Vinyl Me Please Essentials

NathanRicaud said:
Also, I remember in late 2018, VMP had stated that they already have their 2019 December Essentials dream pick (Aretha Franklin’s I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You) lined up! They had that album in the works for a long time!

I imagine it would be no different for the December 2020 Essentials ROTM! Lady Sings The Blues would have been a dream pick for VMP, and they would’ve lined up an amazing Essentials ROTM very well in advance.

I honestly can’t imagine it being Velvet Mood. If you think logically and just take everything into account about VMP, it would be very odd for the December Essentials ROTM to be Velvet Mood. With how far in advance they seem to do the December Essentials ROTM + their 3 month in advance announcement, I am certain it will be Lady Sings The Blues!
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So is it your interpretation that the “no heart for you“ twitter thing just saying that it was retweeting the post instead of giving it a heart? Because otherwise it seems like it was specifically saying those weren’t the right guesses.
 
supahypeag said:
So is it your interpretation that the “no heart for you“ twitter thing just saying that it was retweeting the post instead of giving it a heart? Because otherwise it seems like it was specifically saying those weren’t the right guesses.
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The ‘No Heart For You’ twitter thing was in my opinion, Storf messing around! Just like how he messed around when he said the R&HH ROTM was not Lil’ Wayne’s Tha Carter III, when in fact it was!

Storf will rarely confirm all three ROTM picks in advance! He’ll always try and twists things a bit when there’s the opportunity, just like he did with the ‘Genius clue’ and ‘under appreciated album’ he gave for the Ghostface Killah and Sonny Rollins ROTM’s!

I am sure it will be Lady Sings The Blues! Who knows though, it could be Velvet Mood, but I highly doubt it!
 
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Velvet Mood is not a bad choice, even though it is not highly regarded as Lady Sings the Blues. It does have the advantage of being fresh, as it has not been reissued heavily. I have a Japanese vinyl version from the 70s, and now I have a good excuse to dig it out and play it.

But if this is indeed the pick, why would they go with one that does not feature Billie Holiday on the cover?

www.discogs.com

Billie Holiday - Velvet Mood

Explore songs, recommendations, and other album details for Velvet Mood by Billie Holiday. Compare different versions and buy them all on Discogs.
www.discogs.com www.discogs.com
 
The temptation as a non-member to come back as soon as VMP comes up with records you truly love is certainly there. If they come up with Badu and Holiday, I usually would've signed up for three month term in next to no time, but with the recent increse in prices I'm really wondering if I have to call it quits with VMP forever. I got my Fiona Apple records and luckily the VMP variants haven't been the best with the last few releases I was interested in, so there's usually always a better (and cheaper!) alternative.
 
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JonnyH said:
Sit down at the feet of my recliner little whipper snapper. The year was 2000, and Like Water For Chocolate was a BIG deal.
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NathanRicaud said:
Anything for you Johnny! 🙈🙊🤷‍♂️😈

Even though I was too young to know, I could imagine Like Water For Chocolate being a big deal! It’s just such a great album! I’m gonna spin it later today! ♥
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Bit of useless information but Questlove from The Roots was the producer on Like Water For Chocolate. In his book, Mo' Meta Blues, he refers to the album a lot. By all accounts, the album was a time consuming one to produce but at the end he thought of it as one of Common's greatest albums.

It was definitely a big enough hit when released to justify being picked imo.
 
Selaws said:
Bit of useless information but Questlove from The Roots was the producer on Like Water For Chocolate. In his book, Mo' Meta Blues, he refers to the album a lot. By all accounts, the album was a time consuming one to produce but at the end he thought of it as one of Common's greatest albums.

It was definitely a big enough hit when released to justify being picked imo.
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This is great information! Thank you for sharing that Selaws! Now that I’m thinking about it, Common’s Like Water For Chocolate is definitely big enough to be an Essentials ROTM! OutKast is just a ‘bigger’ Essentials pick in comparison. So I think that’s why my first thought was “Nah, Common’s Like Water For Chocolate isn’t big enough to be an Essentials pick”! It’s just because OutKast’s Stankonia is a monster Essentials pick!
 
NathanRicaud said:
This is great information! Thank you for sharing that Selaws! Now that I’m thinking about it, Common’s Like Water For Chocolate is definitely big enough to be an Essentials ROTM! OutKast is just a ‘bigger’ Essentials pick in comparison. So I think that’s why my first thought was “Nah, Common’s Like Water For Chocolate isn’t big enough to be an Essentials pick”! It’s just because OutKast’s Stankonia is a monster Essentials pick!
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I'm not a big Common fan, but I respect Like Water....

It would not be a good Essentials pick. It would be a great RHH pick. I look at RHH picks as essential within the genre (they could be too outside of it, but that's not in question - that's just the minimum).

For Essentials, it should transcend genre and have an impact on (popular) music.

That's how I look at it. I'm not going to pretend that's how VMP looks at it. Ought and is.

Also, if Stankonia is a monster and Like Water isn't as "big", then it's a baby. Or, a baby monster. We'll have to get your confidence up!
 
Lord Diaper Baby said:
I'm not a big Common fan, but I respect Like Water....

It would not be a good Essentials pick. It would be a great RHH pick. I look at RHH picks as essential within the genre (they could be too outside of it, but that's not in question - that's just the minimum).

For Essentials, it should transcend genre and have an impact on (popular) music.

That's how I look at it. I'm not going to pretend that's how VMP looks at it. Ought and is.

Also, if Stankonia is a monster and Like Water isn't as "big", then it's a baby. Or, a baby monster. We'll have to get your confidence up!
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Omg, yes Lord Diaper Baby! I actually agree with you there! Like Water For Chocolate would work better as a R&HH ROTM than it would as an Essentials ROTM! 💯

Stankonia is an absolute Monster pick for the Essentials track! OutKast’s Southernplayalisticadilacmuzik sold out instantly when it was announced as a R&HH ROTM. VMP repressed it instantly! Stankonia is going to be very popular, and will have VMP gaining a lot of new subscribers! 🙋‍♀️🙋🙋‍♂️

I’m so excited to see the whole package for OutKast’s Stankonia! I can’t wait to see it all! I love the album so much, and the song Ms. Jackson is one of my favourite hip-hop tracks of all-time! 🏆♥️
 
NathanRicaud said:
Omg, yes Lord Diaper Baby! I actually agree with you there! Like Water For Chocolate would work better as a R&HH ROTM than it would as an Essentials ROTM! 💯

Stankonia is an absolute Monster pick for the Essentials track! OutKast’s Southernplayalisticadilacmuzik sold out instantly when it was announced as a R&HH ROTM. VMP repressed it instantly! Stankonia is going to be very popular, and will have VMP gaining a lot of new subscribers! 🙋‍♀️🙋🙋‍♂️

I’m so excited to see the whole package for OutKast’s Stankonia! I can’t wait to see it all! I love the album so much, and the song Ms. Jackson is one of my favourite hip-hop tracks of all-time! 🏆♥
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Southernplayalisticadilacmuzik is an example like Common - a fantastic RHH pick. I think it would be a bad Essentials pick. It's a dope album but it didn't have the impact outside of hip hop like Stankonia - Outkast were certainly not at their commercial zenith till Stankonia (in fact, as a crude measure, the only Billboard #1's came from Stankonia and Speakerboxxx/The Love Below) and you can also argue that the diverse musical influences that went into Stankonia contribute to its Essentialism.

(Note: you can argue that there are better Outkast albums, like Aquemini - I certainly would [in fact, I'd put ATliens before it too]; but I would even argue that Aquemini would be a better RHH than Essential pick)
 
Lord Diaper Baby said:
Southernplayalisticadilacmuzik is an example like Common - a fantastic RHH pick. I think it would be a bad Essentials pick. It's a dope album but it didn't have the impact outside of hip hop like Stankonia - Outkast were certainly not at their commercial zenith till Stankonia (in fact, as a crude measure, the only Billboard #1's came from Stankonia and Speakerboxxx/The Love Below) and you can also argue that the diverse musical influences that went into Stankonia contribute to its Essentialism.

(Note: you can argue that there are better Outkast albums, like Aquemini - I certainly would [in fact, I'd put ATliens before it too]; but I would even argue that Aquemini would be a better RHH than Essential pick)
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Aquemini would be a magnificent Essentials pick! That’s where OutKast started to really show their experimental, left-field, innovative side! Aquemini is definitely more in the Essentials wheelhouse than R&HH wheelhouse in my opinion! I think I prefer ATLiens a tiny bit more over Aquemini though! They are both incredible albums! But ATLiens is definitely more suited to being a R&HH pick!

Just listen to the track SpottieOttieDopaliscious! That track alone is just 👌 and is a track so many people, regardless of what genre of music they enjoy the most, would absolutely love! 💯
 
NathanRicaud said:
Aquemini would be a magnificent Essentials pick! That’s where OutKast started to really show their experimental, left-field, innovative side! Aquemini is definitely more in the Essentials wheelhouse than R&HH wheelhouse in my opinion! I think I prefer ATLiens a tiny bit more over Aquemini though! They are both incredible albums! But ATLiens is definitely more suited to being a R&HH pick!

Just listen to the track SpottieOttieDopaliscious! That track alone is just 👌 and is a track so many people, regardless of what genre of music they enjoy the most, would absolutely love! 💯
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But I don't agree with any of that. I think you have a difficult time removing bias or perspective (i.e., I love it so it must be universally so).

Again, I think Aquemini is a superior album....but in my record club it would not be an essential pick.

Of course, I clearly see RHH and Classics as having the sub text of (Essential) RHH and (Essential) Classics, with the actual Essentials as being genre agnostic.

I would totally desert island pack Aquemini before Stankonia, but if I made a record club I'd have my SELF take a step back and accept that the island isn't deserted.
 
Lord Diaper Baby said:
But I don't agree with any of that. I think you have a difficult time removing bias or perspective (i.e., I love it so it must be universally so).

Again, I think Aquemini is a superior album....but in my record club it would not be an essential pick.

Of course, I clearly see RHH and Classics as having the sub text of (Essential) RHH and (Essential) Classics, with the actual Essentials as being genre agnostic.

I would totally desert island pack Aquemini before Stankonia, but if I made a record club I'd have my SELF take a step back and accept that the island isn't deserted.
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I prefer ATLiens moreso than Aquemini and I wouldn’t pick ATLiens to be an Essentials ROTM! I definitely don’t think I am bias!

I would also make André 3000’s The Love Below an Essentials ROTM! But, that would be impossible as the label/OutKast wouldn’t allow such a thing to happen (choosing one half of an album over the other!).

Look at the last 5 Essentials ROTM’s that are hip-hop albums! Clipse, The Roots, Main Source, The Notorious B.I.G. & De La Soul. How is OutKast’s Aquemini not in the Essentials wheelhouse? It’s because Stankonia exists, that you think that!

Aquemini is a spiritual, lush, curious yet fearless, lyrically potent and an electric album that saw OutKast building upon the spacey/left-field side of ATLiens. The experimental tracks on Aquemini are focused and are blissful, beautiful and trippy!

Aquemini was commercially more successful than most of the last 5 hip-hop Essentials ROTM’s! It debuted at #2 on the Billboard and went 2 x platinum!

Aquemini is definitely an Essentials ROTM! It’s only because Stankonia exists, that you think there could only be one OutKast album that could be an Essentials pick!
 
NathanRicaud said:
I prefer ATLiens moreso than Aquemini and I wouldn’t pick ATLiens to be an Essentials ROTM! I definitely don’t think I am bias!
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Touche….I'll give you that and I stand corrected.

NathanRicaud said:
I would also make André 3000’s The Love Below an Essentials ROTM! But, that would be impossible as the label/OutKast wouldn’t allow such a thing to happen (choosing one half of an album over the other!).
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Lol...I wouldn't make either half of that album a RHH or straight essentials pick...and I think it's a great album!

NathanRicaud said:
Look at the last 5 Essentials ROTM’s that are hip-hop albums! Clipse, The Roots, Main Source, The Notorious B.I.G. & De La Soul. How is OutKast’s Aquemini not in the Essentials wheelhouse? It’s because Stankonia exists, that you think that!
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Here you're talking about VMP logic. I'm talking about Diaper Baby Monster logic. I wouldn't have put all those albums as essentials, though I like all of them.
 
Lord Diaper Baby said:
Here you're talking about VMP logic. I'm talking about Diaper Baby Monster logic. I wouldn't have put all those albums as essentials, though I like all of them.
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Diaper Baby Monster must have very high expectations then! 😉🦚

What hip-hop albums would you put in the Essentials ROTM wheelhouse then? 🧐

N.W.A.’s Straight Outta Compton, NaS’ Illmatic, A Tribe Called Quest’s The Low End Theory and Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly?!? 👀
 
NathanRicaud said:
Diaper Baby Monster must have very high expectations then! 😉🦚

What hip-hop albums would you put in the Essentials ROTM wheelhouse then? 🧐

N.W.A.’s Straight Outta Compton, NaS’ Illmatic, A Tribe Called Quest’s The Low End Theory and Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly?!? 👀
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That's a difficult one....if we're parsing between Essentials and RHH?

Straight Essentials (and I'm shooting off the top of my head, as this isn't something I've often considered):

Ready to Die, Ilmatic, TPAB (I'd also accept Good Kid), MBDTF, Black Album....I mean there's a lot more but there are also a lot of hip hop albums I absolutely love that would get the RHH. There are albums I want to think of but then vacillate if I'd consider them Essential Essential.

I think what I'd really need to do is make a strict criteria for the category first and then checklist it down the album to see if it meets it. Right now I'm just hip shootin'. Pew pew!
 
NewsFedora said:
So reddit is thinking he might be serious and that instead of it being Lady Sings the Blues it's Velvet Mood, which is a pretty random ass album to pick for Essentials. Like, Miles Davis Sorcerer random ass.
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December Essentials has gotta be Lady Sings The Blues and December Classics has gotta be Diana Ross because Diana Ross played Billie Holiday in the biopic film Lady Sings The Blues
 
my copy of spiritualized sounds pretty good. i'm not a hardcore audiophile myself (im moving to an ortofon next year and a better amplifier). but it seems like there is no distortion and pretty fine

the only issue is that the labels only say a and b.. no C and D
 
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