DJ Shadow made Entroducing….., the instrumental hip hop record that broke the mold for hip hop producers and grammar purists of the ellipses rule – the end. Alas, that is not how music careers work and DJ Shadow carries on against his better judgment that inevitably becomes target practice for smarmy critics (hi, how's it going?).
Fader premiered two brand new DJ Shadow tracks today off his yet-to-be titled 2011 record. In a mad-dash of premiere excitement, Matt Schnipper was allowed to compare DJ Shadow to two atrocious genres, goth and dubstep, possibly without question of decency:
You had to say it? Really? I forgot about the Salem fiasco at The Fort, but you had to say it, reminding me that you have a predilection for championing shitty bands. Don't try to romanticize Salem out of the grave it dug as though its name holds weight in influence; they are goth, the grave was probably intentional.
“Def Surrounds Us” is somewhat dubstep-like; in all the pain that causes I would prefer it to be retro-hyphy if Shadow insists on programming ginger-snap drums (ever wonder if DJ Shadow even made “Building Steam With A Grain of Salt” when you hear his current work?). As much as I want to fault Schnipper for a lack of depth in comparison, DJ Shadow has played the role of trend-whore before, which is a far greater faux-pas than invoking genres in poor taste. “I've Been Trying” would have been cool eight years ago, had Latyrx stayed together, or could have lent life to Gift of Gab's career, salvaging it back into “40oz For Breakfast” territory. Hearing it today, it sounds like a vault-gem he stumbled upon that will play the role of filler in 2011 should it make the album.
These songs are available for download at DJ Shadow.com for the next 24 hours. After that, stream “Def Surrounds Us” and “I've Been Trying” at Fader. I will be ignoring their existence much like I pretend that “Mutual Slump” is not on Entroducing…..
