Nicki Minaj, Kanye, and Tiger Woods (A "Minaj-a-trois"???)

This has been my bedroom the past two days. It's been fun, but I must move on to another land, as 9 more horcruxes (shows) await me on this journey (tour).

Last night I was pretty bored (this will be a common theme throughout this blog, trust me), and thought I'd try to check out some new music, since I hadn't done that in awhile and I always try to make a mix CD for each tour. Rewind eight years in the life of Robbe Reddinger and replace "each tour" with "any girl I was remotely attracted to" and you have a history of my musical life. Note: any Gavin Degraw or OAR song placements were anomalies over which I had no control. I'll take responsibility for John Mayer though.


Anyway, so I kind of came across the new Kanye West album (My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy), and listened to Monster, since I was pretty intrigued that Justin Vernon of Bon Iver is featured on it, as well as a handful of other songs on the album. I listened to it. I listened to it again. And again. Because I couldn't wait for the verse from Nicki Minaj, the one that's schizophrenic and back and forth and sweet and terrifying all at the same time. I feel like it would've been amazing to be in the studio when she was laying it down, because you can tell she's totally immersed in what she's doing. Her voice changing freaks me out a bit and I probably would've pulled myself into a fetal position on the control room sofa and peeked out between my fingers until she left the studio. But still, to hear that in someone's voice is always refreshing, because it's real and raw in a way that many artists are not. Also I just googled a picture of her and I'm pretty sure she could break my face just by looking at me.

That said, although I'm not the hugest hip-hop fan, I'm a fan of Kanye West in the same way I'm a fan of Tiger Woods. They're both the best at what they do (or at least very close), and despite their personal shortcomings, their work is undeniable in that it has 'wow' moments that occur time and time again. Their work ethic is borderline psychotic, and once they have a goal, they set out and achieve it. I don't not listen to Kanye West because his favorite knock-knock joke is the interrupting cow one, or stop rooting for Tiger Woods because his favorite pastime is ordering the grand slam on a Perkins waitress. I enjoy them as artists, which is what they are to us and what they should only be to us. I think a lot of time people love to bash them because most people will never dedicate themselves to something so much that they push their art as close as they can to perfection. People love to see the hero lose his cape. Tiger misplaced his in a moving box when he left the house, but he'll find it soon enough. Kanye has his tied securely around his neck and he's saving us from a lot of shit that's on the radio. That's good enough for me. I'll leave the morality judging for the afterlife.