Cat Power - "Where Is My Love"
Illinois - "What Can I Do For You?"
Outkast - "Snappin & Trappin"
Ooh, this one's kinda dirty. I'm not a prude or anything but some of these lyrics had me blushing on the subway. I think I've mentioned this before, I do like hip hop. Or, more accurately, some hip hop. To be honest, most of the Outkast that wound up on my iPod I stole from a co-worker. But, yes, I did gain an appreciation when "B.O.B." and "Ms. Jackson" hit just like so many other casual hip-hop fans. But this song is not for the "Ms. Jackson"-loving casual fan. (It is on the same album, however, Stankonia.) It illustrates one of my biggest problems with hip-hop: inconsistency. For some reason there aren't that many albums in the genre that (IMHO) can sustain the listener for the duration. Plenty of great singles, great moments, etc, but in the end it doesn't satisfy like a good rock record. I think by definition (heavy on samples and heavy on rapping, obviously) it's a little harder for the genre to continually reinvent itself the way rock can. That may be be why most of my favorite hip-hop albums are from the 90s. Or maybe it's just that my music taste in high school and college lent itself more to this music. I think I smell a list coming on. And why not? Here are my 10 All-Time Favorite Hip Hop Albums (that I can think of in the next 10 minutes, naturally).
- The Beastie Boys - "Paul's Boutique"
- A Tribe Called Quest - "The Low End Theory"
- De La Soul - "3 Feet High And Rising"
- The Beastie Boys - "Check Your Head"
- Public Enemy - "It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back"
- Run-D.M.C. - "Raising Hell"
- Dr. Dre - "The Chronic"
- Digable Planets - "Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space)"
- Cypress Hill - "Cypress Hill"
- 3rd Bass - "The Cactus Album"
Wilco - "Hummingbird"
Weezer - "Death And Destruction"
The New Pornographers - "To Wild Homes"
Bright Eyes - "Coat Check Dream Song"
And then I got to work.
Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 8
Total minutes of music (approx.): 30
Song with the most previous plays: "Where Is My Love" - 7
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: My trip wasn't any shorter than usual, but I did ride the subway a bit with my wife this morning...and I didn't listen to the iPod while we were together. Who says chivalry is dead?
5 comments:
I think you're right on with the hip hop albums. It's similar to any kind dance and/or electronic music. These genres produce a lot of inconsistent material.
I'm not so sure about the 3rd Bass album, but the rest of the list looks good...from my white, educated, middle-class perspective.
I think you missed Ice-T's Original Gangster, myself...
Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass
The Cool Kids - The Bake Sale
Dr. Dre - 2001
Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP
Jay-Z - The Black Album
Kanye West - Late Registration
Lyrics Born - Later That Day
Missy Elliot - Miss E... So Addictive
N.E.R.D. - In Search Of
Nelly - Country Grammar
Notorious BIG - Ready to Die
Sage Francis - Personal Journals
Talib Kweli - The Beautiful Struggle
Thank you, Ana, for pointing out how dated my hip-hop knowledge is. (Seriously.) I like that N.E.R.D. album a lot and I'm familiar with many of the singles from these albums, of course. ("Ride Wit Me," “Get Ur Freak On," “Gold Digger,” etc.) I’m gonna check out more of these full LPs.
Also, the O.G.! Nice, E.
Don't bother with anything Nelly did after Country Grammar. It's just a travesty. ;)
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