That is indeed pretty darn cool.

The cinematography is just unbelievably gorgeous in High-Rise. It always is in Wheatley's films though, even if it doesn't come in as polished and formal an aesthetic as High-Rise. Although A Field In England is also very formally elegant.

Rikes, a roast!
*drops 18-layer sandwich and follows*

As a teacher, I can confirm that it happens erryday.
I usually omit "under God" when I repeat it, but I have no idea what consequences that could hold so I keep it on the downlow.

See, albums that come out in December always end up in this limbo because end-of-year lists have already been written, holiday gift albums have already been bought.
I like the way Run The Jewels released it, what with Portlandia and all, but the album deserves to get critical recognition. Certainly it will, but it…

Depends on whether or not RTJ3 counts as last year or this year, IMO.

Nah, I gotcha. I'm in agreement that the production isn't my cup of tea. It doesn't feel like him to me. And I'd listen to these instrumentals on their own and love them. They just read a little strange with me, and I think I'd like a little more adventurousness with them to push the album further.

I agree that the production is the most of-its-time on any of his albums. It's very cloud rap/lean-drinking trap. I think that's a part of its thematic whole, though. In my opinion, he's commenting on the industry by saying "this is what success is. This is what rap sounds like. It doesn't change the world." and…

Yeah, this album is as socially relevant as his others. Maybe even moreso, because he's using his position at the top to highlight that it makes no difference to the system. "Wake the fuck up, people, money and success aren't the answer!"

Piaget, the father of child psychology and developmental studies, theorized that an entire 25% of people never reach the level of development that includes empathy and the ability to understand abstract concepts.
And thus, the world we live in, and an explanation for at least half of the people who vote Republican.

Fair enough, I agree that doubt, turmoil, and his legacy are all part of it as well. Depression emerged as the dominant theme for me because it's something I struggle with daily, but I do feel there's more than that to the album. Really, I think it's another societal statement, although a bit more personal than TPAB.…

I agree that "u" goes to deeper lows, but I think that the fact that this album meditates so long on the darkness makes it moreso about depression than his other work.
I mean, the album art shows his back bowed, rings around his eyes, and half the tracks are named after mortal sins on an album called "DAMN."

Well, tonally all the songs sound muted, slow-tempo, and the hooks are kind of monotone on purpose.
A lot of the lyrics focus around a lack of trust of other people, a disappointment with the lack of impact he's had on raising the level of discussion in hip hop, and he seems to question his value as a human as well.
I'd…

Yeah, they can put a cramp on listening to the songs individually, that's for sure.
For me, I wish he'd turned down the jazz just a bit, it gets draining about 1/3 of the way through the album. Luckily, after that point the beats show a lot more variety, but between Wesley's Theory, For Free?, Institutionalized, and…

Give it a little time. This one's conceptual as hell too.

Man, I reeeeeally wanted to like Blank Face, but I just couldn't.
I also get frustrated that ScHoolboy doesn't rap that much on his records. He rarely seems to do more than 2 verses a song, and those often depend more on some combination of singing or some strange voice. His albums seem both overly long and truncated…

Well GKMC is such a coherent narrative although it's hard to understand the non-linear progression at first. And it has a strong social commentary, but it's still "a short film by Kendrick Lamar". It succeeds, for me at least, in creating the visuals of a non-existent movie. It's really unique in that way.
At this…

If there's one thing to fault Kendrick on, it's his hooks. Aside from maybe "Blacker the Berry", "King Kunta", "Poetic Justice", and "M.A.A.D. City" they're the weakest parts of his songs. That's ok, though.
I'm baffled though, when people say that "Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe" and "Money Trees" have good hooks. Those are…

I love it because it's such a downer. Kendrick took a total cliche, what could have been a slick radio song for the ladies, a la Drake, and made it into a moody, complex piece that works as part of an album. And is still kinda romantic, all the same.

But all the clicks are gone by then!
Although it certainly would be an interesting review format for a site to give an immediate response and then another full review after the critic has had a more in-depth look.