Subtitle: And I still can’t come up with good titles. But that’s not why you’re here.
Anyway, I judge albums based on their endurance. I don’t care if they rush in running a full sprint if they run out of life three weeks later. It’s a marathon. Will this album still be running five years from now? Ten?
Five years means an album is a major player. At least memorable in some way. Ten years means the album is probably a classic. Due to being a boring adult with real-world problems, I totally forgot two of my favorite albums turned ten this year. These albums were both culturally significant and made a permanent stamp on my life. They couldn’t be more dissimilar but put these two albums together and I think they’re the perfect indicator of my scattered taste.
These albums are TV on the Radio – Dear Science and Young Jeezy – The Recession
“Dear Science, please start solving problems and curing diseases or shut the fuck up.”
I probably have the least exciting answer for “Favorite band of all time?”. Not Zepplin, not Floyd, not Nirvana but TV on the Radio. Right when the snap era of music began pushing me towards the alternative lane, TV on the Radio emerged. My freshman year of college, I was eating my twelve-piece nugget when I heard the oddest sounding song. It was a loud blend of dissonant melodies over horns and hard guitar riffs. I immediately looked up at the screen: TV on the Radio. [Sidenote: It’s really dope that they’re a mostly black band]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1-xRk6llh4
“Wolf Like Me” is still my favorite song by TVOTR. Unfortunately, it’s on Return to Cooking Mountain, not Dear Science. Of course, I was anticipating the next release by my new favorite band but upon first listen, I absolutely hated Dear Science. Judging by their first single, “Golden Age”, they began to favor dissonance over those hard guitar riffs. Although I hated this album, I couldn’t put it down. It started with me humming “Dancing Choose”. Then singing “Family Tree” in my car. Then playing a hellacious air guitar solo to “DLZ”. Finally, I realized I liked the whole album. Dear Science was and is a slow burn but it’s a modern masterpiece. It still sounds as crisp as it did back in ’08.
Apart from being my favorite album from my favorite band, this album is forever tethered to my favorite TV of all time.
My favorite song from my favorite album by my favorite band became my favorite moment from my favorite TV show. Walter White officially became Heisenberg while “DLZ” served as the soundtrack.
“My president is black, my Lambo is blue”
One day, I’ll be a decrepit old man waxing poetic about the “good ol days”. I’ll tell kids that I was there when we elected the first black president and the biggest rapper in the game was Young Jeezy.
TM:101 took the world by storm. I can’t remember a more dominant debut album from a Southern rapper in my lifetime. The release of TM:102 was a bit tamer. It came immediately after the first album and it was clearly an effort to keep Jeezy’s hype going. Naturally, people though Jeezy’s 2008 release would be named Thug Motivation 103 but no, he chose The Recession.
2008 was an odd time. We were indeed in a recession. Still in two pointless wars. The Democratic candidate was a first-term senator. The GOP VP candidate used “maverick” as a noun, adjective, and verb in the same sentence. Music reflects the times so there’s nothing unusual about artists trending towards social commentary during trying times. It is unusual when that artist is Young Jeezy. Even more unusual, this political album is Young Jeezy’s most focused album. I’d argue that Jeezy’s trap tales have always been “conscious” but Jeezy used The Recession to show that politics affect the trap as well.
And Jeezy, of all people, provided the (un)official soundtrack of the Obama campaign. On the night of November 4, 2008, “My President” blasted throughout the streets. Obviously, this is one of the most memorable nights of my night. As much as present times cloud over that moment, it will always be stored away in my mind.
So I’m not exactly sure what made Jeezy put TM103 on hold in favor of The Recession but it was right for the times.
2008 was a pretty good year in music, but Dear Science and The Recession are still standouts. They were present for pretty cool moments in my life and I’ll cherish them forever.
Since reliving the old days is a fun task, we’ll also be discussing Q-Tip – The Renaissance and T-Pain – Thr33 Ringz.
Until next time…
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