Handsome Boy Modeling School - White People

MINE

I knew these guys had had some success, so I wasn't overly surprised to hear some cool music and sharp production.  But I was surprised to hear the album open with some pretty ordinary MOR-style hip-hop and rap.  Then some positively Sade-ish crooning.  But finally(!) after much skipping forward and sighing, I was rewarded with Rock And Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This) Part 2 which kicks ass, y'all.

But one track doesn't make up for the fact that for the rest of it I was being shuttled between annoyance at some gangsta lyrics (even though they're not saying gangsta is good, it still doesn't mean anything to me) and sheer boredom at the very ordinary, mainstream-style music.  Dan the Automator, were you doing commercial shit here?  'Cause most of it sucks ass.  Apart from the aforementioned track.  Samples Vivaldi.  Features dudes from Linkin Park.  Hot damn.  (YourZ sez: well, you've done it again.  I never thought I'd hear you associate Linkin Park and hot damn.  Not ever...)

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

YOURZ

Handsome Boy Modeling School is a vehicle for the talents of Dan 'The Automator' Nakamura and Prince Paul, rap producer for De La Soul and Gravediggaz, amongst others.  The two used this as a vehicle to put shit on the vacuousness of high fashion hipsters everywhere.  While this is admirable in itself (because if ever there were a group of wannbes ripe for some honest-to-goodness ridicule, they're it) their attempts at creating humourous characterisations mean in between some great tracks are some seriously cringe-worthy skits.

Rant on - what is it with a lot of hip hop and rap stars who think they can subject their listening public to stupid fucking attempts at comedy?  If I wanted to listen to funny monologues, the last place I'd be looking is in the Urban section of my local record store.  Just because you can rap doesn't mean you're funny.  In fact, the only thing funny about these sad attempts is that these artists continue to fucking do it and annoy me to the point where I'd rather poke my eyes out with a blunt pencil than listen to any more of this shit - Rant off

Phew...  I had to get that off my chest as its been bothering me for some time.  Aside from those skits, most of the tracks on this are worth while, with the exceptions being more due to the particular guests on the track than anything else.  Take for instance Breakdown, which features Jack Johnson.  It just sounds like any other Johnson track, which means it sounds pretty enough but has about as much meat as a tofu burger.  Then there is the very appropriately titled Greatest Mistake, featuring both Jamie Cullum and John Oates, which is fucking woeful.

Thankfully there are tracks on here that redeem the duo including the very excellent Are You Down For It, featuring the genius of Mike Patton, The World's Gone Mad with Del Tha Funky Homosapien and Alex Kapranos and the track Mine took a shine to as well.  Along the way, the guest list on White People expands to include appearances from Cat Power, De La Soul, Qbert, Julee Cruise, Pharrell and The Mars Volta and others.  I just wish they'd eschewed their poor attempts at comedy and concentrated on doing what they do well 'cause when they hit the mark it is worth it.

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN

For more information: http://www.handsomeboymodelingschool.com/

Ben Harper - The Will To Live

YOURZ

Years ago, in the deep, dim memories of my past, I remember someone describing Ben Harper as a 'blues Bob Marley'. I always thought it to be a huge statement, especially given the Marley legacy.

So really, is Ben Harper the blues Bob Marley?

He certainly is a bit of a stoner, at least, judging by the cover of The Will To Live. (If that man isn’t off his face, then I’ve never done drugs either).

But does this mean he's as good as Bob?

Then there are his obvious skills with the guitar. Of this there's no doubt. He plays a mean slide guitar and can sing a decent tune too. He also comes across as a real nice, down to earth bloke, in a chilled, ‘hey dude’ kind a way.

But does this mean he's as good as Bob?

He even has a reggae styled song, called Jah Work, although it's what I'd call reggae-lite. Not really reggae, not Marley reggae, but alright none the less.

It's nowhere near as good as anything Bob did.

I guess Ben’s claim to fame is he inadvertently started a bit of a trend, one of the troubadour guitarist, with a band of musical mates sitting around a camp fire on a beach, playing tunes to pretty girls after the sun goes down. People like Jack Johnson and Donovan Frankenreiter owe him a bit of a nod.

I really like the first track. In fact, I think I bought the album for the first track. I also really like his playing, although it's fairly predictable. The thing I don't like about this record is too many of the songs just kind of start, cruise through and finish. There's none of the dynamics I really love about contemporary music, the hushed verses shifting to uplifting choruses or spun-out middle eights. Nope, Ben just kind stays on the cruisy level, content to just lowride on by.

From all this, one thing is particularly clear: I can honestly say I haven't listened to The Will To Live once since Mine and Yours, truly, amalgamated our collection, which is something I absolutely cannot say about Marley.

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT (but be gentle, man) Peace


MINE

OK, confession time again. I'm not that fond of the blues. When I hear those guys (and it's mostly guys) I just want to tell them to cheer up, you know? However, it's not a genre I dismiss altogether, as there are some very fine bluesmen and some very fine blues albums.

But this is not one of them. It's an early album for Ben Harper and didn't get him much attention in his home country. I can't fault his musicianship, and he does know how to write a pretty melody. But as I've said before, I'm all about the lyrics, and he falls down on those. To start with, he mixes his voice right down so it's lost amongst the instruments, plus he's a slurrer of words. Even in the very last song, I Shall Not Walk Alone, where he's accompanied by just a quiet guitar/piano combo, I seriously had to Google the lyrics to discover what he was singing. I got the "Only tears/ Speak from my heart" but then "Break the chains/ That hold us down" sounded to me like "Beak na sheen/ That who us dah". So, unintelligible, with lyrics that are, frankly, uninspiring. Oh, apart from the title track which is quite nice. (Note the damning with faint praise there).

That said, the lovely guitar-playing and the pretty tunes make it good background music. So if you own a bookshop or a cafe, where you want the music to please and not alarm, I can highly recommend Ben Harper. What it's doing in our collection, I have no idea.

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT (after maybe iPodding for a dinner-party playlist)

For more information: http://www.benharper.com/

In our collection we also have Diamonds On The Inside, though I'm wondering why...