Common - Electric Circus

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Got mentioned at end of Phrenology thread but warrants more chatter.

So yes surprise, Neptunes, Stereolab (rip mary), 8 minute psychadelic rock trips, 10 minute nu-soul/spoken word posse cut! Common approves of homosexuality! Prince!....

Obv. ref. points: Outkast, Blackalicious, Roots 'departure' records. Right now I mostly like it, it's not really naggingly 'real' or 'soul' or whatever people hate about the Okayplayer aesthetic, lots of hiphop people are saying he went soft and is now making "gay progressive bullshit". It is fluid and sensitive with full detailed production and has a crazy album cover instead of dull greens/browns. Discuss..

Subtext: epic hip hop art albums C/D

― Honda (Honda), Thursday, 12 December 2002 19:16 (twenty-two years ago)

Common approves of homosexuality!

I find this interesting, as I thought I remembered him uttering some "fag" comment on Like Water For Chocolate. Am I misremembering/misinterpreting?

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Thursday, 12 December 2002 19:27 (twenty-two years ago)

Yes a lot of people criticized him for that. On this album he talks about his close friend coming out and how it made him rethink everything and accept his sexuality.

― Honda (Honda), Thursday, 12 December 2002 19:30 (twenty-two years ago)

Electric Circus is my favorite LP of the year. Nobody came bolder or more ambitious, nobody dared to put more of themselves on a record. You might hate it (a lot of his "old fans" do, as the message boards on Okayplayer attest), but you should at least hear it before you put it down as "just more of that rap that white critics like." It's scary good and satisfying.

― Matt C., Thursday, 12 December 2002 19:38 (twenty-two years ago)

I had no idea it was out yet! OMG I can't wait to hear it! I've been a big Common fan for years now, except prob'ly one of the few that found the music not nearly adventurous enough for his style, so my guess is I'll dig the fuck out of it.

To the rekkid store with me!

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Thursday, 12 December 2002 19:47 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh, and put me down for classic-k status on epic hip-hop albums. Love 'em. The longer the better. I always get in trouble for this, but I say yay to long-ass CDs in any genre. I enjoy not-entirely-necessary songs and/or segues and/or skits. If I don't like 'em, I'll skip to the next track.

As far as "epic" in terms of scope, I also think that there's just as much room in hip-hop for over-reaching crazy ambitious shit as there is for fun club bangers or hard-hitting gangland tales or social commentary or just plain ignantness. It's a big music, it contains multitudes.

― Matt C., Thursday, 12 December 2002 19:51 (twenty-two years ago)

If I don't like 'em, I'll skip to the next track

This doesn't work if you are constantly shuttling your batteries back and forth between your discman and your remote. Ever since I became completely broke I have much less tolerance for any skippable material.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Thursday, 12 December 2002 19:54 (twenty-two years ago)

That's a good point. I hadn't thought about that...mostly because my remote and my Discman use different kinds of batteries, and both are pretty close to dead.

But there's nothing skippable on Electric Circus.

"Shut up! Let us make up our own minds!" Okay.

― Matt C., Thursday, 12 December 2002 20:00 (twenty-two years ago)

This is way better than I thought it would be. Almost all of the tracks are pretty decent (Jimi Was a Rock Star and the spoken word one are very skippable after the first couple times), but New Wave, The Hustle, and I am Music are the ones I keep coming back to. I am Music is New Orleans hip-hop! W/Nicholas Payton! The best New Orleans hip-hop song since Bouncin' Back. I want a whole album like this (well I guess that would be Soul Rebels Brass Band).

"I'm grand like theft auto 3"

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 12 December 2002 20:11 (twenty-two years ago)

This doesn't work if you are constantly shuttling your batteries back and forth between your discman and your remote.
My brain broke trying to parse this...I'm assuming you mean skipping tracks on your home CD player using your remote? At any rate, send me your address, Tracer, and I'll send you some batteries.

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Thursday, 12 December 2002 20:19 (twenty-two years ago)

"i'm grand like theft auto 3"

LAME LAME LAME i knew common's still wack

― bob zemko (bob), Thursday, 12 December 2002 20:23 (twenty-two years ago)

does anyone know if Jay Dee does any of his beats again???

― JasonD (JasonD), Thursday, 12 December 2002 20:50 (twenty-two years ago)

It's lame but it made me laugh (in a "he didn't just say that, did he?" way), which I didn't really expect Common to do.

Jay Dee does, like, all of the beats except the Neptunes tracks.

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 12 December 2002 22:30 (twenty-two years ago)

he has a tendency to be my least favorite thing about his good tracks...i'm still kicking myself for not picking up the instrumental 2x12" of LWFC when i saw it...it seems like his flow gets sloppier and worse every year. i like that new Badu song but just cringe as soon as his verse starts....so so so so BAD.

― Al (sitcom), Thursday, 12 December 2002 23:39 (twenty-two years ago)

also i have to admit i'm a little disappointed that i can now no longer provoke people with "Common hates fags more than Eminem!"

― Al (sitcom), Thursday, 12 December 2002 23:50 (twenty-two years ago)

PHARRELL WILLIAMS SINGS LIKE TOM WAITS!!!!!! (well at least on "I Got a Right Ta")

I still like Phrenology more (since they actually have that whole 'really good lyrics' thing going) and I still wish Common would get all pissy and just do some vicious hilarious shit a'la "The Bitch In Yoo" but this is going to ferret its way into my top 10 or 15 or something.

Oh, and I've suddenly realized that "Come Close" = NEPTUNES DISCOVER PET SOUNDS, OH SHIT! (note: this could be a good or bad "oh shit". Your call.)

― Nate Patrin (Nate Patrin), Friday, 13 December 2002 00:31 (twenty-two years ago)

Would be nice if the lyrics were as good as the music. but I like it. And I love "I Am Music." Good times.

― slutsky, Friday, 13 December 2002 23:33 (twenty-two years ago)

I thought Timbaland was music. Now I'm confused.

― Stuart, Monday, 16 December 2002 22:58 (twenty-two years ago)

it's arty-farty and pompous and way up its own ass, although you can find the odd beautiful moment on it. this is hip hop gone prog rock - welcome to the world of PROG HOP!

― Jay K (Jay K), Monday, 16 December 2002 23:18 (twenty-two years ago)

um, is this new single w/a bit of (I think) Mary J Blige singing & the rest being massive lazy boring stuff re 'I want to share my life w/you,' is that the new Common single ? wow, I would say I can't stand his music, but it'd have to make you notice for that, and.. .. boring boring boring

― daria g, Tuesday, 17 December 2002 00:36 (twenty-two years ago)

I only listened to this album once. I'll give it another chance--maybe it will reveal itself as a daring masterpiece. But first impressions are it's really really bad. For some reason, he decided to get a terrible psychedelic rock band to play behind him on most of the tracks. Bad move.

― Ben Williams, Wednesday, 18 December 2002 23:02 (twenty-two years ago)

three weeks pass...

REVIVE!

I've been listening to it quite a bit over the last couple of days, Johnny-come-lately that I am. Still, musically it's pretty impressive, and prog-hop is so much more appealing a concept than prog-rock in my world. I can't be the only one who finds Common himself spectacularly bland, though... I can't think of any other hip-hop record I can listen to and enjoy without paying any attention to the actual RAPPING whatsoever. I also find myself switching off every time a supposedly uplifting but actually limp and hookless Blige/Badu/Bilal/Scott chorus comes in. I think Come Close is the least interesting thing on the album in that respect, regardless of the Neptunes connection.

But Stereolab collaborations... YAY!

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Tuesday, 14 January 2003 15:42 (twenty-two years ago)

'New Wave' is a brilliant track...i was wondering if that was Stereolab too haha (do note that i am unfamiliar with their stuff)

― stevem (blueski), Tuesday, 14 January 2003 15:55 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh, and Pharrell Williams' singing = best thing about the album.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Tuesday, 14 January 2003 15:59 (twenty-two years ago)

three months pass...

I can't be the only one who finds Common himself spectacularly bland, though...

You're not, Mr. DC. I listened to "Like Water For Chocolate" a lot when it came out, though even now I'm struggling to find what I liked so much about it. I'm a little disappointed with Electric Circus. I like Come Close and Star 69, but Common himself is the weakest link...still not sure whether to take a gamble on Phrenology.

― Nordicskillz (Nordicskillz), Sunday, 11 May 2003 14:42 (twenty-two years ago)

Phrenology is better than Electric Circus, but for real prog hop I suggest the new Prefuse 73 or else head back to the Def Jux axis (Can Ox + El-P). Common is just limp by comparison.

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Monday, 12 May 2003 08:39 (twenty-two years ago)

Phrenology : black and white films :: Electric Circus : technicolor (sonically that is)

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Monday, 12 May 2003 12:24 (twenty-two years ago)

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