Surell

Oops, but i'd still argue irrelevance. I think I'll go compile a best of '74 list now, thanks for the inspiration.

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I haven't updated in a while, sorry guys. However, I'ma get right back into it here and talk about a subject that deep down we all love to bring up.
Those albums that sucked. There's an odd delight that many of us take in rubbishing an album, perhaps as a form of retribution for the way said album had crumpled our expectations or to let out frustration about how mind numbingly **** it was.
Whilst I believe 2012 was a good year for music, I stress the term 'good' not 'great' there were some albums that were just terrible.
To quote the greatest of Presidents: 'Let's take a tally of these agitators, shall we?'

Manky ****s! The Twelve Worst Albums of 2012

12. Flying Lotus - Until The Quiet Comes

I don't get it. I just don't get. I have listened to Los Angeles 4 maybe 5 times and I still cannot recognize a melody from it. In an age where great production is expected on every hip-hop record, is there any room for someone who just makes instrumental hip-hop to make waves within the industry? Some fault genre classics like Illmatic for production qualities, so in an age where technology is at its most advanced and hip-hop at its most diverse, can I not fault Flying Lotus for just being boring? Needless to say, I find Until the Quiet Comes to be more of the same, which would be fine if I was a fan but I'm not particularly.
I think ole Fly Lo knows himself that mediocre instrumental hip-hop is just not enough to suffice in this day in age, hence the Captain Murphy experiment.
I heard a few tracks from that album and it just sounded like a producer desperately trying to cling to relevancy. Fly Lo may want to consider just laying the beats for others, because there's no doubt he's a talented producer, his beats on their own just aren't enough to cut mustard in a genre bursting with innovation and evolution.

11. MeWithoutYou - Ten Stories

So someone recommended me this band because I like Brand New. () Needless to say, they were not in the least similar....or interesting. Heck, I listened three times to this album and there just seemed to be no redeeming qualities. I don't need all ten stories to write a blurb for this album: Uninspired and lacking in anything of interest. I wish I could write more about this album, but I just don't have anything to say about it, it was like Meg Griffin's presence in Family Guy, it left no impression. Picture the never ending story with the story being an episode of Emmerdale. Not very nice.

10. Big Shug - I.M 4-EVA

Shug seems oblivious to the fact that his album title contains similar wording to another rapper with the 'Big' moniker, the much more talented and relevant Big K.R.I.T he also seems oblivious to the fact his album title actually makes no sense.
But the biggest factor Shug's oblivious to is how the hip-hop and rap industry has changed and how he has no business being in it. If one were to want a definition of below average rapping and even less inspired production they need only 'Google' Big Shug. The man with the personality of deadwood.
In 2012, Shug was little more the deadwood floating meaninglessly by and releasing this bland overly long release (seriously 8 tracks was enough, never mind 18) was just not necessary.
Every man out of ideas cliché was ridden here from the perennial 'I miss my homie' song to the never requested track about that man's offspring and the youth of today.
Hey, Big 'Slug' pay attention to the youth of today; they're telling you you're not relevant and never were. Please just stop.

9. Childish Gambino - ROYALTY

The hipster communities favourite rapper of the moment, which reminds us why hipsters should stick to choking on their Starbucks mochas and not pollute hip-hop. What is this guys appeal I will never know? What was so nauseating about this album that I instantly deleted it from my Ipod (I have a 160 GB, this just didn't deserve to take up 0.0001% of my memory. ) I can't remember, it was a while ago. I fear listening to it again just like revisiting a bad dream, in case something horrible jumps out at me. It shall just be pushed to the forgotten archives of my mind.
The irony of using such a hierarchical term as an album title is that Gambino is more alike an unfunny jester rather than the King of rap.
Yeah, I'm not a fan of his comedy either.
I remember he sampled Britney Spears and he somehow sucked Danny Brown into the abomination. For that alone I condemn this man. Similar to I.M 4EVA this packed more clichés than Arsenal's left back position on the weekly team sheet and had nothing to separate Gambino from the field. Try harder funny guy.

No. 8 Meshuggah - Koloss

This just served as another reminder that I do not connect with metal music. Many people were talking positively about this album, but for me it just contained all that I dislike about the majority of metal records I've heard: Loud, obnoxious thrashing instruments and grunty unsubstantiated growling devoid of any emotion other than trying to convey some form of masochism. Now, I thought metal and I were making a breakthrough when I heard Converge's 'All We Love We Leave Behind' but then Meshuggah just brought us back to loggerheads. It just seemed mindless apart from the few breaks from noise into shows of technical musicianship which unfortunately were too few and far between. This probably isn't the album to judge a genre by, but it's an album that I can judge as not being very good, at least in my eyes. It just seemed rushed and frantic. And I couldn't wait for it to end.

No. 7 The Bunny The Bear - The Stomach for It

A dumb band. A dumb gimmick. A dumb album. And yet I feel the dumbest for downloading and actually listening to this exercise in ridiculousness. Okay, I'll try and explain this freak show. The concept is that one of the members is a bear, usually a ferocious animal but in this group he is the sensitive 'emotional' one who exhibits the worst in post teenage retained testosterone and annoyance and the other a 'bunny'.
After this album I support my bosses decision to chop up rabbit and chuck it in his paella and can only hope that this particular 'bunny' ends up in his frying pan. Honestly, what on earth is the 'bunnies' purpose. It's as if someone off the street heard screaming in a song once and then tried and failed to recreate it by merely shouting at a microphone. Then formed a band.
I heard my brother playing a bit of one of their songs, and noticed that one of the vocalists 'the bear' had a voice similar to that of the vocalist from The Blood Brothers, I wish I had stayed and listened to 30 more seconds of the track and heard 'the bunny' take a massive **** all over the music industry with the fact he actually recorded a studio album rather than downloading an album of theirs on a whim.
It encompasses the worst in eyeline wearing wannabe 'emo' f.aggots who have daddy issues and an impatience to learn how to play instruments properly not to mention a strange obsession with throwing a messy synth over everything!
This album doesn't even retain novelty as a 'guilty pleasure' record, it's just terrible and I still don't understand why a rabbit and bear would team up to make a horrible album. Please, don't listen for your own sanity

No.6 Alt-J - An Awesome Wave

Pretentious ****ty indie being pretentious and ****. I should have known. I still listened. I have already aired my frustrations on this record. Why people like it I do not know, unless they've all been brainwashed by those malcontent's at NME magazine into believing that this record is worth the megabytes it consumes. An album devoid of artistic integrity and full of horse**** with lyrics that could rival those of either The Bunny or The Bear. The vocalist stumbles through every song trying to recreate Thom Yorke's at times minimalistic and effortless vocals by trying too hard and sounding robotic. Never have I heard more mundane or monotonic vocals outwith an Aesop Rock record.
I can't help but feel he was going for the 'cool indie guy' vibe, what he ends up sounding like is someone with respiration problems.
If anyone could present any evidence as to why this band are so popular outwith mass mind control I would like to see it. Average guitars, average drums, average musicians, poor vocalist. Not a good album.

No. 5 T.I. - Trouble Man: Heavy is the Head

T.I. has shown flashes of potential throughout his career and if he applied himself could be one of the best pop rappers around. He carries all of the characteristics to appeal to wiggers worldwide, has a good flow and voice to appeal to hip-hop fans, keeps his content based around 'street life' so as not to deter those from ghetto backgrounds from being unable to relate and has enough marketability and past success to make a considerable impact in the charts. So, why on earth he has let the momentum he had for himself a few years back rapidly diminish is anyone's guess and as one of his few defenders in the world of the Internet Music Community left me frustrated. You see, I can't really defend T.I. this time, he's just going to have to take a critical pounding if anyone still cares about him that is.
T.I. brings all his trademark material to the table here but forgets to bring with him the killer hooks and inspired production that made Paper Trail so good. Instead we get too much male posturing and too much filler. It's as if T.I. used up all his ideas on the first two tracks and recycled the same concepts over the rest of the album.
Why don't rappers understand that if you don't have enough material to fill an EP then you don't release an album with nearly 20 tracks!
The worst thing about this album is the horribly ill advised choice for guest spots. Seriously everytime I hear R Kelly singing about trying to seduce that special girl, I just envision the sick bastard urinating all over children. Ugh, why has he not had his vocals removed yet or better yet still believes he can fly and jumps off the Eiffel Tower whilst trying to impress his french love interest.
Then, Pink, y'know the alternative pop star in her youth now the bitchy divorcee who just menstruates over everything lets her monthly flow out all over a horribly screechy verse that was about 12 seconds in length and yet still had me frantically hitting fast forward.
And to top it all off Akon, remember when he was relevant? No? Neither do I. Akon ruins Elton Johns timeless 'Your Song' with one of the most unnecessary horribly auto-tuned train-wrecks of a chorus on any song I've ever heard on the track 'Wonderful Life'
Did T.I. blow his entire budget on truffles and fine wine or something? Because there was no need to bring any of those three castaways anywhere near this record. Perhaps he employs Big Shug as his talent relation adviser, because whoever brought those individuals on board is horribly out of touch with the times.
The only saving grace of this record is Andre 3000's sublime verse on the track Sorry. Honestly, it's worth suffering through the rest of this album just for that verse alone. That's what was saving this album from being even further down this list.

No.4 Sun Kil Moon - Among the Leaves

So, it appears Mr Moon is unhappy about his status in the music industry. He feels disillusioned with what he used to love because despite making good music for so long is largely under appreciated and has nothing to show for the relentless touring and song writing he has carried out.
He just wants to call it a day because he will never get the attention and accolades he probably deserves for his earlier work. He's not rich, not famous and not motivated to carry on for the minuscule thanks he gets.
Okay, I understand his position and would support him if he decided to retire from music. Who knows in years to come, he may do a Nick Drake and people may finally start giving him the respect he deserved but didn't receive when he was actually making the music.
The last thing Sun Kil Moon should have done was pass his discontentedness onto the few followers he has.
He's bored, uninspired and out of ideas so in what seems to be the trend of 2012 released an album that was painfully long and horribly unnecessary. This album almost seems like a lazy middle finger to the music industry for the way he was mistreated. But he doesn't react angrily or emotionally he just shrugs his shoulders and sighs. Never have I heard a record so devoid of effort as Among The Leaves.
Perhaps his record label insisted he make an album when he clearly didn't want to and this is the result of his half assed ethic. Still, I didn't need to be subjected to this.

No. 3 The Walkmen - Heaven

And the award for most ironic album title of the year goes to...
So, your girlfriend's finally dumped your sorry ass and after listening to this I don't blame her. A whiny, self pitying snooze fest of an album. Oh, you're so sad and feel so betrayed, well do something about it rather than wallowing in your own circumstance hoping someone will lend you a shoulder to cry on.
I hope these series of songs weren't based on real life events because if they were, someone in The Walkmen is in the running for most pathetic human being alive. It was like listening to a twelve year old hysterically grieving about the demise of their first ever week long relationship.
Instead of writing this album, why not just get another partner, you're somewhat rich and somewhat famous, I'm sure that could buy you most females.
I read somewhere that this album coincided with The Walkmen celebrating so long together without in band conflict or without succumbing to the vices that crippled bands both bigger and better than them. So perhaps gaining another partner wouldn't be that easy for this band of losers. And we can also add being boring to The Walkmen's ever growing list of positive character traits.

No.2 Flaming Lips - The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends

Wtf? Only three letters but I feel an adequate description of this album. What this was supposed to be, I have no idea. An album in which the Flaming Lips decided to push the boundaries of how much distortion and radio static can be classed as experimental music. Bringing in a whole host of odd special guests from a variety of music fields, yet none being able to save this record from being too out there for its own good.
The only positive I can come up with is that this record is unique. But sometimes sticking to what works, y'know works.
This is just a showcase in an alternative to alternative music and in turn makes its niche market so small that the only people this album probably appeals to are those who made it. I like The Flaming Lips, but they seem content in alienating me with this record which just flat out sucked.
No doubt someone will say I just don't understand this. Well I'm not sure I want to understand this strange strange album. Strange in a Charles Manson way, not in a good way.

No.1 Big Boi - Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumours

This album ranks highest because it was the only one on this list I eagerly anticipated. It was the only one I had expectations for, the only one I didn't just listen to on that hope I would like it. I was sure I would like it. I greatly enjoyed Big Boi's first solo album and was hoping for more of the same of his ice cold delivery, catchy hooks and top rapping instead I got this crap.

Recalling how bad this album was upsets me, I feel sorry for Big Boi. I want to go to someone who can give a more concise angry take on this album, so at this time I would like to pass over to me last month upon hearing Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumours.


Yeah, **** you Big Boi. You have won the dubious honour of creating the WORST album of the year. Comments welcome as always

MC

Sparky

TNGHT
Madlib
J Dilla
DJ Shadow
etc
All make pleny of influential instrumental hip hop

Fly Lo doesn't make instrumentals exlusively either, check the production credits, son.






What is the connection here?

Sounded like an artist who drew inspiration from hodgy beats telling him he recorded most of his verses in less than 15 minutes. Check the pitchfork interview if you get a chance.

and this is why it was one of the worst records or the year?

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Many conservatives have forever condemned the notion of social media as evil. At first I dismissed such claims. Conservatives, those of us who laud such traditions as Bible Bashing, racism and Daily Mail reading have never had much in common with myself. I'm not liberal by any means, although the lines between the two once opposites are more blurred now than ever before, especially in the United Kingdom under an odd bedfellows coalition government. My opinions on different matters vary, I don't blindly follow one ideology when applying it across the board.
Sweeping generalizations and poking jest about Conservatives aside, the idea that social media is detrimental to society is starting to resonate with me.

I'm sure when Mark Zuckerberg ripped off someone else's idea for 'facebook' that he had envisioned an environment where family and friends could stay connected sharing vacuous baby photos and nonsensical nostalgia.
And yeah I'm sure this actually happens on an extremely large scale, people in general are dumb and when combined with social media take up an almost ghoul like state where conscious thought is abandoned in favour of idiocy.
What concerns me is the growing trend (pun intended) of using social media as both a battle ground and a burial site.

Taking the whole issue of 'trolling' and intentional antagonism out of the equation, there seems to be a hell of a lot of conflict in the world of social media. Individuals and groups of opposing people meet on neutral ground and trade verbal jabs in the hope of gathering 'likes' and 'retweets' whilst those not involved in the ruckus watch intently from the sidelines, silently observing and formulating their own opinions on the matter at hand.
Whether said conflict has arisen solely online or is a result of a real world altercation or issue, I find it somewhat interesting that the two opposing sides decide to bring their grievances with one another into what is in effect a snapshot into their social life.
Surely bringing a private dispute into the open in an environment such as facebook would give those whom would not usually hear of such things an impression they had not organically formed about that individual.
It can have a domino effect. Sharing personal matters whether they be of dispute, failed relationships or venting anger at everyday issues such as that 'brown' guy getting served ahead of you in the post office line will negatively impact how others perceive you.
What if potential employers are looking? What if your parents are looking? The girl you like from down the street may be looking, as might your nosy neighbours or Law enforcement.
As it is impossible to know who is viewing what, a logical mind may want to consider carefully what they share on facebook.

Yet, each day I am seeing people I used to attend school and college with, those I used to play sports with or those I have otherwise lost touch with sharing increasingly defaming things. I don't need to know that someone I have been at college with has had social services called on him as the anonymous caller was concerned with his children's welfare. What right-thinking individual would share such a demeaning personal issue on facebook?
Your children were thought to be placed in an environment so bad that social services would have to intervene. That's embarrassing. That's shocking. That's painting you as a bad parent, why on earth would you share that on facebook. Had he not, I would have never known, now I will forever hold that against his character for future. It's not as if someone else leaked that information on facebook as a form of slander, he openly uploaded it himself.

It's instances like this that have me contemplating why we live in a society where taboo subjects are spread to willingly across social media.
Would you go into a pub and announce that social services have been keeping tabs on your parenting?
Does nobody have inner voices anymore. Where is the line one has to draw when sharing titbits about themselves with their online 'friends'
These people aren't or at least shouldn't be strangers, it's different from talking about degrading, deeply emotional or highly opinionated matters on forums such as this one where we all hide behind usernames and avatars. Where we connect with people we will not encounter in everyday life, where we can paint ourselves in the image we would like to be seen.
On facebook, when you're using your true identity and interacting with people you know via the world outside of a computer screen, a certain degree of control must be applied. Think of the impact your willingness to share certain items could have before jumping right in. The damage may be irreversible.

Now, I could talk about an invasion of privacy like many Conservative's and conspiracists preach but I don't buy it. Only what you willingly share can be found out. It's not so much an invasion of privacy as it is opening yourself up to be viewed by private parties. If you're concerned with people finding out certain things about you; say you've got a deep rooted prejudice against a religious group, nobody will find out, nobody will invade this private information if you keep it private!
There seems to be this enticing draw that people have to sharing sensitive and private information with everyone on facebook. I for one don't understand it. What good can possibly come of sharing such information.

The one aspect that is sticking out like a sore thumb recently due to unfortunate circumstances is using facebook and twitter (I neglect the other social media sites as somewhat irrelevant, who actually uses MySpace in 2013?) as a memorial refuge for discussing those who have recently passed on.
Now, I'm a firm believer in allowing privacy for those affected by a recent loss. It is not my place to speculate nor offer an opinion. I don't believe in the afterlife, nor reincarnation, I honestly think the best thing you can do for someone who has passed on is either preserve them in your heart and mind through the memories you have, or if you didn't know the deceased too well or indeed not at all, to show the respect to stay out of their business and let those affected by the loss grieve.
To me, death does not constitute a free-for-all on social media to see who can post most frequently or whose posts can achieve the most attention after someone has passed.
When I have been giving the news that someone I knew has passed on, it is never my first reaction to log onto something so insignificant as social media to post about it. I prefer to maintain a respectful back seat and not go online in search of sympathy from strangers nor do I see it as an opportunity to show everyone what a heartfelt person I am by hearing of someone's passing and offering 'R.I.P x'

I find it quite disturbing how many people will crawl out of the woodwork in a selfish attempt to get over on someone's passing. Recently, a young lad the same age as my brother died in a car crash, now I don't doubt there were sincere social media posts made after his passing, in fact I know there were genuinely emotional and completely honest posts made, it's the many, many irrelevant 'I never knew you but...' posts that really frustrate me.
I remember in Primary School (Elementary for you Yanks) possibly age 6 or 7, a boy in our small schools mum had died. Now for many of us, we were too young to contemplate death, none of us knew how to handle it. Our teacher at the time said words that I have abided by throughout life, and in their simplicity make so much sense;
'if you didn't speak to (the boy in question) before, don't speak to him now'
On the surface that may seem odd, but in reality if you're mourning a loss, the last thing you need are waves of people whom you did not previously interact with offering condolences just because they feel somewhat obligated to.
The reality is, you are not obligated to. Let those affected mourn, and keep a respectful silence rather than an ignorant outpouring.

It frustrates me, it really does when there are people trying to garner social media plaudits by showing alleged concern towards the recently deceased. I question the psychology: Because you've seen others affected, you feel that you're somehow affected too and must say something to show that this tragedy somehow is of your concern also.
It is not. You're not showing respect by inanely posting about someone you didn't know in life and offering 'I didn't know you but you seemed like a great guy, R.I.P' you're invading the privacy of others.

There are also the unfortunate clichés that come with someone's passing, at least in my experiences I see the same things time and time again.
First, there will be an alleged rumour that someone is slandering the recently deceased, this will lead to angry, outraged posts with people threatening great acts of violence against unsubstantiated claims made by people who can never seemingly be tracked.
I get the impression that someone starts the ball rolling. They want to show what lengths they will go to to defend their friends passing so claim to have heard 'someone' badmouthing the deceased. To gather social media attention and to show everyone what a good pal they are, they will make threats about what will happen to these naysayers when they get their hands on them. The investigation and promises of vigilante justice may continue for a few hours before being swept under the carpet never to be heard from again.
Then there will be talk of funeral arrangements, which of the many many concerned and affected people on social media will actually play significance to the minority.
So you can be distraught on social media yet can't take the time out of your oh so busy schedule to be present at the funeral of the deceased person.
Recently, one of my old high school teachers passed on and many were upset on facebook, many of my former classmates were so visibly distraught by her passing that only a small percentage of us actually attended her funeral.

Now you can't tell me that a post on social media has replaced the more conventional method of attending a funeral as a medium of showing respect and grieving for the recently deceased, yet increasingly this seems to be the way it is.
If so, social media is breeding idleness, it's breeding falsity and it's vastly replacing the real world.
Why make the time to meet up with old friends when you can send them a facebook message, why bother asking that girl you like on a date when you can like her profile picture, why attend a funeral when you can post 'R.I.P' on facebook.

The young lad in question has seen has followers on twitter grow by around 100 people since his passing. Is this supposed to be a show of admiration for him? You didn't take the time to follow his story in life, but suddenly you're so interested in death. And what are these 100 followers going to achieve, they aren't going to be treated to any follow-up tweets. Surely they only followed in a vain attempt to show others that they appreciated the deceased in life because look: - they're following him on twitter.
People and their inabilities to handle situations like these demonstrate why social media really brings out the worst in humans.
I intend to pay my respects to the kid who has passed on by attending his funeral and not embarrassing myself on social media. Social media is the last of my concerns when paying respects. It's high time people followed my example. I'm appealing to reason here, unless that too has been swept away in the pandemic known as social media.

Surell

Hey you said comments are welcome. And I just saw this point of interest for the first time

I have to disagree with this as always. Mainly I am doing this because the album does what Flaming Lips have practically always done: Make weird, experimental pop music that's more in line with Barrett Floyd than the Beatles. Even Yoshimi had very evident traces of psychedelia and prog that don't mesh well with modern popular formats, but still kind of succeeeded a little maybe. At least with my mother. Even their poppy pop bugglegum charleston chew stuff has their own little ticks; for example, "yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah" plays with negative space (to an extent) and political/philosophical content. This is NOT ok on the radio, and oftentimes, with more dedicate music listeners, because they think it's corny or what have you. They also have women shooting rainbows out of their vaginas live.

My point is the fact that they definitely didn't just get weird all the sudden. They've been involved with experimentation, avant-garde, and conceptual art since their beginning. But the other side of my argument is that they actually have a good bit of melody and great production work on this. As annoying as Ke$ha is (if you ask me which you didn't or won't or shouldn't) she contributes infectious vocals and an infectious melody the band wrote, and the song is dirt nasty like her pop is in a better way. The Bon Iver collaboration, though very minimal, involves the listener and the repeated drum line is so hypnotic, you can't help but get caught up in it. WEell i guess you can because you did.

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Right, I'm not going to get into where I've been or what I've been doing, those questions will be answered very shortly. Just thought I'd review a wee album to let y'all know the master's back.

The dog has died and has been reborn a lion. Snoop Dogg, a name synonymous with gangsta rap, hos, bitches, guns, hos, joints, blunts, hos and referring to oneself in third person has been reincarnated, without actually dying, and has transformed into the majestic lion. A symbol of his newly discovered Jamaican roots. Or something like that. Snoop 'Lion' took a vacation in the Caribbean island and whilst over there and presumably whilst higher than the peak of Blue Mountain had an epiphany. He was living a life of sin. To repent for his evil ways he had to change his ways. And with great change comes great responsibility, he is now responsible for getting on his soapbox and preaching to any that will listen the evils of pollution, crime, guns, hos and hate.

Now taking this album for what it is, carrying the most ridiculous concept of all time, it was never going to down as an instant classic. But if you take it for what it is; a delusional, hypocritical yet somewhat charming train wreck, it's only 80% as bad as it should be. You can use that as an album blurb RCA Records!
As usual Snoop blends his always smooth and laid back dulcet tones with a penchant for catchy hooks. Snoop sounds in his zone, and sounds like he firmly believes in his new direction as he spreads the feel good message of Jah and one love and all those other Rastafarian clichés...for a couple tracks anyway.

After that, the album becomes less about reincarnating the tired and often uninspired genre of reggae and more a free for all of sorts. During his rebirth Snoop must have neglected to acknowledge that reggae by all accounts is rather dull and boring. Its simplicity means that all that could have been said and done, already has been said and done. This leads to the deployment of bewildering house and trance pumping over the top of the attempted roots revival. The album seems confused as to whether it wants to be in Jamaica or Ayia Napa by the fifth track as the panic button has well and truly been beaten relentlessly and the bobsleigh has completely fallen off the track.

Add the constant diversions in place in the form of electronica with the horribly nauseating female looped choruses and the album's already become less about reggae and more an exercise in trying to unsuccessfully cash in on what's popular in the pop music scene at the moment without hitting the nail on the head. The female voices are far too high pitched and irritating, and don't feel at all at place next to Snoop's trademark chilled vocal stylings. However, that being said the art of drilling the same vocal patterns and drum and bass sequences into the listeners brain at an almost irresistible pace leads to the creation of some shamefully catchy songs. If you manage to look past the brain cell killing lyrics, most songs have redeeming qualities in their infectiously stupid hooks and rhythm. As many times as my face found itself in my palm, I found my feet tapping subconsciously away. Yeah, it's dumb. But at least it retains an element of fun.

If only it had chosen to stick to one mood throughout, we'd have definitely been treated to a more cohesive, consistent album. Instead this album switches emotions more times than a Black Veiled Brides fangirl. One moment the album's going with a reminiscent, sit back and light one up feel, the next Snoop's making a desperate plea to save mankind and a minute later he's absolutely ecstatic without a care in the world. Perhaps the marijuana consumption has effected his mood greatly and each track represents a stage in the cycle of getting high and coming down but I doubt anyone involved in this project has the intelligence to come up with an underlying meaning like that. The album suffers from just being too over the place as Snoop tries to take on a task he is not capable of fulfilling and that's encompassing a bit of everything into one project. This explains the bi-polar syndrome in place and the addition of various electronic music styles which do just feel randomly tossed in there to appeal to a larger market.

However, as I've touched on this album has an undeniable innocent charm. It carries itself with enough carefree character and personality that it's impossible to truly hate. Tracks such as 'The Good Good' show flashes of something (greatness is too strong a word, but you get the gist) and had Snoop opted to stick with the sunny day, no problem mentality that track promotes he could have had a happy-go-lucky album that is no technical masterpiece but does enough to leave the audience with a smile on their face. The album still retains that aspect but incorporates other not so positive elements.

These include Snoop acting like a complete douchebag. Who'd have thought a weed smoker would become so eager to talk about the fact that they do indeed partake in smoking it. Don't worry Snoop lets you know many many times that he is partial to the occasional bong.
If anyone was wondering if the drug carries any symptoms, becoming completely hypocritical and possessing an overbearing self righteousness should deter those thinking of giving it a go. The last person I want to hear lecturing me on gun control is Snoop Dogg, who has several criminal convictions for firearm possession and one for involuntary manslaughter. 'No Guns Allowed' smacks of hypocrisy and I have a hard time believing anyone will seriously heed Snoop's words. Snoop also goes all Al Gore on us, telling us how we should all protect 'Mother Earth' although Snoop himself owns several SUV's. He also tells us of the evils of money and material wealth. No, seriously. There is also a track or two where Snoop goes all sentimental on us as he addresses his dead homies. Talk about contrived.

Added to Snoop's complete negligence for taking his own life into account when telling you to live yours, he brings others down to his level. The usually on-point Drake drops his most insincere verse to date and sounds genuinely uncomfortable doing so, as he adds to the anti weapons propaganda. But hey, at least Drake's relevant. Snoop must have blown the majority of his budget using archived 90's eurotrash beats as the quality of guest artists is questionable. Akon hasn't had a hit in God knows how long. Miley Cyrus has moved from making Z-List music to Z-List movies. And Rita Ora?! What even is that?
It's also somewhat uneasy listening to Snoop throwing his individuality out of the window in an ill-advised attempt to sound like every carbon copy 'born and raised in Kingston' modern reggae artist out there. His attempts at incorporating patois just feel far too forced. And unnecessary.

But whilst weighing up the negatives, one must ask; was it ever expected to be better? Admit it, we all laughed when we heard that Snoop had seen the light. We laughed when we heard the singles from the album. There's no need to get all serious now. And this album sure as hell can't be taken seriously. But for what it is, it still retains a novelty value with some genuinely contagious songs and the odd glimmer of potential. Reggae has never set the world ablaze so in a genre devoid of innovation and diversification, this is probably a good record. Take that as you will. To summarise this album in one sentence; it's as I said earlier: It's only 80% as bad as it should be.

MC

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8. The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang

5. Craig David - Born to Do It

2. Thursday - Full Collapse

1. Genesis - We Can't Dance

Surell

Wasn't Patrick Bateman the cat from American Psycho

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He was, and he really liked Invisible Touch...and murder.
Not sure if the two are connected at this stage.