If you ever want to feel overwhelmed, just stop and think for a moment about our modern world. Think about how quickly it moves—how revolutionary things are everywhere you turn. Think about how we are all “connected” through computers and mobile phones. And then think about people like your grandparents, and what life was like for them when they were your age.
For young to young-ish people living in 2013, their lives, primarily, revolve around the Internet. Email. News. Social media outlets. Movies. Television programs. It’s how you consume pretty much everything in your life. We’re hopelessly addicted to it, whether you want to admit it or not. Honestly, how many people pull out their smartphone and putz around on it while in the bathroom?
“Internet humor” has worked its way into our collective lexicons. People say “hashtag” before things. Catchphrases pulled from fleeting memes are tossed in conversations without a second though. “Because (Noun)” is a verbal meme of sorts, so eloquently described by Atlantic writer Megan Garber as a language movement that is “of the Internet, by the Internet.” Because of Internet.
Aptly titled, Because The Internet is the kind of album that could not exist in any other time other than right now, which is both a good and bad thing, if you really think about it—the idea of it is a reflection of our modern times, but with that being said, our modern times are incredibly temporary, therefore, slightly jeopardizing this record’s ability to age with any kind of grace—I mean, just look at the .gif of an album cover, brought to life with the physical packaging.
Actor Donald Glover is better known under his nom de rap, Childish Gambino, a name created from a Wu-Tang Name Generator…found on the Internet. Beginning his TV career as a writer for “30 Rock,” he gained notoriety when joining the cast of the much loved by constantly in danger of being cancelled “Community.” After self-releasing a series of mixtapes, Glover was signed to Glassnote Records, and his debut Camp, was released in 2011.
At first glance, his second LP, Because The Internet is the product of a post-Drake kind of half-crooned/half-rapped style of performing, although lyrically, it is abundantly cleverer than anything on Drake’s most recent outing. And judging by the dissonance and terror it tries to strike within the first 20 seconds, on “Crawl,” and the frenetic, claustrophobic cut and paste structure of “Worldstar,” it’s also a product of a post-Yeezus world.
Glover finds his pacing after the discordant start—“The Worst Guys,” featuring Internet rap sensation Chance The Rapper, is not nearly as complicated of a track, clipping along at a quick speed, with Tia and Tamara Mowry references along for the ride, and some Kanye style of exaggerated pronunciation and inflection on Glover’s part, that continues slightly longer than it should, exhausting the goodwill of the listener. Or at least just me. “Shadows” begins in a similarly manageable fashion before self-destructing halfway through into a bit of a jumble—not necessarily a bad thing, but structurally. Because The Internet struggles at times to find the right balance between easily accessible tracks, and Glover playing the “art” card.
I’ve grown to loathe the term “headphone record,” but sometimes you can’t escape using that. Because The Internet is just that—a headphone record. To really grasp all of the intricate production work, and catch all those clever references to “Double Dare” that Glover spits out so fast they’re like throw away lines, you need to give this your undivided attention.
But is it worth giving it your undivided attention?
For a sophomore LP, Because The Internet is full of incredibly lofty ideas, and occasionally, it becomes too precious for its own good, and falls under its own weight. All of Glover’s arty, sonic experimentation throughout the record, while interesting, leaves the listener with a disjointed feeling, wondering what the real take-away is, and can keep you at an arm’s length; the flip side of that is there are enough moments of pop sensibility that are ready to embrace you openly.
The album’s first single, “3005” was a smart choice for a single, because it’s a big song—I’m talking like Drake kind of “big.” Big airy synths, a huge sing-a-long refrain, and Glover’s crooning sounds incredible. Something this radio-friendly can lure you into an album that is full of material that is anything, but immediately before that is the “don’t be jealous of my money” anthem “Sweatpants,” which is also very welcoming in its beats and refrain—“Rich kid, asshole, paint me as a villain.”
One of Because The Internet’s most introspective, and interesting to listen to, moments arrives within the second to last act—“Flight of The Navigator” is based around a very basic sample of finger-plucked acoustic guitar strings, intermittent beats, and some other atmospherics, while Glover somberly sings about someone close to him that passed away. It’s already a stunning moment on the record—one that makes you stop what you’re doing and listen—but knowing that fact makes it all the more heartbreaking to hear.
Something worth noting is how self-aware Glover is when it comes to the structure of Because The Internet. It runs 19 tracks, and it’s set up in acts, or sequences, rather, with segues in between almost every part, with the second and final acts being the most accessible—the final act dipping into EDM territory on “Earth: The Oldest Computer (The Last Night.)”
“Because the internet, mistakes are forever,” Glover raps, relentlessly on the album’s closing track, “Life: The Biggest Troll (Andrew Auernheimer.)” “I just get the information retweeted, or say it sucks. I got the motivation, your talent’s just a bunch of luck…I don’t know who I am anymore,” he confesses. Prior to the release of the album, much had been made of a series of photos Glover posted on Instagram—lists of fears, anxieties, doubts, that he wrote out on hotel stationary. And it’s on the final track where any of this kind of #realtalk appears in a fully developed form—Because The Internet isn’t any kind of “cry for help” of an album, but somewhat ironically, it is chilling that the final moments of “Life: The Biggest Troll” are Glover’s pleading: “You have to help me. Please help me. Please.”
“We were childish, but had to grow up,” he waxes. “I wanted to make something that says no matter how bad you fuck up, or mistakes you’ve made during the year…you’re always allowed to be better. You’re always allowed to grow up. If you want,” his final Instagrammed note reads. Donald Glover and I are roughly the same age—products of the 80’s, our formative years spent in the 90’s, unsure as to if we are “Generation Y,” or the dreaded “Millennials.” When you’re 30, it’s not “the new 20” like people would have you believe, and Glover knows that. It’s a weird time where you are quite literally stuck between being a “kid” and becoming a full fledged adult—accepting adult responsibilities, making adult choices, doing adult things. You can do all of that stuff when you are in your 20’s, sure, but 30 is when shit really starts to matter. Like how much do you have in your 401K? Are you cut out to be a parent? Are you a failure? Are you really allowed to be better?
Glover would have you believe that you are allowed to, but because the last words you hear on Because The Internet are “please help,” hope is not exactly a feeling you’re left with when the record finishes. It ends with the same creaking noise it began with in the intro track—a neat trick, making this a cyclical record; the same trick that Ben Gibbard pulled off exactly a decade ago with the idling sound that both begins and ends Transatlanticism.
Because The Internet, much like its namesake, is a rollercoaster of various emotions—there are moments of incredible joy, and there are moments of unbearable sadness. It’s confrontational at times, and also brutally honest about the human condition. I went into this album not knowing what to expect, and Donald Glover has surprised me with a remarkably complex record that becomes a little more identifiable with each listen.
Rating: 3.5/5