Additional Thoughts on Graduation

Kanye: (releases a song) Bob: I think this is similar to Hold My Liquor...

IMO, Late Registration is heads and shoulders above Graduation. “Barry Bonds” and “Drunk and Hot Girls” definitely feel like album filler compared to the rest of the album.

SlumpJones

That song is PERFECT to me. It's just so damn good

Dashi

on the topic of daft punk and kanye, they actually did work together on a few tracks on yeezus! daft punk have production credits on black skinhead, on sight, i am a god and send it up :)

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Interesting... I look forward to what comes next!

Bob_the_Poppop

This is a good take too. Such a great track

Bob_the_Poppop

Despite Late registration being my favorite album from Kanye, I think Flashing Lights is truly his best song.

Litty Again

Flashing Lights has been one of my favorite songs for the last 14 years. You have the chorus which I think refers to Kanye writing a song about this woman. Making him a "showoff" and she can't believe he would go "this far". Kanye goes on to describe a materialistic relationship that didn't work out after he was caught cheating. By the end of the song the chorus flips. Now Kanye can't believe the woman would take it this far! So when you watch the music video you see that Kanye has been kidnapped and murdered in the trunk of a car by this perfect specimen of a woman. The video explains the lyrics, and chorus and bring everything together.

Tyrone Ross

I interpret “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” as a question Kanye is posing to himself. “Then you can’t tell me nothing, right?” Emphasis on “right?” Money is freedom. Money means you don’t have to listen to anyone. Do what you want. But money also means more obligations. More dependents. More expectations. “Mo Money Mo Problems.” – “The drama, people suing me.” Who really has freedom? People without money have less to lose. Nobody cares if you mess up because nobody’s depending on you. Sometimes we need advice. Sometimes we need to listen. If you don’t listen you’ll end up harming yourself and others. “And what I do? act more stupidly.” Rather than becoming free, money adds constraints, and listening becomes more important than ever.

Dylan Woods

A lot of people prefer Late Registration over Graduation. The third album was a big departure in sound and not everyone liked the new electronic direction meant for the stadium. A lot of people preferred the orchestral instrumentation of Late Registration rooted in the soul music of the 70s. To some degree Graduation felt rootless and synthetic, lacking connection to the history of the music that inspired hip-hop. The soul samples are still there but they are sped up and distorted beyond recognition. The change in sound matched the change in thematic direction. Graduation focuses more on Kanye’s own internal monologue as a singular man facing the world alone, whereas College Dropout and Late Registration embed Kanye within a community of people, deeply connected to family and the city. Kanye himself is aware of this new direction, which is why he returns to Chicago near the end of the album, but nonetheless, people have their preferences. The biggest divide among Kanye fans, however, is the divide between those who prefer “Old Kanye” and those who prefer “New Kanye.” Old Kanye is represented by The College Dropout, Late Registration, and Graduation. New Kanye is represented by My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Yeezus, and the Life of Pablo. 808s and Heartbreak is the bridge that connects these two worlds. Old Kanye is wholesome, relatable, and part of a larger community. New Kanye, on the other hand, is so distant from regular life that he is impossible to relate to or understand. We can’t relate to his problems, he acts in ways that are inexplicable, and he acts alone. The beginnings of new Kanye can be found in Graduation, but the character is more fully explored after 808s and Heartbreak. I find the new Kanye ultimately more interesting, and so his best work is still ahead of you, but for some, watching their big brother become unrecognizable was too much. Some will feel left behind or even betrayed by new Kanye. To me, what is truly remarkable about Kanye’s catalogue, is the way he has documented the character arc of his life in real time.

Dylan Woods

Graduation is the best out out his College Series trilogy. Late registration is still good though.

Late Registration is the best out out his College Series trilogy. Graduation is still good though.

Malik