[.ca] Dying In Stereo

I can't stop laughing on the floor, really:
From this day forward, everyone will now know how to get me going: play even a snippet of a track from this slab and I will be "dying in stereo" indeed. On the floor, in spasms of laughter that make it difficult to breathe. I don't care if Christgau liked this: he never met a hip-hop record he could critique because he suffers from an extreme sense of white liberal guilt as it translates to pop music anyway. Besides, he compared The Doves to Toto and Journey, and hasn't liked an indie or punk album since 1985. White liberal pseudointellectualism doesn't serve as a good backdrop for hip-hop inspiration anyway, but Northern State tried. In the absence of experience, Nothern State think they can take on the basic feminine and liberal political issues, such as choice. Unfortunately, their enthusiasm isn't matched by any rap skills. If I was motivated to sing a song about how I hated the president, then I would expect myself to be able to sing in order to get a record deal on Columbia. The fact that they can't rap but have a contract says volumes about what is REALLY happening here. They "rap" about corrupt politics and how they want a more truthful society while they get a record deal because of someone's pulling a few strings. How disgraceful, typical, and rude. Yeah, they're a group of silver-spoon rich white chicks from the suburbs. And yeah, they are boring. But they really have no business passing themselves off as a bunch of social-conscious politically-minded queens of the underground when thir only serious concern should be how to explain their total hypocrisy. I'd almost have alot MORE respect for them if they rapped about The Limited, Macy's, their rich boyfriend's BMW, The Gap, and soccer practice at St. Agnes or something. I swear to you, I simply cannot stop laughing when I hear the songs on this CD. Almost worth buying for the joke in itself.

The logical heirs to the Beastie Boys:
First off, this is not the strongest of albums. The lyrics are mostly awkward and sophomoric; the production seems a little sloppy; and there is very little here that breaks new ground. BUT, this tidy little 8-song wonder has the same energy, entusiasm, and sense of fun that Licensed to Ill had 20 years ago. Not only that but the girls show the same potential that the Beasties did; the potential to transcend the genre while making extraordinary music. And since the Beasties have made themselves virtually irrelevant with their latest album and Outkast appears to be on the outs, there is very little standing in their way.

One Of My Alltime Favorites:
Northern State is the female equivalent to The Beastie Boys, although I like them better. Maybe their lyrics are too deep for some of the immature listeners that hip-hop usually attracts, but if you listen, they speak their opinions on every song. I am young, white, girl and when I heard these girls, I immediately went out and got the album. So what if they have not lived in poverty? People who grow up poor are the only ones who struggle or who have something to say? I think these girls have alot to say because they grew up different. If you are looking for a rap about how sucky it is to be poor and how someone always did you wrong and your boo is missing, then go somewhere else...anywhere else cause almost every other hip-hop album is just that. If you want something to rock to and to actually want to listen to the words and not feel dumber when you are done, then this is it. Rapping girls...and yes, Hesta Prynn, like HESTER PRYNN from literature. I love pop music and some punk and some rap and hip-hop, but I love Northern State. BUY IT!

Lifeless, hilariously bad attempt at being hip-hop:
There really is no way possible, using words available in the English language, to describe how disgusting, appalling, and unintentionally funny this album is. The lyrics are so poor, pedestrian, and silly that one listen inspires out-loud laughter. The beats are so lame and lifeless; they sound like those millions of hip-hop ripoff wanna-be 12" records that came out during the early years trying to capitalize on "Beat Street"-era hip-hop. In fact, come to think of it, these (ahem) "ladies" probably got their start watching videos of Tina B "rockin' to the rhythm of the vicious beat" on that god-awful movie screen, waiting for Ramo to get electrocuted on the third rail so they could cry on their boyfriend's shoulder in the theater. There is that much pent-up pain and social malaise in their lyrics. Northern State are a fourth-generation version of pseudo-fly-girl mall-rat clones, desperately trying to look hip hop in their fake Cazals and personalized belt buckles while their b-boyfriends uprocked against each other in the Food Court. They have absolutely nothing to say, their logo is wack, their album exists because they have industry connections, their delivery is embarassing and weak, their beats are sad, and the fact that we are even talking about this only serves to underscore what passes for music in this country, where William Hung gets a record deal and a million worthy musicians make do otherwise and don't really give a flip. "Fresh, fresh, fresh... yo, that's fresh!"

EMBARRASSING, DISGRACEFUL,DISRESPECTFUL,HORRENDOUS:
I JUST PUKED UP 15 WHITE CASTLE CHEESEBURGERS!!!LISTENING TO THIS IS THE EQUIVALENT TO PASSING KIDNEY STONES, I'M QUITE SURE OF THAT!I MUST BE TAKING HAPPY PILLS OR SOMETHING, BUT I THOUGHT I SAW A POSITIVE REVIEW OR 2!!!COME BACK TO REALITY PEOPLE...THIS GROUP IS WORSE THEN CARROTT TOP'S HAIRDO!!! IT'S AN INSULT TO HIP-HOP MUSIC...PERIOD....NOTHING ELSE SHOULD BE SAID!!!I CAN'T SEEM TO PUT DOWN ON PAPER THE PAIN I HAVE INSIDE SEEING GARBAGE LIKE THIS RELEASED!!!WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE MUSIC INDUSTRY? DISGRACEFUL!!!

• A Thousand Words
• Trinity
• At the Party
• The Man's Dollar
• Vicious Cycle
• Signal Flow (You Can't Fade Me)
• All the Same
• Dying in Stereo