The 500 - #346 - 3 Feet High and Rising - De La Soul

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

---

Album: # 346

Album Title: 3 Feet High And Rising

Artist: De La Soul

Genre: Alternative Hip Hop, Progressive Rap, Jazz Rap, Psychedelic Hip Hop

Recorded: Calliope Studios, New York and Island Media Studios, West Babylon

Released: March, 1989

My age at release: 23

How familiar was I with it before this week: Not At All

Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: (Not Available On Spotify)

On a weekly basis over the past two years, I have written more than 150 articles on records listed on the 2012 edition of Rolling Stone Magazine's roster of The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time. As one might expect, a routine has formed.

This week was different -- and my routine was thrown. 3 Feet High And Rising by Long Island, New York, hip-hop artists, De La Soul, is not available on Spotify, or any streaming service. I found the music at this link on YouTube, but this option was far less convenient and made me wonder: Why isn't the record on Spotify?

The story of De La Soul's absence from streaming services goes much further back than I assumed. The iconic hip-hop trio's first six records, including this debut, have been embroiled in a legal battle with their first label, Tommy Boy Records, for many years.

The issue is thorny. According to Variety writer Jem Aswad, the debut record was a "pioneering event, not just in the world of hip-hop, but also in sampling technology". Sampling, a foundation of hip-hop, is the re-use of a sound recording to create a new recording. The "sampled" section usually consists of a popular part of the record (the rhythm, melody, speech or an entire bar of music) that can be repeated, or looped, over and over again.

Sampling has its origins in the dance clubs and house parties of the late 70s and early 80s. The disc jockey (DJ) would use two turntables with the same recordings on each. Typically, he would find a "musical break" and, by switching between the records, he could play a "danceable" section repeatedly -- one record played while the DJ skillfully reset the other record to the start of the break.

Legendary, pioneering DJ Grandmaster Flash in NYC (1980)

Initially, DJs preferred soul, funk and R&B records for samples which were played at live events. However, as hip-hop music grew in popularity through the 80s, two things happened. First, the records were made in a studio, where time and improved technology enhanced and streamlined sampling. Additionally, new artists began to look for different sources, other than lesser-known or forgotten R&B records, for their sampling products. 3 Feet High And Rising features recognizable samples from well-known songs. The upbeat love song Eye Know has guitar and horn samples from Make This Young Lady Mine by The Mad Lads (1960), the distinctive whistle from Otis Redding's (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay (1967), guitar keyboard and vocal samples from Steely Dan's Peg (1977) and drums from Lee Dorsey's Get Out Of My Life, Woman (1966).

Eye Know - single release from 3 Feet High And Rising - De La Soul

Unfortunately, many of the samples used by De La Soul had not been "cleared" by Tommy Boy Records' legal department. Consequently, copyright laws, which had been hastily rewritten in the 1980s, were deemed breeched. Lawsuits followed the release of 3 Feet. For example, The song, Transmitting Live From Mars features a sample from You Showed Me by The Turtles. The notoriously litigious songwriters, Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman, eventually settled for a reported $1.7 million. 

Kaylan (left) and Vollman of The Turtles

Thirty years later, the problems persist. When Tommy Boy Records approached the group about releasing their catalogue to four music streaming or sales services (Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes and Tidal), they offered the trio a paltry 10% of the new revenue. In a series of Instagram posts from 2019, the group made their position known. They were willing to re-negotiate the terms of the deal, but talks broke down.

Verified

"Well friends, after 30 years of profiting from our music and hard work... and after 7 long months of stalled negotiations, we are sad to say that we’ve been unable to reach an agreement and earn Tommy Boy’s respect for our music/legacy...Therefore, our catalog will not see the light of day by way of our involvement or consent. This means, if you see De La Soul music/albums available for streaming or purchase anywhere, BE AWARE, all parties involved WILL profit but De La Soul WILL NOT benefit or earn deservedly/fairly. We really tried."

I am of two minds when it comes to Spotify. I love having easy access to so such a large catalogue of music for the reasonable price of $10 a month. In the 80s, I would spend nearly $100 a month on vinyl and close to $200 a month on Compact Discs through the 90s and into the 2000s. Consequently, my subscription to Spotify feels like a savings.

I love making playlists, particularly for my classroom, and access to this streaming service has made my journey through The 500 immeasurably easier. However, I also fret a little. Am I part of this problem? Am I contributing to the coffers of wealthy record companies, while a fraction of my subscription fee trickles down to the artists?

For more information, I reached out to my friend Glen "Archie" Gamble. You may remember him from his guest blog on Album #415, the debut record from Van Halen. His former band, Buffalo Brothers, have their record, Magic Incinerator, streaming on Spotify. 

All 11 tracks have had hundreds of streams and Archie has not seen a cent. According to him, the publishing company would receive those royalties:

"We’ve never been consulted or told anything. SOCAN (Society of Composers, Authors, Music Publishers of Canada) might collect it on our behalf, I don’t know."

How annoying for artists to know their material is finding an audience and that someone else is making most of the profit.

So, my weekly routine was thrown. As I type this, it is Sunday morning and I am doing a final draft of this writing. 3 Feet High And Rising is playing in the background (on YouTube, not Spotify). I am keen to follow the De La Soul streaming story as it unfolds. Will the result be a harbinger of positive change for recording artists? 

As the saying goes, "It's called show business for a reason...without the business, there is no show. But, without the show, there is no business."

 

The 500 - #347 - The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn - Pink Floyd

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

---

Album: # 347

Album Title: The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn

Artist: Pink Floyd

Genre: Experimental, Psychedelic Rock, Acid Rock

Recorded: Spring, 1967

Released: August, 1967

My age at release: 2

How familiar was I with it before this week: Quite

Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Interstellar Overdrive

Full disclosure, Pink Floyd is one of my favourite bands. They have been since I discovered their music in the fall of 1979. I have a humorous story about how I thought they were a "biker band", but I will save that for when we get to one of the other three records they have on this list.

Three of the Big Four Pink Floyd albums on The 500 List

It was not a surprise to me that three of the "big four albums" by British progressive rock group Pink Floyd were on The 500 list. However, I was surprised that the other "big" record (according the fans and critics) was not. That is the 1977 release, Animals.

Album Cover for Animals (1977)

Instead, Pink Floyd's debut record, Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, appears at #347. The selection perplexed. Animals is, by every measure, the superior album. It was better received critically and commercially: it outsold Piper four times over; and it is still a "fan favourite". In fact, the iconic floating pig from the record cover continues to hover over the heads of fans attending performances by Roger Waters -- the last of the Floyd members still touring. 

Waters, who recently restarted his Covid-delayed world tour, will appear in Toronto next July. I will be there and it will be the seventh time I have seen a "Floyd" concert. The classic line-up dissolved in the early 80s, but tours led by Waters or guitarist David Gilmour have filled the void for me over the past 40 years. Sadly, I suspect this is the last time I will see any Floyd member perform live. The remaining members have passed on or retired, and Waters will be 80 years old by the conclusion of this tour.

Which brings me back to this week's record, Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, an album that introduced the world to this unique, clever, creative and musically gifted band nearly 60 years ago. The original line-up featured Waters (bass), Nick Mason (drums), Richard Wright (keyboards) and Syd Barrett (guitars and lead vocals).

(l-r) Waters, Mason, Barrett & Wright

Waters, Mason and Wright met and began performing in 1963 in a variety of configurations under the names Sigma 6, The Meggadeaths, The Abdabs, The Screaming Abdabs, Leonard's Lodgers, Spectrum Five and The Tea Set. In 1965, Waters' childhood friend, Barrett, moved to London to attend arts college. He eventually joined the band, taking over on guitar and lead vocals and the foursome rebranded themselves as The Pink Floyd Sound. The name was taken from two blues records in Barrett's collection, one by Pink Anderson and the other by Floyd Council. 

Blues musicians who inspired Pink Floyd's name

Pink Floyd performed at several venues in the London area. Initially, they played Rhythm & Blues standards, but Barrett and Wright clicked as musicians and the group began to explore experimental sonic landscapes through improvisational jams. They incorporated a rudimentary, but hypnotic, light show and gained a loyal following, particularly among counter-culture youth experimenting with the psychedelic drug, LSD. The band were, in the parlance of the time, "a trip".

To fully appreciate Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, one has to imagine it the way it was intended to be heard -- live and loud. There is nothing quite like escaping with a band on a sonically dense and musically tight jam session. This is what Floyd fans in the early 60s expected and Barrett served as conductor and, having also taken LSD before most performances, the spiritual shaman. His stage presence was, according to biographer Nicholas Shaffner, "utterly riveting" with "enthusiastic displays of improvisational madness with his body, voice and guitar." 

The term "madness" is an unfortunate one that lingers from a different time when mental illness lacked the profile it has today. In the 1980s, when my friends and I were teenagers and fans of the band, we found Barrett's madcap antics fascinating. We were not yet of an age to recognize that this was a man, not much older than ourselves, who was suffering from profound mental illness, exacerbated by unregulated, heavy psychoactive drug use.

The cover for Barrett's first solo album The Madcap Laughs

Eventually, Barrett was unable to perform live with the band. He became unreliable as a musician, sometimes drifting off during a song, lost in his own LSD-clouded thoughts. The band recruited guitarist David Gilmore to replace him and Waters took over the lead vocals. The newly forged Pink Floyd would go on to become one of the biggest and best selling groups of all time. This was the band that would eventually release those "Big Four" records in the 1970s, a band without Syd Barrett.

(l-r) Wright, Gilmore, Mason & Waters - Pink Floyd 1973

As I revisited the music of early Pink Floyd and did more research into the tragedy of Barrett, I began to understand better the importance of Piper At The Gates Of Dawn. Syd Barrett is cited as an influence by some of the most important and significant pop musicians of all time. Paul McCartney, Pete Townshend, David Bowie and Kurt Cobain all credit him as inspiration. Barrett was full of childish innocence, and that shines through on the tracks Bike, The Gnome and See Emily Play. He was also an incredibly talented guitarist. Interstellar Overdrive, from this week's record, is ranked #36 on another Rolling Stone Magazine's list of the Greatest Guitar Songs Of All Time.

Perhaps, most importantly, he is a cautionary tale of tragedy. Though a gifted and talented artist, he fell victim to the choices he made for the sake of his art. Somewhere in his performances, he got lost. Gone, but not forgotten. He continued to inspire Pink Floyd well into the 1970s, as we'll learn with their next record on this list: Wish You Were Here, dedicated to Barrett and his lasting influence on the group.

The 500 - #348 - At Newport 1960 - Muddy Waters

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

---

Album: # 348

Album Title: Live At Newport

Artist: Muddy Waters

Genre: Blues

Recorded: July 3, 1960

Released: November, 1960

My age at release: Not Yet Born

How familiar was I with it before this week: Somewhat

Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: I Feel So Good

The first Newport Jazz festival took place in the summer of 1954 in the seaside town of Newport, Rhode Island. It was established by wealthy socialite Elaine Lorillard with her husband, Louis, as a celebration of jazz music in the U.S. In fact, the inaugural event, held at the Newport Casino, was called just that... "The First Annual American Jazz Festival".

Picturesque Newport, Rhode Island

Over its nearly 60-year history, the festival has featured an incredible list of music legends, including Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Oscar Peterson, John Coltrane and Ella Fitzgerald. Many of these performances were recorded and released. Singer and civil rights activist Nina Simone chose the Newport venue for her second live album in 1960, just a few days before Muddy Waters recorded this week's record, #348 on The 500, At Newport, 1960.

The 1960 festival was not without conflict and controversy. On July 2, the day before Waters would play, drunken patrons caused a commotion during Ray Charles' evening performance, eventually spilling out onto the streets. The violence escalated when the police used teargas and high-pressure water hoses to try to quell the crowds. Eventually, the National Guard was called in to restore order.

The rioters were, for the most part, high-school and college-aged kids from the surrounding regions. According to Marc Myers, jazz journalist and historian, the youth were drawn to the festival because of the popularity of three films: Jazz On A Summer Day, Gidget and A Summer Place. In his 2010 Wall Street Journal article, Riot At Newport, 1960, Myers outlined how each movie contributed to a rise in popularity of jazz and the "beach-bum" youth culture.

Jazz On A Summer Day, a colour documentary released earlier that spring, glamorized the world of jazz and, inadvertently, created the impression that "the concerts were free with limitless seating".

A Summer Place starred Troy Donahue and Sandra Dee as young lovers rebelling against the hypocritical world of their parents, while Gidget, released a year earlier, established beaches "a teenage proving grounds", Myers observed.

The riot began mid-afternoon when thousands of young people who had been tanning and drinking on the nearby beaches began heading into town where the festival was taking place. Approximately 300 partiers ignited the riot when fistfights broke out near the gates. The melee intensified when the crowds began to swell outside the brick walls of the venue. Windows were broken, glass bottles thrown and the local police were overwhelmed. Eventually, at midnight, the Rhode Island National Guard arrived to quell the violence.

The festival was nearly shut down. In an overnight session, town councilors voted 4-3 to scuttle the remaining performances. However, concert promoter George Wein persuaded them to reverse the decision after explaining that the United States Information Agency (USIA) planned to film the festival to showcase American culture (sanitized without rioting, of course). As a result, Muddy Waters and his band took the stage about 12 hours later, and At Newport 1960 was recorded.

I enjoyed multiple listens to At Newport 1960 for this blog. It features Waters (born McKinley Morganfield) and his longtime bandmates ripping through a mix of older, popular blues standards and new material penned by Waters. The musicians on stage that July evening are well known to today's blues fans -- James Cotton (harmonica), Otis Spann (piano), Francis Clay (drums), Andrew Stevens (bass) and Pat Hare (guitar).

A plaque celebrating the life of James Cotton, near his birthplace in Mississippi

My appreciation of the performances grew when I realized the context in which the concert took place. One day earlier, the venue had been a battleground. Waters and his band had tried to attend the event on the night of the riot, but their vehicle was turned away outside town.

According to harmonica-player Cotton, who was driving the car with the band, they stopped when they saw a contemporary of theirs, blues-guitarist and singer John Lee Hooker, wandering toward them with only his guitar (sans case). Hooker, whose Ultimate Collection appears at position #377 on The 500 list, barely escaped the violence. It was he who advised Waters' band to turn around after he climbed in their vehicle.

Guitarist & Singer, John Lee Hooker

This is a terrific album. A veritable Rosetta Stone for the blues scene exploding in England several years after this performance in Newport, and led to the British Invasion. If you are a fan of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Yardbirds, The Kinks, The Who or Led Zeppelin, spend some time with the album that almost didn't happen.

The 500 - #349 - The Black Album - Jay Z

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

---

Album: # 349

Album Title: The Black Album

Artist: Jay Z

Genre: Hip-Hop

Recorded: 4 U.S. Studios (New York, Detroit, Los Angeles & Miami)

Released: November, 2003

My age at release: 38

How familiar was I with it before this week: One Song

Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: 99 Problems

On the Ontario Report Card for elementary students (Grade 1-8), the most important section is Learning Skills and Working Habits. In Growing Success, the 2010 document that outlines the policies and practises for educators to assess, evaluate and report on student progress in Ontario schools, six specific learning skills are identified: Responsibility, Organization, Independent Work, Initiative, Self-Regulation and Collaboration.

For the past few years, I have been teaching Grade 7 students (12 to 13 year-olds). They are at the age where they can develop a deeper understanding of these learning skills and reflect on their strengths and challenges through a metacognitive lens. This involves working with them to write their own report card comments. For me, this means much less writing, but much more time discussing how best to assess each learner's triumphs and prepare strategies to improve their work habits.

Among the questions I ask are two that almost always elicit the same responses. The first is, "Which of these learning skills do you think is the most important in our class, and for life?" The second is, "Which learning skill do you think is your best?"

I don't have documented data, but venture to say that, overwhelmingly, the answer to both questions is Collaboration. The responses thrill me because employment opportunities are increasingly prioritizing teamwork. The Google Workplace Model, which fosters creativity, flexibility and collaboration, is being adopted by companies in greater numbers. This is particularly true in the tech-sector, where many jobs can now be found.

I thought a lot about collaboration as I listened to this week's record, The Black Album by Jay Z. It is the eighth studio record by the rapper, songwriter, record executive and entrepreneur who is widely regarded as one of the most influential hip-hop artists in history. 

Jay Z with his wife  Beyoncé

The Black Album features almost 50 collaborators, including many big names from the world of entertainment, such as: Kanye West, Eminem, Cedric The Entertainer, John Legend, Timbaland, Rick Rubin and Pharrell Williams. Additionally, samples have been borrowed from multiple artists, including: Bill Haley and The Comets, Madonna, Wilson Pickett and Billy Squier. Rather than relying on a single producer, Jay Z recruited ten individuals or production teams. He even co-produced the song Threat alongside Patrick Denard Douthit, better known by his hip-hop pseudonym, 9th Wonder. 

Hip Hop Producer 9th Wonder

There was a time when I didn't recognize the importance of the spirit of collaboration in the hip-hop recording community. I grew up as a fan of music that was written, performed and sometimes even produced by the members of the bands I loved. My favourite group growing up, Rush, comprised a trio that wrote and performed all of the music. For nine of their first ten records, they employed Terry Brown as their sole producer. 

Rush with producer Terry Brown (third from left)

In 2015, fans of performer Beyoncé (who call themselves The Beehive), were outraged when the singer's fifth record, Beyoncé, failed to win the Grammy Award for Album of The Year. The honour was, instead, awarded to the record Morning Phase by Beck. Fans of Beck were quick to post the following graphic to social media threads, suggesting that the Beck record was superior because Morning Phase had been written and produced by Beck while Beyoncé had worked with more than 20 writers and producers, including her husband Shawn "Jay Z" Carter.

Social Media graphic comparing Beck's record with Beyonce's

At the time of this controversy, I would have been on Team Beck. My mindset about record production prioritized individual creativity above collaboration. However, as my appreciation of the hip-hop genre has increased, mainly because of The 500, I better understand the importance of a collaborative spirit. After all, I encourage collaboration with my students daily. Why, then, wouldn't I tout Beyoncé’s record? -- An album which on the updated 2020 list is ranked #81. Beck's Morning Phase failed to chart.  

The Black Album exhibits Jay Z's willingness to work with many artists to create a record that welcomes a variety of sounds and styles. It is, as Rolling Stone Magazine writer Joe Caramanica put it, "both old school and utterly modern. showcasing Jay Z's rapping talents at the top of their game."

My first exposure to the album came when the song 99 Problems was remixed by producer Danger Mouse for The Grey Album, a record that blended "a cappella" versions of Jay Z's raps with samples from The Beatles' 1968 self-titled record, often called The White Album -- A clever title given that elements from The Black Album blended with The White Album -- created The Grey Album.

I was hooked. The aggressive and catchy lyrics from 99 Problems brilliantly fused with the raw and raunchy signature guitar riff from the song Helter Skelter.  It's worth a listen.

I was hesitant to rhapsodize about this song for some time because of being troubled by the apparently disparaging chorus. 

"If you're having girl problems I feel bad for you son,

I've got 99 problems and a bitch ain't one."

However, I recently learned (through The 500 Podcast episode with guest Neal Brennan) that "bitches" referred to police dogs. In his 2010 autobiography, Decoded, Jay Z maintained that the lyrics referenced a 1994 incident when he was pulled over by police. He refused to allow them to search his car. The police threatened to bring in police "drug" dogs to sniff the vehicle and, potentially, give them just cause for a search. However, the dogs never arrived and the threat proved to be an empty one.

When I revisited verse two of 99 Problems, the narrative became obvious and the deeper commentary on the prevalence of racial profiling was crystal clear.

"So I pull over to the side of the road
I heard, "Son, do you know why I'm stopping you for?"
‘Cause I'm young and I'm black and my hat's real low?
Do I look like a mind reader, sir? I don't know
Am I under arrest or should I guess some more?
"Well, you was doing 55 in a 54
License and registration and step out of the car
Are you carrying a weapon on you? I know a lot of you are."

So, a tip-of-the-hat to Jay Z and Beyoncé and their comfort with collaboration, as well as the guts to relinquish control of their art in the hopes of creating something even better. Clearly, with The Black Album, this was achieved.