Virtual Fools

Kanye West’s new album, 808s & Heartbreak, is available streaming on his website. You have to click on the album cover in the MySpace player so that it brings up the album specific tracks, but give it a listen. I’m actually really impressed with the way Kanye has used technology to promote his album. This is especially true of his iterative releases of the album’s first single.

The first time I heard Love Lockdown was a video of him performing it live at the 2008 EMAs. I couldn’t understand what the hubbub was all about, but assumed the video recording quality was what was getting in the way. Then I heard that version of the song linked from his website and still wasn’t that impressed. Little did I know that the song was just not finished.

Finally, Kanye posted an mp3 to his blog of the final version of the song and damn is it good. It was especially awesome that he was releasing the song for free to create a buzz. The blog entry’s title is also interesting: “AFTER PERFORMING AND HEARING THIS IN THE CLUB I DECIDED 2 MIX IT AND MASTER IT AGAIN…”  He used technology as a testing ground and confirmed that music doesn’t have to be made in a black box. He even released the stems for the remix inclined. After a long discussion with my friend, I’ve come to realize this isn’t all about marketing–rather it’s a genuine desire to produce the best material possible. Have other artists done this before? Absolutely. But I think it’s still an interesting example of iterative artistry and I hope we see more of it in the furture.