear that my opinion is based on the side with vocals.

I’ve never been a huge fan of instrumental albums due to the lack of replay value for me personally.

>I should be clear that my opinion is based on the side with
>vocals.
>
>I’ve never been a huge fan of instrumental albums due to the
>lack of replay value for me personally.

I think this is the thing (at least for me): when I think of Shadow, I think primarily instrumentals. Totally fine with the half-instrumental/half-vocal approach but *as an album* I don't think it comes off very well... it feels lop-sided, where the vocals side is really tight with a lot of high moments, but the instrumental side feels a lot less focused. If he'd released *just* the vocals side the conversation would be really different.

That said, it's continuing to grow on me (both sides).


-thebigfunk

~ i could still snort you under the table ~

So I didn't live "Endroducing" as when it came out I was 12 and just getting listening to music for myself....so here's my question:

Was Endroducing so good that the rest of his discography is slept on, or is everything else just subpar work?

I've listened to the first album....and it's pretty fucking great, but it seems like the perception I get that all the other DJ Shadow work is mid or wack?

Am I wrong here?

I think 'Private Press' is held in a similarly high regard, if not with the "WOW" that the out-the-gate debut had because it was the first shot.

Not a huge huge Shadow fan either but I gather that people started recoiling a bit when he began experimenting with other styles and genres, whereas the day-one fans expected him to follow a specific path based on 'Endtroducing...'

>So I didn't live "Endroducing" as when it came out I was 12
>and just getting listening to music for myself....so here's my
>question:
>
>Was Endroducing so good that the rest of his discography is
>slept on, or is everything else just subpar work?
>
>I've listened to the first album....and it's pretty fucking
>great, but it seems like the perception I get that all the
>other DJ Shadow work is mid or wack?
>
>Am I wrong here?

if you like the first album his prior ep's and singles are worth checking out. i believe they were curated into some massive box set a few years ago. /preemptive strike/ sounds like proto-/endtroducing/ and has some great cuts. the title track from the /dark days/ score/OST is high level shadow too. the first unkle album /psyence fiction/ is uneven but it has some some of his best work. pretty much everything else is suss but occasionally has a few good tracks