Last week, we premiered Scenecast, a new podcast from the Observer Scene staff. Each week, a think tank of Scene writers will discuss a topic from the pop culture zeitgeist. Our writers watch, read and listen to more media than is probably healthy, and this podcast will be another vehicle for sharing that knowledge, often in more depth than is possible in print. In just under 30 minutes, you can have a grasp on what our staff is thinking about each week and why it is important to the cultural conversation.
This week, the Scenecast takes on Kanye West's “808s & Heartbreak,” in light of his recent shows at the Hollywood Bowl where he performed the album in whole. The Scene staff considers whether the album, which received more critical reviews than any other Kanye album to date at the time of its release, has influenced the sound of rap music today. I unsuccessfully try to convince the other writers that this is one of Kanye's best albums and everyone else accuses me of being a contrarian. Matt McMahon asks whether anyone can remember a time before Kanye was married to Kim Kardashian and expresses his contempt for “808s.” Erin McAuliffe phones in from London to tell a story about writing a rap “Heartless” for an 8th grade history project, while Miko Malabute endorses Young Thug even though he can never understand what he’s rapping. Finally, everyone discusses their ranking of their favorite Kanye albums.
Listen to Episode 2 below and subscribe on iTunes here. You can also listen live every Thursday at 6 p.m. on WVFI.
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