In My Mind, It Sounds Like Oooooh

A Track by Track Review of Kid CuDi’s Man On The Moon: The End of Day

If you want an intellectual music insider-y type review, where the writer references Kafka and Nina Simone, you’re barking up the wrong tree, in the wrong forest altogether. Without sounding too dreamcatcher-y, I feel music in colors and in my guts and envision where and when it should be used and listened to. I love this album. Let’s go.

(PS – Kid CuDi is going to be performing in Vancouver like 80 times this week. You’d be stupid to not catch him at least once. Find tickets here and here.)

In my Dreams (Cudder Anthem)
Slow intro: Plink plink goes the start of the dreams and sleep blanket that coats this album like a very thin, sweet crackly crust.

Soundtrack 2 My Life
The chorus makes you do that side-to-side thing with your shoulders, then you check around to see if anybody’s watching. The boops and beeps are like an 80s keyboard soundtrack walking into the sunset. Ooh boy, I’m with you now.

Simple As…
‘ABC, ABC’ over and over in astronaut voices, then ‘123, 123,’ building on top and mother FUCK I love noises that stack. How do they know that will sound SO GOOD? If I was in a marching band, I’d rig a vote to ensure we could play this at the next high school pep rally.

Solo Dolo (Nightmare)
I love simple rhyming devices, so I’m all in. Gentle build up, instruments that can be made out of wood being plucked at, a simple voice, then it kind of sounds like Seal coming in, but that’s okay, and it’s like we’re looking through a library for clues in a movie montage, little orchestral touches, and an overall feeling of time ticking away. I feel like I need a hug.

Heart of a Lion (Kid CuDi Theme Music)
If I could double dutch, I would crank this loud in a basement with my best friends and skip for hours.

My World (Feat. Billy Cravens)
Robot robot robot digital readout talking, then that chorus so gooey and divine, ‘This will be my world, I told you so.’ God, who doesn’t love to say that? ‘Yeah’ and ‘oh’ sweetly married together at the end makes a beautiful finish.

Day N Nite (Nightmare)
The first single off the album – I really like this as an excellent ‘walking to meet friends’ song.  Also, I can totally relate to the ‘lonely stoner.’ Confession – I like the Crooks remix better, especially the ‘dangerdanger’ noises at the 1:00 mark.

Sky Might Fall
This conjures up Miami Vice right from the first note. I’m imagining this accompanying a love scene on a speedboat.

Enter Galactic (Love Connection Pt.1)
I could dance on one foot to this song for hours, stop to eat popcorn, then change feet.

Alive (Feat. Ratatat)
The beginning is a soundtrack to a Ninja Turtles slo-mo fight scene. Then we move to that familiar guitar ‘wah-wah’ noise that Ratatat does so well. If they could remix lives, I’d sign up and then have a Charlie Kaufman script made out of it.

CuDi Zone
‘In my miiiiiiiind, it sounds like ooooh.’ Oh, it’s so nonsensical you feel like running down the block after a loose dog, then having a hotel breakfast buffet. The line ‘Shut your mouth before I fuck it’ makes me want to be a boy. I can imagine an amazing church choir from Detroit covering this and making the news.

Make her Say (Feat. Kanye West and Common)
CuDi’s tour mate Lady Gaga’s Poker Face is sampled here, and it drives me slightly mad but I don’t skip it because, c’mon Common? His voice is caramelized caramel, and I still like Kanye. I will always love his early albums and I can appreciate a good caplock. And, overall I’m always down for a good sex pun.

Pursuit of Happiness (Feat. MGMT and Ratatat)
My favourite track on the album. CuDi sounds so sad and I really want to help him with his night terrors. The whispering repeat at the end followed by Ratatat being all rippy on guitar = bliss. You know MGMT recorded their part from, like, a marshmallow lake. Watch it performed beautifully on Letterman here.

Hyyer (Feat. Chip Tha Ripper)
A slow cam shot of many dudes chilling at a backyard barbecue, girls slow grinding in the background and shots of kids eating popsicles. I skip this track.

Up, Up, and Away (The Wake and Bake Song)
This is the track you try on your new shoes to.

Man on the Moon (The Anthem)
Oh wait, girl fairy-whispering ‘dizzy’ sounds a little Poltergeist-y, so I now really want a drink and to never watch TV ever again.

T.G.I.F (Feat. Chip Tha Ripper)
My second favourite track. A song that make you want to be 16 again with a fresh driver’s license, cranking an album in your car and pulling up to a red light, staring straight ahead but knowing the people beside you are all, what IS that?

Is There Any Love? (Feat. Wale)
Wale is on here, a dude I also like. But, if I’d edited this album, I would have snipped this track off.

And there you have it. Thanks for sticking it out to the end. I’ll be back here later in the week with some more nonsense. Or I’m always over here over-sharing.