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Grammy's Album Of The Year Review: "Golden Hour" - Kacey Musgraves

I've decided to bring back my Album Of The Year nominee reviews. The field got expanded this year, so expect a review a week or thereabout. I'll draw at random which album I'll review week to week. I score each track on whether it stands out, is merely okay, or is a miss. The final score will be out of a high of 200. 

(All Rights To MCA Nashville)

"Golden Hour" - Kacey Musgraves

1) "Slow Burn"

It has a tranquil opening, with an added drum beat. A nice introduction to the album.

2) "Lonely Weekend"

This has more of a pop feel to it. Its catchy, but ultimately there isn't much there.

3) "Butterflies"

"Butterflies" is about just going through the motions of things; "Caught up in a web, I was gettin' kinda used to stayin' there". There's a unique synth backing to the track. On top of that, Kacey just paints a picture with her lyrics; "I was hiding in doubt 'til you brought me out of my chrysalis and I came out new all because of you".

4) "Oh, What A World"

It starts off with an electric-style intro, overall added by a cool instrumental.

5) "Mother"

This plays out like a letter. It says a lot with just a running time of 1:18.

6) "Love Is A Wild Thing"

This track starts off lyrically strong; "You can't find it sitting on a shelf in a store. If you try to hide it, it's gonna shine even more". This continues with the chorus; "Coming through the melody when the night bird sings". The lyrics paints a story.

7) "Space Cowboy"

Another track that showcases Kacey's plus lyrical work; "I ain't gonna fence you in. Go on, ride away in your Silverado.....Well sunsets fade, and love does too. Yeah, we had our day in the sun when a horse wants to run, there ain't no sense in closing the gate". A really touching and melancholy track.

8) "Happy & Sad"

This starts off with a smooth drum intro. Kacey is trying to balance out the two emotions named in the title; "And I'm the kind of person who starts getting kinda nervous when I'm having the time of my life". 

9) "Velvet Elvis"

There's a fusion feel to this. The track overall feels a bit disconnected from otherwise solid vocals.

10) "Wonder Woman"

The introduction has a sort of retro feel to it. This track is about setting standards  while not setting unattainable goals in relationships; "I don't know how to lasso the love out of you. Don't you know I'm only human? And if I let you down, I don't mean to". The vocals and instrumentals blends very well.

11) "High Horse"

"High Horse" has an uptempo dance-feel. The track feels very relate-able.  

12) "Golden Hour"

There's a classic/fusion style to this. It goes on to have a slow/dream-like tempo that while tranquil, causes it to drag.

13) "Rainbow"

It starts off with a nice piano intro, but it gets repetitive melodically. 

You can make the case that Kacey Musgraves has pulled off that country/pop mix better than Taylor Swift did. The songs lyrically wise still feel grounded and paint a story. A really solid album.

"Golden Hour": Kacey Musgraves - 169.2

"Invasion of Privacy": Cardi B - 161.5

"Black Panther: The Album" - 135.7

Steelers Pod: Steelers-Saints

SNL: Top 20 of 2018

With 2018 coming to a close, its time to look back at the best of SNL. You may have noticed I haven't been doing my SNL episode reviews recently, but I'll be looking to get back at it in the new year. At first I was going to do a Top 15 like I've done in years past....but I couldn't cut it down that much. SNL faces a lot of criticism for its writing on political material recently (some deserved, like Alec Baldwin still playing Trump), but there was a lot of good sketches over the past year.




20) First Impression

During this episode, they made Jason Momoa do a lot of physical (look at my muscles) style of comedy. He does that a bit here, but "First Impression" overall was that sort of weird 10 to 1 sketch that really blended well.





19) Natalie's Rap 2
The long-awaited sequel to Natalie's Rap, this held up when compared to the original.





18) Political Musical

SNL does a lot of "off-broadway" idea sketches, and this one was right up there. It was taking on that sort of cliche vision of the "resistance".





17) Best Christmas Ever

With Social Media, it seems that everyone tries to make their own Christmas festivities as the glossy Hallmark version. Ultimately, this piece showed that even 'the worst christmas, can still be the best'.





16) Brothers
Their sketches may be polarizing, but you can't argue that Kyle Mooney and Beck Bennett have terrific chemistry together. That chemistry was on display in this odd yet hilarious sketch.




15) ATM
This short went in on certain stereotypes.





14) Game of Life: DACA Edition
This was one of those hilarious, yet dark political pieces. SNL's political material tends to be better when Trump isn't the main subject.





13) Friends-Giving
You'll probably be seeing this sketch in future Thanksgiving themed SNL specials.





12) Hucka PM
With the lack of regular press briefings, this was a good take on Sarah Huckabee Sanders.





11) Genetics Lab

A given for SNL is that when sketches use live animals, anything can happen.




10) Charlie's Grandparents

This made me literally laugh out loud. It brings to light a rather peculiar thing about Charlie & the Chocolate factory....the grandparents all in the same bed.




9) Kavanaugh Hearing

Matt Damon really fueled this, coming out as Kavanaugh during the season opener. Since, the political cold opens haven't really come close to this.





8) Black Jeopardy w/ Chadwick Boseman

There have been a number of amazing Black Jeopardy (Tom Hanks' especially), and this was another interesting take, with Black Panther among the contestants.





7) 80's Music Video

This was just so out there, a parody of the 1980s music video "The Rain" by Oran "Juice" Jones. Something that I didn't know I needed.





6) The War In Words

Even though they were off-screen, Mikey Day and Claire Foy were brilliant in this.





5) Undercover Office Potty

Another out there 10 to 1 sketch that was just fueled by Beck Bennett.




4) Marcus Comes To Dinner

Sam Rockwell was one of the top hosts of the last year (seeing how 3 of his sketches made this list). He just had perfect comedic timing, especially in this sketch.





3) Dying Mrs. Gomez

An entire sketch centered around "How You Remind Me". I would love to see a behind the scenes sketch on how this came to be.





2) Career Day

Adam Driver was just fully devoted to this character, not even breaking while the cast was having a hard time holding it together.





1) Diner Lobster

This was just a work of art. A lot went into this coming off as seamlessly as it did.

Grammy's Album of The Year Review: "Invasion Of Privacy" - Cardi B

I've decided to bring back my Album Of The Year nominee reviews. The field got expanded this year, so expect a review a week or thereabout. I'll draw at random which album I'll review week to week. I score each track on whether it stands out, is merely okay, or is a miss. The final score will be out of a high of 200. 

(All rights to Atlantic Records)

"Invasion Of Privacy" - Cardi B

1) "Get Up 10"

- Cardi starts right off demonstrating how she came up to where she's at, "Look, they gave a bitch two options; strippin or lose, Used to dance in a club right across from my school.....I was covered in dollars, now I'm drippin; in jewels". The track is laid out simply in a good way, without too much background noise. Cardi makes sure that she's going to be heard and stick around; "Knock me down nine times, but I get up 10".

2) "Drip" (ft/ Migos)

The track is fairly catchy, dealing with people still trying to understand where Cardi came from. However, "Drip" does tend to drag.

3) "Bickenhead"

This has a really smooth groove with a cool flow. This is a club ready track.

4) "Bodak Yellow"

This is her signature track that brought her to the mainstream. Cardi is showing here that she's on-top and basically that you're going to like it. 

5) "Be Careful"

This is an interesting track given the added context of Cardi's split with Offset; "I wanna get married, like the Currys, Steph and Ayesha shit. But we more like Belly - Tommy and Keisha shit". She wants to be like the "first family" of the NBA, but references a cheating spouse in the move Belly. She states that she isn't the kind to cheat for revenge.

6) "Best Life" (ft/ Chance the Rapper)

Cardi seems to be dealing with the struggles of social media in this track; "' 'Fore I fixed my teeth, man those comments used to kill me. Chance really adds a flow to this. Ultimately Cardi takes a step back to see how far she's come, "I took pictures with Beyonce, I met Mama Knowles. I'm the rose that came from the concrete and arose." 

7) "I Like It" (ft/ Bad Bunny and J Balvin)

This was arguably the song of the Summer of 2018, and deservedly so. It has a really nice dance beat to it.

8) "Ring" (ft/ Kehlani)

This track brings about a chance of pace, being more pop/r&b focused. Once again, some added context is given to this track with Cardi's recent split; "The ring on my phone, ring on my finger, You actin' like you ain't tryna do either."

9) "Money Bag"

There are interesting and catchy bits to "Money Bag", but it gets rather repetitive. 

10) "Bartier Cardi" (ft/ 21 Savage)

This has a quick flow to it. It has that same level of catchiness as "Money Bag", but it delivers more. 

11) "She Bad" (ft/ YG)

From the start, YG brings this track down, but Cardi brings it back up with quite an eye-opening statement about Chrissy Teigen and Rihanna. She certainly knows how to bring attention to a line, "Write a verse while I twerk, I wear Off-white at church."

12) "Thru Your Phone"

This has a nice slow groove. Cardi goes to another level on this track with a sung-verse. 

13) "I Do" (ft/ SZA)

This starts off with a trippy feel to it. Cardi closes the album off talking about her two different lives; "I'm a gangster in a dress". Its a nice closer to the album, further demonstrating the album's theme.

What a standout debut for Cardi B. There aren't any real misses in "Invasion of Privacy". There's a mix of both fun and light tracks, along with serious introspection to her relationships. 

"Invasion of Privacy": Cardi B - 161.5

"Black Panther: The Album" - 135.7

Steelers Pod: Patriots-Steelers

Grammy's Album of The Year Review: Black Panther - The Album

I've decided to bring back my Album Of The Year nominee reviews. The field got expanded this year, so expect a review a week or thereabout. I'll draw at random which album I'll review week to week. I score each track on whether it stands out, is merely okay, or is a miss. The final score will be out of a high of 200.

Black Panther: The Album

 (all rights to Top Dawg/Aftermath/Interscope)

1) "Black Panther" (performed by Kendrick Lamar)

- Starts off with an upstart intro, then slows down. The track has a frenetic feel to it. Overall, it doesn't feel like it has quite the time to really make its mark.

2) "All the Stars" (performed by Kendrick Lamar and SZA)

- This really pops with SZA's chorus. That combined with a smooth Kendrick really makes this track. It results in the perfect blend.

3) "X" (performed by Schoolboy Q, 2 Chainz and Saudi)

- Verse 3 of "X" makes for a change of pace. However, it feels kind of scattered overall.

4) "The Ways" (performed by Khalid and Swae Lee)

- "The Ways" is about Nakia. It really grooves, and Swae Lee's outro really ramps up.

5) "Opps" (performed by Vince Staples and Yugen Blakrok)

- Vince provides a nice flow. "Opps" is about the nature of cops. There's a particular line that really struck me, "9-1-1, freeze (zoom, zoom) dead", in context dealing with police shootings and abuse of power.

6) "I Am" (performed by Jorja Smith)

- This track has a slow groove feel. That slow groove ultimately causes it to drag too much, not allowing it to stand out.

7) "Paramedic!" (performed by SOB X RBE)

- This deals with Killmonger's upbringing, as shown by the line "Why's it hard for me to smile? 'Cause I seen a lot". The lyrics emphasizes someone daring a challenge, in regards to Killmonger. The track really pops hard.

8) "Bloody Waters" (performed by Ab-Soul, Anderson Paak and James Blake)

- This track contains some powerful verses, "A prince-turned pauper, but tryin' to do like kings do. Sweatin' in chess games, tryna move like kings move. You should slow your roll before you drown in a moat." There's a really nice balance, with a calm outro.

9) "King's Dead" (performed by Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar, Future and James Blake)

- This comes from Killmonger's perspective. It contains a trippy interlude, followed by a 2nd verse that really pops with Kendrick.

10) "Redemption Interlude"  

- Has a chill vibe, but it doesn't quite flow into the next track.

11) "Redemption" (performed by Zacari and Babes Wodumo)

- This track is a banger with a cool Afro-beat style.

12) "Seasons" (performed by Mozzy, Sjava and Reason)

- Might sound redundant, but this track really flows. It also contains verses in Zulu, which causes it to stand out.

13) "Big Shot" (performed by Kendrick Lamar and Travis Scott)

- This track has a rather basic premise to it. It sort of feels like mere filler.

14) "Pray For Me" (performed by The Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar)

-  This starts out with a cool intro instrumental. "Pray For Me" goes really deep about fighting a "messiah/hero" complex, "Tell me who's gon' save me from myself. When this life is all I know. Tell me who's gon' save me from this hell. Without you, I'm all alone". A perfect way to close out the album.

As far as movie soundtracks go, "Black Panther" is right up there (far and beyond the overrated "Greatest Showman", but don't get me started on that). There are places where it feels scattered or out of sync, but there's enough that shines or stands out to counter that.

"Black Panther: The Album" - 135.7

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