Nothing Wrong When a Song Ends In a Minor Key or An Apt Sentiment for My Last Three "Official" Relationships

Thirteen years after her second studio album (with the second longest title in history to date), When the Pawn Hits the Conflicts He Thinks Like a King What He Knows Throws the Blows When He Goes to the Fight and He'll Win the Whole Thing 'Fore He Enters the Ring There's No Body to Batter When Your Mind Is Your Might So When You Go Solo, You Hold Your Own Hand and Remember That Depth Is the Greatest of Heights and If You Know Where You Stand, Then You Know Where to Land and If You Fall It Won't Matter, Cuz You'll Know That You're Right, and seven years after her third, Extraordinary Machine, Apple returns with The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do, a brilliant work of moody, yet vibrant songs all in the same go, something that could apply to most of her music, but the latest entry is comprised more of minimal instrumentation and vocals born of pain and acceptance (of self and / or the situation) crooned, moaned, or launched deep from within the gut.

So, while not a departure from clever minor-key tonality reflections on the precarious line between the desires to be loved and left alone, The Idler Wheel... is a very welcome addition to Apple's discography.

Dead Indians—Indian Affairs

Album Review by Ishmael A. Elias (originally published on reznetnews.org, 2007)

Albums with vulgar lyrics generally have an explicit content label on the CD case. Dead Indians, a hip-hop group from Winnipeg, Manitoba, chose instead to put the warning at the beginning of its latest release, “Indian Affairs.”

“This program contains scenes with nudity, sexuality, nudity, violence and coarse language,” a female announcer says. “Viewer discretion is advised.”

Immediately afterward, “Jonesin (Your Beer is My Beer)” rolls in with a slightly sped-up sample from Billy Paul’s 1972 hit, “Me and Mrs. Jones.” Near the end of the sample, rapid-fire vocals and an up-tempo beat, replete with high hats and cracking rim shots, combine for a head-nod-inducing sound.

The rest of the album follows a similar formula: obscene, but witty wordplay over catchy soul/pop sample and banging beat. The best examples of this recipe can be found on “West End Girls,” which takes a piece of the Pet Shop Boys’ hit song and “The Apprentice,” which uses a spliced sample from the Donald Trump reality TV show of the same name.

The lyrical content of the album ranges from lewd to socially aware. Lewd because of the constant mention of booze and broads—aware because through all of the wise cracks and hedonism, group members reveal concern for Native hardships in a system that doesn’t always work.

“See, we’re dealing and thieving ‘cause the stakes are not even/ So, we’re out here making money like there’s nothing to believe in,” a Dead Indians crew member raps over an interpolation of Randy Crawford’s “Street Life.” He continues a few lines later with: “Thinking how they gonna’ save the language and the elders’ knowledge/ when there’s more fluent speakers in jail than there is in college/ but who am I to say? I don’t live the teachings of the old ones/ I’m just out here for a good time with a couple of the cold ones.”

And that’s part of the charm of Dead Indians. They are similar to Drunken Fist Kung-Fu practitioners in that while they appear to be in a constant alcoholic stupor, high levels of control and self awareness are maintained.

For hip-hop fans who can stomach the raw lyrical content, “Indian Affairs” delivers the goods. Sensitive listeners might want to wait for an all-ages show to hit their area.

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Ishmael A. Elias is a writer and teacher based in Oakland, Calif. He is completing his debut novel, the first chapter of which is due to appear in the upcoming "Cherokee Writers from the Flint Hills of Oklahoma: An Anthology" by the Cherokee Arts & Humanities Council.

Los Nativos—Red Star Fist

Album Review by Ishmael A. Elias (originally published on reznetnews.org, 2007)

Overall, hip hop albums these days have no focus. Sure, there may be an outward appearance of a theme, but the result is usually a collection of unrelated songs. Minnesota-based Los Nativos buck that trend with their sophomore effort “Red Star Fist.”

Unlike artists who keep thoughts about the government to themselves at the risk of having their albums crushed under a bulldozer and their name dragged through the mud, group members Xilam Balam and Felipe Cuauhtli speak boldly about corruption in the Americas – past and present.

“Black Flag Red Star” starts the EP off fully focused with the spirited line, “Zapata Vive! La lucha sigue!”

For those that don’t understand Spanish or don’t know who Emiliano Zapata was, the chorus comes to save the day in all its counterculture glory, “Revolucion! Bolt on the armor/ Time to get it on/ Invade the border/ Black flag, red star/ my son and my daughter/ Indigenous warrior, never be a soldier.”

The first verse takes the listener deeper into the rabbit hole, giving more insight into the meaning of the chorus.

“America saw the brown picture on the canvas/ commercials for the army/ playing them in Spanish/ I walk around the city like the war’s right here/ Military wants the Indian to cut his hair.”

Similar to the group’s first album, clever use of Aztec and Mayan imagery over banging beats brings Native issues and Indigenous pride to life. “Science Mayan” and the “Like the Indigenous” remix are representative of the album’s thought-provoking lyrics with lines such as: “English or Spanish, I’m really not caring which/ when it comes down to it, they’re both invader languages” and “Why you always question the shit that I’m on?/ The only thing you need to know – it bleeds the heart of Aztlan.”

While all the tracks aren’t politically charged (one for all the low-riders in the house), the cohesiveness of the album’s theme remains.

EPs – known for being mini-albums around 15 to 30 minutes long – don’t have the luxury of filler tracks. So, it’s good that “Red Star Fist” is one that can be played all the way through.

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Ishmael A. Elias is a writer and teacher based in Oakland, Calif. He is completing his debut novel, the first chapter of which is due to appear in the upcoming "Cherokee Writers from the Flint Hills of Oklahoma: An Anthology" by the Cherokee Arts & Humanities Council.