Hey_
Originally Posted by Lbruce89
because he said "when n.e.r.d made good music"
i don't recall any time when they didn't make good music
Presently, certain tracks SS are just "meh".
I don't want to come across as elitist, but a majority of current fans didn't get acquainted with N.E.R.D until Seeing Sounds, which in my mind (no punintended) is an "ok" effort.
They were only recently accepted as dope/cool due to the change in the musical landscape by the masses/mainstream. (I won't even mention their littleattempt at mainstream reach with that Madden brothers cameo on Fly or Die.)
Indie/Electro artists were thrust into the spotlight, certain Hip-Hop artists started rappin'/freestylin' over industrial/eclectic beats, all of asudden everybody was reachin' for this "space age" sound.
With that shift, it seemed as if everything that was "different" or "forward" sounding was automaticallyaccepted as good.
"Different" doesn't always equate to good.
On top of that, Pharrell is infatuated with the fantasy of being a rapper, so much so that he is credited with 2/3 of the writing credits on Seeing Sounds. Thesongs in which he's sort of flowing don't entirely come off well, as far as I'm concerned.
They're at their best when they're doing their Neptunes guitar fused electro funk, not playing up to Pharrell's fantasies.
Go back through their discography.
ISO is damn near skip proof, FOD less so.
Then we hit SS and its enjoyable in spurts, but not in the same arena as its predecessors.
But hey, I may be just a grizzled o.g. N.E.R.D. fan.
Julius F. Wrek
