The article “Underrated Overground: Give Contemporary R&B a Chance”, published in Best Music Writing 2008 praises overproduction, abandonment of autonomous authenticity, the embrace of corporate-branded commercialism, and lyrical gems such as, “No I don’t strip in the club/Nor trick in the club/But I got friends that do/So my girls that’s getting the dough/The best way they know/No hate girl, I got you.”
The conclusion for present-day R&B: “In the meantime, everybody else has the opportunity to listen to some of the best American music ever made.” As great as it is to cover all those socioeconomic demographics within the book’s covers, how about the inclusion of only thoughtful, engaging pieces for a book containing “best” in its title? This essay was only three pages, but fuck that for wasting my time.
I just become more of a cynical arsehole when reading these items immediately after being captivated (again) by David Foster Wallace:
