31 Jan 2012 Monthly Crate Diggin’ #4 – Conscious & Feeling Good in 2012

December got away from me, and with the annual roundup, I ran out of time for vinyl musings… I’d been meaning to mention “Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest” and to send a shout out to Michael Rapaport. What could have been a low key passion project turned into a beautifully crafted, well executed, fully realized film… I was transported and immersed in it. This ties in to one of my main reasons for starting this thread of posts, the continued impact of these precious tunes in my collection. So with this inspiration in mind, here are this month’s feel good selects…

Always connected to what was going on back home (NY), I was living in London when these two Tribe albums were released and I picked up the vinyl for “People’s Instinctive Travels And The Paths Of Rhythm” and “The Low End Theory” in the UK. “Bonita Applebum” filled the dance floor at a cool little spot called, “The Pig”, on Gray’s Inn Road. Even after all these years it sounds as fresh as ever. And I always had a special love for “After Hours”…

Mmmmmmmm Hmmmmmmmm is all I have to say about “Check The Rhime”… “The Low End Theory” is head-nodding, grooviness all the way through with “Excursions” and “Scenario” still hitting the spot. ATCQ are a sample trainspotter’s delight, much like The Bomb Squad. The uniqueness of the genre blending paved the way for so many of us…

Around the same few years, I got heavily addicted to Poor Righteous Teachers’ “Holy Intellect”. I also picked this LP up in the UK, though I remember seeing PRT live in NY on a ridiculous bill with Ultramagnetic MCs, KRS-One and other legends.

“Rock Dis Funky Joint” has some pretty worn out grooves… Not only did I listen to it at home, I used to drop it whenever I had the chance to DJ. The more syncopated tracks set PRT apart from everyone else, like “Speaking Upon A Blackman”. But the tune I could never get enough of was “So Many Teachers” with the most haunting snare sound ever. I know, how geeky… but it’s the little things that connect with people, a sound, a feeling, a vibe and they stay with you forever.