CD Review: The Ecstatic by Mos Def

In recent years, Mos Def has become more well-known for his acting than his music. His latest album suggests that it should be the other way around. With a unique sound all its own, The Ecstatic is one of the more intriguing hip-hop albums released so far this year. While its quirks take some getting used to, this album is certainly worth your time.

The feel of this album is quite different from a lot of hip-hop efforts. Most of the tracks on the album (nine out of sixteen) are less than three minutes long. Three of those tracks are less than two minutes long.

However, don't let the length of the tracks fool you. None of them are pointless interludes or skits. Every track actually feels like a song. “Priority,” with its deceptively simple beat courtesy of producer Preservation, is both a highlight of the album and its shortest track.

Working with a variety of producers, Mos Def has created some interesting sounds for The Ecstatic. One thing that stands out is the use of Eastern music samples. “Supermagic,” gets the album off to a rousing start with passionate sampled vocals and some funky guitar. The stellar “Auditorium” glides over some beautiful strings with a Bollywood feel. The Madlib-produced track is aided by the appearance of hip-hop legend Slick Rick.

“The Embassy” starts off as a skit taking place on an airplane and becomes something else entirely. A smooth beat is interchanged with a jangling, Eastern music sample. Other tracks on the album sound closer to what many would expect of Mos Def. He reunites with Black Star colleague Talib Kweli on “History,”and teams with Georgia Anne Muldrow on the R & B-tinged “Roses.” The album's closer, “Casa Bey,” has him riding a jazzy track.

The Ecstatic is a solid album from start to finish. The production is top-notch and its sound makes it stand out from a lot of other hip-hop albums. Mos Def thankfully spends more time rapping than singing as well. The only thing about this album is that it can take some time to get into. Traditional song structures are thrown to the wind on some of the tracks here and that can be jarring.

However, this is an album that gets better with each listen as you begin to appreciate what Mos Def is doing. If you are a Mos Def fan or someone looking for hip-hop that's a bit more artistic, you should check out this album.

The New TV

A little while back, I blogged about my experience with TV's and how my sister's TV made me want to get a new one for the first time.  Well, I took the plunge and bought my first-ever brand-new TV.  Of course, I didn't decide to get a new TV just on a whim.  I had an "excuse."

The TV in our basement, where my sister and I have set up our Wii, essentially went haywire.  It suddenly would cut itself on and off and go to full volume (without letting you turn it down).  The interesting thing about this is that this TV was one of the newest in the house.  It was barely three years old and until my sister got her TV, it was the only TV in the house with a digital tuner. 

I guess it was a case of "you get what you pay for" as not only did the TV come from Wal-Mart but it was also less than $150.  Still, considering that it wasn't used all that much compared to the other TV's in the house, it didn't last as long as I thought it would.

Anyway, with that TV out of commission, it meant that there was no TV to use for the Wii.  The basement is the only logical place to put the Wii because it's the largest area in our house and the only one where multiple people could play without hitting something.  This made me decide to buy a new TV so I could take my previous TV (which still works) downstairs for us to play Wii on. 

I narrowed down my choices to two TV's.  One was exactly like my sister's and the other was larger, and slightly more expensive.  I decided to splurge on the larger one.  It's a 26" Insignia HDTV and I've been enjoying it quite a bit in the few days I've had it.  I have an HD DVR (just like my sister) and I've been watching random stuff I normally wouldn't watch just to see it in HD. 

Insignia is one of Best Buy's private brands and although my previous experiences with Best Buy store brands have been hit-or-miss (computer mouse--good, portable CD player--bad), I'm kind of glad I got this TV.  For one thing, it came with a component video cord and a VGA cord.  It also came with a remote control holder. 

One side note:  How come animation looks so much better in HD than live action?  Many of the Disney Channel's animated shows are done in HD and they look spectacular.  Even a show like The Replacements just pops.

Lately, I had been spending more time at the computer than watching TV in my room.  Now with my new TV, the reverse is true.