EPISODE #34

The Life Of Pablo is Kanye West’s latest album. Despite its lack of hits, it has been at the fulcrum of pop music for months. With its gradual online release and its changing track lists, this shapeshifting album is difficult to grasp. We recruit Andrew Marantz from The New Yorker Magazine to break down Pablo and the “Wolves,” a song that embodies the multiplicities of West’s larger project and connects his work to the classical past of Bach and Prokofiev.

SONGS DISCUSSED

Kanye West: Wolves

Jay Z: Where’s Th e Love

Kanye West: All Falls Down

Kanye West: Gold Digger

Kanye West: Heartless

Kanye West: All Of The Lights

Kanye West: Black Skinhead

Gary Glitter: Rock N Roll Part 2 (Hey!)

Kanye West: I Love Kanye

Bach: Canon Perpetuus

Prokofiev: Peter And The Wolf (narrated by David Bowie)

Paul McCartney: Driving Rain

Drake: Jumpman (featuring Future)

Missy Elliot: Work It

R. Kelly: The Zoo

Justin Timberlake: Give Me What I Don’t Know

DJ Snake: Birdsong

Pink Floyd: Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict