50 Cent “Get Rich or Die Tryin'”
Shady/Aftermath/Inter-scope Records
Puzzling. So this is one of the most anticipated albums in about
a decade, the fastest-selling debut album of all time? “Get
Rich or Die Tryin'” is a decent record that capitalizes
on the gangsta cliche, with modest results. Upon opening the CD
liner notes, there’s a picture of a stoic 50 Cent holding a
gun right at the viewer. It looks like he’s robbing or trying
to kill the consumers of his CDs. If that’s not gangsta, I
don’t know what is. The album is alright, I mean, aight. The
beats? Something to ride to, but most are pretty forgettable. Some
are pretty tight ““ like the anthem “In Da Club”
and that “Wanksta” song they play on the radio these
days. Lyrical content? Hah. How about a breakdown? Eighty percent
is dedicated to killing and shooting, gangsta bravado, smoking weed
(check out “High All the Time”), nice cars, and what 50
Cent does with his money. Then maybe 15 percent of the album is
party songs, like the aforementioned “In Da Club,”
along with “Like My Style,” both of which are pretty
much tunes for the clubs. There is one song that definitely stands
out from the rest, though. Check out “21 Questions,”
featuring Nate Dogg. It’s the most sincere, mellow song on
the album, where 50 Cent raps a series of 21 questions, asking a
woman if she would still love him, in a bunch of different
scenarios. Pretty distanced from the rest of the album, 50 Cent
shows signs of insecurity under all his
super-killing-shooting-machismo. What makes 50 Cent stand out is,
of course, his delivery. With a smooth style, not as lazy as Jay-Z,
but faster and almost sing-songy, 50 Cent puts together his flow
with crazy lyrics, metaphors and analogies. The music industry is
so cyclical. This album sounds just like the early-to-mid
’90s all over again (all this talk of killing and gangstas),
but hey, of course it does ““ Dr. Dre, the king of gangsta rap
himself, is an executive producer. The album, of course, is not all
it’s hyped up to be. It’s pretty much an album to bump
when there’s people around, and when cruising around in a
souped-up SUV late at night. -Kenny Chang
Crooked Fingers “Red Devil Dawn” Merge
Records
Listening to the newest Crooked Fingers album, it’s easy
to forget that the band’s lead singer Eric Bachmann used to
be the frontman for the North Carolina indie band Archers
of Loaf. While the Archers were best known for their warped guitars
and quirky indie pop songs, “Red Devil Dawn” is a much
more reserved and straight-forward rock album. On the disc, the
band shifts between upbeat tracks about love and infidelity and
more reflective, brooding songs. Like Archers of Loaf, it’s
actually on the happier songs that Crooked Fingers is strongest.
Songs like “Sweet Marie” and “Angelina”
reveal both the band’s sense of humor and ability to write
solid rock songs. Bachmann’s gravely voice lies
somewhere between Bruce Springsteen and Tom Waits and gives even
Crooked Fingers’ most poppy songs a weathered
quality. While Red Devil Dawn is mostly straight up heartland
rock, the occasional string section or mariachi trumpets keeps the
disc from sounding predictable. Though Bachmann has gotten older
and mellowed out a bit, he’s still making interesting music.
-Alex Palmer