Welcome to the Album Nerds podcast with your hosts Andy, Don and Dude.
We're back baby, back from the past and we've got some stuff to share with you.
It's the Album Nerds podcast.
I'm Dude.
I got Andy and Don with me.
Special edition.
How you guys doing?
Oh yeah, doing good man.
Glad to be back here in the past with you.
It seems like just yesterday.
Four or five minutes ago.
Dude is a scrub.
That did not sound anything like it.
No.
Don needs a haircut.
Andy needs a haircut.
All right.
So, uh, can you keep a secret?
Yes.
It's called a teaser track five album we're talking about.
Anyway, so we're the Album Nerds.
We talk about albums.
Sometimes we even go back and talk about an album again.
See what we said before and see what we maybe think now.
Today on the show, we're going to do just that.
And then at the end, we're going to spin the wheel of musical destiny to find out what
kind of albums we'll talk about on the next one.
Getting back to the regular format.
But this week we're going back in time.
Are you telling me that you built a time machine?
Oh man.
Get the jewelry and warmed up there, buddy.
All the way back to August of 2022.
Okay.
Well, since, since August, we've changed our process for nominating records to the Album
Nerds Hall of Fame.
So unfortunately, this record came before the process of nominating records became so
easy.
So we're going to go back to episode 163 where we discussed De La Soul's Three Feet High
and Rising.
So why don't we jump into what we said and then we'll see what we think now.
Hey all you kids out there.
Welcome to Three Feet High and Rising.
Now here's what we do.
I am jumping in with De La Soul, Three Feet High and Rising from March of 1989.
I would call this sort of, I don't know if you guys agree, hip hop soul, maybe progressive
hip hop.
Hmm.
Progressive hip hop.
You could sell me on that.
Prog hop.
There you go.
Do the prog hop.
All right.
Hey, I'm sorry to interrupt here, but did either of you guys come up with a dance for
the prog hop?
I've been working on it, but I just can't get it.
You know, kind of like a combination of a frog and a bunny rabbit jumping.
I picture what my dog does when he has digestive issues.
Is that the scrub, like rubbing his butt?
All right.
Well.
I'm always tough for that.
Just don't do the prog hop.
Back to the show.
Definitely is different alternative to what was going on in the hip hop scene at the time.
So let's jump in to the magic number.
That's the opening track and it's kind of describing the three main members of the group
and how the magic number comes from their existence together.
So that would be Poseness.
I'm not sure how to say that.
Plug one.
Trugoi.
The Dove.
Plug two.
And Masio or Mace.
Plug three.
So those plugs were from the board they were using and they each had a mic plug.
So they nicknamed each other plug one, plug two, and plug three.
Now it all makes sense.
So my three words to describe this album, progressive hip hop, collage, not college,
collage because of so much sampling.
So many songs have like eight or nine things sampled together to make one beat.
It's incredible the work that they did here.
Produced by De La Soul and Prince Paul.
Fellas, thoughts?
Listened to this before.
Super familiar, slightly familiar.
What's the deal?
Yeah.
My three words were De La Dandruff.
What?
Because-
Explain yourself, sir.
Well I love this record.
I have it on vinyl.
I listen to it a lot over the last 20 years or so.
I kept getting caught up on the skits though, man.
I don't know if the skits, I don't know if I love the skits as much as I used to, but
I think the meat of the record is awesome.
And there's a lot of hip hop classics or just standout tracks on here that like Magic Number
that you played that still sound awesome.
Really just hard to match in this era in hip hop.
Donald?
So the three words I chose are from Don Soul.
I guess I'm overstating it a bit, but I mean, I think this is a hip hop record that I really
can connect with.
And I appreciate other stuff we've listened to on this show like Wu Tang and Run DMC.
But all that stuff is just like so aggressive.
They're singing about how great they are at rhyming, how great they are at sex, at fighting,
at everything.
And this, I don't know, this is about other stuff.
It feels somewhat intellectual, but at the same time silly.
I don't know.
And it just has maybe a more chill vibe that appeals to my sensibilities.
And I also, I just appreciate the innovative use of sampling.
Like a lot of hip hop records, the reason they're good is just because they're sampling
a hook that was good before.
And they don't do that here.
I mean, they sample things that I recognize, but they don't exploit it.
They really find a new use for it.
So yeah, I mean, this is quite an album.
Yeah.
Was it 24 tracks?
Yep.
Lots of short songs, skits, the sort of theme of a game show theme throughout with some
goofy jokes and stuff.
The Magic Number, obviously multiplication rock from Schoolhouse Rock.
That's the main sampling.
I guess they also use Double D and Steinskies Lesson 3 for the drums.
So some record with drum lessons on it.
As I mentioned, it's a bond of the three of them together.
Why don't we jump into another song that really goes for it with the samples?
It's called Say No Go.
And it includes samples from Hollanote, Slystone, the Detroit Emeralds, The Emotions, Funky
4 Plus 1, The Turtles, and Walter Schumann with some of the dragnet theme from the TV
show.
So here we go.
I can't fit all that in one clip, so I had to say all of it.
Let's check it out.
So that song is a cautionary tale about the use of drugs.
Particularly, particularly bass or crack cocaine that was an epidemic in urban communities
at that time.
What'd you guys think of that one?
I mean, you can't go wrong with Hollanote.
I know Andy's a huge fan.
I think, you know, I mean, it's a cool take on the slogan that I think Nancy Reagan had
come up with, right?
It was like say no and go.
And I think they even mentioned Nancy in the lyrics.
So yeah, I mean, it's cool.
And I mean, I think often anti-drug songs are kind of lame, but this, you know, I think
they do this well.
Yeah, they're pretty sneaky about getting some positive messages into this record without
having it sound like a PSA or something or Nancy Reagan just, you know, talking about
shit she doesn't know about.
They're good.
I mean, it's interesting to me, like how this, reading back about this record, you know,
it was really viewed as like, you know, this could be like the new era in hip hop, this
positivity and kind of goofy persona and not so self-serious.
And there were groups in this period, you know, like Trap Gal Quest and others who were
in that vein, but it never really took off from here.
I know.
Yeah, it went in a different direction, a little bit more raw truth instead of, you
know, creatively described things.
It was, we get, people get killed every day type stuff in the hip hop that became popular
shortly after this and kind of then drove where hip hop went in the mainstream anyway.
Why don't we listen to a little bit of the song that I remember the most impacting me
at the time was Potholes in My Lawn.
Not a lot of yodeling in hip hop.
They did it well.
Yeah, corner on that market, I think.
That one again had a bunch of weird samples and from the Magic Mountain by Eric Burden
and Moore, yodeling and jaw harp from Parliament's little country boy, the mouth harp parts,
those boing things, just like it was playful all the way through.
I want to talk about the samples a little bit.
I mean, it's a big part of the record, obviously, and it's a lot of the personality of the record,
but unfortunately it's not available to stream anywhere.
It's not accessible.
Probably, I'm guessing because of those samples.
Yeah, that was frustrating.
Yeah, they've gone back and forth.
They keep making announcements that it's coming.
I guess a few years ago, like on their 30th anniversary, they put all of their albums
for free download on their website.
Oh, cool.
That's not available anymore, unfortunately, but eventually they'll have to figure it out
for the streaming because the youths need to hear this stuff.
It's such a big part of hip hop history.
It's a shame not to have it widely available.
I want the youngins to hear it so that maybe this can influence hip hop moving forward
because I really think we need a little bit of this ingenuity and creativity in our hip
hop.
Agreed.
Don, you got anything else?
What's up with that De La Orge track or whatever it was?
Yeah, that's one of the moments that occasionally, I think they're just goofing around making
sex sounds.
I think they said it was De La Orge on the track.
They were having fun.
I don't think it was really recordings of actual intercourse or outer course.
It did sound like they were having a good time making this.
I mean, all the game show sketches are just like so goofy.
It's almost like a little cringy to listen to, but it is still like just really goofball
humor.
I don't know how to describe it.
So I think because I just, the humor of the game show skits, I think hit with me just
because I knew it was supposed to be funny.
I wonder how many kids were sending their entries into that address in New York City
that they give at the end of the record.
I've got the proof of purchases in the CD that I have, so I should send those in.
Yeah, just see if it's still valid, man.
I know we got to get going here, but Cool Breeze on the Rocks used all these samples.
It's not a full song.
It's just tons of samples of rock being said from Run DMC, Michael Jackson.
I mean, there's just rock, rock, rock with you.
Just tons of it.
It's just fun to listen to.
Ghetto thing kind of gets into the nitten grit of what's going on out there.
I know, and of course, me, myself and I have the big hit off of it, but there's so many
tracks.
It's hard to get to all of it in this show.
We would need a couple of hours.
So please, if you have any inkling for some fun, insightful, meaningful, but not hip hop
all at the same time, go check out De La Soul, 3P High and Rising.
So some time has gone by.
I've listened to this album a bunch of times since.
It also has been released on the streaming services, so please do go check it out, everyone.
It's easy to get to now.
There's some subtle differences between it and the original version.
Apparently they got the rights for a lot of the samples because the rules have changed.
So they had to get a bunch of clearances for samples.
They restarted the talks in January of 2022 and it finally came out and they had to replay
some samples that couldn't be cleared or they had to make music that sounded like it in
order to get it out there.
But it is available and it's still just awesome.
Listen, where do you guys stand on this now?
Yeah, I mean, I still think it's pretty good.
It's changed a whole lot.
It's great to have their music available on streaming.
I second that.
That's so huge.
I feel like they were kind of being overlooked, but just kind of ghosted there for a while.
It's nice to have them kind of part of the conversation again.
I think what struck me most, as I commented originally, that this type of joyous hip hop
or light hearted hip hop, I guess, kind of died out after this little era in the mid
or mid late 80s here.
I think there's still some underground stuff that really pulls from the spirit of what
they were doing back then.
So I don't think it's that completely.
And then occasionally I do come across records that have this light heartedness, goofy style
to it and hip hop.
It's not the usual, but I do think it does exist and probably a large part to what they
were doing back then.
Should we pour one out for Trugoy the Dove?
Yeah, I was going to mention that.
Was that just this past March?
Yeah, February or March.
It passed away?
Yeah, so I got to say, I am relieved to have it streaming now because the first time around,
I think I was listening to a YouTube video or something and the audio quality was not
the best.
Now I'm listening to it on Tidal and they have it as the 360 master super duper quality
or whatever and it does sound fantastic.
And I don't notice any of the differences with the sampling.
Maybe at some point I'll geek out and try to start identifying those.
But yeah, I'm still very happy with this record.
So I do have a friend who's kind of, I think this is really his area, that native tongues
era with like a tribe called Quest, that hip hop from the late 80s and early 90s.
So his name is Saul.
So whenever there's a hip hop question, I usually say, well, better call Saul.
Hey guys, just chiming in on an all time hip hop classic De La Soul's Three Feet High
and Rising.
This album includes two very recognizable samples.
Funkadelic's Knee Deep used on the song Me, Myself and I and the song Peg by Steely Dan
used on the song I Know.
De La Soul's album continues to be one of the greats of all time, lyrically, samples,
beats, drums, everything.
It has all the elements.
And that's a thing that a lot of the people I've talked to that are hip hop connoisseurs
or hip hop heads, the elements of hip hop are a big part of that conversation.
That term is used quite a bit.
So thank you, Saul.
Yeah, and thinking about this, I would change my three words to album nerd hip hop because
that's kind of what these guys are.
They loved all sorts of different kinds of music and blended it all together, took their
stacks of records, the stacks of their parents' records and found a way to turn it into something
new that expressed who they are and told people it's okay in this world of in particular in
hip hop, you had to be a certain way.
And they said, be yourself, it's okay to wave your freak flag and just enjoy your life.
And I think that's what they did here.
So without further ado, I'm going to nominate this.
That's what we're here for, album nerds.
That's why we came.
Now if one of you says no, this whole thing is a wash.
Of course, it's also kind of boring for the audience to know what's coming, but obviously
it's a huge yes for me.
Yeah, I'm belated by the point.
Definitely a shoe in.
Sorry we didn't do it originally, but glad to get it in there now.
Definitely yes.
So would this be our second hip hop record in the Hall of Fame?
I think we put Jurassic Five in.
I think so.
Pretty sure that's in there.
I'm not sure if there's something else hip hop related.
Yeah, we're going to have to endeavor to do better there because there's a lot of good
stuff.
If you need help people, albumnerds.com slash discord, go to the channel where there are
topics that we can put onto the wheel.
Give us some topics that are in that hip hop world.
We'd really love to throw those on the wheel and see if destiny takes us there.
All right, so we did it.
We revisited, we made, you know, we righted a wrong and I feel good about that.
Now we're back in 2023.
So always remember there's great albums back there in the past.
Go find them, revisit things you loved as a young person and see if they're Hall of
Fame worthy in your hearts and minds.
And that's one to grow on.
I'm your density.
I mean your destiny.
All right, boys and girls, time once again to see what destiny has in store for us.
Let's bring our friend Wildbot back out on the job here and see what we're going to talk
about next week.
In gentle waves of melody, yacht rock sails, a sun kissed voyage where smooth harmonies
prevail.
Your musical destiny will take your ears on a nautical journey through the soothing tones
of yacht rock.
Bon voyage.
Yacht rock.
So we're going in a whole different direction next time.
Exploring albums of a genre that was made up long after the albums were released and
popular yacht rock.
What else should we go back and put in the album nerds Hall of Fame?
Who's your favorite yacht rock artists?
What else are you listening to?
Let us know.
Join fellow album nerds on discord at albumnerds.com slash discord.
You can email us at podcast at albumnerds.com.
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram and album nerds and subscribe rate and review on your
favorite podcast app.
And if you like to support the show, you can do so via PayPal at albumnerds.com slash support.
Thank you once again for joining us here on the album nerds podcast.
Thanks for traveling through time with us.
We'll catch you next time with some yacht rock y'all.
Thanks for listening everybody.
Catch you next time.
See ya.
Oh, we've also gone back in time to the terrible outros.
Wouldn't want to be ya.
Thanks for throwing that in.
It's okay.