Monday, June 08, 2009 - Posts
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Jay-Z may or may not have actual convictions about Auto-Tune, the pitch-correction technology that has made robotic vocal hiccups ubiquitous on hit radio. He definitely knows that publicity stunts are good for business. Which, presumably, is why he recorded "DOA (Death of Auto-Tune)," the broadside that premiered Friday night on New York's rap radio powerhouse Hot 97 and instantly became the talk of hip-hop.
Musically, "DOA" is a snooze. The beat, by (prime Auto-Tune Offender) Chicago producer No ID*, has walloping snare drum hits and soprano saxophone noodling—a stock old-school sound that signifies we are about to receive a schoolmarm's lesson in Real Hip-Hop. Which is what Jay-Z provides, or tries to, in a notably slack and witless recitation of would-be zinger-couplets: "I know we facing a recession/ But the music y'all making go'n' make it the Great Depression"; "This is just violent/ This is Death of Auto-Tune, moment of silence"; "This ain't a No. 1 record/ This is practically assault with a deadly weapon"; etc. To drive home the point that the track is Auto-Tune-free, the rapper's verses are interspersed with some painfully off-key warbling of the refrain from "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye."
Who exactly Jay-Z is taking on in this polemic is unclear. You would assume his targets are Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and T-Pain—the highest-profile Auto-Tune freaks—but in an interview on Hot 97, he excused those three on the grounds that their music has "great melodies." (Whether this is a virtue is complicated by a boast in "DOA": "My raps don't have melodies.") In lieu of picking a fight with human beings, Jay-Z disses technology itself, calling out not just pitch-correction software but iTunes and ringtones. (We await the release of the rapper's forthcoming Blueprint 3 album for Jay-Z's rants against the cotton gin and the steam engine.)
In other words, Jay-Z has slipped on his backpack and is playing the curmudgeonly hip-hop purist. This is usually a bad omen—the sign of a rap career in precipitous decline—but Jay-Z is strategically astute. In an interview with MTV, Kanye let slip: "We actually removed all the songs [from Blueprint 3] with Auto-Tune to make the point that this is an anti-Auto-Tune album." Evidently, Jay-Z's disdain for Auto-Tune is late-breaking. Did he listen to his Auto-Tune-slathered new songs, realize he sounded silly—like an old man huffing and puffing to keep up with the kids—and opt to turn this shortcoming to his advantage? Production crazes in hip-hop have notoriously short shelf lives; with or without "DOA," Auto-Tune will soon fall out of favor and die of natural causes. But clever ol' Jay-Z has positioned himself to claim credit for a murder.
Correction, June 8, 2009: The post originally stated that the beat was also produced by Kanye West. Contrary to many published accounts, West had no role in "DOA."
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If we are what we Google, then Google Hot Trends—an hourly rundown of search terms "that experience sudden surges in popularity"—is the Web's best cultural barometer. Here's a sampling of today's top searches. (Rankings on Hot Trends list current as of 9 a.m.)
No. 1 "laura ling": On Monday, the highest court in North Korea sentenced two Current TV journalists to 12 years hard labor. Laura Ling and Euna Lee were filming a segment about the trafficking of women along the Chinese-North Korean border when they allegedly crossed into the DPRK illegally. Lisa Ling, formerly a host on The View, is pleading for her sister's release. The AP quotes a South Korean professor who says Monday's sentencing has actually "paved the way for ... a diplomatic solution"—by North Korean law "a pardon can only be issued after a conviction and ... the regime's courts were not about to find the reporters innocent."
No. 7 "greg grossman": If you love TV chefs but don't trust anyone over 15, rejoice: The Hollywood Reporter says "professional teen chef" Greg Grossman has a realty-TV deal. Last month, the Chicago Tribune did a Q & A with the 14-year-old molecular gastronomist, detailing his jones for dehydrated anchovy salt and sake foam. "[P]lease don't think it's all flashy and stuff," he said. "I see it as a way of enhancing the flavors of a dish. It's more about decorating the room than building it."
No. 10 "wwdc": Googlers are eager for scoops on the Worldwide Developers Conference—aka the event at which Apple might reveal some amazing new iPhone. While most analysts and rumormongers believe that new software will be today's focus, one of Google Trends' top related searches is "iphone 4g." Examiner.com runs through some of the features that might be included on such a next-gen device: 3.2 megapixel camera! More storage! FM radio!
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Tony Sunday is a special day for theater queens, people whose dramatic interests center on venues with more than 500 seats located between Times Square and 65th Street, and thrill seekers who set their TiVo to record anything with the words awards and ceremony in the title. Unless you're an All That Chat natterer or take your evening cocktail in one of the fast-disappearing theater bars off Broadway, the Tonys are a three-hour wonder—the one place on the TV schedule where song and dance rules and Angela Lansbury and Liza Minelli are bigger than Brad and Angelina.
This year, though, the excitement started before the curtain went up on the day's matinees, as several fast-thumbed folks live-tweeted the morning's Tony rehearsal. Ugly Betty's Mark Indelicato: "So everyone. I can say that the opening number is EPIC. It shall be remembered forever by all those who love broadway." StageDoorOnline: "Angela Lansbury got an applause at the #Tony rehearsal for just crossing the stage during a comm. break. (It WAS a great cross though.)" And nominee Jane Fonda: "Liza gave me pointers on how to walk and not hurt. Pull up, tuck butt under, swing shoulders sexily, stand with legs apart to balance, etc."
Indelicato was right; the 10-minute opening number was epic. It started with the dude who sang at Princess Diana's funeral and eventually grew to include everyone in the 10020 ZIP code: the Jets; the Sharks; Dolly Parton; at least two West Wing cast members; a green ogre, a donkey, and a princess; the cast of Hair letting the sun shine in; and the members of Poison throwing around their hair. If only Liza had given Bret Michaels pointers on how to avoid the moving scenery, which knocked him flat on his back when he was slow off his mark.
The evening offered few surprises—the biggest being that the creators of Next to Normal, the story of a bipolar housewife, beat out Sir Elton John and Lee Hall of the heavily favored Billy Elliot, The Musical in the race for best score. Otherwise, Billy Elliot tapped and twirled its way to domination of the musical categories, and God of Carnage wreaked havoc over the awards for plays.
My big question was whether the Tony telecast could win back the title of gayest awards ceremony. After all, in the last couple of years the Oscars have featured more same-sex shout-outs and kisses than their Broadway counterparts. There were some missteps along the way; as when the TV cameras confused Janet McTeer and Harriet Walter, both nominated for leading actress in a play for their roles as Mary and Elizabeth in Mary Stuart. As Twitterer Kimberly_Kaye put it, "If Broadway can't keep track of queens, who can?"
True enough, Oscar Eustis of the Public Theater pointed to his (mixed-sex) wedding ring as he called for "equality now" while accepting Hair's award for best revival of a musical, but I didn't catch any winners thanking gay partners, and there was no equivalent of Dustin Lance Black's tear-jerking Oscar acceptance speech for Milk.
Still, it's impossible to out-gay the Tonys. An out emcee in Neil Patrick Harris; a win for Liza Minelli; a lifetime achievement award for Jerry Herman ... As Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman wrote in Harris' divine 11 o'clock number (let's see you replicate that at the Oscars, Hugh Jackman): "This show could not be gayer/ if Liza was named mayor/ and Elton John took flight."
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