“Sharkey’s Machine,” Sharkey
“Sharkey’s Machine,” Sharkey, Babygrande, 2004
“Take a shit on the mike and call it an album,” says a voice on “Sharkey’s Machine.” That’s just what Sharkey did. This nearly hour-long debut CD is a showcase for the artist formerly known as DJ Sharkey, with a lot of hip hop and beats.
I would like to say that this is a playful CD with Sharkey just having fun, but it is tiresome after a while. Sharkey (I assume) announces someplace in nearly every track that “This is “Sharkey’s Machine,” with his voice processed through a vocal synthesizer. Of course, he may have done this only on the advance copies that were sent out, to avoid mass piracy of his masterpiece. If so, his fears are groundless.
Some of the songs are pretty good, such as “Little Cabin Song” with Zooks on vocal, which uses a slide guitar sample to emulate a blues tune, and the lounge-flavored “Snobird,” featuring The Pharcyde.
Others, however, are irritating. “Skateboarder’s Blues”, also featuring Zooks, repeats the phrase, “I used to skate through the neighborhood, now I jump up on the Internet,” over and over and over and over. “Fuzz,” featuring Cannibal Ox, does the same with the line “Cats just want to act up.” “Zooks vs. Connery” consists of a Sir Sean cloned voice reciting the praises of Sharkey. As if. “Summer in the City (Lovin’ It) has Jean Grae rapping at top speed, with only occasional ghetto words like “jail” and “burn” being decipherable. I guess this adds street cred, but Sharkey’s synthesized voice underneath everything is more than a bit pretentious.
This CD would go over well in a dance club, but it may be tedious to home listeners. If you play it at a party, hang one of those sparkly silver disco balls in the center of the room. It might help.
- Dave Howell
“Take a shit on the mike and call it an album,” says a voice on “Sharkey’s Machine.” That’s just what Sharkey did. This nearly hour-long debut CD is a showcase for the artist formerly known as DJ Sharkey, with a lot of hip hop and beats.
I would like to say that this is a playful CD with Sharkey just having fun, but it is tiresome after a while. Sharkey (I assume) announces someplace in nearly every track that “This is “Sharkey’s Machine,” with his voice processed through a vocal synthesizer. Of course, he may have done this only on the advance copies that were sent out, to avoid mass piracy of his masterpiece. If so, his fears are groundless.
Some of the songs are pretty good, such as “Little Cabin Song” with Zooks on vocal, which uses a slide guitar sample to emulate a blues tune, and the lounge-flavored “Snobird,” featuring The Pharcyde.
Others, however, are irritating. “Skateboarder’s Blues”, also featuring Zooks, repeats the phrase, “I used to skate through the neighborhood, now I jump up on the Internet,” over and over and over and over. “Fuzz,” featuring Cannibal Ox, does the same with the line “Cats just want to act up.” “Zooks vs. Connery” consists of a Sir Sean cloned voice reciting the praises of Sharkey. As if. “Summer in the City (Lovin’ It) has Jean Grae rapping at top speed, with only occasional ghetto words like “jail” and “burn” being decipherable. I guess this adds street cred, but Sharkey’s synthesized voice underneath everything is more than a bit pretentious.
This CD would go over well in a dance club, but it may be tedious to home listeners. If you play it at a party, hang one of those sparkly silver disco balls in the center of the room. It might help.
- Dave Howell