Dan Black: Umberupdate

For his new single, Dan Black has sampled "Umbrella". We can't decide whether we hate it, or whether it's quite good.

Personally not Jesus...

We're not quite sure who Dan Black thinks he is, but he is not the Jesus for our times as one might gather from this ridiculous pose. It's actually some rather spiffy and memorable artwork but still...

We said some mean things about Dan Black before, and to be honest, we're not taking them back (yet). For someone who thinks he's the saviour of music and the creator of some sparkling American hip-hop-alike gems (they're not) he has surprisingly failed to chart in the top 40 with any of his several taste-making singles.

Having said that, some of the string samples he's used are exhilarating and original-sounding. We'll have to get back to you on this.

A Thing About Dan Black

As you can see here, Dan Black, hyped new artist for 2009, is not blessed with charm. When he's not proclaiming that he's recording his new album in a Parisian cellar (is it 17th or 18th Century...? Do make up your mind), he's laying claim to the fact that he sees himself as part of the lineage of great bands. He also thinks his music sounds like hip hop (it doesn't sound anything like hip hop) and that he is super-inspired by what "black [awkward pause] modern America is doing". Yes, Dan, it's alright to use the word 'black'.

You can listen to his music on his myspace/website/youtube and draw your own conclusions. He's not making the worst music in the world... but he's not making particularly good music either... and any redeemable qualities his music might have, have now been completely drowned out by the fact that, as you can see, he is a bit of 'confident' (read: arrogant). (Also... what does he say at the end of the video? That he wants to buy a bag of skank? Scat? Scag?)