Kid Cudi :: "Man on the Moon: The End of Day"

Okay, so in the past couple of weeks we’ve established that I love Kanye West and I love Ratatat. So what better way to create awesome music than to combine the two? Kid Cudi does just that in his debut album, “Man on the Moon: The End of Day.” This ambitious conceptual album had a lot of hype behind it, thanks greatly to the fact that this Shaker Heights native is the protégé of Mr. West. Not to mention we heard his debut single, “Day ‘n’ Nite,” all summer long.

Well the album finally came out last month and though I don’t feel that Cudi accomplished what he wanted, the album is still pretty kick ass.

The album is divided into five acts:
Act I: The End of Day
Act II: Rise of the Night
Act III: Taking a Trip
Act IV: Stuck
Act V: A New Beginning

The album starts off with a really slow song that sucks to be quite honest. But stay with it and you’ll discover that fellow G.O.O.D. artist Common is narrating the story that is Kid Cudi over some beautiful, slow strings. This occurs in between all the acts in hope that the listener will be able to follow along with the story.

“Soundtrack 2 My Life” then kicks in and sets a pace for the rest of “Man on the Moon.” This track kicks ass and begins with one of my favorite lines of the album: “I’ve got 99 problems/and they all bitches/wish I was jigga man/care free livin’.” This track has some great hip-hop elements to it such as Cudi’s flow; I love his flow when he gets going. Also, the melody of the chorus is beyond catchy. The song is very autobiographical so it gives you a good idea of where Cudi is coming from and where the story is going.

If you read my blog on adversity last week you’d know that my favorite animals are lions so of course I have to love “Heart of a Lion (Kid Cudi Theme Music)!” The piano and quick beat make this song a definite head-bobber and the lyrical content is exactly what you’d think it would be. According to him, Cudi has a heart of a lion; his mama told him to have the heart of a lion at the end of the day! The chorus in this song is also extremely catchy, which is making me believe that this guy has a serious talent for composing melodies that will get you singing along. Piano and horn samples are heard throughout, along with beats and synths. The only thing that would make this song better is if actual horns were used!

The album then moves from autobiographical and struggles to escape. Act III’s “Enter Galactic (Love Connection Part 1)” is one of the fun breaks in the album in which Cudi takes a break from getting too tangled up in the story. This beat is bad ass and makes for a great dance song, especially during the chorus. Unfortunately, the parts when he’s almost doing a spoken word is almost cringe-worthy because of the cheesy lines. Example: “Tell me your secrets, the things that make you tick/I like when you talk because your voice is angel-esque.” *CRINGE* … Yeah, but don’t listen to that part. The beat during the chorus is worth putting up with the bad lyrics.

Now, on to my favorite part of the album. Act IV is my favorite act of the album and this is because of who I mentioned earlier: Kanye West and Ratatat. This four song act includes two Ratatat-produced songs and one Kanye West-produced song. “Alive” is produced by and features Ratatat. His talent for catchy melodies is very apparent in this song, as Cudi sings about becoming a beast at night and features those awesome guitars and synths that absolutely reek of Ratatat, but in the best possible way! “Alive” is definitely one of my top three songs of the album.

Another really good song in this act is “Make Her Say,” which is the song produced by Kanye West. This also features the controversial rapper that everybody absolutely adores alongside Common (who both fit in quite nicely). Along with that lineup, a sample of insanely popular Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” is used in a very clever way: “I make her say/Oh, oh, oh, oh/When I/p-p-p-poker face.”

You know, poke her face. I can’t help but laugh at that! That and my favorite line in the song: “Ol’ girl got a fat ol’ ass.” Obviously, this is the other instance during the album when Cudi shows off the fun and sexual sides of all of this. There’s nothing very complicated about this song because of the light piano and big “Golddigger”-esque beat.

Now, the last song in Act IV is “Pursuit of Happiness” which also happens to be one of my top three favorite songs. This song not only features Ratatat but MGMT as well! Damn! I am a fan of both of those duos so when I saw that line up I nearly shit my pants … And then I did. MGMT’s wah-wah’d synths and Ratatat’s instantly recognizable guitars at the mellow pace they’re at make this song the perfect driving song (I’ve caught myself speeding on several occasions while listening to it … Luckily, no one else has).

Lastly, “Up Up & Away” (which serves as the closing song of the album) is the third song in my favorite top three. This song is in the final act and features a very upbeat and hopeful acoustic guitar. I love the subject matter of doing your own thing and what makes you happy even if everyone else is telling you it’s never going to work out. There’s no pleasing everybody; just live your own life and don’t let anyone bring you down. The chorus is so uplifting (“I’ll be up up and away cuz they gon’ judge me anyway”) you just can’t help but feel good and inspired to fulfill your dreams. It’s a great place to end the album that was filled with so much struggle. And for some reason, the fact that he uses “whatever” in the chorus just cracks me up.

As far as the conceptual part of the album, I’m not too impressed. Kid Cudi isn’t breaking any new ground with this concept of a kid trying to make it in this world. Overall, the music/beats/flow makes for a really great album but lyrically, Cudi does not seem to be very focused. The only real thing that I got from this album is that he struggled, loves his weed and achieved his dreams. Story of everybody’s life, right? The outer space theme comes through a bit here and there, mostly with the songs featuring Ratatat and MGMT (merely because their styles have that sort of sound to them anyway) and obviously with “Enter Galactic.”

Though the lyrics aren’t great at times, “Man on the Moon: The End of Day” is still a pretty kick ass album! So check it out, even if you hate Kanye West!

“Pursuit of Happiness” – With special guests Ratatat (and a kick ass string section), Live on David Letterman

“Make Her Say” – Feat. Kanye West and Common

“Day n Nite”

Buy the album at our record store on Amazon

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