Skrillex Book Club: Volume 8 - Jack Ü (2015)

[hprara]

Image by bepmp3

Time for the the eight instalment in the "Skrillex Book Club".
ICYMI, we're taking a listening journey through the discography of the great Sonny Moore and sharing some of our thoughts along the way.
Last week, we looked at the Recess remix EPs.

It's the week we've been dreading...

Skrillex and Diplo present Jack Ü (2015)



This is one project I had never actually heard in full. I think my younger sister had the CD because of the Justin Bieber track but I could be mixing it up with his album, "Promise". Outside of that I have little recollection of anything else about this album. And after listening to it, I think I will probably continue to have little recollection of it. It is pretty damn forgettable. We are now squarely in the "Trap Nation" era of EDM lore. The production is good, no doubt (something something Jack Ü snare). You have two giants of the time just coming down from their peak and off probably the highest point for the "Festival Trap" offshoot of the genre after becoming the trendsetters for it (at least Diplo - this is possibly the only time I will ever give Diplo any sort of credit). But it all just feels formulaic. Predictable. Not to say that this was a new development or anything. ""EDM"" has kind of always had a particular structure that is rarely strayed from in the mainstream. But most of these tracks are made to such a point where they just feel like they're ticking off boxes.

Skipping past the intro, 'Beats Knockin' is fine. It's a Diplo song. It reminds me of 'Express Yourself' which I like better. 'Take Ü There' is also fine. Actually probably a high point on the album. 2 Chainz is just spittin fucking whatever on 'Febreze'. This might be the worst track on here. Never forget the "Ja-faking" Genius annotation. 'Holla Out' has some of the goofiest drop sounds I've ever heard. I didn't think a Justin Bieber feature would be the highlight of a Skrillex project but 'Where Are Ü Now' proved me wrong I guess. Aside from that, I really don't have much to say. The album pretty quickly falls into background music territory. It does nothing well or poorly enough to be memorable for longer than its track's lengths. It's just good enough for me to keep it playing. I can imagine all of these songs playing out well enough in a live setting but they just don't do much for me outside of that. And from what I hear, the alternate live versions of these tracks that got played out are better in most ways.

My thoughts sound pretty harsh, but in reality I don't hate this album. I obviously don't feel nearly the same amount of nostalgia for this one as I do with what came before it. Another cultural artifact albeit with much less staying power than Recess, but it does still remind me of what the pop culture landscape was like around the time it came out. I started high school that year. I got my first cell phone. There was EDM on the radio but it wasn't fully in a Chainsmokers stranglehold just yet (aside from '#Selfie' a few years prior). This won a Grammy. Monoculture hadn't fully dissolved. We couldn't figure out if the dress was blue or gold. Drake was dancing kinda funny. Snapchat dog filter. Vine Compilation Music.


Now it's your turn!
What are your thoughts on this album? Do you love it/hate it? Have you even heard it? (if not, go listen, the image is a link to it's RYM page)
Speak your mind!

[RAW_]

According to legend, sometime in the first half of the 2010s, Sonny Moore was approached by a mysterious being. This being was none other than a demon from the ninth circle of hell whose true name sends chills down the spines of all mortals who hear it. This demon's name was Diplo, and he offered Sonny several years of worldwide fame in exchange for musical ability and part of his soul. Out of this exchange came Jack U.

"Beats Knockin" is the first true track on the album, and its fine. Typical bro trap stuff you'd expect from another Skrillex and Diplo collab. The part where it goes "babababa" is pretty funny. "Take U There" highlights the biggest problems with this records. The drop is kinda underwhelming, just some low pitch-shifted moaning. The buildup is more enjoyable than the drop, which is the case for most of the tracks on here. "Febreze" isn't a bad track, until the 2 Chainz verse kicks in. Too goofy. And yeah the Genius annotations are absolute must reads just for how absurd the lyrical explanations are (none of which are from 2 Chainz himself). "To U" is probably the best song on here. its one of like three songs on here that best blends Skrillex and Diplo's best musical qualities into an actual honestly good song. That second drop is great. "Jungle Bae", however, is just massive wasted potential. The buildup promises so much and that weird, weak pitch shifted vocal drop fails to deliver. "Mind" is notable for having some Sonny Moore vocals, and thats all. "Holla Out" is another almost great song, but there something about that second drop with the weird "blah"s or whatever they are. "Where are U Now" is the biggest hit on here, if not THE biggest song Skrillex has ever been involved with, and thats all because of Justin Bieber, a popstar that absolutely everybody loves and whom nobody hates. Ok but seriously this song is pretty decent. The flute drop is iconic and honestly a banger, but I can no longer hear it without thinking of deadmau5's parody of it. Oh and theres also a remix tacked onto the end of this album of "Take U There" with a verse from Missy Elliot and its ok.

In summary, this album just doesn't really work. There are highlights for sure, but even the best stuff on here pales in comparison to highlights from previous Skrillex projects. Why "Dirty Vibe" works and this doesn't is hard to pin down. Its easy to point the finger at Diplo, and for good reason, as many of the weaker songs on here reek of Diplo cheese, but it feels like Sonny wasn't bringing his A-game here either.

Luckily, Diplo's latest endeavors in being awful to women have likely prevented "Jack U 2: Jacking Uff" from wreaking havoc across the world, but Skrillex would never really be the same after this. He would enter a strange, almost paradoxical musical state, where he would be one of the most popular electronic artists of the rest of the decade, yet wouldn't make another iconic song or sound like why people listened to him in the first place for the foreseeable future.

[hprara]

"Febreze" isn't a bad track, until the 2 Chainz verse kicks in.

That's like the whole song lol

He would enter a strange, almost paradoxical musical state, where he would be one of the most popular electronic artists of the rest of the decade, yet wouldn't make another iconic song or sound like why people listened to him in the first place for the foreseeable future.

I think it's more like he was moving from being a leader to being a follower. But that sounds too negative. I think his production abilities continued to develop and improve, it's just the style element that kinda started to stagnate. Moving alongside what's hot instead of defining what's hot.

[gauze_]

before i begin i have found yet another strange undead artifact. the official jack u website linked on the official jack u soundcloud is now in possession of "Mindblown: a blog about philosophy." despite this fact, every single post on this blog is now about what seems to be the best slot website in indonesia. there is a broken contact button at the bottom of the site but the dedicated contact page seems like it could work. i do not want to test. the jack u merch site unfortunately doesnt have anything registered to it anymore so not even something funny like this is there. its jackuofficial.com and jackustuff.com if youre curious.

as for an actual serious intro thing, ive never heard a single song off this and i dont like diplo so were really going to see how this goes. i have a couple jokes im going to reuse so lets begin with that. i dont like diplo so this album better Jack Më off !!! okay yeah whatever heres my actual thoughts.

i cant quite overstate just how annoyed the intro made me. i dont even know why it just made me like irrationally angry and i hate it.

this album had 2 possible ways i expected it to sound and the first one i thought it could sound like was to u and tracks like that. over all of them were solidly fine enough. i think where are u now is probably the best of that like batch of them.

the other expectation was the other bigger batch of tracks that are like a lot crazier. jungle bae encapsulates that perfectly and holla out does as well. holla out i like a little less because it kind of feels like its trying to be dirty vibe but itll never be dirty vibe. it would probably be fire in a cod montage though. also we didnt really need that minute long extended outro on it. beats knockin also fits in this area but i just thought that one was like. alright.

taking a small section to just talk about febreze. i wasnt expecting that at all. i didnt see 2 chainz in the track list so i heard him and i thought "oh my god im saved." only to get a poop bar and a really loud drop. somehow one of the most fun parts of the album.

i found take u there especially a bit disappointing because it has the potential to be one of if not the best track on the album and just. doesnt do that. however the missy elliott remix fully capitalizes on that potential and bodies the original. missy elliott i owe you everything.

over all i thought this album was incredibly bland which im actually a little happy about? i kind of expected it to be obnoxious and sound like "tour my mansion" or "la sunrise to sunset timelapse" or "epic drone choreography" youtube video background music and instead the album only sometimes sounded like that!! but yeah not a big fan of this album unsurprisingly. Fuck Ü diplo

best track: take u there missy elliott remix
worst track: dont do drugs just take some jack u

[bepmp3]

when we were all on Recess we basically had a conclusion that it was the 2014 album, but honestly Jack Ü (full title Skrillex and Diplo Present Jack Ü) is more a 2015 album than Recess is 2014. it really reeks of 2015. right down to fucking "Jungle Bae" as a title. my takeaway with Jack Ü is that it is an album made exclusively for people who go to coachella. i don't have too much of an opinion on it because it really was only made for festivals and clubs in miami and not made to be picked apart and dissected by a couple of nerds on the internet 11 years later. there was a very specific period in time for it to be enjoyed in, a time that was a lot stupider but much more carefree and happy. #NoFilter.

Don’t Do Drugs Just Take Some Jack Ü is a fun title at least but this fucking sucks ass as an album intro. probably the worst album intro i've heard in a minute. why did they leave in the part where they say they're gonna cut it into an album intro? jesus christ just cut that part out. i usually like when artists give you a peek behind the curtain but here it's just annoying and unnecessary. i don't need to hear a stretched out diplo voice telling me to take jack ü up the butt either bro.

Take Ü There is probably the most important track to come out of this project because if there's any single thing this album will be remembered for in the long run, and there's not much, it's the fucking snare. that snare makes its crash landing on earth and in our ears in the drop of this song. it's on three songs actually! Beats Knockin, Take Ü There and Mind. i think in the creation of the Snare Heard Around the World they knew just how much this snare was going to make an impact because, aside from being on 3 out of 9 tracks (not counting the missy remix), it is just mixed so fucking LOUD on Take Ü There? it's especially evident in the missy elliot remix because it's LOUDER THAN MISSY. LMAO. everything in the mix just ducks under the snare. who the hell sidechains a snare. they knew bro. assuming skrillex came up with the snare and not diplo (i remember hearing he did), it's really funny in hindsight to think that out of the many things that could be listed on skrillex's resume of innovating electronic music, inventing a snare was one of them. he put a tone on a minecraft button and shit inspired many a producer (especially during hyperpop in its early post-gecs golden period).

one more thing on Take Ü There, it probably has the biggest build-up-to-drop whiplash in his discography thus far. idk the chorus and drop just do not match at all. it might be because they're in completely different keys? (i just checked and found out the drop is in between keys which is even weirder.)

Febreze is Febreze. ja-faking it and such. i'm shocked that they were able to make a full song built around a Lil Wayne-type shit punchline bar.

i was even more surprised when Holla Out came on because it's easily the most brosteppy track on the album. in this barren, molly-infested wasteland of braindead party bangers there is a glimpse of the sonny we used to know and love. and it arrives in the form of a parade of some frankly gleeby deeby ass drops. the name Snails only vaguely rang a bell in my mind but then it clicked (*klook*ed) with me that he was a dubstep producer known for making drops like this. Vomitstep. look it up.

not counting the missy remix again, Where Are Ü Now is really the last track of the album?! usually the big hit is placed within the first three tracks of an album. interesting choice, but it works here. believe it or not, Where Are Ü Now is also a track on bieber's album Purpose! they pulled a Slow Jamz! true musician synergy. as a kid, i always loved the music video where they set up a pop up shop and let people come in and paint on each individual frame of the video. really cool music video concept. i feel like if it were done today it would get way more outta pocket.

a tidbit i remembered hearing was that the famous "wailing" during the drop was actually a vocal and not a musical instrument of any kind. i looked into it just to confirm myself and found an old article about the "making of" Where Are Ü Now. so skrillex actually calls that wailing the "dolphin". shit does not sound like a dolphin. and yes it's bieber's voice pitched up two octaves SOMEHOW. also in the article they really preach the song and Jack Ü as a whole to be very unique and unconventional from any pop and EDM music at the time. like sure, looking at how mainstream EDM was at the time i could see it from a sound design perspective. but structurally it gets as formulaic as it gets. there's a funny bit about how the song has no traditional chorus and thus no traditional pop structure and doesn't fit "radio requirements". isn't this song just verse->hook->buildup->drop->verse->hook->buildup->drop like all mainstream EDM was in the mid 2010's?

anyways i had to type so many umlauts while writing this and it sucked. Jack Ü. i'd rather be listening to hudson mohawke.