If you read one piece of music journalism today, make it this one. V+C favorite, Andrew WInistorfer (see Vinyl In Alphabetical), was recently sent by Noisey to see Nelly at Wisconsin's annual Summerfest. His observations mix awkward hilarity and cultural introspection in a way that reminds me of David Foster Wallace's "Consider the Lobster" essay.
Jay Z releases Magna Carta Holy Grail
**Update 7:15pm PST July 9th, 2013**
If there is any validity to the Jay Z rant on twitter yesterday (click here), Magna Carta Holy Grail might see a vinyl release with an assist from Jack White and Third Man Records.
Looks like this video confirms--You can see Jay Z on hot 97 where he talks about "open letter" on vinyl via third man, immediately below.
Original post...
Is Magna Carta Holy Grail an incredible album?
- Yes
Should you be impressed that Jay Z sold a million copies for Samsung Galaxy users before it was even released to buy elsewhere?
- No. No you should not.
DON'T GET ME WRONG. I'm a huge fan of Jay Z and his music and talent. I just don't think Samsung buying a million copies of the album, digitally, for it's users is impressive by any means. I mean, it certainly says something of Jay Zs stature... it says something of the power and faith that a brand like Samsung is willing to put that much stock in Jay Z as a brand. But from a record sales perspective, I don't think it stands up.
I mean, did Samsung pay retail price? How much do you have to charge for an album for it to count as an album sale? Business Insider states that the numbers break down to $5 a copy... but note that Jay Z probably makes a lot more money off that deal than it would if 1 million copies were sold through other mediums like iTunes since his stake is probably much less through alternative channels. But still. If Justin Timberlake or Kanye West released their album for $5 on iTunes on their opening week, I'd like to think they'd have sold SIGNIFICANTLY more copies than they did.
Again, I just don't think you can compare these things directly.
PROBABLY the only way to impress me would have been if he'd have paired up with some vinyl press and sent me a physical copy of his album that only me and my vinyl collecting friends could enjoy for 3 days before the rest of the world gets their 1s and 0s copy on their phone. Maybe next time.
Anyway, this album is incredible, and you need to get a copy of it to make your summer complete. Listen to "Holy Grail" featuring Justin Timberlake and watch Jay Z talk about the album in a Samsung Galaxy ad, below.
"When Brave Bird Saved" Short Film From Laura Marling
We just paired Laura Marling's most recent release, Once I Was An Eagle, right here. While you're debating about whether or not to check it out, watch this stunningly beautiful short film she created using music from the album.
Kanye West - Bound 2 (reference)
Due to my continued infatuation with Yeezus and particularly the track 'Bound 2' I felt compelled to figure out what/who Kanye was referencing or channeling in the track.
With lines like...
"what would Jeromey-romey-romey-romey-rome think?"
and
"Jerome's in the house, watch your mouth"
my guess was that it was just going over my head completely. I didn't watch Martin when it was on back in the mid 90s, so the character reference went straight over my head... but this clip cleared a lot of things up for me.
