April 25, 2002

 
Let's talk about some recent Neptunes tracks, okay?

Last night I heard "Grindin'" by Clipse for the first time - I'm pretty amazed, it is one of the most naked, spare, minimalist songs I've ever seen on MTV. It's all repetitive electronic percussion, no bass, there's no keyboards, no nothing. On what passes for a chorus, Pharell from the Neptunes softly sings the word "grind-ing" while a percussive keyboard sound makes a brief little cameo. It's so simple, so tense, so effective. It sounds primal. The MC isn't special, I sort of wish this track was for someone a bit more charismatic - I get the feeling that this song would sound great with Mystikal or Ludacris.

The Neptunes-produced "Grimey" by N.O.R.E. (aka Noreaga) has a very similar beat (but hey, don't all Neptunes tracks have more or less a variation on the same beat?), but with a really cool early 80s kind of keyboard hook, and a nervously pulsating bassline. Noreaga is a competant and passable MC, so he's barely a factor in the quality of the song - the chorus is pretty good, once it comes in along with that keyboard hook, it really clicks. A good track, but not quite a classic.

The Neptunes remix of "Emotions" by Destiny's Child is a really interesting one - what was originally a soft-pop acoustic ballad is now re-outfitted with a chugging keyboard riff, tambourines, a lightly thudding snare, and a politely funky bassline. It's very satisfying, especially because Beyonce et al recorded a brand new vocal track for the mix, so it's really smooth. I'm surprised that this wasn't the regular single mix, really. Very strong.

Their remix of Angie Stone's "Everyday" is nice enough, and certainly improves upon the original version; but is more or less The Neptunes on autopilot. Standard Neptunes beat, standard Neptunes keyboard and bass, you've heard it all before. It's the sort of self-parody that they could do for the rest of their careers, but thankfully they are avoiding that lately.

The Neptunes contribution to the "What's Going On?" all-star benefit cd is pretty fair - some preachy MCing by LL Cool J, Fabolous, Da Brat, Mobb Deep, Noreaga, and Queen Latifah over some benign light-soul keyboards, an easy-going beat, and some crooning by Pharrell Williams. I like it, but it's nothing really special. It's certainly good for what it is meant to be...

On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Neptunes mix of Mr. Cheeks' "Lights, Camera, Action" is really inspired and fun. It's similar in feel to their mix of Britney Spears' "I'm A Slave 4 U", but with a nice catchy pop hip hop song, with that chorus quoting Outkast's "Ms Jackson"... It's a bit of a novelty song, I think, but it's worthwhile and memorable.

Also fitting that description is their remix of N'Sync's "Girlfriend" with Nelly on guest vocals. This one is really great - smooth, slick, fun modern pop. This song is really all about Nelly being Nelly, Justin Timberlake doing his best Michael Jackson impression, and the rest of N'Sync crooning innocuously in the background. The acoustic guitar is a nice touch, too... I'm pretty sure that in 20 years, there will be folks working very hard to make a retro record that sounds a lot like this.

Finally, I bit the bullet and decided to check out the re-recorded-with-a-live-band versions of my favorite songs from The Neptunes' N.E.R.D. LP, and I'm glad that I did. I never expected that live version of "Brain" could ever improve upon the electropop original, but hey, I've got to admit that it feels a lot more energetic and fluid without losing the basic sound of the main riff or sacrificing any of the original's nervous twitchiness. In fact, the live band version sounds a lot more twitchy and manic. Similarly, the live version of "Things Are Getting Better" has some really well-done/well recorded percussion that automatically one-ups the original. Not bad - I guess it's best to not be so quick to judge what seemed like a really insane decision to re-record the LP; they seem to know exactly what's the best for them.