Celebration of Malik Izaak Taylor, "Phife Dawg" (11/20/70 - 3/22/16)

To honor Phife Dawg, I am shuffling A Tribe Called Quest's The Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders.  Consider all of the following SHUFFLE GOLD!!

1. "Scenario"--A Tribe Called Quest, The Low End Theory (1991):
I first heard A Tribe Called Quest as a college DJ.  I regularly played "I Left My Wallet in El Segundo" and "Bonita Applebum" from their first album, but this album blew things wide open for the group. This song is the third single off of this seminal A Tribe Called Quest album. Phife starts the first verse:
"Heyo, Bo knows this, (What?) and Bo knows that (What?)
But Bo don't know jack, cause Bo can't rap
Well what do you know, the Di-Dawg, is first up to bat
No batteries included, and no strings attached"

2. "Skypager"--A Tribe Called Quest, The Low End Theory (1991): 
Before cellphones, we had pagers.  This song is a deep cut on the album and provides an education on the uses of the "skypager." Phife's verse here focuses on the pager's use for booty calls. Like a lot of his rhymes, this one has a sports reference.
"If you get your high, then mine is next
The 'S' in skypage really stands for sex
Beeper's goin off like Don Trump gets checks
Keep my bases loaded like the New York Mets"

3.  "Steve Biko (Stir It Up)"--A Tribe Called Quest, Midnight Marauders (1993):
Well-established when this album came out, the first single "Award Tour" picked up where The Low End Theory left off, featuring Trugoy from De La Soul.  This song was a deeper cut but has one of Phife's more creative descriptions of himself:
"Hip hop scholar since being knee high to a duck
The height of Muggsy Bogues, complexion of a hockey puck
You better ask somebody on how we flip the script
Come to a Tribe show and watch the three kids rip"

4. "8 Million Stories"--A Tribe Called Quest, Midnight Marauders (1993): 
This song is particularly appropriate for this tribute to Phife as it mostly features him.  He strings several stories together through the first 2 verses, making it difficult to pull anything out of context. Keeping with the sports theme started above, here is a Knicks (John Starks) reference:
"Everybody knows I go to Georgia often
Got on the flight and I ended up in Boston
With all these trials and tribulations, yo, I've been affected
And to top it off, Starks got ejected"

5. "Jazz (We've Got)"--A Tribe Called Quest, The Low End Theory (1991):
The second single off of the album directly connects hip hop to jazz and demonstrates the signature sound of the group that has been so influential in the years since.  If you don't already have it, take Phife's advice and get this record:
"I sing, and chat, I do all of that
It's 1991 and I refuse to come wack
I take off my hat to other crews that tend to rock
But the Low End Theory's here, it's time to wreck shop
I got Tip and Shah, so whom shall I fear
Stop look and listen, but please don't stare
So jet to the store, and buy the LP
On Jive/RCA, cassettes and CD's"

Snow Day!

1.   “I’m Still in Love With You” – Al Green, Greatest Hits (1975):

My good friend Mark (see his blog here) is responsible for making sure that I have important R&B songs and artists. I love Al Green, but came to him so late in the game that the Greatest Hits are all that I know. If you don’t know Al Green, click the link and get started. SHUFFLE GOLD!

2. “Closedown” – The Cure, Disintegration (1988):

I have a much more personal relationship to The Cure, although I came to them a little late too.  I was too much of a rocker to appreciate The Cure until I got to college.  With the mainstream, I got on board with the Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me album and was fully versed by the time this album came out.  I saw Robert Smith and company live for the first time on this tour, and he blew me away with his guitar playing.  I was expecting a keyboard extravaganza, but got the full Robert Smith live experience with his many solos.  This is a great song and on a great album.  Quick pop culture note: at least one of the writers for the recent movie Ant Man is a fan, as they snuck the opening track of this album into the film in a funny, Siri phone moment.  SHUFFLE GOLD!

3. “Distance Comes in Droves” – Archers of Loaf, All The Nation’s Airports (1996):

Archers of Loaf is an indie band from North Carolina. They were originally on Alias Records, but recently (2012) re-released all of the albums on Merge Records.  Last year they released a live album from their brief tour supporting the re-release of their albums.  They were a great indie rock band. Lead singer Eric Bachmann continues as a great song writer through his solo work as well as his other project Crooked Fingers.  He is one of my favorite song writers. This song is not a favorite and not necessarily representative of my favorite song of the original “AOL.” SHUFFLE GOODNESS.

4. “Soulcraft”—Bad Brains, Quickness (1989):

An essential D.C. hardcore band, Bad Brains combined punk, metal, funk, and reggae.  This album was considered more “commercial” than some of their earlier, faster albums.  Although this album is supposedly more “commercial,” I recommend starting with their first album and this video of them playing CBGBs . Still, this song is SHUFFLE GOLD!

5. “Bombs Away” – Archers of Loaf, All The Nation’s Airports (1996):

The shuffle is a strange beast.  Not sure why we went back to this album so quickly. Strangely, this is the next song after “Distance Comes in Droves” above and is the last song on the album. It is certainly not indicative of a typical AOL song, as it is a piano instrumental, but an interesting way to end the album, and I suppose, this post. MEH.