Vinyl Me Please Essentials

I might be crazy but I listened to Speakerboxxx/The Love Below again recently and Speakerboxxx struck me as being much more consistent in quality throughout. The highest highs of The Love Below are near untouchable but I think it's also weighed down by a lot of filler (which is true of Speakerboxxx too tbh). I think both albums have tracks on them that are just not very good, but at the same time, the best parts of each are so good that they help make up for the songs that don't really hit the mark.
 
gaporter said:
I might be crazy but I listened to Speakerboxxx/The Love Below again recently and Speakerboxxx struck me as being much more consistent in quality throughout. The highest highs of The Love Below are near untouchable but I think it's also weighed down by a lot of filler (which is true of Speakerboxxx too tbh). I think both albums have tracks on them that are just not very good, but at the same time, the best parts of each are so good that they help make up for the songs that don't really hit the mark.
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I think this is a fairly accurate take.
 
gaporter said:
I might be crazy but I listened to Speakerboxxx/The Love Below again recently and Speakerboxxx struck me as being much more consistent in quality throughout. The highest highs of The Love Below are near untouchable but I think it's also weighed down by a lot of filler (which is true of Speakerboxxx too tbh). I think both albums have tracks on them that are just not very good, but at the same time, the best parts of each are so good that they help make up for the songs that don't really hit the mark.
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They really should have made it a single album and alternated the best Big Boi and Andre 3000 tracks. Probably would have been the best hip hop album of the 00s if they had done that.
 
NathanRicaud said:
And you can’t beat the song “Hey Ya”! That is an absolute monster of a track and is easily one of the best songs of the 2000’s in my opinion! It’s such an ambitious song, but is incredibly catchy, lively, electrifying, energetic and is a fusion of so many genres! Hey Ya is just such a masterpiece in my opinion!

I don’t think we’ll ever get a #1 hit that’s as exciting and musically strong as Hey Ya! I honestly can’t see it happening!
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It wasn’t a number 1 over here, only made 3 😉

Also, good tune, not that good.
 
NathanRicaud said:
And you can’t beat the song “Hey Ya”! That is an absolute monster of a track and is easily one of the best songs of the 2000’s in my opinion! It’s such an ambitious song, but is incredibly catchy, lively, electrifying, energetic and is a fusion of so many genres! Hey Ya is just such a masterpiece in my opinion!

I don’t think we’ll ever get a #1 hit that’s as exciting and musically strong as Hey Ya! I honestly can’t see it happening!
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My favourite thing to come out of the song was Polaroid's press statement which advised against shaking your Polaroid picture.
 
NewsFedora said:
Did the original misleading hint say the second artist comparison was specifically with "their first album"? It of course only solidifies the OutKast/Badu/Holiday theory.

Any guesses on which Badu album we might be getting?

And going back to Billie Holiday, I went with Lady Sings the Blues as it was kind of her last "great" album, right when her voice was beginning to give out. Something from her prime would be great but then it'd probably end up having to be a compilation of sorts, given we'd be going back to the 1930s and 40s.

Not unheard of to make a compilation for Essentials, but unless there was some old definitive compilation release of her early work I'm not familiar with, I think VMP will go with one of her proper albums. I know @NathanRicaud wants Lady in Satin, but I dunno, it's not exactly the best album that showcased her vocals, given it came out right around the time she died.
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Lady In Satin is widely regarded as one of the greatest jazz vocal albums ever. There are many people who feel that Billie, while losing vocal power, has deeper emotion in her well worn voice and it emphasises her phrasing.

wmeugene said:
They really should have made it a single album and alternated the best Big Boi and Andre 3000 tracks. Probably would have been the best hip hop album of the 00s if they had done that.
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I would argue it is the best hip hop album of the 00s. And one of the best albums of the 00s full stop.
 
wmeugene said:
They really should have made it a single album and alternated the best Big Boi and Andre 3000 tracks. Probably would have been the best hip hop album of the 00s if they had done that.
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Like any double album, it could benefit from some trimming the fat. Even if they didn't make it a single album, just cutting each side down to 40-50 minutes makes a huge difference. This would be my editor's cut:

  1. Ghettomusick
  2. Unhappy
  3. Bowtie
  4. The Way You Move
  5. The Rooster
  6. Church
  7. Knowing
  8. Flip Flop Rock
  9. Reset
  10. Last Call

  1. Happy Valentine's Day
  2. Spread
  3. Prototype
  4. She Lives In My Lap
  5. Hey Ya!
  6. Roses
  7. Love In War
  8. Dracula's Wedding
  9. Take Off Your Cool
  10. Vibrate
  11. A Life In The Day Of Benjamin Andre
 
debar22 said:
Like any double album, it could benefit from some trimming the fat. Even if they didn't make it a single album, just cutting each side down to 40-50 minutes makes a huge difference. This would be my editor's cut:

  1. Ghettomusick
  2. Unhappy
  3. Bowtie
  4. The Way You Move
  5. The Rooster
  6. Church
  7. Knowing
  8. Flip Flop Rock
  9. Reset
  10. Last Call

  1. Happy Valentine's Day
  2. Spread
  3. Prototype
  4. She Lives In My Lap
  5. Hey Ya!
  6. Roses
  7. Love In War
  8. Dracula's Wedding
  9. Take Off Your Cool
  10. Vibrate
  11. A Life In The Day Of Benjamin Andre
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Interesting, I also made an edited down version a while back as an experiment to see if I could make a single-CD version, our versions of each half are very different however 😂 I guess that goes to show it's very subjective as to which songs people would keep and which songs people would take off
 
gaporter said:
Interesting, I also made an edited down version a while back as an experiment to see if I could make a single-CD version, our versions of each half are very different however 😂 I guess that goes to show it's very subjective as to which songs people would keep and which songs people would take off
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We probably have very different musical tastes then! I'd be interested in where we overlapped though, to see which songs transcends subjectivity 😂
 
debar22 said:
We probably have very different musical tastes then! I'd be interested in where we overlapped though, to see which songs transcends subjectivity 😂
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This was my tracklist! I tried to make it to where it flowed well as two halves and one big album, both "sides" last about the same amount of time (a little under 40ish minutes). I'm happy with how it turned out but as you can see a lot of songs you left on I took off and vice versa! It's an interesting compare and contrast

Speakerboxxx
  1. Intro (Speakerboxxx)
  2. Ghetto Musick
  3. Unhappy
  4. The Way You Move
  5. Bust
  6. War
  7. Tomb of the Boom
  8. Knowing
  9. Flip Flop Rock
  10. Reset
  11. Last Call
The Love Below
  1. Intro (The Love Below)
  2. Love Hater
  3. Spread
  4. Prototype
  5. Hey Ya!
  6. Roses
  7. Love in War
  8. My Favorite Things
  9. Take Off Your Cool
  10. A Life in the Day of Benjamin André (Incomplete)
 
gaporter said:
This was my tracklist! I tried to make it to where it flowed well as two halves and one big album, both "sides" last about the same amount of time (a little under 40ish minutes). I'm happy with how it turned out but as you can see a lot of songs you left on I took off and vice versa! It's an interesting compare and contrast

Speakerboxxx
  1. Intro (Speakerboxxx)
  2. Ghetto Musick
  3. Unhappy
  4. The Way You Move
  5. Bust
  6. War
  7. Tomb of the Boom
  8. Knowing
  9. Flip Flop Rock
  10. Reset
  11. Last Call
The Love Below
  1. Intro (The Love Below)
  2. Love Hater
  3. Spread
  4. Prototype
  5. Hey Ya!
  6. Roses
  7. Love in War
  8. My Favorite Things
  9. Take Off Your Cool
  10. A Life in the Day of Benjamin André (Incomplete)
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I actually don't mind your cut either. On Big Boi's side, all of my favorites are still on there, and the ones we differ on I don't mind the replacements. On Andre's side, the ones you included that I didn't would've been my next ones up. The only major disagreement would be on She Lives In My Lap, as that's my favorite song from either side.
 
debar22 said:
I actually don't mind your cut either. On Big Boi's side, all of my favorites are still on there, and the ones we differ on I don't mind the replacements. On Andre's side, the ones you included that I didn't would've been my next ones up. The only major disagreement would be on She Lives In My Lap, as that's my favorite song from either side.
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Maybe I need to relisten to "She Lives in My Lap" based on the praise in here, I don't remember it being a standout but sometimes I revisit things and realize I was just insane lol
 
NathanRicaud said:
It got #1 in Australia! But yeah, it wasn’t a #1 hit worldwide, but it did get #1 in the US too. It was overall a big hit worldwide! Hey-Ya is a classic for me! It’s a weird, funky, fusion, timeless song that is just so playful and has so much charisma! 🕺
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I mean it’s a good song and it was a great single back in 03, I had it on CD single back then. I still think that your original comment was comically hyperbolic.
 
NathanRicaud said:
It got #1 in Australia! But yeah, it wasn’t a #1 hit worldwide, but it did get #1 in the US too. It was overall a big hit worldwide! Hey-Ya is a classic for me! It’s a weird, funky, fusion, timeless song that is just so playful and has so much charisma! 🕺
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So at the time, it was also noteworthy because Hey Ya!/The Way You Move pulled off the trick of consecutive #1 hits (i.e. replacing your own number #1 at #1). It had only happened before with the Beatles and Boys II Men (groups, a few more solo artists have done it). There was a 6 month period where they were legitimately the biggest artist in the States and many thought they were primed for years of dominance.

And like many others that have tasted that level of success, it just did not happen for a multitude of reasons.
 
duke86fan said:
can i ask why the erykah badu album is assumed to be mamas gun and not baduizm or new amerykah
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Because Storf’s clue was more saying that the November Essentials artist music was compared to the December Essentials artist. Then Storf confirmed it was their first album that got comparisons to the artist that will be the Essentials ROTM.

Baduizm was an album by Erykah Badu where a lot of comparisons between her and Billie Holiday were made.

Storf didn’t say anything about the November ROTM’ being the record that was compared to the December Essentials artist! We feel like if Storf said “their first album was compared to the music of the December Essentials artist“, then we would all be like “Baduizm”!

Mama’s Gun is also really strongly regarded and it is big enough to be an Essentials ROTM.

New Amerykah Part One or Part Two aren’t as big and exciting to be an Essentials ROTM in my opinion!
 
duke86fan said:
and thats the exact reason why i think its an option


this is storf
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Fingers crossed we get Baduizm or Mama's Gun as the Essentials ROTM and then some other Erykah Badu exclusives! I've got all her albums on vinyl but am more than happy to replace my current ones with VMP pressings! The VMP exclusive for Worldwide Underground was a really nice upgrade from the copy I already had!
 
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