Josh Is a Dumbass

Earl Van Dyke, “Soul Stomp”

We’re in 1964 here, with a well-named song, as this really is quite a stomp. The organ is just fantastic.

The Beastie Boys, “Fight For Your Right”

I think that more than half of the times in my life that I’ve wound up in some stranger’s car, aimlessly wandering towards or away from a party, either this album or Paul’s Boutique was playing. It’s basically the soundtrack to unfocused teenage ennui to me.

De La Soul, “Church”

After the lackluster Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump and the uneven AOI: Bionix, I was wondering if De La Soul were done. The answer was answered definitively by the next album, The Grind Date: no, they were not done. At least part of that was the production they got on the record, with good work from folks like J Dilla, Mad Lib, and 9th Wonder (who is on this track). It’s not groundbreaking in the way their early work was, but it’s a just a solid record all the way through.