What's More Unbelievable?

Monday, March 2, 2009

Oblivion or Bust

Did anyone else see Kanye West on VH1’s Storytellers Saturday night? In a word it was revelatory. I am now his soldier. I am ready to go into battle for Kanye. And what battle would that be exactly? I’ll let Kanye answer that. “The war on traditional thinking.” For you see, Mr. West is not simply a fantastic songwriter or a masterful producer or a mindblowing performer, he is also a vessel wherein god’s words course through him allowing him to be a mouthpiece for the freaks and weirdos and in the end causing him to change minds.

The entire show seemed to be beamed in from the future. Kanye performed on a square stage lit from within that changed various colors over the course of the evening going from bright white, to silvery like a mirror or watery surface to multicolored as his mood warranted. Above him was another reflective square hanging from the ceiling at an angle adding an extra dimension to the future shock set design. There was also a full band surrounding the raised platform that included at least 2 drummers as well as a smattering of string players. They looked a demolition crew from the year 2112, all dressed in dark colors and wearing shiny helmets with protective face guards to prevent them from being injured by any explosive comments or egos on stage.

When Kanye was on SNL recently, his voice was noticeably off and the autotune seemed as much a necessity as a cool effect but on Storytellers, he was on pitch about 96% of the time and it elevated the songs drastically. He was belting out all his newest jams and ferociously spitting hot fire on older hits like “Flashing Lights.” Songs were manipulated into mulitpart medleys or else drawn out with extended jams where the drummers pummeled their instruments as Kanye waxed poetic on the tragic events leading up to 808s and Heartbreak and the near constant criticism he suffers at the hands of reporters, bloggers, haters, parents, close minded jerks and anyone else put off by comments like “My biggest regret in life is not being able to watch myself perform. Y’all know a pleasure I will never have.”

One of the most incredible and shocking events came during a jam/breakdown, one of the many “storytelling” portions of the show where Kanye expounded on a variety of topics, some of which were censored and/or cut from the show entirely. During this particular story, Kanye divulged that he’s not much of a reader so most of his quotes are from movies or from conversations he’s had. He goes on to talk about the value of actually talking to your fellow humans and how educational it can be to engage with people of opposing viewpoints as long as you keep an open mind and are willing to broaden your perspectives. After mentioning a few clichéd ideas (young black guy vs. older white woman, rich Lincoln Town Car passenger vs. homeless man) he says he’s realized he’s been wrong all along with his conservative opinion of homosexuals. All those people in Chicago were wrong, he said, telling him to avoid gay people when he was growing up. Then after this astonishing revelation and wonderfully surprising display of progressive thinking, he went on to sing “Don’t be an asshole for too long.” Putting his money where mouth is when it comes to the war on traditional thinking, my respect for Kanye increased tenfold in that moment.

I used to think Kanye was a buffoon but I’ve softened my stance on him recently and it’s no secret that this latest album has made me fall hard for the man. I can see why he’s been such a target for critics and can also now see that he’s horribly talented and I admire his stubborn refusal to back down, give in or stop trying to be the biggest star in the galaxy. His ego is enormous, sure, but he truly believes in what he’s doing and the endless possibilities laid out before him. During his more bizarre and longwinded asides on Saturday’s program, he certainly resembled a somewhat creepy cult leader but I have tasted the Kool-Aid and will follow him into the darkness.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

also:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7J78xJ2txI