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The DL on the The Heist

The DL on the The Heist

By Nate Hammond

1) “Ten Thousand Hours”- Macklemore’s vocals go very well with the beat, as he talks about how he has been going at this for a long time.   The female singer in the song is fantastic. The instrumental is simple, but not simple enough so that the vocals take over the song. Macklemore has a soft voice, but it seems to work with the message he’s relaying. This is the kind of song that you could take dozens of quotes from, and have a dozen more.

2) “Can’t Hold Us” (Featuring Ray Dalton)-This song is more upbeat, but not a party song really. It has a positive feeling to it, and when Macklemore kicks it twice as fast with his raps for a bit, it feels so right. When Ray comes it, he fits like a piece of a puzzle. Macklemore goes really hard in this song, making it seem effortless. If all the songs are like this, then we are looking at a fantastic album. Also, Ryan Lewis does a fantastic job with the production of this song, keeping it at a good pace, and switching the melody in the song near the end.

3) “Thrift Shop” (Featuring Wanz)- The build up for this song if fantastic. Having the two separate voices come in with the drums was a fantastic idea. The horn selection of this song is immediately stuck in your head for hours, and is almost addictive. The song is about how you don’t need money to be able to look good and have fun. Having this song start off with the chorus was a good choice, since Wanz has a very strong voice that works with the horns. Macklemore adds a little humor to this song, talking about wearing fur coats and stealing your grandpa’s style (since older people tend to donate to thrift shops more). He talks about how it’s ignorant to buy a $50 dollar t-shirt when he got a jacket for 99 cents. Just a fun song in general, something you could keep on repeat for a long time without getting bored.

4) “Thin Line” (featuring Buffalo Madonna)-The choice of using a rock organ was a good one for the intro, and the duo did a good job choosing singers for their album. Macklemore talks about how women don’t need to wear make up to be beautiful and other socieatal issues. The production is on key, and what makes it even more impressive is how Ryan Lewis admits he doesn’t know how to play notes and only uses keys. Macklemore then talks about his fantasies about getting together with a beautiful girl and making her life perfect. It was surprising to hear Macklemore singing with the singer at the end, but in a good way. His softer voice fit well

5) “Same Love” (Featuring Mary Lambert)-This instrumental makes you think of a suburban setting, and it has a mellow feeling. This song sounds like a self narrative, but don’t let it fool you: that’s just good story telling. Macklemore is pointing out how when adolescents question their sexuality, some parents push stereo types into their brains, telling them if they aren’t like “this”, then they aren’t gay, or it can be cured with religion. The quote from this song is definitely true:  “America, the brave, still fears what we don’t know”. But, Mary Lambert is the number one feature on this album. Her voice is like silk on the track, and makes it 20% cooler. Macklemore talks about how people have become numb to insulting homosexuality and different sexualities. He encourages society to afford everyone basic human rights. He talks about hypocrisy.  This song does a good job of not coming off as preachy, but still means something.

6) “Make the Money”-This song starts off feeling like it’s going to have a lot of energy, and doesn’t disappoint. It dips down for a short time, then comes right back up. Macklemore tries to show how you cannot let money change you, because you can become someone you never wanted to be. He also says if you’re making music only for the money, to stop because you’ll become a slave to the industry.

7) “Neon Cathedral” (Featuring Allen Stone)-This song feels somber and has a sad vibe to it. Talking about going to a bar and having your soul picked by the barkeep, it can hit home for anyone going through a rough patch. When Allen Stone comes in, it feels almost soulful and it hits even harder than before. This song shows the talent Macklemore has to be able to preach without seeming preachy. The strings that were added towards the end add to the heart ache of the song.

8)” BomBom”- This song shows Ryan Lewis’s raw talent. It’s a straight up instrumental, but far from boring. The way he can switch up the melody without making it unrecognizable is uncanny and a very hard ability to come by. The instruments in the song constantly change in the song, but always for the better. Nothing clashes, and it all sounds perfectly organic. At times you just want to sit and listen, and others you want to get up and dance.

9) “White Walls” (Featuring ScHoolboy Q & Hollis)-This song is a lot lighter, about just about having fun and partying. Yet, it’s also not a party song. It’s more of a campfire song if anything. But it feels right. ScHoolboy Q changes up the whole mood though and makes it a little bit harder than before.

10) “Jimmy Lovine” (Featuring Ab-Soul)- It starts off with wind whistling in the backround and completely changes. For those of you who don’t know, Jimmy Lovine owns one of the biggest record labels, Interscope Records. This song is about Macklemore meeting him, trying to get a record deal. The song is faster, so you may need to listen to it twice to truly get what he’s saying. But, it shows that he refuses to get messed over by a record label by only getting 7% of his profits from his own music.

11) “Wing$”- This song seems to just be about shoes, but it goes deeper. It’s about how people can get shot over things as silly as shoes, how people want to fit in no matter how much it costs, and how companies rip off so many people using products to make people feel they can be apart of an exclusive group. The production is fantastic, giving in an epic feeling of sorts, and making you truly want to listen. The children singing the chorus makes it mean that much more, seeing how it’s the children getting killed over these things.

12) “A Wake” (Featuring Evan Roman)- Macklemore immediately talks about the problems of our generation and how he wish that he didn’t care, that he didn’t want to help the people around him, but he feels like he needs to. He says how people teling him it’s refreshing to hear someone not rap about drugs and gunplay, but he points out it’s their fault since that’s what sells. He’s saying how things need to change for anything productive to happen.

13) “Gold” (Featuring Eighty4 Fly)- this seems to be more a fun song, very light about how you should feel great about yourself.  Just have fun! I wasn’t much of a fan of the singer and the style the chorus was written in, but that’s only one out of many songs I’ve loved.

14) “Starting Over” (Featuring Ben Bridwell)- This has to be the most meaningful song on the album. Macklemore is notorious for being a person who overcame substance abuse, and this song is about how he relapsed. His shame and anger at himself fills up as he wants to find a way to tell people that he slipped up. He talks about the pain of telling his love ones, and how he feels like a liar when people tell him that he helped them get clean with his music. The hook is very well done, not taking away the spotlight from Macklemore, who defiantly deserves.

15) “Cowboy Boots”- The beginning of the song put me off a little, with its country feel, but it fits well, and it doesn’t make me want to immediately turn off my Ipod (well, besides the chorus). The chorus is very twangy, which I’m not much of a fan of. But Macklemore raps about good memories, which is always good to hear.

16) “Castle”- A very catchy chorus, definitely a party song. Not bad though, but one of the weaker songs of the album. The production is put together nicely, with advance chord progression (which you don’t see in most pop songs)

17) “My Oh My”- A very reminiscent song, remembering being a child, back in the ‘90’s, and how exciting a sports game can be at that age. Ryan Lewis does a very good job giving this a old timey feeling, and making sure it supports the vocals well. Good to hear a stronger song at the end of the song, instead of a flop.

18) “Victory Lap”- A very motivational song with horns in the background and heavy drums. It was a good way to end the album, so you know that the team of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis are here to stay. Macklemore talks about how their EP got them tours, and how proud his father is of him.

 

 

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