Inspiration Behind the Boards

We all complain about how today's popular music is bland, unoriginal and uninspired. But while perusing MTV News today I came across two surprising stories with a common theme: unique artists making adventurous choices in the studio.

First comes the startling news that Fiona Apple is finally releasing her long-delayed martyr of an album, Extraordinary Machine. As the world's unlikeliest Fiona Apple fan, I've been following this story closely for the last two years. In that time, the legend of this notoriously bootlegged album surrounded was that Sony refused to release it because record wasn't commercial enough. While many subscribed to this theory of corporate oppression, it always seemed suspicious: why would a label pour money into an album's production, then balk at the chance to recoup costs in sales revenue, especially since both of Apple's previous albums went platinum?

Well, today's news of the album's release comes with a back story, in which a dissatisfied Apple, not Sony, was responsible for shelving the album. It turns out that she was unhappy with the production on the original cut, so she re-recorded all of the tracks with... hip-hop producer Mike Elizondo, a protege of one Dr. Dre. It's almost fitting that an eccentric artist like Apple would go completely unconventional route by hiring the producer responsible for 50 Cent's bass lines. While I'm intrigued by the possibilities, I'm a little sad that she decided to scrap the great material from her leaked album, which was produced by Jon Brion.

Speaking of Brion, he's the subject of the second article, which details his extensive participation in Kanye West's upcoming album. All of Late Registration's tracks feature Brion as executive producer and many feature his lush orchestral performances. Giving so much control to a rap novice would be baffling if Brion weren't such a wonderfully eclectic producer. For the uninitiated, Brion is the producer/composer behind such quirky soundtracks as About a Boy, Magnolia and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. As the article points out, Kanye is certainly taking a big risk by allowing Brion to encroach upon his enormous production talents. But I applaud Kanye for pairing up with a fellow virtuoso to attempt sounds that no one else in hip-hop would ever imagine.