2.4.13

On February 4th I listened to A Tribe Called Quest The Low End Theory, The Beatles Rubber Soul, and Biffy Clyro Opposites.

A Tribe Called Quest’s first three albums are a magnificent blur to me. They all came out when I was in college and I didn't own them, but I didn’t have to. The vibe those albums created worked pretty much everywhere I hung out. Meat market bars? A Tribe sounded great between “Brown Eyed Girl and “Solsbury Hill.” Hipster bars? A Tribe fit right in between Jane’s Addiction and Uncle Tupelo.  Hip Hop bars? Duh! Gay bars? Nobody seemed to notice A Tribe between Depeche Mode and Pet Shop Boys. Old man bars? If it was on the jukebox and didn't upset the real drunks at the end of the bar, it worked.

Low End Theory is the band’s second and probably most "on point" effort. Granted, this is the disc that spawned “Scenario,” Low End is the real deal from front to back.

It sounds like the early 90’s to me, but it doesn't sound dated. I love how “Excursions” opens right up with a “pager” reference. What’s a pager? Right, 20-year-old puke?

Did you know “Check The Rhime” was the first single from this album?

“Buggin’ Out”, “What?” “Jazz (We’ve Got),” “Show Business,” and “Infamous Date Rape” are some of my favorites, just to cherry pick a few.

“What’s Ralph Kramden, if he ain’t yelling? At Ed Norton. What’s coke snorting?”

At some point in the late 80’s I came to the conclusion that Revolver is, in fact, the best Beatles album. I did that all by myself too. In the radio world they have something called TSL and that’s time spent listening. My TSL for Revolver was through the roof and that's how I based my decision. 

Revolver has all the best songs and it literally takes you on a musical journey! From the breakfast table, “Good Day Sunshine,” to a late night freak out, “Tomorrow Never Knows,” Revolver does it all in a “Yellow Submarine.” I’ll write more about this album later in the year.

After I made my Revolver proclamation, it seemed like every half-assed Beatles fan was saying the same thing! How annoying! Get your own favorite Beatles album, you fucking jerks! 

So, anytime I became involved in a heated Beatles discussion and some wiener beat me to the Revolver-is-the-best-Beatles-album punch, I would say, “Oh, I thought Rubber Soul was your favorite album.” This usually pisses off devote Revolver disciples.

OK, the point! I picked Rubber Soul as the second Beatles album that I would listen to this year, because it’s kind of a joke. Rubber Soul has got giant Beatles smash hits on it, “In My Life,” “Nowhere Man,” and “Michelle.” (The version of “In My Life,” that Sleepy’s, mattress company, is using in their TV ads is downright criminal!)

I was hoping I could polish up the turds on this album and find something shiny. It didn’t work. I even walked away from this listen realizing, “Drive My Car” is a fairly dumb song.

“What’s that? You like Revolver? I thought you were a Rubber Soul guy, no?”

Biffy Clyro Opposites is the best album of 2013… so far.

It’s a GD shame that this band has been around for over ten years, has tons of amazing songs, plays giant festivals abroad, and can NOT get arrested here in ‘Merica!

You can almost hear why on Opposites, dude’s Scottish accent can be a bit of a pill. I, however, love it!

“Biblical,” was the big standout track for me after one listen, and I really dug the first three offerings too, “Different People,” “Black Chandelier,” and “Sounds Like Balloons.”