DANGERDOOM – The Mouse & the Mask
morning folks! this week continues our discography review of MF DOOM, with the 2005 collaboration between DOOM and Danger Mouse, The Mask & the Mouse –
first track here is El Chupa Nibre, which stands out to me as one of the first openers to not be mostly vocal clips or skits. the beat here is mellow and DOOM’s rambling delivery here is great, and i really appreciate the increase in nerdy references (this is the track where he drops Inuyasha! love that!). plus, i really like the Master Shake voicemails on this record. extremely funny. the verses on Sofa King are p food but overall not huge on the track – i dont find the skit funny, personally, and the beat here aint my fave, even if there are a couple good lines. Ghostface Killah guests on The Mask – this one’s a p good track. Perfect Hair is nice – i havent seen Perfect Hair Forever, so some of that goes over my head, but i dig the continuation of the Shake skit, haha. really like the beats on Benzie Box, CeeLo Green’s hook does excellent work here, and overall its a fun, mellow lil track. ADORE the beat on Old School Rules. Talib Kwile has a cool, strange flow, and i really like what he and DOOM are laying down here. A.T.H.F. (Aqua Teen Hunger Force) is, ngl, a lil dumb but in a very funny way. good time. Basket Case is nice – kinda middling for me but i really appreciate what its got going. really enjoy No Names – some fun misdirection in the lyrics here and some excellent flow. Crosshairs feels very much like a grower – def appreciated this track more on repeat listens. the hook on Mince Meat makes me laugh every time – “i’ll make mince meat out of that (beat,) mouse!” extremely good, and im digging the vibes of the rest of the track too. Vats of Urine is… fine. Space Hos is one of the best on the record – the beat’s great, the rhymes are good, and i like the jokes a lot on this one. Bada Bing is a really nice closer. i completely understand that it’s fiction, but i love the implication by Shake’s “i heard its all done” in the closing sketch that they finished the record, got that voicemail, and then re-opened the track to add that voicemail (or all of the voicemails now that there is a narrative arc, haha).
faves – El Chupa Nibre, Old School Rules, Space Hos
dislikes –
yeah i had a good time with this record, no lie. it feels like everyone was having a ton of fun, both on the cartoon stuff and on the few off-topic tracks. a lot of it is less gripping than prior records, but all of it is very fun to listen to, and theres some real excellent beats and verses throughout this record. plus its fun pointing DOOM’s proclivity for skits at something other than the Fantastic Four, haha.
The Mouse & the Mask – 8/10
next up is gonna be DOOM’s 2009 record, BORN LIKE THIS
first: Operation: Doomsday | the previous: MM..FOOD | next: BORN LIKE THIS
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