All hands on fret!
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[5.14]
Frank Kogan: B.o.B hops atop the Bo train, takes the beat to your house and gone again; André 3000 reads the right book well, tossing those words like ringing a bell — and cuts deals with the kiddies, too: I’ll give you guitars for your big rebel noise, but you still gotta eat your vegetables.
[8]
Brad Shoup: It’d be a mistake, I believe, to think this song’s invocation of guitars as a stab at rock authenticity — you know where the quotes go — when the important image is Bobby and Andre standing on rooftops, making a ruckus. A Eddie Hazel/Sonny Sharrock/Prince kind of technical ecstasy: that’s what I’m hearing. Of course, I could be scrambled by the controlled chaos of “Bo Diddley”, which sets B.o.B free to drop two-thirds of a fantastic, loping verse (by my measurement, he loses right after “So long! So long!”, which is made for little kids to yell along with). Andre’s wry and wise as usual, but his grandiosity looks a lot like dream-munchies. People have learned to play guitar to acquire dumber things than snacks, I guess.
[9]
Alfred Soto: Spitting so much he loses his footing in a puddle, B.o.B cedes most of the track to Andre, whose lizardly loquacity is fast becoming the rap equivalent of Steve Vai.
[4]
John Seroff: “Play the Guitar” revels in sloth: brief lyrics, a lazy “hey/ho” singalong ending, B.O.B.’s entire sodden rhyme book, a thorough plundering of “Hey Bo Diddley” that neglects to introduce a second theme. Dre’s awkward patter ain’t helping; he’s taken lately to shoehorning the would-be deep into awkward places. “Do you cry in tune, nigga?” might have had some impact in circumstances better than this backpack hashtag pop rap. Here it, and 3K’s whole verse, feels contrivedly sage, disjointed and tone deaf – which covers my major problems with Andre’s recent rash of sub-par guest spots in a nutshell.
[4]
Iain Mew: The stuttered backing and repetition of the title is really annoying. I find myself thinking “Just get on with it!” well before they do, and what guitar playing there is doesn’t really add much. On the other hand, the image of standing on top of chicken shops and Dunkin’ Donuts to play it is almost great enough to make up for it.
[5]
Katherine St Asaph: “I do this for the people.” Judging by the self-mockery B.o.B sinks to here (he boasts and plays the guitar! Except ha ha, that’s not really him! All you anti-rap hecklers were secretly right!), the people suck. Andre puts forth admirable effort that’s needed elsewhere.
[2]
Jamieson Cox: It only takes five seconds for “Play the Guitar” to reach a point of supersaturation; I think there’s a better song tucked in here somewhere, but it needs to be excavated with care. It’s difficult to hone in on one particularly pleasing or sticky component when there’s so much happening. In a lyrical sense, I found it difficult to hang on after “Fresh to death like I’m dressed for a eulogy” – neither a Dr. J reference nor a standard-issue verse from the André 3000 Guest Appearance Factory could completely revive my enthusiasm. We all might’ve benefited if B.o.B. spent more time focusing on the titular instrument and less time obsessing over dippy little sonic fragments, but I guess that home-run bat effect was really worth it.
[4]