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Posted in hiphop | music on May 13, 2008
Erykah Badu (and the Roots) played Radio City Music Hall
Erykah Badu performing at Radio City Music Hall in New York. Her eccentric universe encompasses idealism and bawdiness, R&B and hip-hop, funk and jazz. (Erin Baiano for The New York Times)"She can sing in flinty syncopated interjections, in sassy turns and in cooing long lines, and her voice alludes to Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington as well as to Diana Ross. Most of her songs are undulating two-chord vamps that give her room to free-associate between choruses...." [Jon Parales, NY Times]
And Sasha Frere-Jones liked it even more....
Erykah Badu played Radio City Music Hall on Friday night. I am glad I (sort of) reined in my enthusiasm for Robyn's recent live show. Hyperbole comes back to haunt you. How to get hyperbolic without being the Boy Who Cried Show? Not sure. Instead of saying that Badu's performance will not be bettered any time soon (though it won't), I'll say that her show gave everyone in the house serious bragging rights. Dylan in 1965, Metallica in 1985, Bad Brains in 1981--it was one of those points on the arc. If you want to know who is at her peak, who is both of her moment and channelling so many forces that her work spills out over the edges of history and stops time, that's Erykah Badu in 2008. [SFJ - The New Yorker]
Posted on May 13, 2008 1:39 PM
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Comments (17)
I heard Stephin Merritt loved the show. Oh how i do love Sasha's reviews, but I wonder if he would have a job if he really had to pull back on the hyperbole. And really, Metallica in '85?
Posted by Anonymous | May 13, 2008 1:56 PM
Better than the Titanic in 1912.
Posted by Loyd Ramberhose | May 13, 2008 2:06 PM
better than the pilgrims landing at cape cod in 1620.
Posted by Anonymous | May 13, 2008 2:08 PM
random
Posted by Anonymous | May 13, 2008 2:11 PM
sasha frere-jones is an idiot
Posted by Anonymous | May 13, 2008 2:14 PM
Anon 1:56, Sasha is not a good writer. He is a total schmuck and this little blurb is just more proof of it. The hyperbole in his writing is an amateur attempt to cover up a lack of intelligence. Yeah im sure years from now people will consider seeing Erykah Badu in 2008 as something to brag about. Cmon now. Her new record got panned by most people and the show was just a show. Good but nothing out of this world. This guy is just a fucking fool.
Posted by Anonymous | May 13, 2008 2:14 PM
is that nipple slip Badu?
Posted by Anonymous | May 13, 2008 2:36 PM
Dylan in '65, Bad Brains in '81 and Metallica in '85?! Fuck this hack. And fuck Badu for supporting Farrakhan.
Posted by Anonymous | May 13, 2008 2:40 PM
^is that nipple slip Badu?
seriously? dude, her nipple would be almost in her armpit. get a fucking clue and grow up.
Posted by Anonymous | May 13, 2008 2:46 PM
if you want to know who stands outside of history, channeling forces of time, crossing boundaries of genre and consciousness like Captain Ahab pursuing the whale, it is Neil Diamond at the Bitter End.
Posted by Anonymous | May 13, 2008 2:49 PM
third nipple slippage
Posted by Anonymous | May 13, 2008 3:11 PM
she's got that in common with lily allen
Posted by Anonymous | May 13, 2008 3:43 PM
Sasha probably thinks the arcade fire hate erykah badu.
Posted by Anonymous | May 13, 2008 5:03 PM
"Her new record got panned by most people"
Untrue. At Metacritic, it's in the Top 10 recent releases.
Also, it's a really good record.
Posted by J | May 13, 2008 6:03 PM
And I suppose you nerds don't like Dylan, Bad Brains or Metallica. You're so cool! Where do you buy your cool hats and shoes. Oh, yeah, online. So hep!
Posted by Noisejoke | May 13, 2008 9:26 PM
nipple slip? what are you freaks talking about.. hit the zoom.what kind of lopsided breasts do you think she has? either way.. the hyperbole was lacking but well-intended.. Erykah is one of a kind.. an original yet still a contender with the greats as most innovative/honest with her creation/individuality..I'm sure ( and jealous that I was not there) that her performance was remarkable.
[Remember...the man that knows something, knows that he knows nothing at all ]
Posted by MiaAlien | June 16, 2008 12:40 PM
I saw Slayer in 1986, ha!
Posted by Anonymous | June 16, 2008 12:54 PM