P fan #1
Joined: Oct '08
Posts: 3,255
Sorry if I appear to be out to lunch, gentlemen... my work day just got crazy busy, and I appear to be coming down with a cold (I'd made it through almost the whole winter without one too... crap).
Might be a little while, but I'll make my remarks later...
P fan #1
Joined: May '05
Posts: 1,528
Per the PL70 newsletter that was just sent out, looks like we all need to pre-order the album via iTunes. This gives the group the "proof" they need to show promoters they have a following and then can book shows in our cities. If you order via iTunes and show Thes your iTunes receipt at the merch table a show, you'll get a free copy of the physical CD.
The vinyl per-order will be later this month once Thes has them in hand.
Get to pre-ordering now!
P fan #1
Joined: Sep '11
Posts: 975
williamhmacy said:
man i am not feeling this song.
Aye, I'm with you on this one - just not down with it. Hope its a grower...
That aside, can't wait for the LP to drop and admire Thes for his latest stance against the bullshizzle music powers that be...
P fan #1
Joined: May '09
Posts: 600
callmemistertibbs said:
williamhmacy said:
man i am not feeling this song.Aye, I'm with you on this one - just not down with it. Hope its a grower...
That aside, can't wait for the LP to drop and admire Thes for his latest stance against the bullshizzle music powers that be...
I like the elements, video games, funky drummer and lyrics but I am not sure how they work together. Song is ok but it did not DO IT for me. Like you know some other classic P -tracks do. I bet that there is a hitter on the album for me. Usually it is not the first single that hits me the most. F.e Wiz of Oz and Beer are great tracks but not my favorites on those albums they are on. Same with Trippin in the Disco.
This video kinda makes me think that if they have selected it for their lead single to introduce the album for bigger audience to gain some ear for other tracks and other discography. Dunno!
EP
Joined: Apr '05
Posts: 178
Yeah, I like almost everything that PUTS does, I know they're trying to be experimental, but mark this as a song which to my ears is too experimental. Too many beats/ideas going on here, and the beats aren't crisp enough for my liking.
They kind of did the video game beat thing on FUN DMC and incorporated it on other albums. That's cool, but I think it's now one of the few things/ideas that has been overdone by PUTS.
The whole YOLO thing has been done to death too.
Sorry to hate, still really looking forward to this album.
P fan #1
Joined: Oct '08
Posts: 3,255
So I've been kinda silent for a while because I'm trying to think about how to formulate my feelings toward the song and everyone's reactions (I've also been fighting off a cold that's making my head feel like a rock and a balloon, alternately.)
First of all, don't apologize if you're not a fan of the song. It's completely cool to me; you don't like what you don't like. Deciding which artists to follow down their respective career paths is always a tough deal. I like all the Jethro Tull or Black Sabbath up to a certain point, and they lost me. Then again, I've followed Ben Folds, People Under The Stairs... hell, even the TV show X-Files... when other people gave up. It comes down to what you like & what you don't like.
Face it: Consumers are really in a sh*tty spot right now: as much as you think you can yell at them for not doing more exploring or crate digging or supporting artists or anything else, I really don't think it's fair to take it out on them at this point. The technology that was supposed to make dispersing all the good sh*t easier has now turned way sour because it's now easier to control by the music Powers That Be. Diss on iTunes and Spotify and Pandora and everyone else all you want, but they are the quickest, easiest sources for music, and they are now the well the public goes to to drink.
Bands like People Under The Stairs are at a really weird point right now: they are having to learn to game that system because their usual method of "ignore everyone else, we're going to do what we're going to do" is becoming unsustainable. They can't book shows, they need money for physical vinyl releases, CDs and cassettes are basically DONE, and if they just throw out a digital release in the current, easy-download market, it's a drop in the bucket. For all the mass, will.i.am-consuming public knows, PUTS is a local L.A. DJ group that does weddings.
Niche markets used to be a way to sell your credibility, a way to differentiate yourself, etc., but now, niches are just a way to group your internet radio playlists, and so the consumer who used to be the real, "alternative hip hop"/"Golden era hip hop" dude just presses a button on spotify and now he can listen to a playlist thrown together by someone else or by trending hits... so he may get "The Humpty Dance" and "Alphabet Aerobics" and "What's Golden" and everything else, and he's got his day made.
(I have never had an account with any of those services. I still have a 120 Gb music player, and I try to update it to keep it fresh, and when I do, where do you think I go to get music? I either buy it cheap, rip it from vinyl, or download it from somewhere. But I'm a fading breed.)
So, if you're an artist that has maintained a listener-ship that's never really blown up or gotten Grammys or anything (like PUTS), you have to find a way to stay relevant to even pull the interest to book those shows or maintain a fan base that won't bleed off to Kendrick Lamar or whoever else. That SUCKS *SS. Authenticity BY ITSELF isn't going to make that happen anymore. Pride in your sh*t is one thing; keeping it real is one thing; not selling out is one thing... but "the bottom line is the dollar sign" when it's your livelihood.
And I'm thinking PUTS is in a bit of a squeeze. Thes did the 24-bit HD AAC last time. He made some CHOICE vinyl (the sleeve, the weight... everything was awesome). They did two YouTube spots, a tour, they've played festivals, they've still got vitality, Thes' production/music studio knowledge is legendary in L.A... and Highlighter still got reviewed less than Fun DMC and Carried Away did... how's that for maintaining relevance? Personally, I thought the album was great too (and I know some of us may differ on that point)... It had SOLID songs for a lot of it's length.
It probably seems like I'm setting this up as some big excuse for 1 Up Til Sun Up to not meet my expectations. Not really. I just think that People Under the Stairs took an "anti-risk" and reigned in their usual experimentation this time around to see what they could do about finding some middle ground. I think it was the same thing with touring with Mac Miller (who I'm not a fan of) for the last album: get a following in this new digital age and with a newer fan base. Sort of meeting the pop sensibilities halfway, like "We know you like this party vibe, 'kids want to have fun' stuff... well, we've been doing that for YEARS, and if you want us to ease you into it, here you go: we got retro video gaming samples to go with that t-shirt you're wearing, we got some beats more rooted in adrenaline, we know you like 'funky drummer', we got a slick new video... we've taken our spirit and done a track more suited to your liking... TELL YOUR FRIENDS. Oh and by the way, LISTEN TO OUR CATALOG."
I don't think they've compromised their integrity or belief in the music at all, they've just taken the parts of their catalog and interests that are the most likely to make a connection and put those out there... Sorta like there's a big Venn Diagram, with one circle as "Current trends in popular music" and the other circle as "PUTS", and they've used the items in the tiny bit of overlap to make their next single. It's a hand out to those people, not a concession.
I don't know. Maybe that's just me. I hope that the rest of the album has a breadth to it that takes it beyond that overlapping section, but it's still well within the road I'm willing to travel with PUTS.
D*mn, I sound like an apologist. I'm sorry if I come off that way, and like I said... feel free to disagree!!
P fan #1
Joined: Oct '08
Posts: 3,255
Oh, and PS: I got a 12SP album page and a 1UTSU lyrics page up on the lyrics site now (along with all the appropriate links, etc. around the site).
I even got Thes to proof my 1UTSU transcription:
http://www.thepointoftherhyme.com/tracks/1uptilsunup.htm
7
Joined: Dec '11
Posts: 42
SactownConnection said:
"We know you like this party vibe, 'kids want to have fun' stuff... well, we've been doing that for YEARS, and if you want us to ease you into it, here you go: we got retro video gaming samples to go with that t-shirt you're wearing, we got some beats more rooted in adrenaline, we know you like 'funky drummer', we got a slick new video... we've taken our spirit and done a track more suited to your liking... TELL YOUR FRIENDS. Oh and by the way, LISTEN TO OUR CATALOG."
My thoughts exactly. I actually felt the need to reply to some dude on the 1UTSU video (I normally avoid the yt comments section) who was questioning why the P would be "jumping on the YOLO theme two years too late," solely because I feel the same way you do. And even I was slightly disappointed after my first listen of the track but it quickly grew on me as I realized its core is quintessentially P. Then I started thinking about being in their position, in that probably-only-a-few-more-albums-but-we'll-see-where-life-takes-us stage, when they have to be thinking about financial subsistence beyond this career, and any respect for their method that I thought might be waning was instantly revitalized. And now I'm just as pumped as ever to see where the rest of this album takes us.
P fan #1
Joined: May '09
Posts: 600
Sitting here, listening to Lewis Parker's B-Boy Antiks and reading your comments. Most of ya'll are in line with my thoughts. Superb write up Sac. Props for opening your mind and writing it all open. Nicely analyzed. It is a hard game nowadays to get your ass visible for all young cats who pump this mainstream stuff. How to make a living and get booked! Rep and history does not count that much anymore..which is kinda sad. But hopefully this approarch eases the sustain of PUTS.
LP
Joined: Sep '11
Posts: 394
I agree with sentiments expressed above....it took a sec to gel with me, I felt the chorus was a little repetitive on first listen, but really dug the video samples and the beat honestly (I'm 30 for reference HA). I feel like they've done what many great artists down the line through the years have done, and that's to make an album, and then make a single that will get people interested in said album that utilizes the parts of their sound people look for and enjoy. This is simply the way bands and artists have gotten a reticent public to come along on a journey called the album (or concept album even). This whole point that doing this is selling out, or something like that is ridiculous to me. As others have said, this band is not only their passion and mental output, its their livelihood. That is something that forces them to take an approach that will yield maximum exposure without giving up on any core ideals etc.. The fact that they've said this album is all vinyl, and supposedly littered with samples has me really excited. And the Zelda sample, while its a hit game everybody knows and not some random obscure game no one has ever heard is neither here nor there. I dig it.....That's all I got. Hope you get feeling better Sac. *anticipation intensifies* -greg
The Architect
Joined: Feb '05
Posts: 3,618
great video, will have to watch it a few more times to take it all in! It's awesome to see them step-up again budget/finish wise for video. Big things!
Personally, I think the beat is hard as f*** - proper bass, it's big. Definitely will be great live. The YOLO thing passed me by to start with, so I don't find that grating at all (not any more than Thes naming PS3, Myspace or Twitter in raps, which also date-stamps them if you like). I like the track!
Thes is a good businessman, so if the track and video are deliberately aimed to get more fans involved, then great. Or, it might just be the track sounds how it does because that's just how they made it and the vibe they were feeling at the time. Or it's everyone's perception of it... I don't know but "it's all reggae to me man" 
EP
Joined: Aug '05
Posts: 262
I've held off commenting until now but, I have to say, this track has really grown on me. I'm still of two minds though... I love Zelda so the gimmick had from the word go, but it feels a bit derivative of Gamin' On Ya, and it's never good when artists start making stuff that's so blatantly derivative of something they did 6 years earlier... I also love the Funky Drummer loop, of course - you have no business listening to hip hop if you don't love that loop - but it's been done, man, soooo many times. They didn't even chop it up to create a new pattern which, on the one hand, I like, but on the other, feels too easy. Kinda like using the Ashley's Roachclip drums and the NT drums on Highlighter...
Having said all of that, I have never dug any of the PUTS singles (yes, that includes Acid Raindrops). Singles were invented to get the attention of as many people as possible, rather than to placate the hardcore fans. I still have faith that 12SP will be the nuts, especially reading from Thes that it's all gonna be back-to-basics loops and beats classic hip hop.
I for one thought Highlighter was a huge disappointment, much as I did with Fun DMC, mainly because I felt it strayed too far from the formula. I remember starting a thread and getting chewed on when Fun DMC came out 'cause I was not a fan of the prolific use of keyboards. I kept my head down when Highlighter came out, but it has pretty much been collecting dust since 2011 now. I love a handful of tracks, am indifferent to most, and will skip over at least five if them. For me the biggest disappointment was how unoriginal the sampling was - Stevie Wonder's As, The Lady in My Life, Gentleman in New York, Moments in Love... come one, that's the kind of obvious ish you'd expect some assclown like Kanye to sample, not the P!
With that in mind, as happy as I am that 12SP will be focussing on the loops, I really hope they surprise us again. I'm kinda thinking the P wouldn't be careless enough to use such obvious samples on a comparatively major (iTunes) release, so fingers crossed...
EP
Joined: Aug '08
Posts: 133
JK93 said:
[...] but it feels a bit derivative of Gamin' On Ya, and it's never good when artists start making stuff that's so blatantly derivative of something they did 6 years earlier...
[...] mainly because I felt it strayed too far from the formula
[...] especially reading from Thes that it's all gonna be back-to-basics loops and beats classic hip hop.
You don't like something because it is derivative, then look forward to an artist doing very much what they've done before?
I also love the Funky Drummer loop, of course - you have no business listening to hip hop if you don't love that loop - but it's been done, man, soooo many times. They didn't even chop it up to create a new pattern which, on the one hand, I like, but on the other, feels too easy. Kinda like using the Ashley's Roachclip drums and the NT drums on Highlighter...
There are some samples and breaks that are just etched into the very foundations of a genre; to use them, and use them right, is to pay homage to those who have done before (plus they're always funky as sh!t).
For me the biggest disappointment was how unoriginal the sampling was - Stevie Wonder's As, The Lady in My Life, Gentleman in New York, Moments in Love... come one, that's the kind of obvious ish you'd expect some assclown like Kanye to sample, not the P!
There must be a connection, a vibe or something special about those particular samples for Thes; to use them this 'late' in his sampling career shows one of two things: laziness or a love for the sound. We know the former isn't true at all.
With that in mind, as happy as I am that 12SP will be focussing on the loops, I really hope they surprise us again. I'm kinda thinking the P wouldn't be careless enough to use such obvious samples on a comparatively major (iTunes) release, so fingers crossed...
My apologies if this post comes off as being rude, it's not my intention at all, it comes from a place of genuine respect for your opinions and thoughts. I feel old these days.
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