Humble as I Mumble to Spaghetti Junction

1.) Did you know that the Outkast classic Stankonia is 11 years old?  Can you believe that?  Do you feel old?  I do.

Stankonia was one of my favorite albums in high school, but I hadn’t listened to it in years.  In fact, as time passed, I started to feel like it was a tad bit overrated. Rolling Stone ranked it as the 359th greatest album of all time. Pitchfork had it at 13 of the greatest albums of the 2000s.

Well, I listened to it yesterday.  I am listening to it now.  Is it overrated?  Hell NO!  If anything, it may be a tad bit underrated.

Listen to the album from start to finish, skits and everything. It is incredible.  Special shout outs to “Humble Mumble,” “Spaghetti Junction” and “Red Velvet” and the skits “Drinkin’ Again” and “Cruisin’ in the ATL.”

I cannot believe that this album is 11 years old.  I feel like if it was released 11 years from now, it’d still sound ahead of its time. It combines fun, tragic, upbeat, emotional and unsettling tracks all into one great album, and it’s hard to find an album that fuses so many musical elements together as successfully and seamlessly as this one.

“B.O.B.” is the lynchpin to the whole album. The song is just flat out incredible.  It is no surprise that Pitchfork ranked it as the best song from the 2000’s. As they so eloquently put it, “”B.O.B.” is not just the song of the decade– it is the decade.”

I couldn’t have said it any better.

2.) Speaking of Outkast, has any artist ever had a more impressive 3 album run than them?  ATLiens, Aquemini and Stankonia.  What artist can match up with that?  The only one I can think of is Radiohead with The Bends, O.K. Computer and Kid A, but they aren’t as great as the three Outkast albums (too depressing).

If anyone says anything about the Beatles in the comments, they automatically get disqualified. I’ve never listened to a Beatles album start to finish.  Blasphemy?  Nope, just the product of being one of Big Neil’s progeny.

Listening to the Beatles for me is like watching tapes of basketball from the 1960’s.  I’m told how great a player was (just like folks try to sell me on the Beatles), but then when I see them in action (or hear them play), it just doesn’t do it for me.  They look slow.  They sound boring.

3.) Michael Lombardi’s “Blue Chip” player thing is quite possibly the stupidest ranking system I have ever heard.  Really, Mike, the best NFL teams are the ones with the most “Blue Chip” or “good” football players?  You don’t say.  My mind is freaking blown.

4.) Can we have a moment to recognize the awfulness that is Vince’s dad in Season 5 of Friday Night Lights? If I hear that man talk about how much he likes pie in one more episode, I am going to scream!

5.) The Phillies are pretty good, eh?  I may have been juuuust a bit off when I predicted that they wouldn’t make the playoffs…just a little bit.

Until next time…

2 Comments

  • Wham bam thank you, ma’am, my quseitons are answered!

  • what about aerosmith? Nine Lives, Just Push Play, and Honkin’ on Bobo is the best trifecta of albums ever.

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