Anti-Pop Consortium - 'Tragic Epilogue' (75 Ark)

These guys should have been so awesome. The music media proclaimed that "hip-hop" and "experimental" had finally found their place together, 'cept whenever I listen to this (or, come to think of it, anything else ever described as such) there's too much of the former and not enough of the latter. What makes this so "experimental"? That these guys are kinda nerdy, like weird words, and employ more stoner/lo-fi production methods than radio-friendly rap? I guess I must accept the reality: I just don't like hip-hop; if I want experimental + language I'll go to Robert Ashley or Henri Chopin. The instrumentals are probably my favorite part, which, I know, says more about me than about the music itself. Maybe I'm being too hard on them, but I don't think time has been too kind to this; there's a few 'interesting' elements, but interesting in a Logan's Run kind of way. Maybe they're talking about slingshotting into the sun and walls turning inside out, but it still has that rap diction. That masculine affect is a turn-off; it makes me think that the real radicals are the white kids doing sound poetry in the basements of Columbus, OH and other such dens of weirdness. Saying 'Control-alt-delete' in a rap song was probably a little more edgy in 2000 but now you might as well rap "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC." The Wire used to jizz over these guys if I remember correctly - well, mission accomplished cause they opened up for Radiohead on tour and thus ensured their audience would be eternally white kids who went to college round the turn of the millenium (well .... I must admit, my hand is raised there). Not that there's anything wrong with that - far be it from DUSAET to suggest that hip-hop must have some radical communicative purpose; we're even less keen to engage in stupid debates about 'authenticity' or 'keeping it real' or whatever. And I hope I don't sound too hung up on the white audience thing - there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. My point is that out of the 1,100 or so records that will ultimately get their time here, I feel like I can connect to just about every one of them. This is one where I cannot; and like all 'reviews', this says more about me than the music.