Perfection

I am entertained by and can listen to music from just about any genre, but I am most knowledgeable about hip-hop. The most talented producers in hip-hop are able to sample other forms of music to form a new—but equally creative—style of music. When hip-hop is done well, there is truly nothing like it.

For me, hip-hop is at its best when the producer uses samples to create a song that is complex enough musically to be respected by fans of other styles of music, yet retains a sound that is distinctly "hip-hop." Simply calling this a "beat" without explaining what this means would be selling it short; to an outsider, a beat is just one element of a song, its source of rhythm. In hip-hop, the beat is the song's source of music, not just its source of rhythm.

The best emcees (MC=Master of Ceremonies, Mic Controller, etc.) use strong beats as their source of lyrical content. For me, the best beats allow the MC to rap with an edge; lyrics do not have to be violent or sexually explicit, but I cannot stand non-threatening, emotionless music. A lot of the best rap lyrics come from emcees who have either witnessed or experienced life in the streets.

My next few posts are going to be about ten albums that exemplify my taste in hip-hop, albums that are perfect for someone who feels the way I do about music. Like any other style of music, there are many sub-genres within hip-hop, and while I do not identify with any one in particular, I explained what I feel makes good rap music in this post's second paragraph. I will list the albums (with a download link through zshare) in chronological order, beginning with the album released the earliest. If an album's track listing here appears different from another site's track listing, this is probably because I removed the album's skits, which I generally believe are useless.

THE D.O.C.
No One Can Do It Better (June 16, 1989)
1. It's Funky Enough
2. Mind-Blowin'
3. Lend Me an Ear
4. Let the Bass Go
5. Beautiful, But Deadly
6. The D.O.C. and the Doctor
7. No One Can Do It Better
8. Whirlwind Pyramid
9. The Formula (Featuring Dr. Dre)
10. Bridgette
11. Portrait of a Master Piece
12. The Grand Finale (Featuring N.W.A.)
Produced by Dr. Dre

I first heard No One Can Do It Better as a college freshman. While I loved N.W.A. and knew The D.O.C. wrote lyrics for the group, my only experience with The D.O.C. as an MC had come on 1988's Parental Discretion Iz Advised, from N.W.A.'s revolutionary debut album Straight Outta Compton. He caught my attention with with his lines: "I know the Doc makes you want to take a Valium; so buy a bucket, cause I'm coming, it's my album; and for the record, meaning my record, check it; listen to the single and you'll be like, 'Yo, I've got to get it!'"

Sure enough, the album's first single was the highly energetic, Run-D.M.C.-inspired The D.O.C. and the Doctor. While I had not heard this song as a single before I heard the album, I would have purchased No One Can Do It Better immediately after hearing this single. The beat is simple enough, featuring a cutting organ sample and a heavy drum beat, but The D.O.C.'s voice makes this track what it is. He shouts his lyrics into the microphone: "Yo! And now your ear drums, are full of the big beat; but you're attached, like ankles are to feet, so you listen; and as it plays, you pump it louder; but to your speakers, you're sparking some gun powder!" In case you were wondering, and if the N.W.A. affiliation was not enough of a clue, "The Doctor," to whom The D.O.C. is referring is the now legendary Dr. Dre, the DJ and producer for this album.

On the album-opening track, It's Funky Enough, The D.O.C. asks the listener, "Y'all ready for this?" The line was famously sampled in 1991 by 2 Unlimited on Get Ready For This, an extremely popular dance single in the early 1990s. It's Funky Enough is far from the best song on No One Can Do It Better, but does a great job of energizing the listener. The album's second song, Mind-Blowin', is much more subdued, but also much stronger lyrically. Revolving around an extremely funky piano sample, Mind-Blowin' is sure to make your head nod.

If you were worried about the album losing energy, Lend Me an Ear should ease those concerns. In the uptempo style of Rakim or Big Daddy Kane, The D.O.C. truly shows his talent as an MC. Following Let the Bass Go, a slower song with (obviously) a strong bass line, is Beautiful But Deadly. This song may be the album's greatest achievement. While other songs put The D.O.C.'s lyricism on display, Beautiful, But Deadly shows his unique ability: without disrespecting women (although he does use the word "bitch" twice, he does not refer to as bitches; rather, one specific woman), he shows that he can rap about the opposite sex without sounding soft. The beginning of the second verse stands out: "She's all about the bank roll, you can tell by the gold; eyes deep enough to engulf your soul, She's like Medusa; but you won't turn to stone if you watch her; one fatal look is all it takes and she's got ya!" Using a hard rock rendition of the Funkadelic melody Cosmic Slop, Beautiful, But Deadly closes the first side of No One Can Do It Better with a bang.

Opening side two is the album's lead single, The D.O.C. and the Doctor, followed by the title track. The beat on No One Can Do It Better is ahead of its time, sounding like something DJ Premier might have produced in the mid 1990s. Following Whirlwind Pyramid, another uptempo track, is The Formula, the album's third single. The Formula has a relaxing, three-part beat, changing smoothly with each verse, and sounds like it could have fit in on Dr. Dre's 1992 debut, The Chronic (in fact, Dre does make an appearance on this song).

A track that did not make the cut for the album, but was included in this track listing, is Bridgette. While Bridgette has a strong beat, its subject matter (a "dumb ho") does not fit in well with the rest of the songs on No One Can Do It Better. Portrait of a Master Piece is another fast song that shows The D.O.C.'s lyrical ability, as he raps over a futuristic sounding, uptempo beat for nearly three minutes without any breaks. The album is concluded with The Grand Finale, a posse cut featuring members of N.W.A.

In my view, No One Can Do It Better is at least among the top five rap albums ever recorded, and may be the best ever. It is difficult to find any other album with its combination of beats, lyricism, and versatility. Tragically, The D.O.C. was involved in a car accident shortly after finishing the album. While he survived the accident, his larynx was crushed and his vocal cords were severed, permanently altering the way his voice sounded. His combination of great lyicism and an incredible voice ("It's mostly the voice that gets you up; it's mostly the voice that makes you buck; a lot of rappers got flavor, and some some got skill, but if your voice ain't dope, then you need to chill." -GURU of Gang Starr) had The D.O.C. well on his way to being one of the best emcees of all time.

(P.S.: I reviewed this album for English class three or four years ago, so if my English professor from that semester happens to read this and thinks some of it sounds eerily similar to something she has read before, she is probably right.)

A Forgotten Classic: Help!

In my 25 years of listening to music, I have never heard a band or artist who made better music than The Beatles. Sure, there have been better individual guitarists, bassists, drummers, even singers, but the truth is, The Beatles are better than all of them because they wrote better songs, and performed them perfectly.

The Beatles' music defies classification. It could be considered "pop" music; after all, they are the most popular group in the history of pop/rock music, but that would be selling it short. Calling The Beatles' music "rock" doesn't really work, though, because it doesn't sound like the rock music being released by their contemporaries.

A Beatles album that is shockingly underrated is their 1965 release Help! The Beatles have four albums ranked in Rolling Stone magazine's top ten albums of all time, and five in the top fifteen. Where is Help!, you may ask? Number 332!?! Okay, I understand: within the next eighteen months, The Beatles would release Rubber Soul and Revolver (ranked # 5 and # 3, respectively, by Rolling Stone, in case you were wondering), but these two classic albums overshadowed another classic.

Granted, there is some filler on this album. George Harrison was still progressing as a songwriter, and his two contributions to Help!, I Need You and You Like Me Too Much are awful. Tell Me What You See and It's Only Love (which does grow on you after a few listens) aren't too strong, either. Still, take away those songs and you still have an excellent 10-song LP.

The album opens with the famous title track, a song Lennon said he wrote about the mounting pressures of stardom, although it seems to be disguised as a love song. After the solid but forgettable McCartney track The Night Before comes the classic Lennon song You've Got to Hide Your Love Away. The song is incredibly energetic; even without drums or bass, Lennon's vocals drive the Dylan-esque melody, although it feels abbreviated at just 2 minutes, 7 seconds.

Following I Need You is McCartney's extremely catchy Another Girl. Despite the song being rhythmically similar to The Night Before, Another Girl's skillful guitar work makes it a memorable track. You're Going to Lose That Girl, led by Lennon, is a call-and-response track that is reminiscent of The Beatles' earlier work. The first side of Help! is concluded with one of the group's signature tracks, Ticket to Ride. Although it can certainly not be considered "metal," Ticket to Ride is a much heavier than other music being released in 1965, which is just one reason the song is unforgettable.

Side two of Help! is opened with the requisite Ringo Starr song Act Naturally. While not a particularly strong track, Act Naturally seems to fit Ringo's role in the band, and on the album, perfectly. Following is the album's weakest stretch, It's Only Love, You Like Me Too Much, and Tell Me What You See, then McCartney's I've Just Seen a Face (Falling). Like McCartney's previous tracks on the album, Falling is more catchy than it is good, but its fast tempo and upbeat lyrics make it memorable.

In contrast, McCartney's final contribution to Help!, Yesterday, is much more subdued. In what is essentially just a solo track (with Paul on acoustic guitar and vocals, being backed by strings), McCartney sings of heartbreak and regret in perhaps The Beatles' best-remembered song. Although the album seems over after Yesterday, there is one more song, Lennon's Larry Williams cover Dizzy Miss Lizzy. Although undoubtedly misplaced on the album, Dizzy Miss Lizzy once again displays Lennon's vocal talents in an old school, rock and roll love song, one of Help!'s strongest tracks.

The main reason, in my opinion, for Help! being so underrated is its poor choice of song order. While Help!, Ticket to Ride, and Act Naturally are well-placed, it was a mistake to group most of the album's weakest songs together on the second side. One could argue that I Need You and You Like Me Too Much should have left off completely, and Tell Me What You See is also noticeably weak. Yesterday would have been the perfect way to end the album; Dizzy Miss Lizzy, instead of being put at the end, could have been placed between two of the weaker songs on the second side to re-energize the album.

Despite the presence of filler and some poor placement of songs, Help! is one of the best albums ever recorded. Containing four of The Beatles' best-known songs (Help!, You've Got to Hide Your Love Away, Ticket to Ride, and Yesterday), as well as several other catchy, memorable songs, the album was the first to truly make the group's music historically significant; before, one could argue that The Beatles had just been a pop culture phenomenon. As if this wasn't enough, Help! was followed by Rubber Soul, Revolver, and Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band within less than two years, making up (in my opinion) the best two-year stretch in the history of modern pop music. Number 332? I don't think so!

"Blue Collar" Comedy, Get "Crunk", Part 1

And now for something completely different. Along with sports, music is my "other" passion, and I like to think I have pretty good taste in music. I enjoy, at least on some level, every style of music other than country ("We don't play country music [on MTV] because it sucks." -Dave Attell).

Since when was it cool to be stupid?

I understand we as Americans have always found humor in others' stupidity, so that isn't what I'm talking about. What I'm talking about is the trend in the past five years or so of dumbing down our culture, which has now reached the point that movies like Witless Protection are now being shown in theaters.

To show readers I'm not trying to be biased against those "Blue Collar" rednecks (since when did having a blue collar job become synonymous with being a redneck, anyway?) I'll discuss this trend in hip-hop first. I've been listening to rap music for most of my life, and I'll admit, about two-thirds of it isn't trying to sound intelligent, anyway. However, this has reached a whole new level recently.

1997, the year The Notorious B.I.G. was murdered and the East Coast/West Coast media feud finally ended, saw the rise of Southern record labels such as New Orleans' No Limit and Cash Money. At first, our reaction to their absurdly simple and blatantly offensive lyrics was, "Are you serious?" But we were soon hooked by their pounding bass lines, catchy samples and unforgettable hooks.

By 2003, Atlanta was the new capital of the hip-hop world, and newer artists like Lil' Jon, Ludacris, and other Southern artists received the majority of airplay on radio stations that played "jams." Southern hip-hop artists, at least those who were prominent in pop culture, sacrificed musical integrity for spins in the club and airplay on BET (don't get me started on "Black Entertainment" Television). I'll stop here with hip-hop, because I've found another blog that states my views better than I can in this case: What The South's Reign Really Meant: A Semi-Defense of Hip-Hop's Most Notorious Region. At the risk of sounding racist, I see the dumbing down of hip-hop as conservative politicians' attempt (conveying their views through record executives) to portray black people as dumb and shallow, but that's for another day.

I'll condense my views on modern-day pop music to one paragraph. First, and most importantly, SINGING WITH ARTIFICIAL EMOTION, ESPECIALLY SADNESS, DOES NOT MEAN YOU HAVE SOUL!!! YOU MAY SELL A FEW RECORDS, BUT TO THOSE OF US WHO ACTUALLY LISTEN TO THE MUSIC, YOU JUST SOUND LIKE A PUSSY!!! Second, sounding serious when you're singing about subjects that are far from serious (the Fountains of Wayne song Stacy's Mom and Sisqo's The Thong Song, despite being old, are the best, i.e. worst, examples I've heard) isn't funny; in fact, you sound like an idiot. There is only room for one Weird Al in music, and even that is sometimes too much.

What everyone's talking about

Allow me to introduce this...blog. Basically, I'm just going to use this blog to vent about sports, music, or whatever else is going through my mind. I like to think my opinion differs from most, particularly public figures, so maybe every once in awhile I'll say something interesting. I'll update any time I feel like venting and have a few extra minutes.

Anyway, the number one story in sports right now seems to be retired Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre and his desire to return to the NFL. Most recently, Favre (or his agent) wrote a letter to the Packers asking for his release. As a lifelong Packer fan, I have this to say to Brett: Fuck you!

You read right. I appreciate everything Favre has done for the organization. Ron Wolf, Mike Holmgren and Favre are equally responsible for reviving the Packers. In addition, the longevity of Favre's career is nothing short of amazing. However, that doesn't give him the right to do what he's doing now.

It was difficult not to become emotional when watching Favre's retirement announcement. He really sounded like he was finished, and like he had thought long and hard about his decision. If he wasn't 100 % sure he wanted to retire, he shouldn't have announced his retirement! When Favre went public with his decision, the Packers began to move on. I am certain that if he had told Packers General Manager Ted Thompson he needed more time before deciding whether to return, he would have been given more time.

If Favre had been with the Packers for the entire offseason, the team would have been better off with Favre on the team. This was a team that nearly played in the Super Bowl last season. Unfortunately for them, he was "retired" for four months and the Packers had no choice but to move on with Aaron Rodgers as their starting quarterback.

Rodgers is the most unfortunate part of this story. He waited patiently backing up Favre for three seasons, and I'm sure he benefited from watching Favre play, even if Favre wasn't attempting to mentor him as the Packers' "quarterback of the future." In limited game experience, Rodgers has displayed a strong arm and solid leadership skills. This isn't to say Rodgers is going to be a successful NFL starter, or that the Packers would not be better off with Favre as their quarterback. However, it isn't fair to Rodgers or the Packers for Favre to decide in June (according to ESPN's Chris Mortensen, although the story wasn't broken until early July) that he wants to return.

I don't want to see Brett Favre playing for another team, and I don't think Brett Favre wants to play for another team. Favre brought the Packers back to the Super Bowl, and lasted through the rebuilding of the franchise after that. Through his leadership, the Packers were one of the best teams in the NFL last season. If the Packers think it's in their best interests (i.e. if they think they are equipped to make a Super Bowl run) to bring Favre back, they should do it. It doesn't look like that is going to happen, though.

The Packers are being unfairly vilified for hesitating to let Favre return. They aren't completely without blame—the way they handled Favre's inquiries about a possible return was downright disrespectful—but Favre essentially gave the team permission to move on when he retired. It is presumptuous of Favre to expect the team to expect the Packers to welcome him back, especially considering Aaron Rodgers' situation.