Digable Planets ALBUM POLL

or

http://marshallmatthews.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/digableplanetsfrontvk9.jpg

I haven't listened to either of these albums in about 15 years, but Reachin' always seemed to flow better.

Blowout Comb. One of the best albums of the 90s.

both great, love both, too different in tone for me to really be able to choose

Cherry Wine?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVondCfCoJA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RjXQd3VL1k

Blowout. i love it. reachin' kinda ODs on cuteness imo.

(i still like i though)

prefer this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on9qoXFeWDU

xp

Blowout

Reachin' VERY easily, one of the, um, other greatest records of the 1990s.

scuze the corny and probably inaccurate thread title, but Digable fans should check out Ish's new shit: Shabazz Palaces - Most important musical group/moment in Seattle since Nirvana at OK Hotel?

When I got Blowout I was disappointed since it wasn't really as easy to digest as Reachin' but i'll be damned if it didn't end up being one of my favorite hiphop albums ever...so that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eVp0hi0TCQ

blowout, for Black Ego

blowout

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

I used to wake up to Reachin' every day for the better part of a year but never even remotely got into Blowout Comb. Should I really try again?

Blowout, not even close. So much richer and denser. the first one's good and all but a little too cutesy/precocious and heavy-handed with the namedropping

er so yes!
x-post

favorite moment:

"the man ain't shit/what's happenin?"

I play BC at least once a year. Something about the density of the backing tracks and density of the raps overloads my brain. It's still very far from a bad album though.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

so 7 people on the thread cite Blowout, and 11 lurkers vote for the debut? wtf

wtf indeed

I'm a lurker on this thread, sure, but only b/c I don't feel the need to defend my choice. I have a deep and abiding love for Reachin', and that's that.

It's good to be here.

I voted for Reachin', but since Señor Fever summed it up for me rather nicely I didn't see any point in just doing the old cut-n-paste. Next time I'll remember so you can do a recount of the poll.

reachin' is generic "of its time" alternarap... never heard blowout

reachin' is generic "of its time" alternarap... never heard blowout

― abanana, Thursday, January 28, 2010 10:38 PM Bookmark

Not sure if you're old enough to really remember "its time", but this is not how it was perceived - it was actually considered innovative, if a little corny.

reachin' is generic "of its time" alternarap... never heard blowout

whew -- glad that's settled.

I voted Reachin' in this because I never heard Blowout Comb beyond the first track, but I am playing that first track now and wishing I'd voted the other way.

these results are wrong

also appallingly low number of votes

I've had "Time and Space (A New Refutation Of)" in my iPod since I created this poll, and nothing convinces me the second, worthwhile album is superior to the first.

Blowout fans would like the Shabazz Palaces record imo.

<3 the shabazz palaces record

"dream time is extended...and highly recommended!"

y'all should really put blowout comb on yr sound yo i think it's better than new refutation . . .

Blowout Comb is one of those records that only makes sense played quietly late at night.

Listening to Blowout Comb for the first time in years, it still stands up. Production is so excellent throughout.

I don't think I voted on this thread but I would have voted for Blowout Comb obv.

<3 the shabazz palaces record

― guapism rules (The Reverend), Friday, March 12, 2010 1

I love BC now thanks to the Shabazz Palaces eps

I superficially enjoyed the Shabazz Palaces stuff but didn't get into it too heavily, seemed like they needed more focus? I should probably go back and relisten though.

I only ever heard the first track on Blowout Comb but that track was hot enough to make me consider voting for it over Reachin'

you said that 11 months ago. i respectfully suggest that you listen to the whole album, it's pretty consistent.

haha well I am nothing if not consistent

I don't know why I haven't heard that whole album yet, I guess I'm just lazy

I think the Rev is otm. Blow Out Comb is classic.

these results are wrong, BOC is miles ahead of the debut, such a unique record.

I guess I should get that Shabazz Palaces stuff eh

i think you would dig shabazz, shakey. listening to the eps has made me want to go back to blowout comb.

Blowout better for all the reasons cited (by those who agree of course). Great record, less corny for sure.

nah needs to be blasted real loud late at night imho

turn the bass up. then turn it up some more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQuyFfu1QRQ

Ya, proper bass on both DP lp's.

yeah I think my computer plus small sennheiser headphones does not do a lot of records justice

switching from sennheiser to klipsch was like getting a whole new music collection

good advice

Real troops so walk around with the joint so get the point, get get the point, get the point, get the point.

aaaaaaaah blowout comb

yes

the drums on Black Ego, argh, kill me, so perfect. god bless the meters.

hell yes, was just thinking about that

the whole way the samples and drum loops and live performances are blended on this record, the guitar solo on that track too (I forget if it's live or a sample). Every song so good, the only one that drags even a little for me is Art of Easing but even that one is solid. Also I love records where the songs are similar tempos and just flow from one into the next

I think the guitar solo is live. I think the fender rhodes is live, too.

68 inches above sea level / 93 million miles above these devils

was just noticing that Gurus guest verse on Borough Check is pretty nice

Got way more drama the theatrical lessons
So my suggestion, you come correct no question
Cause if you comin with that funny hot dog style
You might get looted, executed black mob style

So hopefully everyone that loves Digable Planets knows that Ishmael Butler has been doing amazing work (often the equal of 'Blowout Comb') as Shabazz Palaces for the last decade.

But his new project Knife Knights may be (to my tastes) the best thing he's ever done, and their album '1 Time Mirage' is out today:

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a3815434669_10.jpg

https://knifeknights.bandcamp.com/album/1-time-mirage

The cover is very retro, but musically I'd say the music is post-everything in the best possible way, pulling sounds and vibes of the 70s funk, 80s R&B and boogie, 90s "golden age" hip hop, and a contemporary woozy/dubby/weird feeling. Really exciting work.

Thx for the heads up. Absolutely love this dude

Ooh!

It's fantastic, isn't it?

The vinyl reissue of Blowout Comb earlier this year sounded v nice too

Ishmael Butler has been doing amazing work (often the equal of 'Blowout Comb')

Not really, but carry on.

Pre-ordered before I listened. Cancelled my order after previewing. Sounds terrible to me. The Erik Blood love in Seattle is baffling.

yeah this wasnt great to me. a few interesting ideas and twists but overall just sounds like some experiments that never form.

Yup, didn't like this much.

wasn't gonna say anything to dampen the enthusiasm but yeah very unfocused. as are the Shabazz albums after the 1st one.

this is my favorite Shabazz Palaces song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHaZhIkaHiE

that's a good song

depressing album this

well, i turned it off after four or five tracks.

Ha oh well, not everything is for everyone. It's definitely loose and rough, but honestly that's what I like about it. I will say--the tracks I like best are toward the middle/end.

It's ridiculous that I'm only really making time to get to know Blowout Comb now

also just for posterity, I almost made the exact same post that I wrote 4 times previously on this thread

it's so good

Wow, these results are totally incomprehensible. I fp'd Alfred for historic wrongness.

I fp'd myself, especially after spending time with Blowout Comb last week, as I have been for years now.

they're both great albums, i think blowout comb is superior, but not so superior that i would be shocked that someone preferred reachin'

either way, good excuse for me to listen to digable all day long

Reaching is as close as can be to perfection in hip hop, it's both free-spirited and superbly written, and really nails that celebratory and cool attitude before hip hop took a liking for the dark and menacing. Aside from ATCQ, Pete Rock in his best moments, and I guess Outkast... ok, there was so much good hip hop with grooves, but Digable Planets have a special place.
Blowout Comb is quieter, darker and more contemplative. It's excellent but does not bounce like Reaching and does not have the same charm and immediacy. But if we have any doubt about history, we'll be sure to ask rob :D

It's ridiculous that I'm only really making time to get to know Blowout Comb now

It's suh a wonderful record. Black Ego just has the most amazing spectrum of sounds.

68 inches above sea level / 93 million miles above these devils

― the late great, Wednesday, January 17, 2018 1:23 PM (three years ago)

^yessss

TBC with "historic wrongness" I was joking about my calling out Alfred for an 11-year-old post not like rap history or something.

It's not like I think this should have been a, er, blowout, it's just BC blew my mind in 1994 and still sounds entirely fresh. As man alive posted upthread the way they blend the samples and live instruments is flat-out amazing and more endlessly fascinating for me than the beats on Reachin, which are cool but just a touch more, idk, expected? Reachin is like the perfect summer album though and is definitely charming, but for me there's a little more there there on BC.

So yeah, I was being hyperbolic, I don't actually think it's incomprehensible to prefer Reachin. I do take issue with the idea that Blowout Comb is "quieter" though... I don't really get that take.

blowout comb is a top ten 90s album.

I saw Cleopatra Jones for the first time a few weeks ago and got to have one of those mind-altering moments of finally hearing a beloved sample(s) in its original context

https://i.imgur.com/ptCFOwD.jpg

They're going to do a free show at Prospect Park:

https://www.bricartsmedia.org/events-performances/bric-celebrate-brooklyn-festival/bric-hip-hop-50th-anniversary-weekend

No doubt this will be heard:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DfMksmOIME

Actually they're following that show with a 30th anniversary tour for Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time & Space). Totally missed the announcement:

https://www.brooklynvegan.com/digable-planets-announce-reachin-30th-anniversary-tour/

Wow

Who goin to the show on Friday?

I would but I’m going to the 50th celebration at Yankee Stadium with Run-DMC. (Why, why did they have to be at the same time??)

Haha nice, enjoy that

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfR9KmSa0xA

funkay