- 01VoodooD’AngeloThe last record I’m absolutely sure about is D’Angelo’s Voodoo , from 2000.from the chapter
- 02DonutsJ DillaJ Dilla’s Donuts , from 2006, also gets classic status, but I know that my feelings about it aren’t easily separated from my feelings about his early death.from the chapter
- 03EmotionalCarl ThomasThere was a singer named Carl Thomas, signed to Bad Boy Records, who released his debut album, Emotional , in 2000.from the chapter
- 04“Keep On Lovin’ Me”the WhispersIn the same way that Prince thought Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis secretly did “Keep On Lovin’ Me” for the Whispers rather than Leon Sylvers, who actually did it, I assumed James had gone behind my back.from the chapter
- 05“No Love Allowed”RihannaJames had done some work with Rihanna, played keyboards on “No Love Allowed.” I wasn’t sure whether that was a one-off or the beginning of a longer working relationship.from the chapter
- 06“James Joint”RihannaJames had done some work with Rihanna, played keyboards on “No Love Allowed.” I wasn’t sure whether that was a one-off or the beginning of a longer working relationship.from the chapter
- 07AntiRihannaThe longer I sat with “James Joint,” the more I became obsessed with the album it came from, Anti .from the chapter
- 08The Life of PabloKanye WestThe same year that Rihanna released Anti , Kanye West released The Life of Pablo .from the chapter
- 09“Ultralight Beam”Kanye WestHe thickened the choir vocals on “Ultralight Beam” and added ad-libs from Chance the Rapper.from the chapter
- 10“Famous”Kanye WestHe changed a lyric in “Famous” (goodbye, “She be Puerto Rican Day parade waving,” hello, “She in school to be a real estate agent”).from the chapter
- 11“Smells Like Teen Spirit”Bad PlusI mentioned that throughout 2001 I closed my sets with the Bad Plus’s version of “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” That changed fairly quickly.from the chapter
- 12“The Banana Boat Song (Day-O)”Harry BelafonteDifferent closing songs started suggesting themselves, and I tried them on—for a while, I was ending with Harry Belafonte’s “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song).”from the chapter
- 13“Stir Fry”MigosAs a fan, as a pair of ears, I respond to it, whether it’s “Stir Fry” one year or “The Box” the next.from the chapter
- 14“The Box”Roddy RicchAs a fan, as a pair of ears, I respond to it, whether it’s “Stir Fry” one year or “The Box” the next.from the chapter
- 15“Ronnie, Talk to Russia”PrinceI thought back to Reagan, and how so many songs took a stand against him, not just album tracks like Prince’s “Ronnie, Talk to Russia” (see 1983 ) but big pop hits like INXS’s “Guns in the Sky,” which was supposedly about Reagan’s Star Wars defense system, or Genesis’s “Land of …from the chapter
- 16“Guns in the Sky”INXSI thought back to Reagan, and how so many songs took a stand against him, not just album tracks like Prince’s “Ronnie, Talk to Russia” (see 1983 ) but big pop hits like INXS’s “Guns in the Sky,” which was supposedly about Reagan’s Star Wars defense system, or Genesis’s “Land of …from the chapter
- 17“Land of Confusion”GenesisI thought back to Reagan, and how so many songs took a stand against him, not just album tracks like Prince’s “Ronnie, Talk to Russia” (see 1983 ) but big pop hits like INXS’s “Guns in the Sky,” which was supposedly about Reagan’s Star Wars defense system, or Genesis’s “Land of …from the chapter
- 18“Bonzo Goes to Bitburg”the RamonesI thought about Bonzo Goes to Washington again, and “Bonzo Goes to Bitburg,” the Ramones song from 1985 about Reagan visiting a cemetery where Nazi soldiers were buried (instead of, say, a concentration camp).from the chapter
- 19“B Movie”Gil Scott-HeronI thought about Reagan samples in songs by everyone from EPMD to Afrika Bambaataa, and then I thought about Gil Scott-Heron, who was hip-hop before there was a name for it.from the chapter
- 20“I Give You Power”Arcade FireThere was a first wave where artists either supported Hillary Clinton in the wake of her defeat (Le Tigre’s “I’m with Her”) or championed a humanism that everyone feared was being lost (Arcade Fire’s “I Give You Power,” which featured vocals by Mavis Staples).from the chapter
- 21“FDT”YG and Nipsey HussleYG and Nipsey Hussle went right for the throat with “FDT” (the initials stand for exactly what you think they stand for).from the chapter
- 22“Tiny Hands”Fiona AppleFiona Apple recorded a short, sharp piece called “Tiny Hands.” Eminem recorded a long, sometimes sharp piece called “Campaign Speech.” Dozens of artists in every genre made their dissatisfaction known.from the chapter
- 23“Campaign Speech”EminemFiona Apple recorded a short, sharp piece called “Tiny Hands.” Eminem recorded a long, sometimes sharp piece called “Campaign Speech.” Dozens of artists in every genre made their dissatisfaction known.from the chapter
- 24“State of the Union (STFU)”Public EnemyPublic Enemy’s “STFU,” which didn’t arrive until 2020, was a version of that—a brilliant and historic rap group reduced to telling the president to shut the fuck up.from the chapter
- 25“Pimps (Free Stylin’ at the Fortune 500 Club)”the CoupWhenever Trump appeared before, back in the 1980s and ’90s, he was depicted as a blow-hard or a nouveau riche buffoon, like in the Coup’s “Pimps (Free Stylin’ at the Fortune 500 Club).”from the chapter
- 26“Can I Kick It”A Tribe Called QuestIn November 2015, the night of the Paris Bataclan attack, A Tribe Called Quest came on The Tonight Show to play “Can I Kick It?” Since they had broken up after The Love Movement , they had reunited a few times, mostly as a support act on Kanye West’s Yeezus tour, but here they …from the chapter
- 27The Love MovementA Tribe Called Quest… the night of the Paris Bataclan attack, A Tribe Called Quest came on The Tonight Show to play “Can I Kick It?” Since they had broken up after The Love Movement , they had reunited a few times, mostly as a support act on Kanye West’s Yeezus tour, but here they were appearing on the same show where I …from the chapter
- 28YeezusKanye West… the Paris Bataclan attack, A Tribe Called Quest came on The Tonight Show to play “Can I Kick It?” Since they had broken up after The Love Movement , they had reunited a few times, mostly as a support act on Kanye West’s Yeezus tour, but here they were appearing on the same show where I was employed.from the chapter
- 29We Got It from Here . . . Thank You 4 Your ServiceA Tribe Called QuestThat November, the record they had been working on, We Got It from Here . . . Thank You 4 Your Service , came out.from the chapter
- 30“We the People . . . ”A Tribe Called QuestThe group then performed “We the People .from the chapter
- 31“What’s Going On”Marvin GayeIn 1972, after the success of What’s Going On , Marvin Gaye started to compose an album of explicitly political songs keyed to that November’s presidential election (which, in the spring of that year, probably looked like it would be Nixon, the incumbent, facing either Edmund …from the chapter
- 32“You’re the Man”Marvin GayeIn 1972, after the success of What’s Going On , Marvin Gaye started to compose an album of explicitly political songs keyed to that November’s presidential election (which, in the spring of that year, probably looked like it would be Nixon, the incumbent, facing either Edmund …from the chapter
- 33“Inner City Blues”Marvin Gaye“Inner City Blues,” Gaye’s previous single, had gone number one on the R&B chart and Top Ten pop.from the chapter
- 34“Where Are We Going?”Marvin GayeSome of the songs were open-ended laments for society’s shortsightedness (the heartsick/hopeful “Where Are We Going?”); others were more specific arguments about the dangers of controlling others (“Piece of Clay”), or the hypocrisy of objecting to sex in the face of so many …from the chapter
- 35“Piece of Clay”Marvin GayeSome of the songs were open-ended laments for society’s shortsightedness (the heartsick/hopeful “Where Are We Going?”); others were more specific arguments about the dangers of controlling others (“Piece of Clay”), or the hypocrisy of objecting to sex in the face of so many …from the chapter
- 36“The World Is Rated X”Marvin GayeSome of the songs were open-ended laments for society’s shortsightedness (the heartsick/hopeful “Where Are We Going?”); others were more specific arguments about the dangers of controlling others (“Piece of Clay”), or the hypocrisy of objecting to sex in the face of so many …from the chapter
- 37Things Fall Apartthe RootsAs I’ve said, I have had my own experience with reissues: the deluxe editions of Things Fall Apart in 2019 for its twentieth anniversary and Do You Want More?!!!??!from the chapter
- 38Do You Want More?!!!??!the RootsAs I’ve said, I have had my own experience with reissues: the deluxe editions of Things Fall Apart in 2019 for its twentieth anniversary and Do You Want More?!!!??! in 2020 for its twenty-fifth anniversary.from the chapter
- 39TuskFleetwood MacThey can truly shine a light, like on the deluxe reissue of Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk , where there are a half-dozen versions of “I Know I’m Not Wrong,” a song Lindsey Buckingham couldn’t seem to get quite right.from the chapter
- 40“I Know I’m Not Wrong”Fleetwood MacThey can truly shine a light, like on the deluxe reissue of Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk , where there are a half-dozen versions of “I Know I’m Not Wrong,” a song Lindsey Buckingham couldn’t seem to get quite right.from the chapter
- 411999PrinceOn the other hand, they can dim a light, like on the deluxe reissues of Prince’s 1999 and Sign o’ the Times that followed his death.from the chapter
- 42Sign o’ the TimesPrinceOn the other hand, they can dim a light, like on the deluxe reissues of Prince’s 1999 and Sign o’ the Times that followed his death.from the chapter
- 43You’re the ManMarvin GayeThe 2019 version of You’re the Man approaches these questions from a slightly different angle.from the chapter
- 44What’s Going OnMarvin GayeRather than build out an existing structure, a What’s Going On or a Let’s Get It On , it buys an empty lot and builds something new.from the chapter
- 45Let’s Get It OnMarvin GayeRather than build out an existing structure, a What’s Going On or a Let’s Get It On , it buys an empty lot and builds something new.from the chapter