Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that there is some strong language (four-letter words) on this CD. The lyrics also include a couple references to sexually predatory behavior and getting high.
Families can talk about the concept of something (or someone) being weird for its own sake. Have you ever done anything bizarre or unconventional just to be different? What reaction did you get? What are other ways to be heard and stand out?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Kathi Kamen Goldmark
OutKast's IDLEWILD bursts out of the starting gate with references to Laurence Olivier and Cab Calloway -- your first clues that this isn't going to be an ordinary hip-hop album. More a companion CD than a soundtrack album for the 2006 film Idlewild, this CD incorporates a wide variety of musical influences, including gospel, swing, blues, soul, ragtime, and acid rock.
As on previous efforts, André and Big Boi are strong on originality and musical risk-taking, weak on sequencing and consistency. There's often a "let's throw it all at the wall and see what sticks" feeling about their work, and Idlewild careens wildly from one extreme sound or theme to another. Sometimes it works, sometimes not.
An all-star roster of friends turns up to lend their talents, including Khujo Goodie, Killer Mike, Li'l Wayne, Macy Gray, Sleepy Brown, Snoop Dogg, Whild Peach, Scar, and Janelle Monae. But the best moments are the few songs on which the two publicly ambivalent partners (Andre and Big Boi) collaborate, including "N2U" and "Peaches." Other highlights are Andre's forays into 1930s-style ragtime, as on "When I Look in Your Eyes," a theatrical and whimsical delight.
You'll hear explicit lyrics here and there -- the usual unsavory four-letter words. And a lot of the musical experimentation doesn't really work at all. Sometimes you get the feeling that you're in the presence of a true artist's original vision; more often, it feels like a couple of bright, talented guys being as weird as they can -- because they can -- without exactly knowing why.
If you like Idlewild, you might want to check out Scott Joplin for some classic ragtime, or anything by Prince -- a musical eccentric with roots in another era.
Rate It!
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Sexual ContentSexual innuendo; some explicit language. |
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ViolenceSome violent imagery in the lyrics. |
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LanguageSome four-letter words that will be offensive to many parents. |
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Message |
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Social BehaviorAll over the map: sexually predatory on some tracks, family-man sweetness on others. |
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Commercialism |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoA couple of references to getting high. |
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