December 27, 2009 09:00 PM
C&L's Late Nite Music Club with Alicia Keys
Empire State of Mind, Part II from The Element of Freedom
Jay-Z had a big hit with his version of Empire State of Mind, which featured Alicia Keys.
For her new album, Keys reworked the song for herself. My little girl was singing this all over Manhattan when we were visiting, so I found myself humming it myself. However, my youngest prefers the hip hop mix of the Jay-Z version, with the recitation of the NY landmarks and locations.
What do you think? Which version do you like better?
Keys version is better. IMO
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-repo...
I was wondering how long it would take before someone brought that up. Colbert
singingrapping about his rich, white privilege is somethin' else.In short, my love for Stephen Colbert continues to grow by leaps and bounds.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHIWyj2Bsa8&fe...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCOiidUO1P8&fe...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b2ZXNLqUeE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0S0zNFzK_ns
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtBZSIrmgiU&fe...
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
Kate Bush is one of my faves :)
Keys's version is amazing. especially with colbert.
is the life and energy of both versions. Yeah, Jay-Z brings an irrepressible urban cadence to the tune, but without Keys, it can go nowhere. She IS Empire State of Mind, -- until her next stroke of genius, anyway.
Love Jay-Z, love Alicia Keys.
n.b., it's ok to hate the yankees and still love New York!
I like some of the arranging in Jay-Z's version ..., but when push comes to shove ... I gotta go with folks who project style and emotion through their instruments- including their world-class voices. Just a bias of mine when it comes to music. See ... I can imagine her version without him, obviously, but I can't imagine his version without her. She's the backbone of his version ... she carries his freight with style and punch. It's not showcasing him ... there's much better tracks out there for his rep, so this isn't anti Jay-Z, it's pro Alicia for these particular tracks.
I prefer Alicia Keys' version, but she and colbert's makes me happy every time I see it. Flippin' Infectious.
http://www.hulu.com/watch/115500/the-colbert-...
Lyrics are the showcase for a singer's voice. What rationale exists for overwhelmingly loud instrumentals which obscure that voice? Keys' engineer could have mixed this better.
Shameless commercialism - sounds like she's auditioning for the tourism board.
Always interesting when someone writes songs about a city; Detroit and New Orleans come to mind, but this has no visceral thrills at all. Sorry.
Jay-Z brings in the passion to this quite weak tune. Alicia Keys's music always suffers from over-production, and over-thinking.
That said, her and Colbert make a nice combo!
both are smokin and legendary
don't live in New York.
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