isbell@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (06/17/91)
What up, G? Since there has been a recent buzz of traffic about
De La, I thought this might be appreciated.
Let's bring ourselves up-to-date.
This time: _3 Feet High And Rising_ by De La Soul
Next time: I still don't know.
New Jacks: I've changed my mind about doing Main Source. Maybe next week.
This week, I'm going to do _Mama Said Knock You Out_ by LL Cool J
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Distinctiveness: Very High
Dopeness Rating: Much dopitivity here. If you haven't bought it, go do
so right now. I'll wait.
Rap Part: Fresh and original.
Sounds: Solid in a subtle sort of way.
Message: None.
Tracks: 24 tracks and 62 minutes.
Profanity: Not even a little bit. Even your grandma could listen to
this.
If nothing else, they're different. De La Soul is Trugouy The Dove (loves
yogurt, inventor of the De La Haircut(c), has tendency to speak elizabethan);
Posdnuos (eats twizzlers, inventor of the Mad Face(c), needs to take stress
tabs); and P.A. Pasemaster Mase (favorite food and beverage is ketchup,
believer in safe violence, shoots blanks in gun, utilizes the Spock touch).
They also call themselves, Plug Two, Plug One and Plug Three, respectively.
These are some strange people.
The album opens with "Intro," wherein we find ourselves in a game show
and learn the rules of the game. The contestants are asked four questions.
We hear their attempts at answers throughout the rest of the album.
"How many feathers are on a Purdue chicken? How many fibers are intertwined
in a shredded-wheat biscuit? What does touche-et-eh-lay-pooh mean? How
many times did the Batmobile catch a flat?"
"The Magic Number" samples from my favorite Schoolhouse Rock commerical
(you remember "Three, it's a magic number"). Musically, it's very
representative of their style: relaxed. This is Jungle Brothers
done right. This is also true of "Change In Speak" the next track.
(BTW, I won't be a detailed as usual because we're talking twenty-four
tracks here).
"As odd as it may be
without my one and two
where would there be my three?"
"Cool Breeze on the Rocks" is a mix of different entertainers saying
lines involving the word "rock." It's only 46 seconds long. It, like
the next track, "Can U Keep A Secret," is just some creative strangeness.
In this track, we hear about people who need haircuts. We also get to
hear the first contestant's answer. Throughout the album, we are
greeted with wierdness like the above.
"I wish my cousin Nag was here.
He knows these things!"
From here we run into "Jenifa Taught Me" about Jenny (for the slang
impaired, Jenny is the female equivalent of Jimmy, who wears a hat
to the side), and her adventures with the various De La's and how all
that turns out. This is very creative and very nicely done. It's
one of my favorite tracks on the CD.
"Hey, look at little Derwin! Look at him go, look at him go!"
"Ghetto Thang" is another dope cut. It's the closest thing to
a message on the CD (not that it really matters), but in any case,
it's done very nicely.
"Which is the one to blame when bullets blow?
Either Peter, Jane or John or Joe.
But Joe can't shoot a gun--he's always drunk
Peter's pimpin' Jane and John's a punk."
"Transmitting Live From Mars" is another minute of strangeness. This time
we hear what appears to be an old record used to teach French. No,
really! "Eye Know," on the other hand, is a bit of normalacy. The De
La's are explaining to some women about their feelings for them. A sort of
love song. Then it's right back to strangeness. In "Take It Off," the crew
asks all the bell bottom wearing, sewn-by-your-momma people to take it off.
This is immediately followed by "A Little Bit of Soap" which is about
how much nicer life would be if people would just use exactly that.
"About those other Jenny's I reckoned with
Lost 'em all like a homework excuse.
This time the magic number is two
'Cause it takes two--not three--to seduce."
Then there's "Tread Water" and "Potholes In My Lawn." "Tread..." has
to be one of the best tracks. I'm not sure what it's really about,
but that's okay. I really like the way "tread water" said underwater
is used as a beat. Anyway, it's very good. "Potholes" is another
good one, though not as nice as "Tread Water." I think it's about
biters, but I'm never sure what these guys are talking about.
"As I bathed, I felt a presence and I'm sort of ticklish.
I looked down and then around and I heard, 'Hi! I'm Mr Fish!
How are you doing? As for me, I'm in tip-top shape today
'cause my water's clean and no one's menu says fresh fish filet.'"
"Say No Go" is a nice track but it doesn't really stand out.
Of course, that's hard to do on this album, what with talking fish and
all. The words all work well together and the music, as always, fits
their style of speak. "Do As De La Does" is probably the only track I
actively dislike. Don't ask me why, but it just does nothing for me.
It's only two minutes long, tho', and we're talking one track out of
twenty four. BTW, this is the only track that has profanity on it.
It's used as a part of silliness, tho'.
"Plug Tunin (Last Chance to Comprehend)" is a remix of their first
commerical effort (I think). It's typical of their style and is very
smooth. Back to strangeness then with "De La Orgee," which is just
that. One minute and eleven seconds of it. These guys are wierd.
"Flip over! Turn over on your stomach! Put your face in the pillow!"
"Buddy" is what Jimmy and Jenny do. The Soul brings in the Jungle Brothers
and Q-tip from A Tribe Called Quest to chill on this one. I don't like
either group (despite the fact they are a lot like De La) but they all work
pretty well on this one.
"Jim-browski must wear a cap
just in case the young lady likes to clap."
"Description" is a one minute description of all the De La crew,
including the cue card women, producer, and some other random people.
It leads into "Me Myself And I," their most succesful single from the
album (yes, the first rap single to go to #1 [I think on the R&B charts,
but I'm not sure] according to the countdown guy). It's very, very
good, although a bit faster than their normal style. It does have
the interesting effect of making one want to bounce from side
to side like they do on their videos. I really like this one, too.
"People think they dis my person
by stating I'm darkly packed.
I know this so I point at Q-tip
and he states 'Black is Black'"
"This is a Recording 4 Living In A Fulltime Era" is another dope
laden track. What can I say? More dopitude. "D.A.I.S.Y. Age," my
favorite track on the CD, is preceeded by the forty second
"I Can Do Anything."
"Paragraph. President. President preachin about the on-tech,
Known for the new step--stop and take a bow.
Amityville. Resident. Resident supported by the speaker,
If you want to feel it in your shoe, let me show you how.
Platform. Witnesses. Witness show you to my showlab,
Hit you with my vocab--hope you have a spoon."
We are then offered a chance to hear the original version of "Plug Tunin." We
also learn how we too can play the game and win a special prize.
Does anyone know if this was for real?
It's very hard to describe the Soul. All I can do is recommend them
to you. They are very creative and very good at what they do. I've seen
this album attract the most non-rap fans. And it is exactly that.
An album that is meant to be listened to as one entity. I truly enjoy
it every time I listen to it.
But that's just one Black man's opinion--what's yours?
Peace.
"The main thing I like about New Yorkers is that they understand
that their lives are a relentless circus of horrors, ending in
death. As New Yorkers we realize this, we resign ourselves to
our fate, and we make sure that everyone else is as miserable as
we are. Good town."
-Kyle Baker, Why I Hate Saturn