The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
19,000 people fit into the new Barclays Center to see Jay-Z perform. This blog was viewed about 66,000 times in 2012. If it were a concert at the Barclays Center, it would take about 3 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
OK, OK, so Whip-Smart isn’t as world-changing as Exile in Guyville. It’s still a really badass album and just a lot of fun. The straightforward BJ queen is still here, but I love the new girl who just gets funky and takes chances vocally because she’s gotten better at it. I didn’t own this album until I got into Exile in Guyville a couple of years ago. I’d heard many of the songs though, since it was such a big deal when it came out.
I’m embarrassed to note that I didn’t know the “Double Dutch” breakdown in Whip-Smart was a cover of Malcolm McLaren until everyone was revisiting his music in the wake of his death in 2010.
The idea behind Whiplash is very obviously that society needs less TV and more Jesus (an idea expressed by the album cover as well as the lyrics). It’s pretty much a hybrid of Wah-Wah and Laid musically. Lots of mellow meditative experiments, but also catchy songs like She’s a Star and Tomorrow.
Pondering the title, I wonder – does it mean whiplash like the car-accident injury? Does it mean actually being on the receiving end of a whip? Does it mean we as a society enjoy being sadists? Or masochists? Or both?
Emily's Albums A to Z 