What do you expect out of artists? Do you prefer artists who provide you with the same thing over and over again? A nice warm blanket that you can wrap yourself up in each time they create something new? Obviously, this approach has led to plenty of great art. One look at the catalogs of great musicians such as Morrissey, Belle & Sebastian, and Oasis prove that, yes, there is plenty of value is “giving the people what they want.” I’m a fan of all of these acts and I still look forward to each of their releases. Of course, this is the same reason no one has bought a new Rolling Stones album since 1978. You know exactly what you’re getting (in this case a few good blues licks, some pouty Mick Jagger bullshit, 7-9 tracks of filler, and Charlie Watts), and that’s the very reason you avoid these releases.
Or, do you expect artists to challenge themselves and, by extension, you? Plenty of great art has been born of this approach as well. The best example of this that I can think of is The Beatles. If The Beatles had wanted to crank out remake after remake of Help! they certainly would have still made a dump truck full of money. They’d probably be spoken of in the same breathe as Herman’s Hermits and The Rascals, but they would have done fine for themselves. As we all know, they didn’t rest on their laurels, instead choosing to continue to push the envelope, giving us classics like The Beatles & Revolver. Of course, they also gave us The Magical Mystery Tour & Yellow Submarine. With the benefit of history, however, we’re able to place those albums in the “Misguided Idea” piles. And don’t forget, “Hey Bulldog” indirectly led to The Beatles
Or, do you expect artists to challenge themselves and, by extension, you? Plenty of great art has been born of this approach as well. The best example of this that I can think of is The Beatles. If The Beatles had wanted to crank out remake after remake of Help! they certainly would have still made a dump truck full of money. They’d probably be spoken of in the same breathe as Herman’s Hermits and The Rascals, but they would have done fine for themselves. As we all know, they didn’t rest on their laurels, instead choosing to continue to push the envelope, giving us classics like The Beatles & Revolver. Of course, they also gave us The Magical Mystery Tour & Yellow Submarine. With the benefit of history, however, we’re able to place those albums in the “Misguided Idea” piles. And don’t forget, “Hey Bulldog” indirectly led to The Beatles
The other question I have for you is, what do you expect of artists side projects? Obviously, expectations should be curbed whenever an artists leaves their comfort zone, but what do you, as the recipient of that art, expect for your money? Should we expect it to be a place for an artist to let their hair down, i.e. the first incarnation of The Breeders? Or should we expect it to be a place for an artist to test their own boundaries, something like Stuart Murdoch’s recent God Help The Girl project?
For those who don’t know, Felt is the project of MC’s Murs and Slug. On their first collaborative album, Felt: A Tribute To Christina Ricci, they were backed by Living Legends producer The Grouch. While that album was no great conquest, it was the textbook definition of a “side project.” Two talented MC’s clearly enjoying each other’s company and “letting their hair down” for a bunch of none too serious jams.
The second album, Felt 2: A Tribute To Lisa Bonet, found Slug and Murs in a different class of indie rappers. Both had put out now-classic albums (Atmosphere’s God Loves Ugly & Murs’ Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition) and pulled themselves up to the upper echelon of the indie hip-hop community. To that end, it’s clear that they brought their A game. Backed by Atmosphere’s Ant on the beats, both MC’s sound completely comfortable spitting about their usual subject matter (girls, the road, themselves, um… girls). Plus, Ant sounds positively ready to rock a house party after the Epitaph-backed, punk-rap Seven’s Travels album. All of these factors added up to Felt 2 being fucking classic. Two MC’s and a producer at the tops of their games having a ball. Tracks like “Dirty Girl,” “Early Mornin’ Tony,” “Woman Tonight,” and, “Gangster Ass Anthony” are bona fide essentials on Slug and Murs mixtapes.
So where does this leave us for Felt 3? Well, to figure that out I think it’s important to analyze just where each of the major players is at.
Both Slug and Murs are at the point in their career where they can push the boundaries of what they do and fall back into the old formula, pleasing old fans. And that’s just what each of them are doing.
After an album on which they sounded like they were running out of things to talk about (2005’s You Can’t Imagine How Much Fun We’re Having) Atmosphere’s most recent release, When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold, found Slug finally getting out his comfort zone of self-deprecation and womanizing, using the album to tell the stories of people struggling to balance bad jobs, addictions, kids, frayed relationships, and life in the post-Stock Market crash America (despite the fact that the album came out before the crash. Maybe Slug knew something). On the flipside, though, Atmosphere has continued to release it’s long-running Sad Clown EP series (not to mention give away the Leak At Will EP and Strictly Leakage LP), on which Slug continues to be Slug, cracking jokes about women and himself while treading slowly into the story-based waters of Lemons.
Murs has taken an eerily similar path. He put out an album that was basically 3:16 The 9th Edition Pt. 2 (2006’s Murray’s Revenge) before eventually signing with a major label for 2008’s Murs For President. While that albums contrast with previous albums wasn’t nearly as dramatic as Atmosphere’s trajectory, it did find Murs working with an array of producers rather than just 9th Wonder. Of course, because his popularity allowed him to, he did sign on with 9th Wonder to create and give away the Sweet Lord LP. Both MC’s were clearly torn between pushing their art forward or pleasing their hard won fans.
This brings us to the crucial third player on this album. On the previous albums, Murs and Slug were working with producers with which at least one of them was familiar (and in the cannibalistic world of hip-hop, both were probably familiar). To that end, we welcome Aesop Rock to the fold. This should have made it clear to anyone that this album was not going to be the good-time party-ride that the first two albums were. Since both MC’s have collaborated with Aesop on tracks (Murs on “Happy Pillz” and Slug on “I’ll Be OK”), they obviously knew what they were getting into. Aesop Rock’s been making his own beats for years and they can be much too dense and obtuse for people who’s brains don’t fire the same way his does (and, face it, nobody’s brain fires the way his does). Clearly, by enlisting Aes Rock, the boys were taking on a new challenge.
So with that as our background, it should be clear what we’re getting into with Felt 3: A Tribute To Rosie Perez. By enlisting Aesop Rock, and taking a look at what Slug and Murs have been up to since Felt 2, we should have all been prepared for this version of the Felt side project to be a way for them to push themselves and test out new ideas, rather than just another victory lap.
“I want you to work your way out upon that limb as far as you can, if you see anything strange, let me know…” This is how “Protagonists,” the first track off Felt 3 greets us and it should serve as a 24 word condensation of the point I just spent 1200 words making. It’s time for our baby birds to work their way out and see if they can fly. And in my opinion, they succeed admirably. Aesop’s beats as always, are complicated, surprising, and thoroughly enjoyable. Nowhere near as dense as Bazooka Tooth, more in tune with Aesop’s last album, None Shall Pass. Tracks like “Bass For Your Truck,” “Like You,” and “She Sonnet” are as close to “bangers” as we’re likely to ever get from Aesop Rock. Believe me, this shit sounds great in your car.The one thing that Felt 3 has in common with the previous releases is that it features a producer letting his hair down. Of course, when Aesop Rock loosen the reins it means something completely different than when your average producer does it. Clearly having fun, Aes fills the beats with compelling little twists and turns. “Ghost Dance Deluxe” has a horn line that sounds like it came straight from The Specials classic “Ghost Town.” While the wah-wah guitar and sped-up samples that hover below the drums in “Felt Good” and the Bomb Squad-style “We Have You Surrounded” are both great examples of the attention to detail he puts into his beats. And this is to say nothing of the little instrumental breaks (most notably “Kevin Spacey,“ and “Get Cake”) that break up the album, all of which re 50-100 seconds of bouncy beats, a welcome reprieve to those tired hip-hop skits. This is what happens when a producer lets his hair down.
Which brings us back to Slug and Murs. If they were out to be tested, tested they were, and the results are mostly high marks. While they lack the playful vibe that permeated the first two albums (oddly, leaving that to those aforementioned Aesop instrumental breaks), they do sound like they are enjoying the kind of satisfaction that comes with pushing your own limits. “Protagonists, ““Felt Chewed Up,” and “She Sonnet” all find our boys sticking close to their usual lyrical themes of bragging up their own skills, but branching out into flows we’ve never heard before. “G.I. Josephine” provides a peculiar portrait of a single mom hitting up the town (“She got her hair done, and her go-getter breasts on…“). “Permanent Standby” is a cautionary tale of drugs and debauchery in the big city (and contains my favorite Slug line on the album. Referring to Minneapolis, “Fuck this weather, it’s not fucking funny…”). The even a quick touch of social commentary on “Deathmurdermayhem.” The best melding of all three styles comes on the aforementioned “Ghost Dance Deluxe” which finds Slug and Murs talking about women (nothing unusual there), but, perhaps due to the beat or maybe from just spending too much time with Aesop, they are talking about how they need a ghost instead of a living girl. Murs claims he should, “forget material girls, I need a paranormal chick from an ethereal world.“ I don’t know what that means, but I hope he finds her. Hell, she might get that wedding ring.
If there is one drawback to the album, it’s that both MC’s sound too damn serious all the time. As if focusing on catching these beats has taken all of their concentration. The only thing even remotely close to the lighness of previous albums is “Henrietta Longbottom,” on which Slug and Murs paint bizarre pictures of one of the local weirdos. But even on that one Aesop gets the last laugh.
While this album is certainly going to help me get through yet another relentless Minnesota winter, what is really did was make me hungry for a new Aesop Rock album. After a whole album of Slug and Murs, when Aesop finally turns up to deliver the hook on the albums second to last track, “Give It Up,” it serves as a reminder that, while Slug and Murs are immensely talented MC’s, no one can ride an Aesop beat quite like the man himself.
