QN5 Music

In aid of increasing discussion on these boards I decided to start an ‘album of the week’ thread.

Basically, every Monday I will post up an album for us to go away, dust off and give a few spins, and return to discuss. The picking of the album will be done randomly, and I’ll try to throw a few curve balls in from time to time but also try to tie albums into what is currently happening in the QN5 related world which we reside in.

Hopefully this will kick off some good conversations, whether it is about how your opinions have changed, what your favourites are, how nice the album art is or just fondly remembering the pre-order buzz. Each week I’ll post the album of the week in this thread and we’ll just continue to use this thread to prevent clutter.

I will also put a link to each weeks choice in this post (below). So without further a due, it’s Monday August 2nd and it’s time for us all to enjoy the very first QN5 album of the week!
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WEEK 1: http://qn5.com/discuss/viewthread/14221/#244338
WEEK 2: http://qn5.com/discuss/viewthread/14221/P30/#244553
WEEK 3: http://qn5.com/discuss/viewthread/14221/P60/#245068

[Week One] 08:02:10 - 08:09:10
Mr. SOS - How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (2009)

1. Apocalyptic Doomsday
2. 2013
3. Work (f/ Zero Basement)
4. Bionic
5. Dr. Strangelove
6. Save You
7. The Balance
8. I Can’t Sleep
9. What’s MK Ultra?
10. The Young & The Innocent (f/ Cashmere The PRO)
11. Expose
12. Time Capsule (f/ Steph)
13. BONUS: Welcome To The Future (ChewFu’s Bionic RMX)

In honor of Mr. SOS’s first music video for ‘What’s MK Ultra’, we shall take a look back at last years’ debut album. A masterwork of paranoia and politics, the album is sure to have never left some of your CD players, but it’s about time we get together and decide what we think of this LP one year on.

Give it a listen. Love it, and come back and share with the rest of us, because this is QN5 album of the week until 08.09!!

So this is kinda like a bookclub for music? Nice idea!

Great topic! Here’s my impressions aftre relistening:

First off, I love the theme of the album. I like the whole idea of cataclysm and rebirth. Creative destruction’s an intriguing topic. When I first saw and heard the references to Dr. Strangelove and 2001: A Space Odyssey I definitely had a “God damn that’s dope!” moment. The references still give me that feeling.

The production was flawless and the songs: Apocalyptic Doomsday, 2013, Expose and Bionic shine through. Apocalyptic Doomsday was definitely my favorite track and it still has the most replay value. I like the way SOS crafted his lyrics to change the meanings of the words in the hook. I still get incredible visuals when I hear lines like “Falling planes with no targets/ Hitting pyramids and turning monuments to burnt obelisks. ” Once I play this track, I have to hear 2013 too, and that’s the perfect sign of a well crafted segue.

SOS’ flow is at it’s best during Time Capsule and I Can’t Sleep. However, there are times in the album where the flow seems forced and syllables are either rushed or prolonged to fit the beat. In Work, SOS sacrifices his smooth flow to give the track a futuristic and monotonous feel. The song leaves me wishing he just let the beat do that job while he did his thing. There are also a couple spots where back to back lines end with the same word, and to me that’s a cardinal sin in hip-hop—barring very, very few exceptions.

Overall it’s a great album with solid replay value even after all this time. I’m at the point where I have my favorites that I keep going back to (over and over), but it was great taking in the album as a whole again. It works very well.

I put this back in my cd player just a few days ago, still one of my favourite albums.
I’m trying to think of my favourite song but it changes every time I listen to it, depending on what mood I’m in.
Apocalyptic doomsday is almost like watching a film with all the imagery and worldplay, and like neverbetter said 2013 just follows it perfectly.
I think The Balance should be a soundtrack for every relationship, and even life in general, and we’ve all been able to relate to I Can’t Sleep at one time or another.
Both The Young & The Innocent and Expose hypnotize me, and then Time Capsule breaks you out of it with its passionate delivery.
Probably my second favourite QN5 album (behind APOS), tied with Southernunderground.

There arent alot of albums i listen to straight thru without skipping any songs….this is one of them….SOS’s lyrics and word play have always been impressive to me….but with maturity comes change and i think this was change for the good. Dont get me wrong I like to throw on SOS for President to hear some good ol fashioned shit talking and bravado, but this album kilt it. Its my 5yr olds favorite CD haha!

I remember how hyped I was for this album, I played nothing but For President 1&2 and Pre-OP for months before hand (these being the days when we didn’t get a new release every month), and when I heard Bionic and Apocalyptic Doomsday it only reaffirmed my suspicions that it was going to be awesome. Listening back now, and for the first time in a car the last month or so, DAMN, it bumps. The album flows so damn well. Like everyone has said, AD just has to go into 2013. (Just realised, the tracks read AD 2013 if shortened. Pretty dope, lol).

Bionic. What can I say about Bionic! It’s easily one of my favourite QN5 songs. Now, i’m probabily going to catch hate for this, but I really think the album loses steam after MK Ultra. I think this is mainly because I really don’t like The Young and the Innocent. I think this is the track to which SOS himself did the beat and i’m sorry, but I really don’t like it, it sounds a bit cheap and kind of sounds like something i’d expect from MF Doom. Sorry, can’t like everything! Lol. But yeah, I really don’t like that song and it’s mostly the beat. Because of that I feel like I don’t get to Time Capsule enough, which i’m going to have to let sink in alot more.

Overall, looking back: There are some excellent songs on here and it gives SOS a great start, it’s very promising for whatever is next. Also, a year later, this still sounds fresh. I’d have loved to hear more from QN5 on the production tip though. Bionic is easily the best song and also the only beat that came from in-house. Plus, SOS & Kno is often very special. However, other than the one song I don’t like, this is pretty awesome, and every listen still reminds me of how excited I was about my first. I don’t think i’ve ever been so excited for a release (Death is Silent is getting close though).

[/ramble over]

My #1 favorite track from this album went from being The Balance to I Cant Sleep to The Young and The Innocent to Apocalyptic Doomsday. Took me a little while to get used to that last one but now I think its an amazing song.

I guess when your favorite from an album changes after each listen its a sign of a pretty good record.

One thing that SOS does really well and not common in Hiphop is how he interacts with the samples. Like he adds a little line replying to what the sample just said. Ex.: The Balance and I Can’t Sleep (& Die for You). It’s nothing major but I think it adds a lot to a song, makes it more complete.

Spycko said:My #1 favorite track from this album went from being The Balance to I Cant Sleep to The Young and The Innocent to Apocalyptic Doomsday. Took me a little while to get used to that last one but now I think its an amazing song.

I guess when your favorite from an album changes after each listen its a sign of a pretty good record.

One thing that SOS does really well and not common in Hiphop is how he interacts with the samples. Like he adds a little line replying to what the sample just said. Ex.: The Balance and I Can’t Sleep (& Die for You). It’s nothing major but I think it adds a lot to a song, makes it more complete.

Yeah, I like that alot, especially on the hook to ‘Die for You’.

KNOWLEDGE said:

Spycko said:My #1 favorite track from this album went from being The Balance to I Cant Sleep to The Young and The Innocent to Apocalyptic Doomsday. Took me a little while to get used to that last one but now I think its an amazing song.

I guess when your favorite from an album changes after each listen its a sign of a pretty good record.

One thing that SOS does really well and not common in Hiphop is how he interacts with the samples. Like he adds a little line replying to what the sample just said. Ex.: The Balance and I Can’t Sleep (& Die for You). It’s nothing major but I think it adds a lot to a song, makes it more complete.

Yeah, I like that alot, especially on the hook to ‘Die for You’.

and of course “Time (What Is It?)”

I like “The Young & The Innocent” 100x more than I initially did when the album dropped.

I wasn’t really feeling it as much as the other songs back then, and now I feel as if I’ve been sleeping on ice cream sundaes.

[pictures that for a moment]

It’s just that good.

houstonz said:I like “The Young & The Innocent” 100x more than I initially did when the album dropped.

I wasn’t really feeling it as much as the other songs back then, and now I feel as if I’ve been sleeping on ice cream sundaes.

[pictures that for a moment]

It’s just that good.

Maybe I just need to give it more plays…but I really don’t like it…and I don’t even know why.

The hook is practically an anthem for today.

Plus Cashmere’s line “God seems a lot timelier when you’re under the gun” just speaks to me on levels of levels - seeing as I have no solid belief in a god, but when things get intense sometimes you hope there is.

SOS made the beat hisself!

worm9103 said:SOS made the beat hisself!

I know. I just dont like it. Im sure i’ll like his beats, just not that one.

Out of curiousity, has SOS produced anything else?

Young & the Innocent is a dope dope song. Reminds me a bit of ‘the youth’ but a lot lot better. Beat is sick as hell too.

HILTSWALTB is a fantastic album, front to back, with a very unique and cohesive sound. I can’t really pick out stand out tracks, as I feel, like APOS, it just works so well as a whole. They compliment each other.

..with the exception of Apocalyptic Doomsday, which is one of my favourite QN5 tracks period. That song is so unapologetically vicious and cranked up on some bassy speakers (or.. most notably, in my car) it just tears the earth apart just as the lyrics would suggest. Ricky Raw is a beast.

I still play that song on average of once a day, regardless of whatever else I’m listening to at the time.. and not once have I started to feel even remotely bored with it.

Haven’t listened to this album in a few months, but I’m glad this topic got me to do it in its entirety because I definitely forgot how good this album is. When it first dropped I had mixed feelings about it, some tracks stood out, while some others were slept on. Giving it another go after I’ve already had a chance to digest it allowed me to catch things I hadn’t before and appreciate it in a new light. SOS has a unique and badass style and I forgot how much i missed it. Some of my favorite tracks are Apocalyptic Doomsday (#1) and Expose (#2) - although it doesnt have any lyrics its just such a beautiful instrumental and I think its a good respite from the dark subject matter of the rest of the album. 2013 is a great follow-up to AD, and Time Capsule is a perfect closer with Steph doin a great job. Honorable Mentions: Bionic, The Balance, What’s MK Ultra?. Work speaks mad truth, can definitely relate to it more now than when i first heard it (since my job blows).

I like The Young and the Innocent also, think it works well. My least favorite track is Save You. I don’t like the beat the much and I just don’t think it works well with the vocals. The feel of the song just doesn’t connect with me. The chorus works for me tho.

I like the Chew Fu remix of Bionic at the end and it also gives a totally different and refreshing feel to the album. A danceable track on an end-of-the-world album? Word!

I’m gonna be honest, as much as I love his other stuff, I really wasn’t feeling the Chew Fu remix of Bionic. That’s the only song on the album I’m not keen on. I don’t hate it, but it sounds kinda childish to me and feels really juxtaposed to the ‘feel’ of the album. I feel like the combination of the terms ‘Chew Fu’ and ‘Bionic remix’ could have created something a lot more special.

I know it’s supposed to be ‘different’ but it doesn’t really do anything for me.. sorry..

:S

Tonedeff said:The funny part is, I was about a week away from finishing a cameo verse. We just ran outta time and needed to get the album out.

I can’t possibly be the only one who’d love to hear a remix/refix/something with that verse.

The Bionic RMX was never my favorite track either, but I’d be lying if I said I’ve never once jammed to it in my car. Save You is also one of my least favorites from the album, but the dopeness of every other song just blows the negatives out the water.

bionic rmx is the shit

and I rarely listen anything without rapping over it, non-rap music usualy don’t move me the same way but this is one of the few songs that do

on the other note, i think that Die for you from SJV1 would be better fit to album then Save you, they’re both good songs but Die for is my top 5 SOS songs easy

Die For You is up there with Rain and Bionic in my top 3 SOS songs.

I honestly was not feeling this album much. It’s weird because, before I bought the album, I had always loved Mr. SOS, but the rapping sounded different to me when the album came out. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but that’s not to say I hated the album completely. I loved the production and a few songs stood out from the rest. I do want to emphasize, “Time Capsule.” Everything about that song is perfect, but I especially love the hook sung by Steph! Additionally, Chew Fu’s remix of “Bionic” is incredible; it gets me pumped every time I hear it. Overall, it’s a solid album, just not one that’s attractive to my taste, which is weird also, considering that I love CunninLynguists and Tonedeff, and SOS shares some the same qualities, especially in lyrics.

QN5 said:“Apocalyptic Doomsday” is easily one of the best intro songs ever on an album.

Yes! In terms of QN5 albums it is THE best intro song. All that comes close is I Fucking Hate Rappers and Overture.

KNOWLEDGE said:

QN5 said:“Apocalyptic Doomsday” is easily one of the best intro songs ever on an album.

Yes! In terms of QN5 albums it is THE best intro song. All that comes close is I Fucking Hate Rappers and Overture.

Where Will You Be? > all

Where Will You Be is fucking magical but works as part of the album. The songs I mention work great as stand alone tracks as well.

pssh.. forget all that shit

ain’t got no money (monayyy)
I’m broke as hell (broke as hell)
my pockets are empty (emptyy)
oh can’t you tell (can’t you tell)
I’m short on dough (dough)
I will rap for food (will rap for food)
baby can I get a dolla (dollaaa)
we ain’t tryna be ruuude

Dunno if they count as album intros, but i’d go with “Cornasto” and “Monotony”. “Apocalyptic Doomsday” is great though. As a stand alone piece/song, “Cornasto” shits on “Where Will You Be”, and is incredible IMO - I imagine it was intended for APOS but didn’t fit in on the album

amplifya said:Dunno if they count as album intros, but i’d go with “Cornasto” and “Monotony”. “Apocalyptic Doomsday” is great though. As a stand alone piece/song, “Cornasto” shits on “Where Will You Be”, and is incredible IMO - I imagine it was intended for APOS but didn’t fit in on the album

I was actually reading through old threads in the CL forum the other day. ‘Cornasto’ was recorded during the APOS process but wasn’t necessarily for APOS, just one of the songs that was in the pile they chose from. After they got ‘Where Will You Be?’ they simply couldn’t find anywhere ‘Cornasto’ would fit. Looking at APOS and ‘Cornasto’ now, I couldn’t imagine it being on APOS.