ENL-102 1

Spring 2018

Tristan Rice
Zak Sitter
ENL 102

Object Analysis
Data Report Form

Describe the general form of your object. (Identify medium, author and title if relevant, summary of text type,
image, recording as possible)

My object is the track “Runaway” by Kanye West off his most critically acclaimed and popular album, “My
Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” released in 2010. This album followed not only “808s and Heartbreak” which did not
receive amazing reviews by critics, but also his infamous interruption of Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV VMAs. This
made this song and album as a whole both very important achievements at a pivotal time in Kanye’s career where it
seemed he was destined to fall. It also features rapper Pusha T. It is 9 minutes and 8 seconds long and features its own
cover art of a painting of a ballerina. It’s primary and most recognizable feature is a repeated piano riff that plays
throughout the song, including as the intro.

Why is this object interesting to you personally?

Kanye West is one of my favorite hip-hop artists and artists, and this song is considered by many to be his
magnum opus. Fans and critics both endlessly rave how good it is and how it may be the best song Kanye has ever
made, also earning it the praise of “one of the best songs of the decade” by not only fans but also critics. Kanye
West has also made the track “Blame Game” from the same album which is my favorite track by him and one of my
favorite songs by anyone. Despite this, I’m not a huge fan of the song and fail to see why it gets all the praise it does,
even if I enjoy it. I read and am told time and time again that it is so incredible but fail to find it comparative to
many of his other songs in general and even other songs on the same album.

Why do you think it might interest others?

Not only is Kanye West one of the most popular hip-hop/pop artists, continuously for years at that, but this
is one of his most popular and highly acclaimed songs. It’s also generally claimed to be a very well-made song and
good song in general, ignoring the artist and genre. This makes it a song that many people have heard, a song that is
relevant in the current world and still widely known, along with a song that has praise completely ready for
controversy. Kanye himself also said a purpose of the song was making a song the average person could relate to, an
“anthem for both men and women” and was summarized by him as a “toast for the douchebags”, straight from the
lyrics.

List your initial observations below:

When I first heard the song, it was when I listened to the album for the first time from start to finish. It
follows what is my third or fourth favorite song out of the twelve (ten actual songs) track album, along with coming
in at the ninth spot making it towards the last stretch of the album. I had not heard of anything about the song at this
point, giving me a completely fair and unbiased initiation with the song.
As for the song itself, “Runaway” did indeed greet me with the piano riff that introduces the song, sincere-
sounding lyrics and mixture of singing and rapping from Kanye, a variety of synth/electronic elements and an
aggressive verse delivered by Pusha T. My initial impression was that yes, it was an upfront and emotional song
delivered by Kanye that comes from the heart about his relationships.
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What I Observe
1. The Song- The intro and then repeating
piano throughout the song.
2. The Song- The sample of a man saying,
“Look at you!” over and over.
3. The Song- A slow and simple drumming.
4. The Song- Kanye comes right out with
some, “melodic rapping.”
5. The Song- The chorus of the song.
6. The Song- Pusha T’s verse.
7. The Song- The third verse.
8. The Song- There is a slight “cheering”
occasionally heard through the song,
including at the end of the last chorus.
9. The Song- Before the roughly three-
minute outro, the other instruments cut out
giving us just the piano.
10. The Song- Featuring heavily distorted
vocals, violin and still the piano.
2
My Response to What I Observe
It sounds very slow and melancholy, setting a tone for the track not
only to start it off but keeping it throughout the song. It’s simple and
melancholy, accurately expressing the song for exactly what it is.
This can be taken two ways. The first way is towards Kanye/the
narrator of the song, telling them to self-reflect and look at
themselves. The other way can be taken as the narrator speaking to
the person the song is directed towards, telling them to analyze them
self and/or see their position in life. I personally lean more towards
the former.
This is also very fitting for the song and usual for Kanye, as he
usually does not go heavy with the drums in his more sad/heartfelt
songs and even rarely does he for the more hype tracks in his
discography. A big part to note about this (and the song in general),
is that it is very reminiscent to his previous album “808s and
Heartbreak” which featured a lot of sad, slower songs- often
including this type of drumming and the sort of singing vocals heard
from Kanye on Runaway.
He is rapping but doing it in a singing tone, providing a unique mix
of the two vocal styles. This heavily relates to the last observation
and further shows how the styles he focused on for 808s were both
good ideas for Kanye.
Unlike many songs, the chorus hardly changes in this song, the
primary change being the addition of a synth to go along with the
piano. Kanye is also solely singing during the chorus.
Offers a very different sound to the song, even as the instrumental
stays about the same. Pusha T only raps, not singing at all and
rapping in a more “stereotypical” way with hard, fast and somewhat
aggressive delivery.
Kanye purely sings again, sounding very heartfelt and even
somewhat emotional at this part. It can be noted that the vocal
silence before the chorus at the end of this verse is slightly longer
than usual.
This could be meant to be the “toast for the douchebags” cheering
and thus, at the same time potentially being a cheer done by those
the song is meant to be applicable for.
This marks the point where I would guess the song is meant to
“resonate” with the listener and come to its conclusion as far as the
main meaning along with lyrics.
The song turns into a dissonance of the same piano playing, a violin
riff beginning to play and the consistent appearance of very heavily
distorted vocals by Kanye. To me this doesn’t add much to the song,
largely given it is three-minutes rather than something more
reasonable like one.
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Spring 2018
11. The Lyrics- “And I always find, yeah, I
always find something wrong
You been putting up with my shit just way
too long
I'm so gifted at finding what I don't like the
most”
12. The Lyrics- “So I think it's time for us to
have a toast
Let's have a toast for the douchebags
Let's have a toast for the assholes
Let's have a toast for the scumbags
Every one of them that I know
Let's have a toast for the jerk-offs
That'll never take work off
Baby, I got a plan
Run away fast as you can”
13. The Lyrics- “See, I could have me a good
girl
And still be addicted to them hoodrats
And I just blame everything on you
At least you know that's what I'm good at”
14. The Lyrics- Pusha T’s verse.
15. The Lyrics- “Split and go where? Back to
wearing knockoffs, haha
Knock it off, Neiman's, shop it off
Let's talk over mai tais, waitress, top it off”
16. The Lyrics- “You should leave if you can't
accept the basics”
17. The Lyrics- “I guess you are at an
advantage
Cause you can blame me for everything
And I don't know how I'mma manage
If one day you just up and leave”
3
These lyrics are Kanye talking about his relationships, whether with a
partner or the media. He acknowledges that he has faults, especially
with one of them being focusing on the flaws in others. Kanye is
often rightfully called a perfectionist, these lyrics singing true to that.
This is Kanye calling himself and everyone like him, all these things.
Acknowledging that they are not perfect people but toasting to it.
Celebrating that people like himself are like this, even if sarcastically.
He ends the chorus with telling the listener to “run away”, which
means for them to “escape” from him/what they’re dealing with.
This could be sincere advice that running away may be better for
them, but many agree it means that the person should just “run away
if they can’t take it”, because Kanye/the narrator isn’t going to
change. Everyone has flaws but Kanye embraces his because they
make him who he is, a recurring theme in some of his more heartfelt
songs.
Kanye is again looking at his own faults, saying how he is the
problem in his own relationships- even if it’s just how he is. This
means a lot coming from Kanye, a man who is usually so boisterous
and doesn’t mind pointing out the faults of others.
Lyrically, this verse focuses on being the contrast to Kanye’s voice
and lyrics. This includes focusing on superficial things, acting as a
reinforcement of the exact behavior Kanye is talking about.
Pusha T jokes that there’s no chance of wearing knockoffs, at this
point money is at high importance and they can’t afford to lose out
on it. This is even meant to be a joke telling his significant other than
she couldn’t possibly abandon the finances he offers, the opposite
end of telling the other to “run away.”
The version of telling the other person to “run away” in Pusha T’s
verse, serving as a less empathetic and more forceful version of
telling them that they must be stuck with them unless they do decide
to escape.
At this point, Kanye has truly accepted that he is the one at fault it
seems. He knows, even despite seeing flaws like stated earlier, that he
can’t simply blame the other person when he knows even he has
flaws that can be blamed by them and himself. He finishes by saying
that the person truly matters to him, despite how he is at fault.
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Spring 2018

Conclusions (400-500 words): How does this object help you develop a response to your research question?
Does your Object Analysis suggest that one perspective or the other has a more persuasive answer to your
research question? How does accounting for your own taste complicate or deepen your understanding of taste
more generally?

This track provides a lot more depth to my research question and allows for what I think is a

much fuller response, considering the three views of this song between critics, fans and myself.

It’s a song that many find pleasing and thus subjectively good, relating heavily to my research

question of what objects count as truly “good” taste. This exact point is further reinforced by the

variety of positive critic reviews of this song, making this song one that is viewed as “objectively”

viewed by many critics as very good. It’s a song that may all around be considered truly

beautiful and well made, providing an example for what makes a good song to other songs

everywhere. Despite all of this, I still don’t find it particularly good. This introduces an

additional layer to what it provides for me and why it’s important that I looked at this song in

terms of my research question, providing an example for a “good” object of taste that can still be

perceived negatively compared to the large majority opinion. It’s also an interesting level of

thought to add, being a personal example from my own tastes that disrupts my research question.

My research also primarily revolves around what makes objects of taste “beautiful” or “good”

and where the line between objective and subjective viewpoints is. With the variety of positive

reviews for this song from critics to the average person, this is another aspect that is very easy to

cover using this song along with my own opinion on it. While I don’t think that “Runaway”

exactly pushes towards or aids one perspective or the other when it comes to my research

question, it gives me the unique perspective of being on the side that disagrees with the near-

universal response to an object and forces me to be on the subjective side. This is an important

topic for me to cover, given I thought and wrote a response centered primarily around being

“objective” with my writing on “Birdland” by Weather Report. This analysis overall gives me a
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Spring 2018

much more deepened understanding when it comes to my view on taste, forcing me to analyze a

song I didn’t care to analyze much in the past due to personal negative opinion alone. I’ve done

my best to listen to and analyze the song objectively, coming at it from the view point of an all-

around neutral observation rather than with my opinion, feelings or bias. I’ve been able to view it

in a somewhat objective way, looking at the all-around important and primary traits of the track

rather than what I like or don’t like and what I relate to or don’t relate to. With that, I must

continue to see and comprehend what truly makes this song “so great” and if I can agree with

these traits and enjoy it as a critic, or if I must simply run away from this track.