#116: Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force - Planet Rock: The Album (1986)

Zack: Ah, the Golden Age of hip-hop. Truly a great time for rap music. It’s too bad that the list overlooks some of the greatest of that era (no Rakim or Big Daddy Kane or KRS-One? Seriously!?), but at least they got this one right. Afrika Bambaataa is so crucial to hip-hop culture alone that he merits a place on the list. And then you consider his impact on music and you realize that he probably should have his face immortalized on a hip-hop Mt. Rushmore or something. Of course, Mr. Bambaataa is primarily a DJ, so he had to assemble a team of rappers worthy of the opportunity to rhyme over his funky, electro beats. Enter the Soulsonic Force, a group of emcees so talented that they’ve been called the Power Rangers of rap. Well, I made that last sentence up, but still. Planet Rock is a legendary album by a legendary artist whose impact on the game has been massive, but still underappreciated.

Favorite Tracks: Who You Funkin’ With; Planet Rock; Renegades of Funk

Emily: As our loyal readers know, I’m pretty fond of the funk. Those same readers would know that I am ever-so-slowly being converted to hip-hop fandom. Those two interests collided upon listening to Afrika Bambaataa’s Planet Rock. This was my first foray into old-school hip-hop, and I wasn’t exactly sure what I was getting into. What I found was another transitional album (two in a row! Whoaaaa!) that incorporates elements of the past with a futuristic look forward. Bambaataa fuses African rhythms with funky beats, and then layers his hip-hop stylings on top. Add in a few badass guitars and shout-outs to the Zulu Nation, and you end up with something great. Afrika Bambaataa may not be as well known as the Sugar Hill Gang or Run-DMC, but he’s clearly influential in his own right.

Favorite Tracks: Looking for the Perfect Beat; Planet Rock; Frantic Situation

#115: The Sonics - Here Are the Sonics (1965)

Emily: Going through this list in a random fashion is kind of like a jigsaw puzzle, with different random pieces slowly coming together to create the complete timeline. Some albums are random middle pieces, with seemingly no connection to any other musical history. Some are corner pieces, absolutely instrumental to the progression of popular music. And some albums, like today’s selection, are edge pieces. They’re not necessarily the most important or prominent albums on the list, but they bridge important gaps between eras, artists, and genres. Here Are the Sonics definitely makes that connection for me. Released in 1965, Here Are the Sonics is one of the earliest examples of garage rock, a predecessor to the punk and alternative of later decades. It bridges the gap between ‘50s rock and roll and the louder, faster rock of the ‘60s and ‘70s. This is made even more evident by the band’s choice of covers. They take classic rock and roll music, including songs by Chuck Berry and Little Richard, and update it with louder guitars and driving drums. These updates also serve as homages, however. The Sonics pay tribute to the architects of rock and roll while signaling the future of the genre, truly making them transformative musical figures.

Favorite Tracks: Do You Love Me; Good Golly Miss Molly; Money (That’s What I Want)

Zack: The Sonics might just be the best damn rock band that (if you’re anything like me) you’ve never heard of. Although, I guess since you’re reading this, you have now heard of them. Well, in that case, consider yourself lucky. God damn they rock. Without ever hearing a song by them, I was really excited to review this album. When we started picking our next batch of albums to review (we pick ten at a time during the summer when we’re unable to listen to albums together), this was the first album I put forward. Actually, that may be putting it too lightly. I demanded we listen to it. This is the first example of garage rock/protopunk on the list and I wanted to experience it ASAP. I’m so glad I did. Everything about it is just so….LOUD!!!!!!!!!! It blasts out of the speakers/headphones and grabs you. The guitars, the drums, the vocals….those god damn vocals! I don’t really know who Gerry Roslie is but he can wail. I mean, he actually nailed a high note from a Little Richard song. That’s pretty damn impressive. I would have to say that the high note from the album is a brilliant cover of the Chuck Berry classic, Roll Over Beethoven. That song has been covered by everyone from The Beatles to The Byrds to Iron Maiden, but they still took it and made it sound so fresh and original. Granted, that song is so good that Nickelback could probably cover it and I would still enjoy it, but still. The Sonics are just good ol’ rock & roll fun, and should be mandatory listening for anyone who ever wants to set up shop in their parents basement and jam.

Favorite Tracks: Roll Over Beethoven; Money (That’s What I Want); Good Golly Miss Molly

#114: Isaac Hayes - Shaft (1971)

Zack: I can’t mention this album without at least pointing out that this is the voice of Chef. But since there’s another Isaac Hayes album on the list and there’s more than enough to say about this album anyway, I’ll have to pause the Chef ramblings until another day. First off, while perusing Wikipedia, I saw that this album hit #1 on several charts, including one “Black Albums.” Curious if there was actually a separate chart for black people past Brown v. Board of Education, I clicked on the link. It took me to the page for “Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.” Wow. Awesome random racism, Wikipedia. Besides for that, I also learned that Isaac Hayes originally became involved in this project because he was hoping to score the title role. Seriously? The character’s name is Shaft. Did Marvin Gaye already have dibs on “Just Thatip?” But I digress. This is a soundtrack, so most of the songs are instrumentals meant to be heard while watching something. Usually, this is what dooms soundtracks from the very beginning. But Mr. Hayes manages to infuse enough funk and soul into the music to still keep it interesting. But let’s be honest. With a powerful, sextastic voice like Isaac Hayes, you need some vocals. Of the fifteen tracks on the double album, only three feature singing, but they are easily the three best songs. His voice is just so deep and seducing. He could be singing about anything and all I would hear is “I’m gonna make love to you womaaaaaaaan. I’m gonna lay you down by the fiiiiiiraaaaaaah.” I know I said the South Park references would wait, but I just couldn’t help myself.

Favorite Tracks: Do Your Thing; Theme from Shaft; Soulsville 

Emily: I’ve never seen Shaft, but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t show up on any 1001 top movies list. The soundtrack, however, is a different story. It is one of the rare movie soundtracks that became ridiculously more successful than the movie itself, and it’s easy to hear why. Many soundtracks just serve as filler to the movie, but Isaac Hayes made the music to Shaft able to stand on its own. He composed and performed the entire album, which is a collection of instrumental scene-setting tracks interspersed with a few vocal performances. To me, the sound was kind of soul-meets-space. The songs have a futuristic quality about them, but are also full of classic soul sounds and grooves. This creative combination elevates Shaft above lowly soundtrack status to become a 70s soul classic.

Favorite Tracks: Theme from Shaft; Soulsville; Do Your Thing

#113: a-ha - Hunting High and Low (1985)

Emily: So here we are again with another 80s New Wave one-hit wonder. Those of you who have followed us for a while may remember our intense hatred of Soft Cell, despite a love of all things Tainted Love. Needless to say I was a bit hesitant to listen to an entire a-ha album. I love Take on Me, especially the Reel Big Fish ska-tastic version, and the original video is just plain awesome (check out the “literal version” too). Yet, I figured there must be a reason that they’re only a one-hit wonder . After listening to a-ha’s entire debut, however, I am happy to report that it does not suffer from Soft Cell syndrome. Take on Me is easily the best song on the album, but the rest of the album is well-crafted and catchy as well. Overall, Hunting High and Low is a very good, fun representation of 80s synthpop; definitely worth more than just one-hit wonder status.

Favorite Tracks: Take on Me; The Sun Always Shines on TV; I Dream Myself Alive

Zack: Full disclosure: I have been addicted to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy for the last week and have also listened to 808’s & Heartbreak a few times as well. To those of you who don’t know, those are Kanye’s two latest albums and both feature a more electronic approach for him. This became relevant in my life a few days ago when I was discussing popular music with a coworker, Jason. Jason was railing against the evils of autotuning. He believes that it takes the prerequisite of talent out of a vocalist’s job and was truly disheartened that this seemed to be the way that music was heading. I must admit, part of me wanted to agree with him. But the other part was thinking about how much I enjoy MBDTF and that includes how Yeezy utilizes autotuning to further his artistic endeavors. It used to be that the purpose was to mask faults in a singer without the laymen listener noticing. But over time (and with a big push from T-Pain), it became an instrument in its own right. Now, critics listen to an album like MBDTF and view the robotic musings played in contrast to an unchanged voice as a statement about the shallowness of celebrity life or something. Such is the progress of music. Back in the day, I wonder what people thought about the increasing prevalence of synthesizers in music. Sure, they were present before the 80s, but it wasn’t until the Reagan administration that genres such as New Wave and synthpop really took off. There is a difference in that synthesizers were always an instrument that required a musician to play while autotuning was more akin to editing software. But both are a synthetic (hence synthesizers) approach that symbolizes a distancing of the human aspect of music. Kanye’s MBDTF has got to be the ultimate example of good autotuning. The worst, you ask? That is easily Friday by Rebecca Black. Now I’m pretty new to synth-driven music, but right now I would have to place the burden of worst synthesizing squarely on the shoulders of Soft Cell’s Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret. The title of best is currently held, in my mind, by a-ha. They walked a very thin tightrope perfectly: enough synthesizers that it is clearly defining but not too much as to cover up the other layers of sound that they create. It was a masterful performance by true artists. Listening to Hunting High and Low made me think that Norway should be more involved in the development of music. Clearly they know what they’re doing. I may not always be particularly happy with the shit that ends up on the radio, but studying the path that we took to get there is interesting enough. Like I mentioned earlier, music seems to be drifting towards a more complex and tech-reliant future. Why this is happening is anyone’s guess. Maybe it’s a reaction to growing feelings of isolation that can only be expressed through the most emotionless means possible. Maybe it’s the culmination of the Facebook era, where connections to others have become reliant on how many bars of service you have. I’m not a sociologist and I have no fucking clue. But I do know that this trend is one that’s been happening for decades now, and it isn’t necessarily all bad. Musicians like a-ha and Kanye prove that no matter what or how you’re doing something, there is a way for artistry to shine through. You just have to be talented enough to make sure it happens.

Favorite Tracks: Take on Me; Hunting High and Low; The Sun Always Shines on TV