The Blend “All Things Considered”
Submitted by
Jon Behm
on January 9, 2009 – 1:00 pm4 Comments
Rock/Rap collaborations have never really been my thing. For every quality band like Heiruspecs or Crescent Moon is in Big Trouble, it seems that there is a Limp Bizkit or Kid Rock who is infinitely more popular and infinitely less talented. Tally one for the good guys though in the Twin Cities’ The Blend. The band led by MC Toussaint Morrison incorporates metal and jazz rock into their socially conscious and Minnesota-centric Hip Hop. It comes off best in “All Things Considered,” the opener to last year’s debut Losing the Game. The track combines Morrison’s streetwise poetry, some sizzling saxophone, and a funky funky bassline. It may be called “All Things Considered,” but National Public Radio it is not.
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Having given many a year of my life to the appreciation of nu-metal… I really don’t hear the difference between The Blend and the bands that went before it.
Incubus came out of the same scene as the other acts mentioned here, and they started out as a ridiculously over-the-top jazz-funk band. But they started out as something unique and moved into Nickelback status. From what I heard on the album, The Blend is starting out somewhere in between.
Just speaking to the music, not the lyrics here, but I still hear this and think 1998 – and I still think 311. None of that is a bad thing, but it’s a decade later… and all the same, I’d fault 311 if they sounded like they did in 1998. The Blend just doesn’t do it for me.
Different strokes my friend. I think that these guys are more hip hop oriented than 311 or Incubus ever was. I don’t really see the resemblance, but then again, I never liked either of those bands to listen to them much. C’mon, though, this is Shakespeare compared to 311. Those guys were pretty much retarded
Hold the line Jon – you’re not listening to the music. You can’t take “Fuck The Bullshit” at face-value, my friend.
i kind of agree with Chris somewhat regarding The Blend, sorry Jon
and the first 2-3 Incubus and 311 albums are actually pretty good, but everything since sucked.