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Posted by ConorClockwise on 2007-04-25 05:17:23 +0000

Throwin' it out: "Liquid Swords" = best Wu Tang solo project. Too simple, too jarring, too perfect. Yes, I am aware of ODB, "Cuban Linx", and all things Ironman (Seriously, how routinely impressive is GhostFace? How sick was 2004's "Pretty Toney"?). I will look into it further, but I believe there are differences between the Liquid Swords CD (don't have, extra songs?) and the LP and cassette.

Posted by MF DU on 2007-04-25 12:07:41 +0000

I think CC is right about this. (both being the best WU solo album and the weird order - Shit - this might be the best WU album period, take it from LaDÜtangclan) The track order of 'Liquid Swords' can vary from source to source. Wonder if GZA will do the 'cassette' version or the 'cd' version in its entireity? (Can you imagine if an older band would do this series for All Tommorows Parties? - 'We're going to play the 8-track Version with intermittent tracking problems and the clicking in the middle intact...')

Posted by mahatma chani on 2007-04-25 12:34:54 +0000

DU, you're outta your mind: "Enter the Wu-Tang" is the best WU album, period.

Posted by MF DU on 2007-04-25 12:47:11 +0000

If LSWORDS isnt better, it's equal. Evidence:

Posted by MF DU on 2007-04-25 12:48:55 +0000

the Only Ghostface I haven't been exposed to is 'Bulletproff Wallets'. All the other stuff is crazy good.

Posted by mahatma chani on 2007-04-25 13:45:37 +0000

While I hear your argument, I still think united they stand divided they fall. Plus, I think if we're just talking hooks, "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx" trumps this stuff. Interesting Wu-Tang trivia according to wikipedia: "Raekwon and U-God do not get along, and have fought for over seven hours at a time over which of their albums were better." No shit! I mean, WTF are you thinking U-God? You came up with only one good couplet in the whole Wu canon.

Posted by MF DU on 2007-04-25 14:18:27 +0000

U-God! (Im rolling on the floor laughing right now...) except for Papa Wu (remember the Mandela! track on Wu Tang Forever?), U-God is peerless...

Posted by mahatma chani on 2007-04-25 14:43:57 +0000

Mandela! Mandela! Mandela! Martin Luther King!

Posted by Epoisses on 2007-04-25 15:49:15 +0000

And wasn't there a woman for like a minute?

Posted by MF DU on 2007-04-25 16:13:51 +0000

don't go there.

Posted by MF DU on 2007-04-27 12:23:26 +0000

Upon relistening to both records again this week, I am giving 'Liquid Swords' a 9.8 and 'Enter the 36 Chambers' a 9.7. sorry, Mahatma. the "His Brain was Infected By Devils" line snatched from 'Shogun Assasin / Lone Wolf and Baby Cub' (Netflix it circa: pronto) put it over the top...

Posted by mahatma chani on 2007-04-27 14:00:13 +0000

Fair enough. Whats your margin of error? +/-.4? Virtual tie.

Posted by mahatma chani on 2007-06-07 11:53:08 +0000

Dick Dreyfus gave me another copy of "Liquid Swords" for my perusal. My (unsolicited) conclusion: after you get past either all the (admitedly impressive) 5% Nationalism or the (also impressive) too-clever-by-half lyrics, the album as a whole feels incredibly flat. There's no peaks and there's no valleys. It's at the same "intensity" (adjective up for debate) throughout. There's no variation in the production, tempos, format or song structures. There's no comic relief, past the occasional smirk every now and then. (There's a reason they had ODB and PE had Flavor, you needed a break from all the dense subject matter). Compare this album to something like, say "Forever," and you'll see as a whole group they offer up a lot more variety yet still maintain the 5% Nationalism, the cocaine stories, the kung fu bullshit, and the clever twists of phrases. Why? Varied production. Which I guess is why I'm going back to my original statement is that anybody who doesn't think "Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)" is their best record is delusional. And don't get even me started with all those who think "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx" is their best work. FWIW: when I have more time, I'll have to regale you with stories Ai (the engineer we worked with out in L.A.) shared with us about the times she worked on multiple Wu-Tang records ("The W" specifically). Mahatma Chani's Final Grades: "Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)": A+++++++++++ "Forever": A- "The W": B- "Liquid Swords": B "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx": C+

Posted by G lib on 2007-06-07 13:15:17 +0000

There's a reason they had ODB and PE had Flavor, you needed a break from all the dense subject matter You don't have to justify your existence in c4rt to US, MC. We already agree with you.

Posted by Epoisses on 2007-06-07 13:31:16 +0000

Posted by mahatma chani on 2007-08-20 07:43:37 +0000

Du already knows this cuz he reads Pitchfork too, but for those who don't read it but care about the GZA, I'd consider seeing the Brooklyn Liquid Swords show 9/15. FWIW: the opener Jamie Lidell is fucking boss.

Posted by MF DU on 2007-08-20 08:20:02 +0000

Lidell played G scott a year ago, methinks. RSN rideshare to Brooklyn?

Posted by MF DU on 2007-08-20 08:29:18 +0000

I'm re-reading MC's Jun 07 post and something about it is clicking with me more now than it did 3 months ago. If Flav was subtracted from A Nation Of Millions Chuck D's relentless booming anouncing and the Bomb Squad's rip-your-face-off shrapnel ambience (while admittedly awesome) would be only at one attack level with no variance. Texture and relief in this music is just as important as the often lauded intensity. I still listen to Swords so much that I will have to put it on an even keel with 36 chambers for me personally as a listener. I do concede that 36 has more diverse elements and that it is probably wisest to give this record the higher rating of the two if we are rating the record for a large number of listeners. Who gives a fuck about what DÜ likes, right?

Posted by tgl on 2007-08-20 15:09:07 +0000

What's your take on Fishscales? I can't listen to it.

Posted by Epoisses on 2007-08-20 15:34:39 +0000

First the Dirty Projectors, now Ghostface. Sheesh.

Posted by MF DU on 2007-08-20 16:15:16 +0000

How is Tony Starks like the Dirty Projectors? That DP shit is weird. I still can't place it enough to write about it very well.

Posted by tgl on 2007-08-20 16:42:00 +0000

I can't listen to either. The lyrics on Fishscale are embarassing and The DP stuff is twaddle. Unlike "Let Me Ride", you know what I'm sayin'?

Posted by Epoisses on 2007-08-20 16:51:11 +0000

Sounds like some satellite MMT is going on.

Posted by deejayhubris on 2007-08-20 16:55:31 +0000

NO Sleep Till Brooklyn!!

Posted by mahatma chani on 2007-08-21 05:01:00 +0000

Finally heard the Dirty Projectors. A+ for concept/execution of said concept. B+ for the music, seemed a little to hey-we-gotta-keep-it-indie for even my tastes. Fishscale kinda sucks. However More Fish is fucking awesome, go figure.

Posted by MF DU on 2007-08-21 05:24:19 +0000

The Amy Winehouse track on 'More Fish' is unbelievable - don't care whose bandwagon I'm jumping on. BTW: Im tired of people hating on 'Fishscale'. Much better than 'Pretty Toney' and on par with 'Ironman'. 'Supreme Clientele' is the apex, but I dont think that is in contest. Tell your crew to be easy, niggaz run around With them fake frowns, sell 'em on eBay Get word to the DJ, tell 'em Staten Island's In the house, put the record on replay

Posted by MF DU on 2007-08-21 05:31:14 +0000

I'm going to pretend for a moment that I know what a 'whoadie' is and quote some more G-Face (as it is now burned in my brain - thanks TGL) I'm in the club with the chipped up wrist, uh You at the bar, whoadie, drinkin' my piss, uh The yellow shit, and the bottle ain't Crys', son You turned your muthafuckin' head, nigga, we switched 'em

Posted by MF DU on 2007-08-21 05:32:12 +0000

Duh Duh dunnnh dunnnh da BROOKLYN!

Posted by MF DU on 2007-08-21 05:33:55 +0000

The Dirty Projectors thing could spawn a lot of cheap knockoffs. Mebbe it will be the latest 'All Tommorows Parties Gimmick' or something. ISIS re-remembering Neutral Milk Hotel?

Posted by pamsterdam on 2007-08-21 05:44:35 +0000

Whoadie: a casual, familiar form of address for a friend. Also wodie, wody. Editorial Note: This term appears to originate in the hip-hop scene of New Orleans, LA. Etymological Note: wardie ‘resident of a political ward’

Posted by MF DU on 2007-08-21 05:49:18 +0000

Why would he be swapping a "friend's" drink with a self-produced ammonia concoction? I get it, though - whoadie = dude, homie, what have you.

Posted by MF DU on 2007-10-01 18:41:51 +0000

Thurston Moore in Boston 09/27 nice T shirt dude