Wait, You Don’t Own This Album?!

Five for the collection—the hip-hop edition

By Jake Corbin

When it comes to writing about music, the “top 10 list” is a recipe for failure.

With a plethora of albums to pick from spanning multiple genres, how can one human—one brain—possibly narrow down any “best of” list? The task seems virtually impossible. There will always be a deserving band or song left off the list.

Die-hard music critics, however, don’t let insurmountable odds get in the way of categorizing music. Sometimes people need to be told what albums are supposed to be in their collection.

With that thought in mind, here are five albums every hip-hop fan should burn, download or buy as soon as possible.

A Tribe Called Quest “People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm”

From the moment you hit play to the time the album ends, Tribe’s debut album is full of jazzy samples and head nodding beats that every DJ has spun to get bodies moving on the dance floor.

Although the album dropped in 1990, “People’s Instinctive Travels…” outshines most hip-hop albums coming out today. Jams like “Bonita Applebum,” “I Left My Wallet in El Segundo” and “Can I Kick It?” will always be party-starters.

Everything A Tribe Called Quest has put out is worth owning (multiple copies, in fact). Start with this album and buy in order. You won’t be disappointed.

De La Soul “De La Soul is Dead”

Another group whose entire catalog is hip-hop gold; De La Soul’s popularity started in 1989 with the release of “3 Feet High and Rising.” It was the first single on that album, “Me, Myself and I,” that sparked people’s interest, including “Yo MTV Raps.”

Although De La Soul’s debut is a classic, it was the group’s second album that let people know they weren’t fooling around.

“De La Soul is Dead” is packed with lyrical content ranging from silly to thought provoking—one moment the trio will talk about working at Burger King, the next about falling prey to illicit drug use.

Regardless of what De La is rapping about, every song is filled with danceable, sample-heavy beats.

Producer Prince Paul’s work on this album could never be done today with the current sample laws. Listen to this album and rejoice in what hip-hop sounded like before the government stepped in and tried to ruin it.

Beastie Boys “Ill Communication”

The Beastie Boys don’t get enough credit.

The trio from New York has been holding it down since the ‘80s (when they toured with other notable Def Jam artists Run DMC and Public Enemy).

Whether fighting for their right to party or getting funky as a three-piece band, the Beasties have always been an eclectic group of rap-rockers whose sole purpose was to have a good time.

It’s hard to pick a best Beastie Boys album, but the group’s fourth studio release “Ill Communication” might be it. Why? Because this album embraces all sides of the Beastie’s: It’s a three-way split between hip-hop, funk and punk.

There will be no complaints of “all the songs sound the same” with this album.

Jurassic 5 “Quality Control”

Hip-hop is the art of storytelling set to a beat. Sometimes that story is about spreading a “feel good” vibe, engulfing everyone within earshot. Other times, it’s all about the message.

Jurassic 5 understands this wholeheartedly.

After gaining a large fan base from the strength of their self-titled E.P., J5 put out “Quality Control”—an album melding clever wordplay with the funkiest beats heard in years.

The group’s gang vocals and tag-team rhyming are reminiscent of the Cold Crush Brothers, but the excellent production of DJs Cut Chemist and Nu-Mark give J5 a sound all their own.

Play this album and your ears will thank you.

Public Enemy “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back”

Public Enemy may be the most important hip-hop group ever.

Others may argue there have been greater MCs than Chuck D and Flavor Flav, but no one group has had such an impact musically.

Public Enemy birthed hip-hop as protest music. Songs on this album like “Bring the Noise,” “Rebel Without a Pause” and “Don’t Believe the Hype” have a power in the lyrics that make you want to stand up and join the struggle.

This album should be listened to at full blast before going to the polls Nov. 4.

[Photo courtesy of Sabine01 on Flickr]

Mixed Feelings

Mainstream and underground forces unite, but at what cost?


By Jake Corbin

As an independent musician, you do what it takes to get your music out there.

This usually translates into taking petty jobs for cash by day and playing every art house, coffee shop and small venue that will let you plug in by night.

Those days may soon be over.

CMJ.com reported over the summer that Best Buy—in tandem with RegionalCD.net—has launched a new program aimed at stocking its shelves and online stores with local, unsigned artists.

Approved musicians are considered based on their fan base, local performances and MySpace and Facebook pages (because, as we all know, the mark of a true professional is how many internet friends they have). Radio play is nice, but not required.

Although there is no mention of it on RegionalCD.net, one would hope “quality of music” would be a deciding factor as well.

After the proper paperwork is filled out and three copies of a professionally produced CD are submitted (UPC codes must be present), the waiting game for a decision begins.

The “chosen ones” are billed an initial set-up cost of $250. Bands are paid for every CD sold—$5.15 for full-length albums and $3.65 for EPs.

Sounds pretty good, right?

Don’t be so quick to say “yes.”

If Best Buy starts carrying albums from independent musicians in its stores, what long-term effects will it have on local record shops?

Part of the thrill of combing through dusty records and stacks of CDs at independent stores is the hope of discovering one of these “hard to find” artists; that’s the indie record shop’s niche.

Now Best Buy could take away from that.

Nearly 900 independent record stores have shut their doors according to the New York Times—and that figure is from 2003. With the economy the way it is and downloading at an all-time high, those numbers probably aren’t getting any better.

Simply put, Best Buy’s new program may spell disaster for independent record stores.

An emphasis should be placed on “may spell disaster,” though.

In order for a program like this to have a negative affect on indie music stores, people will have to start turning to Best Buy for all of their music needs.

Best Buy may see a swing in sales as audiophiles peruse the music aisle (probably in between picking up blank CDs to illegally burn music at home), find a local artist’s album and decide to make the purchase.

Those same people, however, are not going to rely on Best Buy to find an original press of the Velvet Underground record they’ve been looking for or the live Green Day import from 1998. Music fans like this will always rely on independent record shops.

The catch to all of this is, supporting the artists with CDs at Best Buy may be the best thing for those independent musicians. At $5 a pop, if sales are strong, the money coming back to the bands could add up quickly.

Still, what amounts to a good decision for the artist may ultimately be bad for music fans. As if the music industry needed another quandary.

For those not already struggling with the moral dilemma of “should I download or not,” now you can worry about the consequences of where you buy your music.

Ah… decisions, decisions.


[Photo courtesy of Swansea Photographer on Flickr]

Kings of Leon

Review: Only by the Night (RCA)
3.5/5 Stars (Good, but not classic)

“Progression” and “matured” are two words music fans most often hate to hear when reading reviews of their favorite bands upcoming album.

“Their old sound is the reason I liked the band in the first place,” they say, “not this new mature experiment.”

On the other hand, some bands grow with each record and move in extraordinary directions; just look at the Beatles career.

Kings of Leon, however, fit in neither one of these categories. Think of this band more as the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of rock ‘n’ roll.

With their fourth album, Only by the Night, the boys from Nashville are simply expressing an alter ego. The first two albums (Youth and Young Manhood, Aha Shake Heartbreak) were an outlet for their love of the sex, drugs and cowbell era of bands like Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Creedence Clearwater Revival. With this album, just like the last (Because of the Times), the band has moved away from the bygone era of rock and roll and focused on its other love—arena rock anthems that would make U2 proud.

“After three records and touring for five years straight, we knew what we were capable of," said drummer Nathan Followill on the band’s website. "We just had to put our money where our mouths were. We had to take it to the next level.”

And to the next level they have gone, drifting even further from the whiskey-fueled tunes the band originally released.

Take the album’s second track, “Crawl.” With its head-nodding beat and heavily distorted bass line, the song sounds more like a B-side remix than an actual Kings of Leon song.

“Use Somebody” is a perfect example of the band’s new attempt at arena rock, complete with “woah oh” background vocals. That’s not to say it’s a bad song, but it seems like a clear attempt by the band to bring some of its popularity from overseas here to the States. Maybe songs like this will turn the band into the Kings of Coldplay, something the record company would surely love.

There are, however, at least a few songs on the album that seem to nod towards the Kings of old.

The album’s first single, “Sex on Fire,” is a nice mid-tempo jam that incorporates the eclectic influences of the band. The choppy guitars and bouncy drumbeat lead up to a great chorus, perfectly blending the “southern sass-meets-NY hipster” style the critics pushed on the band from the beginning.

“Revelry,” despite its new-school Kings of Leon sound, falls right in line with slow-burners like “Trani” from the first album and “Rememo” from the second. The drumming at the beginning of the song sounds machine-like, but it works; lighters will definitely be raised when this song is played at the live shows.

The only disappointment of the album, really, comes in the form of track nine, “I Want You.” The track itself isn’t a bad one, but it never lives up to its potential.

The song marks the return of the cowbell in a Kings song, patching together a syncopated, catchy beat. The bass thumps perfectly over the top as cut and paste-like guitar chords and vocals complete the song.

“I Want You” is the type of song that catches the listener from the opening notes, gets the toes tapping and builds up and up to what should be a great payoff—the chorus.

Unfortunately, it never happens.

The song could have been, with it’s quirky beat, a hit in the vein of Weezer’s “El Scorcho”—albeit, with much more serious lyrics—but the same beat continues right into the chorus, leaving the listener a bit let down.

All in all, Kings of Leon have put out another great product. The album has its flaws, and might disappoint early fans of the band, but it sounds much better than the current crop of mainstream rock bands filling the radio airwaves.

The real question now is: What’s next?

The band has put out two albums of pure rock and roll and two arena rockers. What should we expect from the fifth?

If only the foursome from Tennessee could figure out a way to meld the two styles together, the listening masses may have a new classic on their hands (and in their iPod’s).

(Old) Kings of Leon—“Four Kicks”


(New) Kings of Leon—“Sex on Fire”

Still (A)live in New York

SNL taken off life support this week

By Jake Corbin

We’ve heard the jokes before.

“Saturday Night Dead.” “Saturday Night NOT Live.” “‘Saturday Night Live’ should be shot and killed and put out of its misery and quit disgracing the ghost of John Belushi.”

So, the last one isn’t really a joke, but it does tend to mirror many fans’ current feelings towards the show. For many, what was once a late night comedy ritual filled with fun and laughter has morphed into a quiet Saturday night occasionally peppered with a half-hearted chuckle.

This week’s “SNL,” however—hosted by actress Anne Hathaway and featuring musical guests the Killers—gave those who watched a glimpse of the good old days.

The reason? Because the “not ready for prime-time players” have gone back to doing what they do best: Poking fun at politics.

It also doesn’t hurt that Tina Fey does a spot on impression of Gov. Sarah Palin.

To the delight of many, Fey returned as the Republican vice presidential hopeful in the night’s (hilarious!) cold open that made light of the recent VP debate. With every “maverick,” “Joe Six-pack” and “you know” that came out of Fey’s mouth, it was hard not to reminisce about “SNL”s send-up of government figures past.

Fey’s impersonation of Palin is the best the show has offered since Will Ferrell captured George W. so well.

Hilarity aside, “SNL” also returned to making a statement.

As PBS journalist and debate moderator, Gwen Ifill—played wonderfully by guest star Queen Latifah—explained the rules of the debate to the contestants; she took a moment to explain that expectations were so low for Gov. Palin should she not “cry, faint or vomit” during the debate, everyone should “just consider it a tie.”

Once again, “SNL” had captured what was on the minds of many of its viewers and did so in a very public manner.

Chevy Chase would be proud.

And this was all just in the opening skit. Admittedly, that is a hard act to follow, but the show pulled it off.

Stand out skits included Hathaway as Mary Poppins explaining to the young children in her care that “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” is actually an STD, a laugh-out-loud “Weekend Update” and the “Sister Act” skit.

“Sister Act” featured fourth season vet, Kristen Wiig, playing the ugly sister of a singing group performing on the “Lawrence Welk Show.” Providing an accurate description of what took place is futile (the musical number includes talk of eating a dead cat); this is one of those skits you just have to see.

Andy Samberg—a seemingly unused talent on the show—also showed off his latest “SNL Digital Short.” The show’s only pre-taped skit featured Samberg and Wiig in an “Extreme Activities Competition,” battling it out, for instance, to see who was best at acting casual.

Quirky? Definitely.

Funny? Yes.

Samberg is “SNL”s next Adam Sandler. If he were to make a digital short every week, his videos would rival “Weekend Update” as the most-anticipated skit of the night.

Although it has been touch-and-go this season (Michael Phelps, the season’s opening host, may have something to do with that), this week’s performance was enough to bump SNL out of comedy critical condition.

(Cue Sarah Palin voice now)

And maybe, with your help, it can become the “maverick” of late night TV that “Joe Six-packs” and “hockey moms” everywhere enjoyed during its inaugural year in 1975 under the great Republican president, Gerald Ford.

Here’s for hoping the show stays true to form and off its deathbed.