Truth be told, the reason this album came to my attention is Prince Paul's guest appearance on Run The Jewels. He hadn't used the Chess Rockwell persona in years and I figured its about time I tell you just what the hell was going on there. It actually originates from a character he aged along with the Automator. Handsome Boy Modeling School, as they went by, was their little side project on Tommy Boy Records, one of the only places that would accept something as weird as this. This album was essentially their humorous take on hip-hop, showing it as nothing more than materialistic bullshit. Obviously they didn't take on the challenge of rapping, so Nathaniel Merriweather (Dan) and Chess Rockwell (Paul) took a strange group of underground artist and blessed them with their own beats. Half the rappers were prominent in the underground, or at least making a name for themselves, while I'm not sure the producers themselves knew who the others artists were. You can tell that they weren't exactly aiming for a large audience, but rather one that would give them a cult following. I can only speak for myself, but they succeeded.
This duo was sitting around on the couch one day drinking yoo-hoo when an episode if Chris Elliot's Get A Life aired. Luckily for us, it happened to be the episode where one of the characters enrolled at the Handsome Boy Modeling School. As strange as that sounds, this isn't the first time Dan has used a Chris Elliot idea for his own fortune. While producing Dr. Octagonecologyst, a Kool Keith album, there was a skit featuring audio from Cabin Bay, a film directed by Elliot. Hopefully the Automator has expressed his gratitude in some way or another, but this album ended up feeling like his own personal album with Prince Paul serving an more of a comical relief. It hurts me to describe Paul like that, but this is still done very well.
When I first picked this thing up, it was merely another addition to one of the weirdest collection of hip hop albums I've ever purchased. If my memory serves me correct, (it almost always does, I have somewhat of a photographic memory) So... How's Your Girl came alongside a Ma$e album,(the fuck was I thinking?), The Clipse's Hell Hath No Fury,(a review is long overdue for that, it about time you all know what Pusha T was like before he came to the revelation that he was God) and Cypress Hill's III: Temples Of Boom. This serves as one of the two good purchases from the trip, which cancelled out the not-so-good ones. It's not like I was paying top dollar for this shit, so I'm not complaining. I'll take a 50% ratio any day when buying $5 albums. The only thing better than the album we're currently talking about is the looks I got when buying it. I'm sure the good people at Half Price Books are familiar with my odd choice in music, but even they looked down on the title "Handsome Boy Modeling School".
So, were these disapproving looks worth it?
1. Rock N' Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This)
I saw the tracklist and realized this didn't have any features, so I assumed this would be an introductory skit. Oddly, I actually was looking forward to that, as I was interested to see how these two would introduce these characters. That's not the case, though. Its just an instrumental. Not the greatest song I've ever heard, but a pretty damn good way to introduce your album. If you get a chance, this falls under the long list of my video recommendation. I'm not even sure what exactly happened, but I remember really liking it.
2. Magnetizing (Feat. Del Tha Funkee Homosapien)
I'm disappointing myself by saying this, but this is one of the only Del songs I've every heard, the others coming on some Souls Of Mischief Songs. I may have to change that soon, Del's pretty damn good in here and even throws some funny lines in, which is unexpected from the creator of Deltron 3030. The beat is up-beat, but is pretty damn dull. Piano keys can be a line addition to a song, but they should never be used as the main instrumental. That's especially the case when the song six minutes long. Decent enough for me not to skip it, but I'll never go back for this song alone.
3. Metaphysical (Feat. Miho Hatori & Mike D)
Wow, this is just weird as shit, but I enjoyed the hell out of it. After the dullness of that last track, the burst of differentiating sounds verges in overload, but that's a good thing. I've always liked this song, and that's still the case, its just pleasant. Miho Hatori makes up his own little character, which will be polarizing to most people, but I'm obviously on the positive end of the spectrum. Mike D, whoever the fuck he is, is pretty god damn awful and has no place on this project. I can't believe anyone heard his contribution and cleared it for the final cut.
4. Look At This Face (Oh My God They're Gorgeous)
The first of a couple instrumentals featuring the dialogue of Chris Elliot's Get A Life. The beats interesting enough, but the dialogue get old really quick. There's a reason that show was cancelled so quickly.
5. Waterwork (Feat, Encore)
One of my favorites when I first heard the album. Encore's lyrics are obviously directed to a backpacker audience, which won't appeal to everyone, but you already know im on that shit. The beats pretty unique as well. About 50 perfect of the music comes in the form of dripping water, in a Chinese torture kind of way. Not as good as I remembered, though. I like the beat, but it comes of fairly dull. I would compare this to "Magnetize", but that's another minute long. Really guys, do these songs have to be this fucking long.
Definitely two of the more high profile features thus far, Sadat X and Grand Puba get in on the action, with the former giving the better performance. The "Old Fashion Love Song" sample is used pretty brilliantly, making for an all around enjoyable experience. The beat is much more up beat than the last song, which takes so adjusting but once youre past that, this shit's gold. I did suffer from the tempo change at first, but this has since become one favorite tracks
Just like that, the pace has been significantly slowed down. A good move on part of the Automator and Paul, as this song sounds great. Roisin Murphy does a really nice job of making her voice sound subdued, while building up for the eventual rapping. They throw in sort of a monkey wrench on the production, blending smooth jazz with an electronic feel. J-Live, not to be mistaken for J-Zone, also turns in an awesome verse. Possibly my favorite track on the album. Things are really starting to pick up steam.
The albums most prominent feature may have come in the form of a DJ. DJ Shadow is a master of his craft and he's just showing off on this DJ cut. Not the greatest one I've ever heard but certainly an enjoyable listen. I'd also like to point out how damn catchy that vocal sample is. Not bad at all.
Biz Markie always finds his way onto Prince Paul album, so you shouldn't be surprised that he pops up for this brief skit. Still, this is still pretty pointless. It's halfway funny to hear Biz singing in a Bee Jees voice once, but I'll never listen to this again.
This shit erases any kind of sadness you may have aquires from the last skit. Like most people, this was the first song I heard. This was released as the first single, which actually did really damn good considering I was aware of it's existence before buying this album. Trugoy and Del seem to have a good time discussing the problems living in the hood. This is another case where a song really cre on me. Not like I hated the song, but it sounds a lot better right now.
I thunk I derserve some kind of prize for writing out that while feature list. Anyways, I love this song as well and gravitated to it through my first couple listens. It was released as a single, but I dont think it got the same recognition as the other single. I'm not sure all the features even did anything, but the end result is nothing short of peaceful. Im surprised at how well most of these songs hold up today. I'm liking this album ever more than I thiught I would.
The second skit/instrumental from the Saturday Night Live Skit, a show I seem to enjoy a lot less than everyone else, but I won't get into all that. About on par with the last one, showing the Automator can make these things without being conplete filler. Still, thjs thing won't be getting all that many replays, especially since its surrounded by tracks that are just so much better.
Im not sure where they found the sampke from the beginning, but it was really funny. The beat's good, but I can't co-sign Sensational. He sounds very inexperienced like a rookie who had just been thrown into the biggest game of his life. I don't know what the hell he was thinking, but he must have been awfully close to the mic. Similar to MC Ride on "Get Got", but his verse is just so damn long that you have no hope of remaining interested. Oh well, not all of these can be bangers.
I have no idea what anyone was thinking while sequencing this album. Kid Koala's work sounds anything but interesting, but I woukd have understood if it was an intro or outro. The thing is, its right where most albums begin to lose steam, which is exactly whats happening right now. For what its worth, he throws in some nice scratches, but I wasn't feeling this shit in the slightest.
When I first saw the tracklist, this is what convinced me to buy the album. I'm an El-P stan and the titles pretty damn cool as well. Honestly, this was a little of a disappointment. I love noise music and will always have a spot in my heart for it, but it simple does not fit into the context of the album. It's El-P so you know the productions not trash, but he can do so much better. The same can be said about Alec Empire, the founding member of Atari Teenage Riot, although I'm not that familiar with their work. Definitely expecting more from the last actual song.
If you're really familiar with Saturday Night Live skits (I'm not but I do research for these reviews) you'll find this funnier than most, but its nothing that will leave you coming back for more. I do like how it makes it seem like there has been some sort of concept behind the album.
One major thing I always take into consideration when reviewing is how well the album has held up. In this case, it hasn't as well as I would have liked. There's the usual collaboration misfire, as almost everyone has better work out there. Thankfully, The Automator and Prince Paul are fucking awesome and prove there's no obstacle they can't handle. The most surprising songs are the slower tempo ones, which rank among the album's best. There may be a reason most of these rappers are unknown, but we get some damn good rapping from a list of exclusively underground rappers. (El-P being the only slight exception) The album's weird, but it works for the most part. The quality of the best songs will blow you away so I'm going to recommend you purchase So...How's Your Girl. I doubt you're surprised by that, though. I mean c'mon, it's Prince Paul and the Automator. You'll find at least something you can thank me for.