A Tribe Called Quest

Alleged Gunmen, “Showdown at Sundown”

I don’t remember getting this, it’s apparently from 2004, so it wasn’t some random Bandcamp find. They don’t seem to have any links to other bands in Discogs, despite sounding very familiar. And, I’m sad to say, it’s a depressing thing to search for right now, so I guess I’ll leave it at that.

Common, “Be”

Be didn’t break open new ground, not really. But it’s such a good album from start to finish. It’s my favorite from Common because everything is just dialed in perfectly. This is just the intro song, and it goes incredibly hard thanks to that upright bass and the sweet strings, and Common just relaxing into it and slinging his verses. I listened to this twice while I was making this list.

Zeke, “Action”

There are times when I think we should just ban all rock songs longer than two minutes. If you can’t get your point across in two minutes, go play some jazz or something, loser!

Atmosphere, “Besos”

I typed this first as “Beos”, and then thought, huh, I wonder what a veteran hip-hop duo was doing writing a song about a near-forgotten niche operating system. You all should be thankful I’m not going to even attempt a verse here.

Steely Dan, “Change Of The Guard”

Steely Dan has such an interesting reputation. Unlike so many of their contemporaries, they’ve retained a cachet among music fans, and continue to be talked about in positive terms by so many folks. It’s not that it’s not deserved, it’s just not entirely clear why they haven’t just been thrown away as old fart music like so many other bands.

A Tribe Called Quest, “Electric Relaxation”

One of my forever bands and forever records.

Swans, “Stay Here”

Filth is maybe the best named album ever made. Belching forth from the no-wave scene in New York City, it’s just 36 minutes of pure punishment. Grinding, scraping, the nihilism is palpable on every part of the record. From Roli Mossimann’s relentless pounding on the drums, to Norman Westberg’s doom-laden guitar work, and especially Michael Gira’s howling vocals, the Swans are operating in a primal mode here that would inspire countless other noise bands. They would tune their attack, add in a lot more variation and complexity, and would end up as one of the most majestic bands ever. But when they started? They were the avatars of everything murky and gross.

Some strong hip hop, some great reggae, an instrumental trifle, and some classic rock. It’s Five Songs!

A Tribe Called Quest, “After Hours”

Part of a blossoming reaction to the preeminent aesthetic of late 80s hip hop, A Tribe Called Quest quickly became the greatest of the acts rejecting the posturing of so many of their peers. From their very first album, People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm (which this song comes from), they were already executing a fully realized artistic vision, one perfected in their next album, The Low End Theory. The focus on addressing topics that other groups weren’t talking about along with a sonic palette that included far more jazz than was the norm helped them stand out from just about anybody else, excepting maybe De La Soul (who were frequent collaborators). Simply put, A Tribe Called Quest is one of the giants of hip-hop, and their first three albums are all essential listening.