Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Erykah Badu are both working at
the top of their respective games right now, and the fact that they’re
doing so this far into their careers is one of the most heartening
things in pop music. It isn’t simply that things have gotten so
bad—moneywise, bizwise, artwise, you name it—that pop
diehards are looking for any port in the storm. It’s that both women
have always made themselves known as visionaries, and their visions
have only grown sharper, clearer, and more expansive with time. That’s
rare in any artistic field, never mind one as fickle as pop music.
I was skeptical about the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ new It’s Blitz! (Interscope) at first—like Badu’s latest album, Blitz! is
a grower and clearly meant as a growth marker—but two things
occurred to turn me around. First, they appeared on Saturday Night
Live—playing “Maps” second, alas (you’re promoting a new
album on national television and your second and final song is six
years old? Not shrewd), but playing “Zero” first and forever searing
the song into my brain. Second, after playing It’s Blitz! a
handful of times and missing something, I finally had the sense to
crank the volume. It helped—a lot. This record is very
subtly produced—the string arrangement on “Runaway,” for
instance, is central to the song, but it’s also nearly invisible at low
volume.
All that detail just enhances strong writing and, especially in
Karen O’s case, performances. The stagy but real ache in “Zero” gives
it an extra kick: It sounds like an emotional autobiography in the form
of a welcome mat to every teen misfit who flees to the city in search
of leather and other weirdos, in that order. “Heads Will Roll” sets a
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? scenario to dance-rock that’s
been French-kissed by rave (the opening organ loop is straight out of a
1992 breakbeat-hardcore anthem). “Dull Life” is good old-fashioned
rock-star/fantasy-hero
allegory (“We sing the nightmare of your
lives”) that Stevie Nicks would take her velvet hat off to. “Hysteric”
is an awesomely serene ballad—like “Maps” without bumps.
And as with the SNL appearance, none of it seems the least
bit forced. Karen O has always been a strong, expressive singer,
rhythmically loose and an excellent shrieker. She’s always been very
charismatic. Now, though, none of it seems like she’s even
trying—it’s a kind of confidence that comes with experience and
age, and it’s twice as magnetic.
With Karen O, you see the honing of a style over time. With Erykah
Badu, you see a style becoming ever more omnivorous. New Amerykah:
Part One (4th World War), which Universal Motown issued in February
2008, was supposed to have been followed forthwith by two sequels,
neither of which has even leaked—not that Part One needs
any help making everything else right now seem puny by comparison. Its
music is a kaleidoscopic refraction of R&B since the ’70s:
burbling, aquatic hiphop beats topped with sci-fi harmonizing (“My
People”), head-knocking funk (“Soldier”), rippling synth-soul
(“Honey”), and on the bracing “The Cell,” a rhythm track, complete with
silver-matte keyboards, straight out of prime Stevie Wonder. You’d
expect those things from Badu, but there’s a cyborgian touch on a lot
of New Amerykah that gives it an urgent cast, as it does to her
lyrics about the everyday struggles of, in no particular order,
humanity, blacks, women, and Erykah Badu.
New Amerykah‘s social-commentary stuff is startlingly apt, as
with the pinpoint lyrics of “The Cell” and “Soldier” and “Master
Teacher” (the latter featuring fellow R&B eccentric Georgia Anne
Muldrow). But when Badu gets personal on “Me”—”This year I turn
36/Damn, it seems it came so quick/My ass and legs have gotten
thick/It’s all me”—it’s relatable, not the usual tired superstar
complaining. And “The Healer”—one of Madlib’s greatest production
jobs, bracing and soothing at the same time—is an extraordinary
one-act play with Badu taking all the parts. (Seriously: Look at the
lyric sheet with the CD.) “Hiphop,” say “the Children,” with “the
Healer” responding, “It’s bigger than the government.”
That’s an extraordinary claim to make about anything. Yet Badu
imbues it with truth simply by being so ambitious. As with Karen O, I
hope this won’t be her peak. But even if it is, it’s nothing to be
sorry for. And I can’t wait to see what they do with it all at the
Gorge. 
Really? You’re lauding Karen O? I tried to like the Yeah’s x3, but there are several things blocking my psyche from their supposed pop bliss. First, the voice. Shrill, and downright off key in concert. Second, the image. Did you get a load of the see-through glove fiasco on SNL? My friends and I concluded that Karen must have either lost a bet, or was double dog dared to wear those things. Her stylist should be shot, and her hairdresser must just be fucking with her. That bowl cut looks like an act of vengeance to me. Third reason? The musical content is completely lacking, which is why Karens style is so important. Let’s distract the audience with hipster-weirdo clothes, that way they won’t catch on to the hum-drum calibre of the music.
it’s a blitz — contrary to what the album’s title might suggest — is a sleeper. the more i listen to it the more i like it. it still might have a couple too many too slow songs… but maybe even those new-age-irish sounding tracks will eventually grow on me.
Dukeofpop…ugh, you don’t know what you are talking about! Karen O sounds right on key, just as she does on the albums. Anyone who was at Sasquatch and saw the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s can tell you that! Second, who cares about her hair or what she is wearing? Personally I think it is pretty fucking rad! Third, the musical content is completely NOT lacking, in fact Karen O’s voice and the band sound unique and catchy. You could say the lyrical content is lacking as most all the songs are simple and short, but who the fuck cares when you sound so great and dynamic?!
The YYY album sound horrible – so compressed and lacking dynamics. Wonder wthat kind of hifi set up you have?
“Zero” on the CD is horribly compressed. Makes Karen’s vocals sound like worn-out vinyl where all the sibilants remind me of sandpaper.
I’ll have to check out the vinyl to see if it sounds better there.
I disagree that this album has too many slow songs. Karen O does not do enough straightforward singing, imho. I dig the shrieking and all, but she actually does sing beautifully.