| Product Summary | | UPC: 04943674053957 | | Release Date: 12/14/2004 | | Buy.com Sku: 64001912 | | Item#: M2HG5G | Format:  CD |
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Song Listing
| Disc 1 | | Song Title | Sample | | 1. Intro | ------ | | 2. If It Wasn't For You | ------ | | 3. Are You Down With It? | ------ | | 4. World's Gone Mad | ------ | | 5. Dating Game | ------ | | 6. Breakdown | ------ | | 7. It's Like That | ------ | | 8. I've Been Thinking | ------ | | 9. Rock and Roll (Could Never Hip ~ Hop Like This) (Part 2) | ------ | | 10. Knockers | ------ | | 11. Hours | ------ | | 12. Class System | ------ | | 13. First... And Then | ------ | | 14. Day in the Life, A | ------ | | 15. Good Hygiene | ------ | | 16. Greatest Mistake | ------ | | 17. Dating Game (Part 2) | ------ | | 18. Outro | ------ | | 19. Runway Song (Part 2) ~ (Bonus Track) | ------ |
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| | Album Notes and Credits |
Notes & Personnel Info |  | Five years after their rightfully revered debut, So...How's Your Girl?, brainiac producers Prince Paul and Dan the Automator return with Handsome Boy Modeling School's a-little-too-smug sophomore release, White People. Like the title, a good third of the album feels too forced. Another third is fair, but the remainder is stunning -- mostly song-based and mostly nonirreverent. Tim Meadows' "The Ladies Man" character and a bunch of narration from Modeling School Central keeps the Handsome Boy concept going, but it's a concept that could carry one album, not two (also of note: "The Ladies Man"'s appearances are often tacked right onto the end of tracks, making the album more difficult to whittle down to a concise mixtape). Minus Del tha Funkee Homosapien and Casual, the rappers on White People sound too aware of their surroundings, too mannered. The mega-talented Pharrell Williams' contribution to "Class System" could have been carried off by anyone, so that leaves it up to people from the pop and rock realm to really bring it to the table. They do, with solid songs that could exist outside of Handsome Boy's heavy-with-concept world. Expect Jamie Cullum and John Oates' pop-solid "Biggest Mistake" to show up on a Christina Aguilera album sometime soon, while Cat Power's track is so well formed you have to wonder what the reaction will be when a Handsome Boy fan encounters one of her indie, skeletal, and spent early albums. Sounding like Paul Simon for the hoody generation, Jack Johnson's "Breakdown" is a surprising success, but just as surprising is that the genre-hopping, always risk-taking Mike Patton can't find the spark. Bringing reminders of a better track on a better album, "Rock & Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This), Pt. 2" is the album's problem in one song. Jumping from one style to another, the song never digs in like How's Your Girl's "Part 1," since ambition overtakes reason and cleverness overtakes everything. There's a killer EP worth of tracks strewn among the album and more than a few signs that Dan and Paul still got it. Stuck trying to re-create the daring excitement, Handsome Boy Modeling School turn in an album that's half as interesting as their debut, and half as interesting as their guest list. ~ David Jeffries | | Handsome Boy Modeling School's sophomore effort would seem to be a marvel on paper. With contributions from artists as diverse as Julee Cruise, Linkin Park, Pharrell, Mike Patton, John Oates, El-P, Cat Power seemingly performing a Suzanne Vega impersonation, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Deftones singer Chino Moreno, Franz Ferdinand main man Alex Kapranos, comedian Tim Meadows, and host of other famous folks, expectations are sky high. But Dan the Automator Nakamura and Prince Paul drop the ball on a number of fronts. First, for a comedy album, the humor is rushed and weak. Second, the beats and samples show no innovation and are far too often snore-inducing retreads of Nakamura's 1990s output. Third, the hodgepodge of styles and voices don't gel into anything more than a grating mess. "Rock & Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This), Pt. 2" is a perfect example of the album's failings. What would be an interesting classroom history lesson or a master's thesis on hip-hop's importance to modern music hardly makes sense on a comedic album. With the Linkin Park boys alternating between angry and sappy, and old-school hip-hoppers Jazzy Jay and Grand Wizard Theodore spouting condescending tomes about music, the song is a seven-minute warped blend of rap, rock, hip-hop, and classical styles that feels clinical and forced even when it strives to be emotional. The duo even manages to make a Julee Cruise and Pharrell collaboration boring, by failing to understand how to record Cruise's voice and by offering little more than haunted house-worthy background beats. And what's with the John Oates vocoder vocals on "The Greatest Mistake"? White People would have benefited from more of Chris Elliott's hilarious Get a Life samples that made So...How's Your Girl? such a treat. In their place are unfunny skits by Father Guido Sarducci and Tim Meadows that feature bumbling improv. Handsome Boy Modeling School's second effort could win an award for most-eclectic contributors, but other than that, White People is a massive disappointment. Yes, fans of the contributors should enjoy their efforts here, but the album as a whole is difficult to recommend. ~ Tim DiGravina | | Nathaniel Merriweather (AKA Dan the Automator) and Chest Rockwell (AKA Prince Paul) present the second installment in their ongoing saga. As with the duo's debut, SO... HOW'S YOUR GIRL?, it's a comedic love den for the experimental breeding of hip-hop with whatever strikes their mood, be it rock, reggae, nu-metal, jazz, electronica, or dub. | | This time the amazingly eclectic guest list includes TV's Father Guido Sarducci, Cat Power, Jack Johnson, members of Linkin Park, Hall & Oates, and Franz Ferdinand, among many others. Surreal advice on dating hygiene alternates with genuine make-out-session-worthy funk (the Prince-esque "Greatest Mistake") and soul (the Otis Redding-esque "Breakdown"). Julee Cruise purrs about tax breaks on "Class System"(with Pharrell Williams), while "Rock and Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This) Part 2" morphs into straight-up AOR rock that may have hip-hop purists thinking they put on the wrong disc. Of course, there are still solid beats and rhymes from Del tha Funkee Homosapien, De La Soul, and others. Throughout WHITE PEOPLE, Merriweather and Rockwell make sure that both their cohorts and their listeners are having a good time. |
Musical Guests | | De La Soul | | Barrington Levy | | Del Tha Funkee Homosapien | | Franz Ferdinand | | Cat Power | | El-P | | Pharrell Williams | | Julee Cruise |
| | Compilation Appearances |
| | Technical Info | | Release Date : 12/14/2004 | | Original Release Date : 2004 | | Catalog ID : WPCR-1194 | | Label : Warner Music Benelux (Australia) | | Number of Discs : 1 | | Studio/Live : Studio | | Mono/Stereo : Stereo | | SPAR Code : n/a | | UPC : 49436740539576 |
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| | Professional Reviews | | Rolling Stone (p.88)
- 3 1/2 stars out of 5 - "[T]he skits keep it realer than reality TV..."Rolling Stone (p.144)
- Included in Rolling Stone's Top 50 Records Of 2004 - "[A]n album of ridiculously clever mash-ups of rock and hip-hop." Spin (p.124)
- "The De La-ish beats are never less than heartwarming, and the Jay-Z parody's quite ballsy." - Grade: B Entertainment Weekly (p.120)
- "[The] boys can still kick occasionally..." - Grade: B Uncut (p.137)
- 3 stars out of 5 - "[T]he Handsome Boy charm still wins through." Alternative Press (p.162)
- "They assemble a galaxy of likely and unlikely vocalists, MCs and guest musicians, then let 'em flex within Handsome Boy Modeling School's quasi-satirical scheme." - 3 out of 5 Mojo (Publisher)
(p.98)
- 3 stars out of 5 - "[A]nother loosely linked selection of skits, guests and bursts of brilliance." |
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