The careers of Radiohead and Imani Coppola have, over the last month, become strangely similar. Both used to be signed to Columbia. Both decided to use the Internet as their main means of distribution for the early release of their new work. Both will also be releasing physical copies through a bona fide label (Coppola with Ipecac Records; Radiohead with XL) in the near future. Most importantly, both artists have released albums this year that are far from great, though with moments of sheer brilliance. In Coppola's case, though, every music blog in the world will not be dissecting The Black and White Album, looking for clues and insight into her fevered ideas, as they already are for In Rainbows. If they were, though, they wouldn't have to dig very deep. Coppola's politics are quite literally skin deep, as she so loudly proclaims on the song "Woke Up White," a furious fantasy about, well, waking up a white person ("Woke up white today / and everything went right today"). It's a fast, funny song, but one that is emblematic of the rather confused politics that permeates this album. Black and White is also emblematic of the danger of a musician self-producing his/her own work. Sometimes, when the ideas and songs are solid and coherent, the result can be groundbreaking and near perfect, but all too often, the end result is an album like this, which, although impassioned and well-produced, loses focus all too often, sounding muddled and muddied. If Coppola had someone to rein in her various personae and bring some clarity to her ideas, there's no doubt that she could be an artist for the ages. Left to her own devices, she will remain fixed to her time and place, missing a chance to let loose her obvious talent on the world.
-- Bob Ham
