Music Notes: Black Eyed Peas, Monkey Business

September 26th, 2006

Tanja received a box of promo CDs from a record label, so I think it will be fun for me to post my aging, Gen X thoughts about this “new music.”

The closest reference I can offer up for the Black Eyed Peas is the Fugees on speed. I’m reminded of some slapstick cartoon — the musical ideas, hooks, and lyrics come fast and furious. There are layers upon layers of inventive, interesting things to listen to.

This isn’t my type of music so some of the samples are a bit too close for comfort namely, the Pulp Fiction guitar (Dick Dales Miserloue) in Pump It and the song Union, which is so derivative of Sting’s Englishman in New York it should be called a cover.

For me, my interest is mostly held Fergie’s female vocals. The song Don’t Funk With My Heart is a nice example of how her droopy melodies and soulful, classy vibrato provides a perfect contrast to the rapping. Another nice song that benefits infinitely by her contributions is the reggae-esque Don’t Lie.

Not to give the Fergie too much credit however, because the song My Humps is the absolute worst piece of crap I have subjected my ears to in the name of this blog. But it points out my biggest gripe with the Black Eyed Peas. For all their musical talent and creativity, a fair number of the songs are basically about discos, pumping, jumping, humping, and “mixing the milk with the cocoa puffs”… screw that (no pun intended).

So I’m partial to tunes that deviate from this theme, like Gone Going, about fast fame, which features acoustic guitar and a steady, sparse beat slightly reminding me of Texas (one of my favorite bands). Or the truly refreshing and unusual Bebot which features a Philipino rapper. They Don’t Want Music recalls James Brown. There are some inspiring and eclectic tracks on here if you’re willing to dig through the monkey business.

iTunes Store Link: Monkey Business — The Black Eyed Peas