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acephysicskarkat · 6 years

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WORST HIT SONGS OF 2018: A META-ANALYSIS

SO REMEMBER HOW I WROTE ABOUT HOW I WASN’T GOING TO DO A WORST OF THE YEAR LIST?

TECHNICALLY I DIDN’T SAY I WASN’T GOING TO WATCH A BUNCH OF OTHER PEOPLE’S WORST OF THE YEAR LISTS AND COLLATE THEIR RANKINGS, THEN GIVE MY OPINION ON THE RESULTS.

THERE WERE FIVE YOUTUBERS SAMPLED FOR THIS EXPERIMENT (I ALSO FOLLOW A FEW OTHER MUSIC YOUTUBERS, BUT NONE OF THEM HAVE A WORST POP SONGS LIST OUT SO FAR):

TODD IN THE SHADOWS (CHANNEL; WORST LIST PART 1; WORST LIST PART 2)

MARK GRONDIN OF SPECTRUM PULSE (CHANNEL; WORST LIST)

THE RADICAL DOUCHE (CHANNEL; WORST LIST)

CICABEOT1 (CHANNEL; WORST LIST)

MR 96 (CHANNEL; WORST LIST)

(ALSO I LIKE THE WORK OF ALL OF THOSE PEOPLE AND YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY CHECK THEM OUT.)

I USED A FAIRLY SIMPLE METRIC.

EACH SONG WOULD BE GIVEN A RATING OF (12 - RANKING) POINTS, COUNTING A DISHONOURABLE MENTION AS 11, SO A SONG WOULD GET BETWEEN ONE AND ELEVEN POINTS.

ADDITIONALLY, FOR EACH TIME BEYOND THE FIRST THAT A SONG APPEARED ON A LIST PROPER (NOT COUNTING DISHONOURABLE MENTIONS; ONLY RANKINGS BETWEEN ONE AND TEN), IT WAS AWARDED A BONUS POINT - THE IDEA BEING THAT IF A SONG HAD MULTIPLE LOW-RANKING SLOTS, IT WAS PROBABLY WORSE THAN A SONG ONE PERSON PASSIONATELY HATED BUT NOBODY ELSE CARED ABOUT.

FINALLY, IF MULTIPLE SONGS WERE GIVEN A SLOT, THE POINTS WERE ALLOCATED TO EACH OF THEM, BECAUSE I FUCKING CAN. (THIS WORKED OUT WELL FOR CICABEOT1, WHO WAS THE ONLY CRITIC TO ACTUALLY INCLUDE AN “EVERYTHING BY THIS ARTIST” SLOT.)

NOW LET’S SEE HOW THE TOP TEN RESULTS WENT:

#10: MEANT TO BE, BEBE REXHA FT FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE (16 POINTS)

MARK GRONDIN: 3PTS

CICABEOT1: 5PTS

RADICAL DOUCHE: 6PTS

BONUS: 2PTS

I CAN NAME SEVERAL SONGS BY FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE THAT ACTUALLY CAUSED ME PHYSICAL PAIN. THIS ISN’T ONE OF THEM, BECAUSE THERE’S NOT ENOUGH OF IT THERE TO ACTUALLY HURT IN THE WAY THAT, FOR EXAMPLE, “THIS IS HOW WE ROLL” DOES. OH, AND I GUESS BEBE REXHA IS HERE TOO.

#9: YES INDEED, LITTLE BABY FT DRAKE (17PTS)

MR 96: 1PT

CICABEOT1: 6PTS

TODD: 9PTS

BONUS: 1PT

I’M UPSET. GIVING DRAKE ANOTHER HIT IS DISRESPECT. HE’S A JACKASS, OR DID EVERYONE FORGET? SOUNDS SO BORED, LIKE ALL HE CARES ABOUT IS CHEQUES. SORRY, I REALISE THAT’S A DIFFERENT BAD DRAKE SONG, BUT I WORKED ON THAT PARODY FOR AT LEAST FIVE MINUTES AND I DIDN’T WANT TO WASTE IT. THIS ACTUAL SONG IS A COMPLETELY DYSFUNCTIONAL MESS WITH HALF-FINISHED LYRICS. YES INDEED? MORE LIKE FUCK NO.

#8 (TIE): I FALL APART, POST MALONE (18PTS)

CICABEOT1: 8PTS

SPECTRUM PULSE: 9PTS

BONUS: 1PT

I DON’T KNOW WHY POST MALONE IS A THING, AND I LIKE MAYBE TWO SONGS BY HIM. THIS IS NOT ONE OF THEM.

#8 (TIE): GIRLS LIKE YOU, MAROON 5 FT CARDI B (18PTS)

MR 96: 6PTS

TODD: 11PTS

BONUS: 1PT

HONESTLY, CARING ENOUGH ABOUT ANY GIVEN MAROON 5 SONG TO HATE IT SEEMS LIKE A WASTE OF TIME AT THIS POINT. IT’S LIKE ORDERING A RESTAURANT CRITIC TO REVIEW CANNED BABY FOOD.

#6: ROLL IN PEACE, KODAK BLACK FT XXXTENTACION (19PTS)

MR 96: 8PTS

CICABEOT1: 10PTS

BONUS: 1PT

KODAK BLACK TRYING TO LAMENT THE DIFFICULTIES OF HIS LIFE WOULD BE FUNNY WERE IT NOT SO INFURIATING. AND HE’S JOINED BY XXXTENTACION, APPARENTLY BECAUSE WE NEEDED TO GET MORE ASSHOLES ON THIS SONG FOR SOME REASON.

#5: SAD!, XXXTENTACION (20PTS)

MR 96: 9PTS

CICABEOT1: 10PTS

BONUS: 1PT

GUILT-TRIPPING HORSESHIT FROM AN ARTIST WHOSE APPEAL I DON’T UNDERSTAND AND WHOSE CAREER LOOKS LIKE IT’S GOING TO BE LONGER POST-MORTEM THAN IT WAS WHILE HE WAS ALIVE. ALSO, THE TITLE READS LIKE A TRUMP TWEET, BECAUSE WHY NOT AT THIS POINT.

#4: CHANGES, XXXTENTACION (23PTS)

SPECTRUM PULSE: 4PTS

MR 96: 7PTS

CICABEOT1: 10PTS

BONUS: 2PTS

XXXTENTACION GOT A METRIC BUTTLOAD OF APPEARANCES ON THESE LISTS, AND WITH A DISCOGRAPHY LIKE HIS, IT’S NOT HARD TO SEE WHY. THE MUSICAL TRENDS IN 2018 WERE DOMINATED BY TIRESOME, MISOGYNISTIC SONGS THAT SOUNDED LIKE ASS AND WERE GENERALLY FROM PRETTY BAD PEOPLE, AND THEN THE WHOLE XXXTENTACION STORY ADDS A SORDID AND MONEY-GRUBBING EDGE FROM THE MUSIC EXECUTIVES ATTEMPTING TO PROFIT FROM EVERY HALF-FINISHED SCRAP OF MUSIC HE’D MADE. FUCK THIS YEAR AND FUCK THIS SONG.

#3: FEFE, 6IX9INE FT. NICKI MINAJ & MURDA BEATZ (24PTS)

MR 96: 5PTS

CICABEOT1: 7PTS

SPECTRUM PULSE: 10PTS

BONUS: 2PTS

THIS TRACK REEKS OF DESPERATION FROM EVERY CORNER, AND EVERYONE INVOLVED IN IT SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES. I DO NOT EXPECT TO BE SAD SHOULD 6IX9INE NEVER BE SEEN AGAIN, AND THAT SEEMS LIKE A VERY REAL POSSIBILITY GIVEN HIS LEGAL SITUATION. ABOUT THE ONLY PARTICIPANT I FEEL BAD FOR IS THE DOG IN THE MUSIC VIDEO. GO FOR THE THROAT, GIRL.

#2: TE BOTE, TODO EL MUNDO FT TODOS LOS DEMAS (28PTS)

CICABEOT1: 1PT

SPECTRUM PULSE: 7PTS

RADICAL DOUCHE: 8PTS

MR 96: 10PTS

BONUS: 2PTS

BECAUSE I DON’T GET MUCH LATIN POP, I HAD NO IDEA THIS EVEN EXISTED UNTIL THE LISTS STARTED GOING UP. I AM SORT OF SAD THAT I DO NOT GET TO KEEP MY IGNORANCE ON THE SUBJECT. NOT PARTICULARLY GOOD REGGAETON FEATURING MULTIPLE ANNOYING ARTISTS THAT IS LONGER THAN BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY (THE MOVIE, NOT THE SONG). ALSO, IF YOU REMADE BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY (THE SONG) ON TWO VUVUZELAS WITH LYRICS BY YOUR DRUNKEN COLLEGE FRIENDS SINGING ALONG THAT TIME IT CAME ON THE RADIO, IT WOULD PROBABLY SOUND BETTER THAN THIS.

(ALSO, I DON’T SPEAK SPANISH, SO IF THAT TRANSLATION OF “EVERYBODY FT EVERYBODY ELSE” IS INACCURATE, BLAME GOOGLE TRANSLATE!)

#1: FREAKY FRIDAY, LIL DICKY FT CHRIS BROWN (32PTS)

CICABEOT1: 1PT

MR 96: 1PT

TODD: 8PTS

RADICAL DOUCHE: 9PTS

SPECTRUM PULSE: 11PTS

EVERYONE AT LEAST MENTIONED THIS, AND MORE THAN HALF GAVE IT HIGH POSITIONS ON THE FULL LIST, AND GIVEN THAT THIS SONG IS SINGULARLY EXECRABLE IT’S NOT HARD TO SEE WHY. IF THIS WAS JUST BAD COMEDY, THAT WOULD BE ONE THING, BUT IT’S EXCRUCIATINGLY BAD COMEDY BACKED UP BY GASLIGHTING BULLSHIT ABOUT HOW GREAT IT IS TO BE CHRIS BROWN.

ALSO, I DON’T KNOW WHY ED SHEERAN AND DJ KHALED ARE IN THIS ONE. GUYS. GUYS. YOU ARE SUPERSTARS. YOU HAVE HAD SO MANY THINGS GO PLATINUM THAT I WOULDN’T BE SURPRISED TO FIND AMESTRIS ON YOUR TRAVEL PLANS. YOU DO NOT NEED TO SHOW UP ON SHIT LIKE THIS TO STAY RELEVANT.

FUCK THIS YEAR, AND FUCK THIS SONG.

#MUSIC

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boricuacherry-blog · 2 months

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Album review by: Mark Grondin

amplify a more organic analog foundation. And that's indicative of the larger question of the sound and structure of the album as a whole.

hook, or with Sweet Honey Buckiin sounding like three ideas Pharrell mashed together. The songs flow into each other well, but there's no consideration for momentum. Take 'Daughter,' the sort of sultry, dark country melodrama I was onboard with - but midway through the song she interpolates an Italian opera aria and while lyrically it makes sense in context, it feels like it's only there so Beyoncé could prove her ability to sing in that style.

And then she follows it with Linda Martell talking about the confines of genre on 'Spaghettii,' which is straight up country trap - and I get what the wild juxtapositions in sound are trying to imply about genre convention and who is allowed to expand and explore it - but it's a conversation Beyoncé wants to take by force, and the execution can feel really hamfisted.

Going back to Linda Martell, it's true that her career was derailed by racism from her label boss - the label was literally called Plantation Records - and him threatening to sue any other label she signed to, but also what struck me is how much of it mimics bad business in Nashville to this very day.

And for an album that wants to claim as being so genre-breaking, only magnifying Beyoncé's power, it leaves me asking why she bothers to give the CMAs and Music Row or even the Grammys the time of day, or worse still, very obvious label concessions - Post Malone should not be on this album, for God's sake.

Incidentally, the initial vinyl and CD releases exclude chunks of this album - with pretty much every moment where Linda Martell is actually mentioned - and while that might be just incidental, it does reveal what could be cut. What it also reveals is that Beyoncé are her team are still very much playing the game - I said this with Renaissance and if anything it's more true here, that while there's more structural experimentation, it's not a strong subversion of even Nashville power structures so much as reinforcing the structures in which she holds her own power.

What I find revealing in the direct descendant of Lemonade is how much pure venom Beyoncé has for that 'Becky with the Good Hair' that has persisted nearly a decade later. The vocal performance and arrangement of 'Jolene' is great, and if it was a pure cover, would be a highlight...but Beyoncé and her team rewrite the lyrics where desperate pleas become threats and any possibility of vulnerability or deeper humanity goes out the window. Honestly, it feels tacky.

The next track, Spaghettii features lines that are in direct reference to Kelis calling out Beyoncé for sampling without asking or credit - which Beyoncé and Pharrell absolutely did. And if she's supposedly so beneath you, why are you punching down? For an act that has been so successful, it's a human ugliness that feels very self-serving, and emblematic of a very specific hyper-rich brand of conservatism, those who have achieved every success but still aren't that happy.

And on the conversation of genre and the conflation of systemic racism and capitalism which entrenched them, you can tell exactly where this album stops short of taking that next step - because it would have to acknowledge how much Beyoncé and Jay-Z have benefited from compromising within it; it echoes a much heavier problem with Renaissance, where country has been more willing to play by the rules. But if Beyoncé wants to highlight how those rules were written, why not go all the way? And I'll be honest - that's kind of heartbreaking, because Beyoncé has the power and influence to reach out to women - both white and black - to speak at length about how Music Row has screwed them over.

Ask Yola, who is a black woman with a tremendous voice and acclaimed albums working in Nashville, but has never had radio crossover. Ask Neko Case, who is still blackballed from the Grand Ole Opry to this day. Ask Maren Morris - hell, ask any of the Highwomen, a supergroup Nashville couldn't promote worth shit. You think Beyoncé couldn't have found pathos working with Amanda Shires post-divorce from Jason Isbell after a project like Take It Like A Man? Ask Carly Pearce, who saw her ex-husband's flailing career get as much of a shot of life as hers in the wake of her divorce. Ask Kacey Musgraves - even beyond her own divorce, she's a woman from Texas who was blackballed from country radio and only got to #1 on the Hot 100 a decade after she broke through thanks to Zach Bryan and 'I Remember Everything,' where Nashville radio made the choice to lose money and deliberately not play the song...but she won album of the year at the Grammys, so that spoke for itself.

If you're reading this critique and thinking it's unfair, Beyoncé is not going to fix the system and shouldn't be expected to - there is truth in that. This is not a purity test for Beyoncé - although I'm of the belief that if you have this much power and resources, you face more critique, not less - because truth be told, if she had just made a pure country album with plenty of fiddle and pedal steel and stacked the harmonies as rich as she does here, I'd probably call it one of her best. And if she didn't frequently draw attention to how she's flaunting genre conventions and had let the songs speak for themselves.

#beyonce #article #thinkpiece #cowboy carter

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your-return-blog · 4 years

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It reached a 52-week high of $677, suggesting that now could be a smart time to purchase if you want to get your hands on Kanye's latest creation.Similar to how the Nike SB Dunk Low “Chunky Dunky” transcended sneaker culture and became its own mainstream pop culture moment, The Last Dance was constantly trending on social media for at least six weeks.Over the past 18 months, prices for New Balance collaborations have increased steadily. Though there hasn’t been as uniform an increase as with the Nike SB Dunk (it’s worth remembering that Nike SB’s performance is an anomaly), generally New Balance collaborations have been a good investment. In early 2019, New Balance collabs in the above index resold for between $200 and $250. Those same collaborations are worth an average resale price of nearly $350 in Q2 2020.As in previous reports, we’ll be looking at the most expensive and most profitable sneakers,adidas originals yeezy shoes as well as those with the biggest market share. Additionally — and for the first time — we’ll explore the events, trends, and releases that shaped sneaker culture over the past three months.Fabs’ Footwear ForecastOver the last three months, Nike has released both SB and mainline Dunks, simultaneously pulling from archival colorways to appeal to older ’heads and tapping unexpected collaborators, such as Ben & Jerry’s, for more hype-driven releases. StockX numbers show that over the past 12 months, 98.3 percent of all Nike SB Dunks have increased in value. That makes them as surefire as sneaker investments get.The “Carbon” pair was previously seen back in April, but was named the “Asriel.”

This name is highly controversial as it’s the name of the Angel of Death in Islam, leading to huge amounts of backlash that called for the sneaker to be boycotted as it was disrespectful to the Islamic religion.Further underlining New Balance’s success is the fact that the brand has outperformed the general sneaker market on StockX by 100 percent. While not as outrageous as Nike SB’s, that figure is more than respectable and speaks volumes, not just about the work that goes on behind the scenes in Boston, but that consumers are buying in to New Balance’s strategy and — most importantly — product.Of the 60 collaborations included in the index, two of the top 5 most expensive sneakers were released in Q2 2020. The WTAPS and Kith 992s take first and second place, with average resale values of $991 and $723, respectively. While recency bias may have an impact on resale prices, simple supply and demand would suggest that older New Balance collaborations — such as the Bodega or Aimé Leon Dore projects from 2019 — would be more expensive due to the scarcity of unworn pairs.“In countries like Italy, demand for Jordan 1 Mids is being driven by female StockX buyers,” says Einhorn. “Half of the top-selling Jordan 1 Mids in Italy were women’s exclusives. This mirrors a larger trend we’re seeing across our non-US markets fake yeezys for sale.”Key Features: The "Natural" YEEZY Boost 350 V2 features a multi-toned re-engineered Primeknit upper with a post-dyed monofilament side stripe and reflective details. The sneaker's silicone closure and stretch laces allow for easy on and off, while the Boost midsole provides enhanced cushioning.For Yeezy deals, it's also worth keeping an eye on stockists like Farfetch and Footlocker which usually take part in Black Friday. While there's no guarantees they'll be having a Yeezy Black Friday sale, you never know where you might be able to grab a bargain.StockX’s data suggests that Jordan Brand resale prices have done a 180 when compared to the trend pre-show.

Whereas in Q1 2020 Jordan Brand resale prices were actually declining, the index began to rise from April onwards. This is likely due to the hype around the show before it premiered and the sustained interest in retro Jordans after the series was released. Between April 19 and June 30, the index gained over $50 in resale value, which is an appreciation of almost 20 percent in just two-and-a-half months.The discussion continued with West talking about some of the difficulties he's had bringing designers over to Yeezy from Nike, sharing a story about a former Swoosh employee who had to wait out a year long non-compete before joining and how poaching had landed him in some legal battles with the company.The Last Dance re-introduced Michael Jordan the basketball player to a generation that was unable to witness him live at the height of his career and gave them a chance to fathom the sheer magnitude of the legend that was created around him in the ’80s and ’90s. Not only did the series cement MJ’s status as the GOAT, it was a marketing phenomenon that created a different type of demand for his product — one that hadn’t been seen in decades.Finally, New Balance has established a collaboration strategy that could become the industry’s gold standard cheap yeezy shoes. The brand’s collaborations have been some of the most valuable on the resell market this year, and the numbers prove that this isn’t a fluke.The next three most expensive collaborations were all released in April 2019 or before, which further strengthens the argument that New Balance’s change in strategy is paying dividends — especially on the secondary market.Official images of the adidas Yeezy Boost 350 V2 “Fade” have finally debuted as the silhouette is scheduled to drop in November.

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yourdeltronpaulley · 4 years

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love-fashionone · 4 years

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deadcactuswalking · 5 years

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REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 3rd November 2019

I apologise for how late this will probably end up being posted, but we have a big week to talk about, with EIGHT new arrivals, two from Selena Gomez, three from Kanye West and two appearing here in the top 10 so I’m just going to get through everything as soon as possible to the best of my ability, although this week has several...mishaps on the BBC page to say the least, so I’ll try to correct them if I can, and I have had to wait for my week of non-stop Weezer listening to end or for me to accidentally slip up and listen to something else so I could actually write about the new arrivals here.

Top 10

Interestingly, none of the nonsense that this chart week ensued seems to appear in the top 2 or shake the #1 at all, as “Dance Monkey” by Tones and I is at its fifth consecutive week at the top of the UK Singles Chart.

“Ride It” by Regard featuring Jay Sean – well, it’s actually a remix of a Jay Sean single but just let me relish in the fact Jay Sean is on the charts again – isn’t moving either at number-two, the runner-up spot.

The first impact that we can see at the top level of the charts is the debut at #3 for Selena Gomez’s first US #1 “Lose You to Love Me”, which the BBC has interestingly misspelled as “Loose You to Love Me”, her 13th UK Top 40 hit, fourth top 10 and highest-peaking song ever, after “It Ain’t Me” with Kygo peaked at #7. We’ll talk more about Selena Gomez’s two new arrivals later.

Thanks to Gomez, Post Malone’s “Circles” is down one spot to number-four.

At number-five is Ed Sheeran with “South of the Border” featuring Camila Cabello and Cardi B, down three spots this week to number-five.

We have our second new arrival within the top 10, at number-six, “Follow God” by Kanye West from his ninth studio album, JESUS IS KING. He has several songs debuting here in the UK Top 40 this week, so we’ll talk more in-depth about his mini-album bomb later on, but this is his 44th UK Top 40 hit, which is crazy impressive, and his 20th top 10.

At number-seven, boosted up 11 spots by an Ariana Grande remix, is Lizzo with “Good as Hell”, making it officially her biggest song in the UK and her first top 10 hit, as well as Grande’s 16th.

Up two spaces to number-eight this week is “Memories” by Maroon 5.

Down two spaces from last week, we have Dermot Kennedy at number-nine with “Outnumbered”.

Finally, at #10, to round off the top 10, we have Lewis Capaldi’s “Bruises” down four spaces from last week.

Climbers

Naturally, there aren’t many climbers here because of the album bomb and influx of new arrivals, but we do have some unfortunate boosts for “hot girl bummer” by blackbear up five spaces to #25... and that’s all.

Fallers

Fallers on the other hand... we could split this up into genre, actually.

For pop, rock and EDM, we can start with “Lights Up” by Harry Styles deservedly flopping six spaces down to #17, then continue with “10,000 Hours” by Dan + Shay and Justin Bieber down 12 to #29, “Higher Love” by Kygo and Whitney Houston down eight to #31, “Sorry” by Joel Corry featuring uncredited vocals from Hayley May down 10 to #32 and finally “Don’t Call Me Angel” by Ariana Grande featuring Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey down 13 to #39 – but that’s not all.

For hip hop and R&B, we have “HIGHEST IN THE ROOM” by Travis Scott down seven to #12, “Be Honest” by Jorja Smith and Burna Boy down five to #14, “Professor X” by Dave down seven to #21, “Take Me Back to London” by Ed Sheeran featuring Stormzy and remixed by Sir Spyro featuring Aitch and Jaykae down nine to #28, “Playing Games” by Summer Walker down nine to #33, “Ladbroke Grove” by AJ Tracey down 10 to #35 and finally, “Taste (Make it Shake)” by Aitch down nine to #39... but again, that’s not all.

Dropouts & Returning Entries

We have no returning entries but we sure do have a lot of dropouts, some of them genuine hits such as “Strike a Pose” by Young T & Bugsey and Aitch out from #36 and “Beautiful People” by Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid out from #39, hits that never really hit the landing with the British general public but have been on the middling section of the charts for a while and could easily rebound like “Motivation” by Normani out from #27, “Truth Hurts” by Lizzo and remixed by DaBaby from #31, “frick, i’m lonely” by LAUV and Anne-Marie out from #32 and “Lalala” by Y2K and bbno$ and remixed by Carly Rae Jepsen and Enrique Iglesias out from #37, as well as some genuinely premature drop-outs such as “Graveyard” by Halsey out from #29 and finally, “47” by Sidhu Moose Wala, MIST, Steel Banglez and Stefflon Don out from #38. Now, finally, after all that time spent on stray UK Top 40 observations... let’s talk about Kanye.

ALBUM BOMB: Kanye West – JESUS IS KING

On October 25th, Kanye released his ninth studio album, JESUS IS KING, after missing several release dates and changing name from YANDHI. Kanye, a now born-again Christian, makes a “gospel” album free of any explicit lyrics, accompanied by a short film of the same name. It features an all-star guest list of vocalists and producers, including frequent collaborators Ant Clemons, Benny Blanco and Mike Dean, the reunion of legendary rap group Clipse, trap beat-makers Pi’erre Bourne and Ronny J, and smooth jazz saxophonist Kenny G. Obviously, it went #1 in the US, #2 here, but to mixed reviews – now, I won’t be focusing on the politics that surround the album and I am not very knowledgeable of religion so I cannot really comment on much beyond my understanding of Christianity and arguably more importantly, the lore of Kanye West. Mark Grondin of Spectrum Pulse already quoted more Bible quotes in his album review than I could remember digits of pi, and several people, like DeadEndHipHop, Sean Cee and even Anthony Fantano, whether you like them or not, have made several in-depth discussion videos about whether West’s sudden revelation is a genuine moment for the rapper, a mental breakdown or a cash-grab. I’m here to discuss the music... but even that’s not very good. I wrote a very lengthy review for the album two days after it came out (And before it went through an additional few fixes for mixing quirks, sigh) which will be linked here if I remember, and overall, it was disappointing, a light 4/10 and easily the worst record in West’s discography. Regardless, let’s talk about the debuts here.

#20 – “Closed on Sunday” – Kanye West

Produced by Kanye West, Angel Lopez, Brian “AllDay” Miller, Federico Vindver and Timbaland – Peaked at #17 in the US

Features uncredited vocals from the Sunday Service choir and A$AP Bari(?)

The most memeable yet also one of the most detestable tracks on the album, this is his 45th UK Top 40 hit. “Closed on Sunday” was one of the few tracks set to fail off the pure concept, as the biggest issue with most songs on JESUS IS KING is the lack of development or complete mishandling of great ideas, to the point where there basically is no effort to, you know, write a song here. “Closed on Sunday” is essentially one verse split into half due to a flow switch at the midpoint, and despite a runtime of only two minutes and 32 seconds, it drones on endlessly, with a solemn guitar melody leading into what could sound like a pretty cool, dark ballad, built up by the choir vocalising in harmonies that sound actually pretty great but then the 808s come in and ruin any sense of harmony. Kanye comes in with some of the worst mixing I’ve ever heard vocals have, especially on an album with the budget Kanye has, with a lot of background noise and I can even hear the buttons pressed on the phone or other device Kanye is using to record at about 0:38, which signals a drastic change in how the vocals are mixed, but it’s still shoddy and allows them to have some pretty severe clipping during the “chorus”, until a sudden shift where a turgid beeping sound works as a pathetic excuse for you know, an actual synth, and until now, Kanye’s vocals have not had reverb or Auto-Tune added onto them, so his vocals being drenched in effects actually sounds great here... but he still has a sore throat and sounds like he’s struggling here, although unlike “God Is” and just about the entirety of 808s & Heartbreak, where it adds to the emotive performance, Kanye sounds bored and with no choir backing him like they could have been, the release here just isn’t as cinematic as it could be and it just sounds like a melodramatic Kanye aimlessly spouting random Bible motifs over 808s without taking his daily Dequadin lozenge... and there are no drums... ever. Oh, and A$AP Bari comes in at the end to shout “Chick-fil-A”, abruptly interrupting the beat’s natural progression and making it clear as day that the album is unfinished. Also, speaking of those lyrics, should you really be comparing YOURSELF to a fast food restaurant that donates charity to anti-LGBT hate and pressure groups? That’s not very Christ-like, Ye. It probably wouldn’t matter if they didn’t either, because a thinly-veiled Taylor Swift reference (Yes, I know the Bible mentions “snakes” and “vipers” as much as reputation does, but the two aren’t on good terms so it’s no coincidence in my opinion) and calling God your “number-one with the lemonade” don’t exactly make you sound like a wordsmith. Oh, and A$AP Bari, the uncredited vocalist on the outro, pleaded guilty to sexual assault earlier this year, which again doesn’t exactly sound like a Christ-like thing to be supporting either... but I digress. The version he performed on Jimmy Kimmel with a genuine choir backing him and a brass band is miles ahead of this, so don’t bother with this version, or better yet, don’t bother with this monotonous crap at all.

#19 – “Selah” – Kanye West

Produced by Kanye West, E*vax, BoogzDaBeast, Federico Vindver, benny blanco and Francis Starlite – Peaked at #19 in the US

Features uncredited vocals from the Sunday Service choir, Ant Clemons and Bongo ByTheWay

Now, I’m slightly more positive on his 46th UK Top 40 hit, “Selah”, the opening track (Aside from the short “Every Hour” interlude / intro track which is only Sunday Service) of JESUS IS KING, yet that might actually make it more frustrating and it’s easily the track I come back the least to because overall, it’s actually pretty uninteresting and doesn’t have a true “hook”. It starts with some cloudy synth noodling that sounds kind of cool with the subtle strings but then Kanye comes in with some pretty awfully-mixed vocals that is incredibly unprofessional, teasing his fans for wanting YANDHI, and saying it was coming before “Jesus Christ did the laundry”, and quoting John 8:33 to excuse his “Slavery is a choice” comment, which he’s been trying to respond to the backlash to for about a year and a half now, failing each time. Also:

Pour the lean out slower

Hold up –that ain’t Christ-like. The explosions of marching band drums come in in a similar fashion to “Feel the Love” off of KIDS SEE GHOSTS, and then honestly the bridge, which is insanely repetitive but builds up tension perfectly with Ant Clemons and the Sunday Service choir repeating “Hallelujah” incessantly with distant guitar strings, handclaps and sudden pitch shifts reflecting the change in Kanye’s mindset and the intensity soon becomes a lot more ramped up from now on, finishing the bridge with a pretty beautiful vocal line that the 808s hilariously harmonise with. Then, Kanye comes back in with a verse co-written by Pusha T, and you can REALLY tell, and it’s still awfully-mixed, when there’s no true excuse. He’s drowned out by the bursts of drums and bass as well as the choir’s recurring vocal sample. The best part of the song soon kind of fizzles out in a chaotic outro, in which fireworks literally go off while Kanye screams nonsense as well as “Yeezus” which isn’t exactly Christ-like, but it sounds insane and honestly a tad odd and unfitting for the album, which is supposed to be an uptempo Christian rap album? While there are parts of this song I don’t approve of, especially Kanye, who ruins pretty much every song he’s on... on his own album, this is pretty tolerable, albeit somewhat contradictory lyrically and far from my favourite Kanye track. At least there’s some grandiosity and emotion here.

#6 – “Follow God” – Kanye West

Produced by Kanye West, BoogszDaBeast and Xcelence – Peaked at #7 in the US

I should be thankful for the grandiosity and emotion behind “Selah”, because this sure doesn’t have any of that. How the HELL does this have three producers? How on Earth does this album have 11 people on the mixing and mastering and yet this still sound like absolute gutter trash in my headphones? “Follow God” is easily the least interesting song on the JESUS IS KING album, and that’s pretty impressive for a record that contains the song “Water” with Ant Clemons, yet it’s the biggest and I don’t see why at all. There straight-up isn’t a chorus by any meaning of the word, or its many synonyms, and its dated production almost resembling 90s hip hop in the soul sample from 1974’s “Can You Lose by Following God” by Whole Truth and the genuine 90s groove and funk that is somewhere here in the beat, doesn’t exactly make it sound like a catchy trap banger that would reach the US top 10 in 2019, but it’s there. It’s called by many fans a spiritual successor to 2016’s “Father Stretch My Hands” from The Life of Pablo but other than using the lyric “Father, I stretch my hands”, I don’t see it, mostly because the 2016 effort doesn’t actually have much relation to Christianity outside of the beautiful gospel choir harmonising with Caroline Shaw on the bridge of that single. In fact, that song does a better job at flipping Christian rap on its head – it’s a two-part trap banger featuring verses from Desiigner and lines about... bleached posteriors. This song on the other hand is only one minute and 44 seconds, with one badly-mixed and distorted verse from Kanye that is as repetitive as the mind-numbing recurring “Yeah” vocal sample and prone to making me roll my eyes with its one verse and the... outro of sorts. But since this beat is so minimalistic, surely he wants us to hear what he’s saying, right? Well, no, probably not, because not only is his “wordplay”(?) and half-rhymes embarrassing, but I have so many questions to raise to this drum pattern. I want to interview the 808 and the kick drum and ask what the heck they think they’re doing.

People really know you, push your buttons like type-write

That’s not a sentence. “Like type-write”? Excuse my brief, unsubtle blasphemy, but Jesus.

Every single night, right? Every single fight, right?

The ‘i’-based rhyme scheme here is cool in concept and he finds his way around it pretty well, in a fast-paced rap flow that I actually really like, but it reeks of laziness, especially since not only does he completely abandon the rhyme scheme 55 seconds in but – yes, I counted – his verse is 69 seconds, that’s one minute and nine seconds. To put into perspective, Rick Ross’ verse on “Devil in a New Dress” off of Kanye’s 2010 album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is one minute and 28 seconds, only twenty seconds longer than this one, and it includes ten times as much clever wordplay, story-telling, interesting flow switches and bars that are really epic, making the song feel really celebratory of sorts actually – and that’s without the epic guitar solo that precedes it. What a fantastic song. On the other hand, this song is substance-less and Kanye says very little of anything despite how much he crams into every bar in the rapid yet sometimes pretty awkward flow. What he’s supposed to be discussing is his situation with his father and how when he was yelling at him and having a massive argument and fall-out, Ray West told him, it wasn’t Christ-like, leading to a revelation and possibly becoming the catalyst for the already-kickstarted Christian rebirth. Surely, his dad and God are the two most important men in his life, right? Then why does this feel passionless and boring? Why doesn’t this feel genuine? Fellow Christian rapper NF, a white rapper who makes bland piano-lead pop-rap with sung hooks, would call this flavourless, dull and more importantly, grey. It doesn’t feel blue and gold like he wants it to as he uses the colours to imply royalty, luxury and loyalty to God on the album cover and lyric video. This doesn’t show loyalty. You made this in five minutes, Kanye. You made this on a whim because you had an idea and you ran with it but you had no idea on how to actually develop it into something interesting or even listenable. What part of this shows royalty, luxury and a rich, graceful connection with God? This sounds cheap and gross, and frankly incredibly disappointing from such a talented artist. I haven’t even gotten onto the rest of the song, man, and I don’t even want to. “Decimal” doesn’t rhyme with “wrestle”, Kanye. “Wrestlin’ with God, I don’t even want to wrestle”? That’s the deepest you want to go into your confusion and conflict between Christianity and fame? That’s pathetic, as is the random screaming at the end of this track for quirky or emotive bonus points. There’s nothing lifelike or Christ-like about your lifestyle, Kanye West. Get some help.

NEW ARRIVALS

#34 – “Nice to Meet Ya” – Niall Horan

Produced by Julian Bunetta – Peaked at #9 in Ireland and #83 in the US

Sorry to any of the Niall Horan fans who crashed his website when this single was announced, but I have considerably less to say about the rest of these new arrivals than I do about Kanye West and/or Jesus Christ. I have to talk about them regardless of if I have anything I can actually add, and this one is one I’ve actually already heard since I watched the MTV EMAs and he performed it. I thought nothing of it initially, but this is the Irishman from One Direction’s comeback single after his debut studio album Flicker. This is Horan’s third UK Top 40 hit and first since 2017’s “Too Much to Ask” which peaked at #24, and I did not expect this shift to late 90s and early 2000s dance-rock, but I am definitely not complaining. It starts with a catchy piano line that’s pretty Robbie Williams-esque, then the drop comes in and it is killer. The sleek synths decorating the rock drums in a lot of slickness that you wouldn’t expect out of such a meek stage presence add to the chorus pretty well, but the best part of that chorus is the distant pitch-shifted vocal sample yelling in the background, making it feel even more industrial which again is out of character for Niall, the quiet, shy folk boy, but he definitely has the charisma to pull off this type of swaggering, stomping pop rock anthem, and he proves that in the sing-along bridge, where even his murmuring hums stand out, and while he’s drowned out by the cool bassline and drum pattern most of the time, his vocal delivery really is the highlight of the song, even if that is equally vintage and in a way, pretty nostalgic for the era it replicates. Funnily enough, it has the same lack of care for organised structure that “Lights Up” by Harry Styles had just two weeks ago, but the careless, reckless groove of this song works a lot more in Horan’s favour than Styles’. Just saying.

#27 – “Orphans” – Coldplay

Produced by Rik Simpson, Dan Green, Bill Rahko, Max Martin, Angel Lopez and Federico Vindver – Peaked at #14 in Scotland

Coldplay, with their most recent upcoming album Everyday Life, are getting pretty experimental. It’s an hour-long double-album kept a secret until a month before it is set to release featuring a track list full of songs that have odd stylisations like “BrokEn” and share song names with Arabic poems. “Arabesque”, the B-side to “Orphans”, is a storm of nu-jazz trumpets with a Fela Kuti-inspired breakdown and uncredited guest vocals from Stromae, as well as profanity, which is a first for the band. I’m not surprised at all that one didn’t kick off but we are instead left with their 24th UK Top 40 hit and first since “Something Just Like This” with the Chainsmokers peaked at #2 in 2017, “Orphans”, which is a lot tamer of a track to say the least. That doesn’t mean it’s any worse though. It starts with a kids’ choir singing before we get into a tropical rock jam with a funky bassline that I wouldn’t be surprised if Flea wrote, it’s that tight. Chris Martin sounds as focused on Christianity as he did on the Avicii album earlier this year, directly name-dropping Heaven in the first verse, and then joining in with the nonsense words that the vocal samples had been repeating prior to the verse. The chorus is pretty reminiscent of arena rock, specifically “Paradise” I feel as it has that same nasal falsetto but in a lot more palatable fashion, mostly because this actually has groove and you know, a pulse. Yeah, this is pretty great, and I love the bridge of purely the mythical guitar and Chris Martin’s ethereal vocals. Something I didn’t notice on initial listen is how that the song is about a girl, Rosaleem, during the Damascus bombing in Syria from last year (That’s what the nonsense words and sound effects are all about), who is greeted by angels who talk to her about what Heaven will be like, which is “almond and peach trees in bloom” but also a place for her dad to get drunk and talk with his friends so he can feel young again. That’s actually pretty deep subject matter, and together with Niall Horan, I’m glad we can have some fantastic rock on the charts again. “Arabesque” is the better of the two Coldplay songs though.

#26 – “Look at Her Now” – Selena Gomez

Produced by Ian Kirkpatrick – Peaked at #7 in Slovakia and #27 in the US

Man, those last two songs were so powerful and organic, I almost want some disposable garbage to review next. It’ll just be easier. Oh, we have two Selena Gomez songs and a new AJ Tracey single to cover? Perfect, that’s just what I asked for! Yeah, this is Selena Gomez’s 14th UK Top 40 hit and it is awful, but not even close to as offensively bad “Closed on Sunday” or “Follow God” are. It’s just a mistake on all fronts. The passionless vocal samples drowned out in the background that peters out by the verse and the nothingness of the synths and a glitchy beat that abruptly kicks itself out of the mix every other second, as well as Selena Gomez’s weak, whispery vocals don’t exactly scream “passionate, boasting kiss-off” to me. The chorus is absolutely PATHETIC, if it even exists at all – I mean, it’s just a bunch of different sound effects Selena Gomez made pretty much, with her rhythmically humming as if that’s an excuse for an actual chorus with some unintelligible, stuttering and sometimes whispered repetitions of the song title as well as several “W-w-w-w-wow”s that add very little to the song and seem pretty pointless. This is mixed well for the most part, despite the synths clipping at times and Selena’s vocoder-ed ad-libs in the second chorus being way louder than anything else in the mix, but I have no idea what the composers of this song were thinking. What a trainwreck. It almost sounds like glitch-pop to be honest, it’s chaos, and if it were marketed as that maybe I’d appreciate it more, but if this is supposed to be a genuine brag to Justin Bieber asking him to see what he’s missing, he might as well have dated a robot. I think a RateYourMusic user summed it up best: “This is so monumentally mediocre that it barely even exists.”

#22 – “Floss” – AJ Tracey featuring MoStack and Not3s

Produced by The Elements and AJ Tracey

AJ Tracey is a British rapper who had his break out this year and he released his self-titled debut studio album back in February, but it now has a deluxe edition, with five extra songs, this being one of them. I wasn’t exactly impressed with the album as it’s mostly pretty bland Americanised trap fluff with only some promising elements of dancehall (“Butterflies” with Not3s and remixed by Popcaan), grime (“Horror Flick”) and UK garage (“Ladbroke Grove”, one of my favourite songs of the year) propping up whenever AJ sees fit, but it’s 48 minutes so these moments can’t carry the whole track listing. Lucky for us, he’s increased that runtime to just over an hour and included a couple more boring trap songs to listen to. Joy. This is AJ’s seventh UK Top 40 hit, MoStack’s eighth and Not3’s sixth. This song relies on a pretty sweet falsetto vocal sample under a surprisingly energetic trap beat, with some pretty nice steel pans and cowbells in addition to the skittering hi-hats and 808s. AJ Tracey is pretty okay here, but I feel with these lyrics and beat he could have gone for a faster and more impressive flow than what he brings out here. I’m still in love with his “bling-blaow” ad-lib though. MoStack is embarrassing as always, with an oddly-mixed verse and sometimes off-beat flow, with the most obvious difference between him and AJ being that there aren’t any ad-libs or multi-tracked vocals, which is mostly the same with Not3s’ non-existent and actually pretty unnecessary bridge (He should have just added to the final chorus, though his last few bars sound nice). Mo does have a pretty funny line about how you wouldn’t be able to notice him on CCTV and would confuse him with Dave though. This is better than I expected, but still nothing of interest to me. Sorry.

#3 – “Lose You to Love Me” – Selena Gomez

Produced by Mattman & Robin and FINNEAS – Peaked at #1 in the US

Now, much like Coldplay, Selena Gomez also released two lead singles, however both charted and they are drastically different to Coldplay’s, quality-wise at least. This is supposed to be the big massive smash ballad hit that hit #1 in the US, becoming her first ever song to reach that peak, but I can’t bring myself to care, because honestly, this is one of her least interesting singles she’s ever released. Out of all of her songs, including some I actually like such as “It Ain’t Me” and “Same Old Love”, this seems like one of the most unlikely #1s yet it tugs at our heartstrings with the pianos from FINNEAS, Billie Eilish’s brother and producer, and it’s about how Justin Bieber dumped her with wordplay revolving around “purpose” – wow, it’s almost like she’s talking about Justin Bieber’s ALBUM, Purpose! Ugh, her mind! Okay, I’ll stop mocking her fanbase and the general public, because this really isn’t a bad song. Selena Gomez can’t sing, so through thinly-veiled Auto-Tune, the producers cleverly multi-track her vocals to create a grand, powerhouse chorus out of the repetition of “To love, to love, yeah” and because it’s a pop ballad, the vocals can be breathy and untrained and it’s fine, right? It’s a ballad, it doesn’t need to be perfect, and hence we can take advantage of the complete lack of singing talent this person has. I don’t know, it just seems so cliché and predictable to me. You can only tell it’s a FINNEAS beat once the second verse hits and the synths get jerkier with the bass wobbles, and he usually has a pretty signature sound, so yeah, that’s the best way to put it. Or, perhaps, this song is also so monumentally mediocre that it barely even exists.

Conclusion

Again, I’m sorry this is out so late but it was a big ordeal to write, especially due to all the Kanye songs. I’ll try and get the next one out a lot sooner, I assure you, but there’s an album bomb this week too, so we’ll see about that. Anyways, the Best of the Week is going to Coldplay for “Orphans”, who just barely edged out Niall Horan, who gets the Honourable Mention, with “Nice to Meet Ya”. Worst of the Week should be obvious, in fact, it’s not going to a song, it’s going to three songs, all by Kanye West. “Saleh” isn’t all that bad, but JESUS IS KING was such an immense disappointment that I think he should be crowned Worst of the Week based on not only “Closed on Sunday” or God forbid “Follow God”, but also on principle alone. The Dishonourable Mention is going to Selena Gomez for “Look at Her Now” for being hilariously misguided in the production area, Jesus. I’m going to wrap this week up with a Top 40 ranking of the whole chart on Twitter, which I’ll try to do bi-weekly, no guarantee, so follow me there @cactusinthebank for more musical ramblings and shoddy attempts at humour, and I’ll be seeing you here again next week. Peace!

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makefrancehappen-blog · 5 years

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Day 22/1278

24 juillet

Oofa, without even realizing it I passed the 3 week mark. The last week or so I've been less confident in my decision to move to France. Overall I know I can't stay here or I'll lose my mind, but it feels like every other option is still open. I'm considering RVing around North America, because then I could take the pets really easily. I'm considering spending time, 3-6 months, in Quebec, maybe more than once, so I can get better at French without making the full commitment.

I haven't formally worked on my business at all since drafting the business plan. But I do think about it and notice things like marketing, demand, etc. Just not formally.

But I am becoming more and more aware of what I do that is holding myself back. I'm a top-notch time waster, for one thing. It takes me 3x longer to do things than other people. I wander around, lose focus, go back and forth. Usually I'm late to work because of that. If I have to clean the dishes, it's like clean a dish, wander away, remember what I was doing, go back and clean more, oops now you're late. Very possible that I have ADD I think, which would surprise a lot of people.

Lately I'm obsessed with hockey and Canada. And Goon, Goon 2, and Marc-André Grondin. I wish Canada wasn't so damn cold or I'd move there immediately... Maybe. I actually saw an interesting article yesterday about whether you can turn a winter hater into a winter lover, and I agree that maybe you can if there's something to look forward to. Still, 6 months is too long.

But I am planning to take up skating and if that goes well then learn hockey! Also decided to try watching Habs games from local Montréal stations so it's in French.

🇫🇷 Today I'll do 45-60 min total of Frantastique, Duolingo, Beelingual

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biofunmy · 5 years

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In Search of the Real Bouillabaisse, Marseille’s Gift to the Fish Lover

MARSEILLE, France — In this ancient port city on the Mediterranean, there is no escaping the dark, hot, earthy fish concoction known as bouillabaisse.

All around the Vieux Port, restaurants with multilingual menus lure tourists with the promise of an authentic taste of the city’s signature dish. One advertises in bright white lights a “bouillabaisse royale” with lobster on the side; another features a “petite” bouillabaisse at a bargain price. A third has created a “milkshake of bouillabaisse,” while yet another proposes a “bouillabaisse hamburger,” a fish fillet in a bun accompanied by fish soup and French fries.

Newsstands sell postcards bearing a recipe for bouillabaisse in French and English. Shops offer jars of concentrated bouillabaisse stock and prepared rouille, a sharp, garlicky mayonnaise with olive oil and a blend of saffron and other spices that is used to enliven the bouillabaisse broth.

In truth, few native Marseillaises eat bouillabaisse, and certainly only at home, never in a restaurant. Many snicker at those who come here and want the dish. The most inventive cuisine in the city these days, they say, is the pizza prepared on food trucks and the couscous served in North African restaurants.

Bouillabaisse sometimes seems as old-fashioned as coq au vin or blanquette de veau. Here, and all over France, it is often said you can no longer find a classic rendition of the dish, which is something between a soup and a stew.

Yet there is also a rumor that bouillabaisse survives, especially in this city, which is celebrating its food this year with an initiative called Marseille Provence Gastronomy 2019 that includes cooking lessons, dinner concerts, wine-tastings, art exhibits and markets. To mark the occasion, a group of elementary-school students painted two large outdoor “bouillabaisse” murals featuring the rockfish necessary for the dish.

So when I decided to seek out and taste the real thing, I came to Marseille.

The search wasn’t easy, as bouillabaisse is steeped in myths, tradition and gastronomic polemics.

The origin of the dish is the stuff of legends. One has it that Venus, the Roman goddess of love, invented bouillabaisse to put her husband, Vulcan, to sleep so she could be with her paramour Mars. Many food historians speculate that bouillabaisse is a descendant of kakavia, a traditional soup of the ancient Greeks, who colonized Marseille in about 600 B.C.

It developed over the centuries as a one-pot meal in which poor fishermen threw rockfish — several species of sea creatures, most of them ugly and at one time unsellable — fresh off the docks into a large iron caldron of boiling fish stock to feed the family. By the late 18th century, a version was served in restaurants.

In 1966, the New York Times food critic Craig Claiborne called bouillabaisse “a dish that is always good for controversy.” The debate over what constitutes a real bouillabaisse grew so fierce that a group of 11 local restaurateurs drew up the Marseille Bouillabaisse Charter in the 1980s, codifying the ingredients and preparation allowed.

Even now, there is no official governmental protection for the name bouillabaisse as there is for so many other French comestibles, from Champagne to Brie de Meaux.

Then there is downright trickery. Several years ago, an investigation by a French television channel revealed that many of the restaurants around the Vieux Port used processed ingredients and frozen fish of indeterminate origin.

On this visit, I stayed far away from the port area, where I had eaten my first, mediocre bouillabaisse years ago.

I also avoided the deconstructed, dressed-up and expensive interpretation at Gérald Passédat’s Michelin-starred restaurant Le Petit Nice, on the scraggly shoreline about two miles away. My Bouille Abaisse, as he calls it, consists of three courses: a raw shellfish starter, a selection of classic bite-size fish fillets covered in a light saffron-infused broth, and finally, a selection of deep-sea fish in a thick soup adorned with small crabs. With dessert, the price tag for the meal comes to 250 euros, about $280.

Marseille is a sprawling city that includes 111 neighborhoods called quartiers-villages, and I headed to one of them, the vacation spot Carry-le-Rouet, 20 miles northwest of the Vieux Port, to try what is reputed to be one of the best traditional versions in town.

Bouillabaisse was never meant to be served in restaurants on demand; the dish is too expensive and difficult to make for a restaurant to gamble on the chance that a customer might want it.

So I ordered it two days in advance from a popular restaurant. The setting was picture-perfect, an open-air balcony overlooking a small port full of pleasure boats. But the meal was disappointing — the broth was a pretty shade of orange, but tepid and too tomatoey. Its side dish of half a chewy lobster was certainly not authentic.

Success came when I turned to a friend who knows the area. Friends of his who live along the coast suggested another restaurant, and spoke to the chef, who only occasionally makes bouillabaisse but agreed to prepare it for us.

On a hot Sunday in June, I drove 40 minutes east along the coastal road to the small fishing hamlet Les Goudes, the farthest point in Marseille before you hit the hidden inlets known as calanques. There is no post office or bank, and the tiny Roman Catholic church is seldom open for services.

Clusters of small cottages, some of them no more than shacks, cling to the hillsides. Some were built in the days before building codes, and function with exposed electrical wiring. Many of the families who live here go back generations.

Here, the outdoor terrace of L’Esplaï du Grand Bar des Goudes is perched on the rocks overlooking a tiny fishing port; it is the place where native Marseillaises come for a long, languorous Sunday lunch.

The restaurant was filled with the smell of garlic and the sounds of loud chatter — even singing. (This is not Paris, where voices are kept low and soft.) From here, the clientele can see the main port, on the other side of the bay, where the big cruise ships dock.

The chef, Christophe Thullier, prepared his bouillabaisse the classic way. He made a stock using tiny scaled and gutted rockfish, fennel, tomatoes, a mixture of spices, olive oil and water. He boiled the stock furiously for 20 minutes until it thickened, then turned it down to a simmer before straining in a sieve.

At least five types of whole rockfish had marinated for several hours in white wine, olive oil, thyme, rosemary, saffron, paprika, turmeric and lots of garlic and saffron.

Part of the ritual of bouillabaisse is the presentation of the marinated fish before they are filleted and thrown into the simmering broth “à la minute” — at the last minute. The word bouillabaisse derives from the Provençal bouï-abaisso, meaning “when the pot boils, lower the fire.”

Eric Para, the restaurant’s co-owner, brought a huge platter of fish to the table, including Saint Pierre (John Dory); vive (weever), a small eel-like creature with poisonous spines; galinette (gurnard); grondin rouge (red gurnard), congre (conger eel), rouget (red mullet) and both red and lean white varieties of rascasse, an ugly, spiny sea creature known as scorpion fish and an absolute must for any bouillabaisse worth its name. (“Alone, it is not particularly good eating, but it is the soul of bouillabaisse,” wrote the great food writer Waverley Root.)

With an index finger, Mr. Para pulled up the poisonous spiny crest hidden inside the head of the vive. “If it pricks you, it can give you a fever,” he said.

“Can it kill you?” I asked.

“No, of course not!” he replied, his derisory tone suggesting that I must be an idiot.

The broth was served first, with slices of crisply toasted baguette, whole cloves of raw garlic and rouille. The tradition here is to rub raw garlic onto the toasts, spoon generous dollops of the rouille on them and float them in the broth. Then came a second course: the just-cooked fish fillets with some broth ladled over them.

The soup, opaque and mud-colored was heavy, viscous and gritty, with small bits of fish settling on the bottom of the bowl.

“This is not for the faint of heart,” one of the other diners said. “This is not a dish appreciated by the young.”

Mr. Para concurred. “It’s an acquired taste, especially when you make it the correct way,” he said. “Frankly, for a special meal at home, I prefer a côte de boeuf.”

He had the highest praise for Mr. Passédat of Le Petit Nice, who is known as the “godfather” of the yearlong food initiative in Marseille and the ultimate cheerleader for bouillabaisse. “He is the star of the region and an artist,” Mr. Para said. “We’re not artists here.”

Food will always be better at its place of origin, and bouillabaisse purists have always believed that there is a mystical connection between the dish and the city.

“I always feel that part of Marseille itself is cooked right into the bouillabaisse,” Julia Child said on her television show “The French Chef” in 1970. “You can somehow just taste the flavor, the color, the excitement of that old port.”

Perhaps that explains why, however hard it may be to find, bouillabaisse is likely to live on.

L’Esplaï du Grand Bar des Goudes, 29 Rue Désiré Pelaprat (Rue du Chasseur), Marseille, France; grandbardesgoudes.fr

Sophie Stuber contributed reporting.

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