same old, same old.

I feel old. When I listen to new rap music these days and I feel like I'm missing something. I start to say things like, is this all they have to talk about? Drugs. Money. Guns. Derogatory terms for women. When I was a teenager rap and hip-hop was virtually all I listened to. Back then I would have argued with anyone who spoke out against the anger, the violence and the negativity that existed in rap music. To me, rap music was about stories. Not just stories -  true stories from people who had lived completely different lives than me but still wanted the same things: to be understood, to be loved and to be secure. Perhaps that's still true. If it is, however, the stories that I hear in most of today's music feels entirely out of touch with the present state of our nation. I have found myself being drawn to those artists who have figured out a way to tell their story, use their talent and sellout shows without relying on the same tired old formula that Puff Daddy made popular in the '90s. What I've found is that these artists have been around for a while, and I guess that's part of what makes me feel old. The Roots, Common, Nas, Killer Mike, El-P,  and Shabazz Palaces ("Butterfly" from Digable Planets), are a few that still hold my interest.

As sort of an effort to find something new, I have chosen to revisit something old. There are several albums that I keep coming back to and I can't help but wonder if the era in which most of them were recorded will go down as the last golden age of hip-hop. I've wondered if Nas was right, that hip-hop is virtually dead. I don't get A$AP Rocky or Drake or Whiz Kalifa or even Lil Wayne. When I listen to most new rap music what I hear has either all been said before or it's not worth saying at all. See my old post on Raekwon for further rants on this subject. I need some substance. So these are the records that have had things to say to me and have continued to speak.

A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory
This was the very first rap tape that I ever bought (if you don't count Kris Kross' Totally Krossed Out) and I really had no idea what I was getting into. I don't know what prompted me to buy it or made me think that I would like it. But it ended up changing the way I listen to music forever. It was the perfect entry into rap music for me - a subtle introduction to inner city life and the rap music industry that manged to be light-hearted and serious at the same time. I don't believe that I would have any interest in jazz if it weren't for this album. Between this and Digable Planets' Blowout Comb (more on that to come) I was primed for Miles Davis and Pharoah Sanders.

Nas - Illmatic
It's a classic. Everyone knows it. I can't say anything about it that hasn't already been said. From  front to back it's probably the strongest rap album of all time. And it's straight to the point. There is no filler and no fluff. Say what you want about the Nas records that followed all you need to do is listen to "One Love" to know he's one of the greatest rappers of all time (and it doesn't hurt that Q-Tip gives the production some of his jazzy flavor).

Outkast - ATLiens

I'm one of those people who prides themselves on the fact that they listened to Southerplayalisticadillacmuzik when Andre 3000 was just plain old "Dre" and no one had any idea who he was. While ATLiens was a bit of a departure from their debut in my opinion it is their strongest album to date. I was comfortable with them dropping the gangster sensibilities and becoming more reflective. I mean who else could get away with humming a chorus ("Millennium") or making a rap song without any beat ("E.T. [Extraterrestrial]"). I committed the lyrics of "Elevators (Me & You)" to memory and proudly recited them to every English-speaking Romanian that I met while overseas in 1996. I could still give you Dre's last verse in full.

Goodie Mob - Soul Food

It's hard to believe that this is where Cee-Lo Green got started. Well, maybe not entirely. Well paired with fellow Dungeon Family mates Outkast, the Goodie Mob sorta put southern rap music on the map with this one. They coined the phrase "dirty south" for goodness sake. But while they were telling tells of drugs and poverty, it was also clear that these dudes were from the Bible belt. Also, they made a song about food.

EMPD - Strictly Business

It's all about the samples. They certainly weren't the first use samples but you could probably make an argument that they were the first use them in this way. Folks made a big deal about the samples used on Watch the Throne last year (Otis Redding, James Brown, Nina Simone, etc.) but they were only impressive because of steep price of the royalties and the total lack of necessesity. EPMD managed to sample folks like Eric Clapton, ZZ Top, Steve Miller, Pink Floyd, Michael Jackson, Kool & the Gang, Aretha Franklin, Rick James, Otis Redding, Zapp and themselves (over and over) in ways that would make Puff Daddy's head explode. They were used to craft songs and attract the ears of those who undoubtedly recognized their source. It's a total embodiment of what makes rap music entertaining.

Souls of Mischief - '93 Til Infinity

It's a bit difficult to explain this one. I just like it. The beats are comprised of jazz/funk. The lyrics  stand out as a stark contrast to the west coast gangsta rap that was being pumped out in 1993. I always felt like the sound of the album was more New York than California. This was of course during a period of rap music when it was usually easy to tell what part of the country a record was produced in. In a group of four MCs, the flow from one verse to the next is virtually seamless. It's that cohesion which made Souls of Mischief much easier to listen to than the Hieroglyphics collective to which they belonged.

GZA - Liquid Swords 

From the release of Enter the Wu-Tang I was a Clan junkie. I couldn't get enough (there are periods even now when that is still true). While some might tell you that Only Built 4 Cuban Linx or Ironman are the best solo releases from the Wu they would be wrong. I feel dirty every time I do this but if you want to read more on why this album is probably one of the greatest of all time then you should check out the Pitchfork review of the chess box deluxe reissue. The production is perfect. The guest spots from other Wu members are perfect. The Genius is perfect. The only thing I never quite understood was the Killah Priest cut at the end of the album. Despite that, the GZA paints a vivid picture of the streets, the industry pitfalls and the drug trade with the tone and demeanor of a veteran. "Shadowboxin'" will always be right. Always.

Digable Planets - Blowout Comb

Honestly, to this day I don't think I have any idea what the hell they're talking about most of the time. Creamy spies? Huh? But it doesn't matter. It just sounds so funky. Much like The Low End Theory the production on this album had a great impact on me. It's just such an overwhelmingly cool record.

The Roots - Things Fall Apart

Whether they intended it to be or not, this was the tipping point - not The Tipping Point. "You Got Me" put them into everyone's homes and the success of this record is responsible for the genre bending force of nature that is The Roots today. Each track out does the previous one. It's just a progression of sound and lyricism that was organic and unexpected at the same time. Despite featuring their first sample ("Without a Doubt") the changes they were undergoing here feel much more like a realization of their talent as opposed to a compromise. Also, "Double Trouble" is some of my all time favorite back and forth rhyming of all time.

Common - Be

I wanted more of Like Water For Chocolate. I wanted Kanye West to bring rap music back the '90s, to the heyday of soul and funk samples. I got what I wanted in Be. Arguably Common's best effort, everything about it is just right. There are times when it feels like Kanye's beats are simply going to the highest bidder. This is not one of them. The whole show is tailored and contoured for Common Sense. I'm not saying the dude is old but he's not new to the game and the vintage soul cooked up for this album fit him perfectly. "Faithful" and "Testify" would have been enough for me to declare this one of my favorite lyrical albums but fortunately there is so much more. I never understood why "They Say" was not a huge hit.

I have to stop here. As I was writing this entry I continually asked myself why I listen to rap music so much. The only answer that I could up with is that it feels necessary as a way of continuing my understanding of the human condition, in almost the same way that I refuse to give up on the political process. To abandon it would be to abandon a certain insight into our culture.

best of the '00s

I recently read Paste Magazine's list of the 50 best albums of the decade. It's no surprise, I did not agree with many of their choices. It struck me that this was my opportunity to start my own little music column. So, I set about making a "corrected" list of top albums from the last ten years. Paste claimed to include artists that "shaped your decade." They made some terrible oversights. Here are my parameters: influence, innovation, originality and above all, personal taste. These are 5 of my 50, in no particular order, because it makes no sense to order them. They are all too unique to rank.




50. Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere (2006)

The opening track could not be more appropriate. The machine sounds of a projector being wound, the stumbling drums, the horns sounding and Cee-Lo Green bellowing - announcing his freedom to the world. After several attempts to make a nice fit out of hip-hop, Cee-Lo finally found a counter part just about as nutty as himself in Danger Mouse. Together they craft just the kind of genre melding, mind boggling, loony tunes that Cee-Lo's voice and personality were made for. This is not to take away from the fairly successful career Cee-Lo had held up to this point. He was a key member of a group that help define southern rap in the '90s. In fact, Goodie Mob could be credited for coining the phrase "dirty south." But his voice felt restricted. You had the sense there was much more he had to say, and a much more dynamic way to say it. Although his two solo records allowed him to spread his wings a bit and shed light on his psychedelic side, he never seemed able to make the move to the mainstream and break out of the box rap music had put him in. He is actually crazy, I believe it. But it's a good crazy, the smart kind. What makes St. Elsewhere so good is his partner knows just how to guide that craziness - with the correct doses of funk, soul and trippy beats to make you see colors and want to hide under the covers at the same time. It is a certifiably insane musical smorgasbord.

Danger Mouse is a mad scientist. You have to be in order to spend countless hours dissecting classic Beatles recordings note by note and have the vision to pair them with Jay-Z, constructing the Grey Album, the most famous mash-up record of our time. He'd already show cased his ability to chill and thrill, manning the boards for Gorillaz second release Demon Days. What he managed to do with St. Elsewhere is put music to Cee-Lo's wide mouthed grin while revealing the psycho behind it. The beat behind "Just A Thought" is just plain manic. Fitting for a song about the kind of desperation that drives one to consider suicide. "Smiley Faces" allows Cee-Lo to give us those classic soul-sounding vocals of his and actually makes you feel happy. "Necromancer" makes you want to lock up your daughters. It has creepy slow groove and lyrics like "With this ring I thee wed, a body in my bed/She was cool when I met her, but I think I like her better dead." Is it really any wonder some folks are afraid of clowns?

I wonder if either Cee-Lo or Danger Mouse knew just how appropriate and enormously popular "Crazy" would end up being? Something tells me they did. What they also managed to do was create a perfect example of the kind of creative goodness that crossing over should be about.




49. Deerhunter - Cryptograms (2007)

It's no longer uncommon to experiment with guitar driven music. That's been happening for decades and some guys in a band called Radiohead sorta made it mainstream. Some other bands before them like Pink Floyd, the Velvet Underground and even the Beatles have tried to bend our ears and stretch our mind's imagination with musical landscapes. Deerhunter is not any of those bands. There is nothing new happening here, at least not in their technique. This is an experimental record, one which every pot smoking, sticker licking psychedelic rock fan would probably be bug-eyed through. The cover art conveys that adequately. Much of the album drones and swells with ambient loops and fuzz and strings and in-between those moments are well crafted rhythms of rage, confusion and fear. It's strangely calming and a bit terrifying at the same time. But before I go on, it seems important to point out the physical condition of lead singer Brandon Cox.

You may have seen the cover art for Logos, his latest release under Atlas Sound. The shell of a man you see in that photo is not from some stock library. That is Brandon Cox. To say he's extremely skinny is an understatement. The man is skin over bones. Word on the web is that he suffers from Marfan syndrome. The Pitchfork review of Cryptograms mentions that he suffered daily panic attacks during it's recording.

I bring up Cox's condition because it strikes me as completely fitting. He and his band made a seamless recording that feels very natural, even includes nature sounds (check out the album intro or "Providence"), that often lulls me to stillness and then builds into a wall of noise. It's not hard to imagine how it might have tormented it's maker during it's creation.

What I find most impressive about Cryptograms is that natural feeling. It's especially surprising after learning that it was made in two separate recording sessions. Far too often, it seems, a band attempts to make a record to trip to and it ends up sounding disjointed, forced, loud and annoying (although, maybe that's just because I don't get high). I'm not saying that was Deerhunter's intention here. In fact, I don't believe it was. It's psychedelic in nature because of it's experimentalism, not the other way around. I have to believe that the likes of John Cale and Brian Eno would be fans of this record. But, then again, what do I know? I just really dig it.




48. Tom Waits - Real Gone (2004)

I sort of have this impression that Waits is never given enough credit. In my mind, the man is a living legend in American music. He's our Leonard Cohen, our Elvis Costello. He may not be as influential as Dylan, but he should sit on the same shelf. His creativity and his gift for story telling are unmatched. His voice is unmistakable. The dusty, backyard carnival music he's been crafting since the mid '80s seems to peak here.

Real Gone is the first of his twenty releases where his piano is not employed. There are also small steps of innovation, as with most of his other projects. "Top Of Hill" features Waits beatboxing. "Metropolitan Glide" incorporates record scratching samples, with Tom's son, Casey manning the turntables. On paper, those additions might sound a bit ridiculous, but they just become a part of the pile Waits throws together with all the other howls, barks, clangs and clatter he can gather from the junkyard. Real Gone also happens to feature some of the only political songs Waits has written, "Hoist That Rag," "Sins of My Father," and "Day After Tomorrow."

Although none of this is strikingly different from the few releases prior, this is a unique record. Everything Waits creates is one of kind, not easily replicated. This album is no exception. However, Real Gone feels much more cohesive than Alice or Blood Money. He manages to make his growls and groans, his honest balladry and poetry fit together likes pieces of a puzzle. Another compliment to his legendary career.




47. Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Like Bad News (2004)

This is not their best work. The Moon and Antartica was near perfect. It was the definition of their sound. What makes Good News impressive is the way the band chose to follow their best album to date. This is a new Modest Mouse. It's not a complete make over, however. In fact, what makes the album so solid is the subtle changes they implement. Suddenly, they can be upbeat without sounding frantic. They can make music about death and loss ("Ocean Breathes Salty") while making our toes tap. They gave us an enormously popular song ("Float On") without abandoning the things that had made them successful to this point - a sharp wit, bent and mangled guitar sounds and the bark of Isaac Brock.

There is, of course, more than the hits here. "Bukowski" and "One Chance" give us a glimpse of the future Modest Mouse, with the kind of depth and rich sound that defines We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. "The View" spins and whirls, like the old Modest Mouse, with biting sarcasm. There are sections of the album that stalls in spots, however. Like the rather repetitive "Dance Hall". It may not be their best, but this album went platinum and they did it their way.




46. Outkast - Speakerboxx/The Love Below

Like it or not, this was a game changer. I'm not even sure where to start. A dash of Prince, a sprinkle of George Clinton, a pinch of southern syrup and a smattering of dirty south tic-tic boom equals an instant classic. If you don't think folks like Cee-Lo Green, Kanye West, Raphael Saadiq and countless others weren't taking notes upon first listen to The Love Below you're crazy. I imagine southern rap legends like UGK and the Geto Boys continuously turning up the volume on Speakerboxxx and turning up their noses at the same time. Both discs have their strange moments and their moments of utter brilliance. It's probably not uncommon for some to hate one disc and love the other. Andre's is out of left field. True, his flair for the bizarre had become increasingly obvious since Aquemini. I remember seeing the duo at a free show at the University of Maryland pre-Stankonia and both loving and hating the white fury boots Dre skipped around the stage in. I'm not sure anyone knew just how focused his madness was until hearing "Spread," five tracks into his disc. At least that's how it worked for me - Ah, I get it. He's actually got a blueprint for this. Although Big Boi's disc is not a departure entirely, I imagine if you played "Bowtie" for the Big Boi of '94 and told him it was his future he would laugh in your face (and maybe give you a pimp slap).

The distance the two of them had traveled in less than ten years is remarkable. If you're like me and have been riding with these "Two Dope Boyz (In A Cadillac)" since the days of the "Player's Ball," you must have been shaking your head when they dropped this two-disc gem. Big Boi's disc could act as a career re-cap. In includes a little bit of everything. He's got the funk and jazz you might expect Dre to usually bring and the thump and crunk that got them going with "Ain't No Thang." "Reset" sounds like it could have been on ATLiens, complete with Goodie Mob cameos, while "Ghetto Musick" is a bridge to Stankonia. I don't know exactly what to compare Dre's disc to, at least from Outkast's previous work. "The Whole World" might be the closest. But it's mostly full of classic soul and funk melded with outer space. Not to mention a mega hit that both mothers and daughters can dance to with "Hey Ya!"

Certainly deserving of "best of the decade" consideration.

more to come...