Liner Notes| March 2016

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]T[/dropcap]he early weeks of February were dominated by news from the Western front: KANYE WEST announced an album and retitled it a few times, shared snippets of songs and tracklists and was talked about quite a bit. He also got himself into trouble on Twitter (not unusual) and was made a pecuniary offer from someone almost universally thought of as a scumbag.

The album, titled (at time of print) The Life of Pablo, was teased with a challenge to Yeezy’s fans. After he changed it, West released the letters “TLOP” and asked his fans to try to win cash and apparel by guessing the right answer. One 20-year-old fan, Dante Holley guessed the name right according to MTV and Cosmopolitan, but is yet to hear back from Kanye regarding his prize. The fever pitch reached by West’s fans and detractors was hard to match in the first two weeks of February, broken only, perhaps, by the announcement of the Formation tour by BEYONCÉ following her Superbowl appearance. It’s strange to think that there is a slim possibility that none of us will be able to hear the album itself, as of the time of writing.

Martin Shkreli, the businessman many may remember from his massive raising of pill prices or from his purchasing of the only copy of the newest WU-TANG CLAN album, offered West $10 million to give him the new album exclusively, stopping the public release altogether. West won’t go for this (given how reviled Shkreli is and how desperate he is for love and attention rather than purely money). It’s as if Shkreli is leaning into his arch-villain, sociopathic public persona. Has anyone checked this guy’s lampshades for women’s skin?

Kanye also got in trouble, somewhat, for seeming to declare Bill Cosby’s innocence on Twitter. He tweeted “BILL COSBY INNOCENT !!!!!!!!!!”, but refused to expand on his comments when pressed later. It’s worth noting, too, that Cosby comes up in a recently released track, “Facts.” West raps “Do anybody feel bad for Bill Cosby? Did he forget the names just like Steve Harvey?” One has to wonder if West is really wrestling with these kinds of questions or if, like so many times before, he’s playing the provocateur.

Going back to the Superbowl Halftime Show for a minute, COLDPLAY headlined and was joined by BRUNO MARS and Beyoncé, creating what many are calling one of the event’s best performances. Many spent hours of their one, precious life arguing over who “stole the show” and displayed little joy in the performance itself, discussing “Ad nauseum,” the potential importance or non-importance of fashion choices, dance moves and lyrics. Some praised, for example, Beyoncé for becoming more politically conscious in her songwriting. Others, including a group that staged a protest in front of the NFL offices, found her performance offensive.

“Do you agree that it was a slap in the face to law enforcement?” organizers posted. “Do you agree that the Black Panthers was/is a hate group which should not be glorified? Come and let’s stand together.”

This controversy has continued, generating very little healthy dialogue and quite a few ticket sales. Coldplay, for example, who U.S. fans were largely dismissing as the side-act to “Queen Bey,” saw a bump in their album sales, especially in the U.K., where they reached number one. These same die-hard Beyoncé fans are the same that took to Facebook a few years ago to wryly comment (in unison, somehow) “Did anybody notice that football game at the Beyoncé concert?” Deification is nothing new to popular music, but it can be exhausting even for fans of her stellar, smart music.

Lastly, JUSTIN VERNON of Bon Iver has come out of his “winding down” period, as he called it three years ago. He is now writing new music, potentially a new Bon Iver record. I’m starting the rumor now that he’s going to get AARON RODGER and CLAY MATTHEWS to sing harmonies on the single.