Is Kanye West desperate or blind?

I love at least two Kanye albums, so for the last several months, I have been trying not to dismiss him after what I have viewed as an implosion of his previously strong taste. It started with the laughable, now-canceled album title, "Good Ass Job." It continued with the average "Power," which is "Godfather III" on the heels of "Gold Digger" and "Stronger."

Now, Ye seems a master of social media after his recent, insanely clever stunt.



However, he is also premium fodder and the blogilatti knows better than to bite the hand that feeds it. Do you think Pfork, Perez, or PMA want Ye to go away? Who looks cooler after watching the Youtube videos, the guy rapping without a beat, or the Twitter and Facebook employees?

Rapping a Capella at Twitter and Facebook is, on the face, courageous, and the lyrics to "Mama's Boyfriend" are brave and revelatory. I think his sense of humor mainly redeems his steadfast ego on the above video, which gives me renewed hope for his album. No doubt, tracks with beats will begin leaking soon, and we will find out if holistic genius or pursuit of celebrity is motivating him these days.

Graduating to fish sticks

To some degree, Kanye West used to embody the Zeitgeist. His new track "Power" is weak sauce. Oh, how good things fade away. The beats are 2005 hand claps and some guitar fuzz from King Crimson. References to Austin Powers, loneliness, and drunk driving further the unspiration. But wow, Kanye, no one has ever sampled "21st Century Schizoid Man." At least your samples are still fresh. Oh wait, Ozzy is covering the whole song on his new album? Hawt.

One other thing. Kanye has not made any strides in terms of personal awareness. The definition of schizoid: of or pertaining to a personality disorder marked by dissociation, passivity, withdrawal, inability to form warm social relationships, and indifference to praise or criticism.