ROCK HALL INDUCTIONS: THE BEASTIE BOYS

I started writing a post "reviewing" The Beastie Boys' induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last week, and planned to finish it either Friday or Saturday.  Obviously, it's a much different post now.

I've heard that Adam Yauch was admitted into the hospital on the same day that the induction took place.  I can only imagine the bittersweet feelings Adam Horovitz and Mike Diamond, and Yauch's parents, must have had, being at the ceremony that night.

I remember predicting that Chuck D would be the guy they'd call to induct The B-Boys and I'm glad I was right. Public Enemy had a long history with the Beasties, and he was so passionate about their importance.  I was glad that LL Cool J was also part of the induction. Chuck and LL deserve to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame themselves, hopefully sooner rather than later.  (Rick Rubin was in the audience as a guest of The Red Hot Chili Peppers: it's interesting that he'd produced the Chilis, the Beasties and Donovan, as well as presenters Chuck, LL, and also Kid Rock who performed.  He should also be in the Hall of Fame soon!)

Chuck's speech was predictably longer.  But he made great points about how they always stuck together as a team, they were a TEAM of MCs, how they defied expectations and carved their own path. LL's speech was good too: besides pointing out that it was the Beasties who played his demo for Rick Rubin, he also noted that they really brought hip-hop to the suburbs.

Mike and Adam kept it pretty short.  I don't know how Adam H. kept it together while reading Yauch's speech for him.

Watching the performance a second time on TV, I liked it a bit better.  The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame wisely asked The Roots to perform at that segment (instead of Paul Shaffer's group, the house band for the rest of the night, and for nearly every ceremony). They were joined by the Beasties' longtime DJ Mixmaster Mike.  Black Thought was on the mic, along with Kid Rock and Travie McCoy from the band Gym Class Heroes.  Black Thought was a given, he's one of the best MCs in the game and has been since he started. Kid Rock is obviously influenced by the group.  I would have gone with someone like Q-Tip, Nas or Mos Def for the third spot though. They pretty much stuck to the hip-hop and rock/rap hybrids.  I guess they had limited time, but I thought they should have addressed their instrumental funk prowess (which would be easy for The Roots) and their hardcore punk background (which Mos Def or someone like Henry Rollins could have done). Still, they put together a cool performance and they probably didn't have a lot of time to rehearse it.

If you have a chance to check out this year's Hall of Fame induction ceremony, you should do so, especially if you are a Beastie Boys fan.

BEST OF 2011 - #10 - THE ROOTS "undun"

I've heard people describe The Roots' undun as kind of being their Kid A or Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. I don't quite agree with that: it's not as difficult to get into as Kid A, and it doesn't mark a radically new direction like YHF. Although it does have it's very different elements: the second track (the first real song on the album) "Sleep," sounds unlike what The Roots have done before. And the LP ends with a suite of very interesting songs, starting with Sufjan Stevens' "Redford." It's not The Roots covering the song, it's actually a recording by Mr. Stevens.  Odd choice. It then goes into "Possibility (2nd Movement)," "Will To Power (3rd Movement)" and "Finality (4th Movement)."  The last three parts are instrumental and veer from classical to jazz.  You would have no idea that they were from a Roots album if someone played them for you cold.

According to the band, undun is "an existential re-telling of the short life of one Redford Stephens (1974-1999). Through the use of emotives and Redford’s internal dialogues the album seeks to illustrate the intersection of free will and prescribed destiny as it plays out ‘on the corner’. Utilizing a reverse narrative arc, the album begins as the listener finds Redford disoriented–postmortem–and attempting to make sense of his former life. As he moves through its pivotal moments he begins to deconstruct all that has led to his (and our own) coming undun." As a middle class white guy who grew up in, and lives in, the suburbs, I don't feel like I can address the subject matter (and the last thing I'd want to do is be a clueless white guy trying to address how things play out "on the corner").

What I do know is that there are great songs on the album: I especially dig "Kool On" (featuring Greg Porn and Truck North), "The OtherSide" (featuring Bilal and Greg Porn) and "Stomp" (featuring, yes, Greg Porn).

I like that the band doesn't bother with big name producers or huge celeb guest MCs, there's a real consistency on the album.  But I don't understand why they use other MCs (like Greg Porn, Truck North and Big K.R.I.T.) when they have the guy who is probably the best out there right now, Black Thought.

Of course, I kind of always root for The Roots: they're one of my favorite groups, and their last album How I Got Over was one of my favorite LPs of last year. (I prefer that one to undun, but I still obviously think highly of undun). And I definitely enjoyed Questlove's "snark that can no longer be tweeted about": his decision to cover Fishbone's "Lyin' Ass Bitch" when Michele Bachman was on the Jimmy Fallon show.  I actually wasn't totally comfortable with the "bitch" part, I thought that Joan Jett's "Little Liar" would have been a more appropriate choice. But funny as hell and on point, nonetheless.

Anyway, this was a really ambitious album (but also is shorter than 40 minutes, making it digestible) and I think they deserve credit for doing it.

BEST OF 2010 - # 6 - THE ROOTS "HOW I GOT OVER"

I love both Roots albums that came out this year: their collaboration with John Legend, Wake Up, is great. But How I Got Over is a classic. I wrote about it over the summer, and I still think it is an incredible album. I am a big fan of the band and their drummer Questlove, but I don't always love their albums.

If you've seen them on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, you know what a great and diverse band they are. They can go from backing Bruce Springsteen to Black Star to Christopher Cross.  They have always been a great band, but I would argue that working on the show has made them an even better band (I wonder if they would agree).  Their guest list on the album includes Jim James of Monsters of Folk/My Morning Jacket, John Legend, the ladies from Dirty Projectors and a number of underground hip-hop artists. It never seems forced or gimmicky, it's just that they can work with anyone, and really make it work. And they make it hip-hop.  I wouldn't have thought you could do that with such an unfunky group as Dirty Projectors.

The underground MCs they work with (Dice Raw, P.O.R.N., Phonte, Blu) are great, but none are as great as The Roots' lead MC, Black Thought. He doesn't get enough credit, I think it's because he's a quiet guy when he's not rocking the mic. But listen to dude's lyrics, he really is one of the best.

Check out: "Walk Alone," "Dear God 2.0," "Radio Daze," "Now Or Never," "How I Got Over," "The Day." Really the whole album though!

A NEW CLASSIC: THE ROOTS "HOW I GOT OVER"

So now I have three favorite albums of 2010. The Drive-By Truckers' The Big To-Do, The Black Keys' Brothers and now I'll add The Roots' How I Got Over.

It's not secret to long time No Expiration readers know that I'm a big fan of The Roots and their drummer Questlove.

I'll admit that I was a bit worried when I heard that they were collaborating with indie-rock artists (many of whom they met on Jimmy Fallon's show).  Questlove is the kind of guy who appreciates all kind of music, and who seems to get along with everyone. The ladies from Dirty Projectors (one of the most overrated bands in recent memory - but the ladies did a great job backing up Black Star on Fallon a few months back) sing on the intro piece, "A Peace Of Light." Some of the guys from Monsters Of Folk are featured on "Dear God 2.0," a sequel to their song "Dear God" written by Jim James (of My Morning Jacket). That works really really well. Indie harp artist Joanna Newsom is on "Right On," and Patty Crash is on "The Day," which is one of the true highlights. My favorite collab is with John Legend, who sings on "The Fire." (They also sample him on the previous song, "Doin' It Again.") (Now I really can't wait for the Legend/Roots album featuring a number of socially relevant covers).

The Roots have always been great at collaborating without losing their sound, and I think the Fallon show has only strengthened that, so it always ends up sounding like them. There's also hip-hop guests, some who have worked with the band before (Peedi Peedi, P.O.R.N. and Dice Raw), and at least one newer name (STS).

The centerpiece of the album, and my favorite song, is the title track, which features Dice Raw.  And I think Black Thought even sings a bit on that track! The lyric is one of their best ever: "Out on the street, where I grew up, first thing you learn is not to give a fuck.  That kind of thinking will get you nowhere. Someone has to care!" Who else is writing stuff so simple, poignant and elegant these days.  That puts them in Marvin Gaye/Curtis Mayfield turf. When you're there, you don't have to worry about keeping up with wacka flacka or drake. They're not so much about this moment in hip-hop, they're timeless.  That's how I've always felt about the group, but this album hammers it home.

BEST OF THE 00's: QUESTLOVE

A couple of years ago when I was working at VH1, I had an interview with Questlove, drummer of The Roots, planned.  It was scheduled to be 15 minutes. We started talking about music and politics and next thing I knew, an hour and change had gone by. He's an artist who I could talk to for a long time, and more to the point, he's a guy who will talk for a long time if he's interested, without worrying about what his publicists or record label wants. 

Of course The Roots is his main gig - and I can't write about Quest without mentioning Black Thought, the group's MC and one of the finest in the game. Some have said that while Thought is great on the mic, he just doesn't have the charisma of a bigger star (or of Questlove). I would say that he just isn't interested in promoting her persona and doing a million interviews.  It's unfortunate for The Roots, with a more popular MC, they may have a bigger following. Then again, they're doing really well - Quest told me he was studying Phish - to figure out how to be a huge touring act without having to worry about hit singles (since hip-hop radio has never been much of a friend to The Roots, although they've backed up some very radio-friendly artists, including Eminem and Jay-Z).

Some people would argue that the '90s were The Roots' best decade, and they definitely had some great music from '90-'99, but I prefer the '00s. 2002's Phrenology was excellent (the rock-crossover-without-being-rap-metal "The Seed 2.0" (featuring Cody ChesnuTT) was one that Mick Jagger would have paid a milli for, but there were lots of other great tracks on the album. 2004's The Tipping Point is probably my favorite Roots album, I love "Star" (their remix of Sly & The Family Stone's "Everybody Is A Star"), "I Don't Care," "Don't Say Nuthin'," "Guns Are Drawn," "Stay Cool" and "Somebody's Gotta Do It" are classics, and better than most of what is dominating "Best of the Decade" charts. I also loved 2006's Game Theory. 2008's Rising Down, not so much, but it still had some great moments like "I Will Not Apologize." I can't wait to hear the next one, How I Got Over.   I think it is phenomonal that they got the gig as the band on Jimmy Fallon's TV show. From backing Black Star to Christopher Cross, they are awesome no matter who they play with.

So why am I calling out just Questlove instead of the whole group? Because Quest also produced D'Angelo's 2000 classic Voodoo and played drums on the album and in the touring band. That was one of the most ambitious R&B albums of the decade and even hit #1, but seems a bit overlooked these days, mainly because D'Angelo has been a bit M.I.A.  He also produced Common's Like Water For Chocolate (also from 2000), which included "The Light" and "6th Sense," and the followup, the more amitious (and more difficult) 2002 release, The Electric Circus. He also played drums on Fiona Apple's Extrodinary Machine, as well as on Joss Stone's cover of The White Stripes ' "Fell In Love With A Boy" (which he also did the arrangements for). And of course, he was the producer of one of my favorite albums of 2008, Al Green's Lay It Down. I definitely hope they work together again, and I'd love to see Quest work with other soul music legends. What up Stevie Wonder!
I know the guy is busy these days with the Fallon show, The Roots also do NYC shows and they have the album, but the more stuff Questlove produces or is involved with, the better shape music is in.

THE ROOTS TO JOIN JIMMY FALLON?

No hip-hop group tours like The
Roots - they are practically a jam band at this point. I remember interviewing ?uestlove a few years ago; he said that he went to a bunch of Phish shows to study them: he wanted The Roots to be like them at some point. He wanted The Roots to be able to play large venues, play whatever they want (not just their more well known songs) and not have to worry about promoting albums.

So I was surprised to read that the band are retiring from the road next year, although for a good reason: they are going to be the house band for Jimmy Fallon's late night show. Jimmy Fallon's gain is the touring world's loss, I bet they'll be an awesome band for the show, it will be interesting to see if they back up other musical guests. They can certainly play any kind of music. I wonder what Black Thought will do though.