"Make Wu-Tang Forever 10 Tracks (Inspired by Seandammit's Podcast)" Sun Dec-25-22 12:34 PM by Nick Has a Problem..
Brew mentioned The Questions podcast in another post and I have gone down the rabbit hole listening to many episodes since. It's always dope to hear other people's opinions on certain albums and I have been disagreeing with a lot of their takes. Still a very dope podcast. I have the link to the Wu episode below and also a link where you can preorder the very dope trivia game that will be coming next year.
My 10 track version of Wu-Tang Forever is below. What would your 10 track version look like?
01. Disc 2 Intro 02. Triumph 03. For Heavens Sake 04. Cash Still Rules/Scary Hours 05. Impossible 06. Bells of War 07. Older Gods 08. Duck Seazon 09. Hellz Wind Staff 10. Heaterz
1. "RE: Make Wu-Tang Forever 10 Tracks (Inspired by Seandammit's Podcast)" In response to Reply # 0 Sun Dec-25-22 10:31 PM by Anonymous
1 Triumph (Intro added…unless you’re calling that cheating lol) 2 Reunited 3 For Heaven’s Sake 4 Older Gods 5 Impossible 6 Better Tomorrow 7 It’s Yours 8 Bells Of War 9 As High As Wu-Tang Get 10 Heaterz
2. "RE: Make Wu-Tang Forever 10 Tracks (Inspired by Seandammit's Podcast)" In response to Reply # 1
>1 Triumph (Intro added…unless you’re calling that >cheating lol) >2 Reunited >3 For Heaven’s Sake >4 Older Gods >5 Impossible >6 Better Tomorrow >7 It’s Yours >8 Bells Of War >9 As High As Wu-Tang Get >10 Heaterz
We got 6 of the same on our list of 10. And going by their rules adding the intro that way would be cheating since it's a separate track lol
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3. "Make Labcabincalifornia 10 Tracks" In response to Reply # 0
01. Bullshit 02. Pharcyde 03. Groupie Therapy 04. Runnin' 05. She Said 06. Somethin' That Means Somethin' 07. Drop 08. Hey You 09. The Hustle 10. Devil Music
4. "Make When Disaster Strikes... 10 Tracks" In response to Reply # 0 Mon Dec-26-22 07:26 PM by Nick Has a Problem..
01. The Whole World Lookin' at Me 02. Survival Hungry 03. When Disaster Strikes 04. So Hardcore 05. Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See 06. We Could Take It Outside 07. Dangerous 08. Things We Be Doin' for Money, Part 1 09. Things We Be Doin' for Money, Part 2 10. Get Off My Block
5. "RE: Make Moment Of Truth 10 Tracks" In response to Reply # 0
1 You Know My Steez 2 Work 3 Royalty (feat K-Ci and JoJo) 4 Above The Clouds (feat Inspectah Deck) 5 The Militia (feat Big Shug and Freddie Foxxx) 6 NY Strait Talk 7 My Advice To You 8 Make Em Pay (feat Krumb Snatcha) 9 Scandalous (feat Scarface) 10 Moment Of Truth
21. "RE: Make Moment Of Truth 10 Tracks" In response to Reply # 5
01. You Know My Steez 02. Royalty 03. Above the Clouds 04. JFK 2 LAX 05. Moment of Truth 06. The Militia 07. New York Strait Talk 08. My Advice 2 You 09. Betrayal 10. In Memory Of…
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6. "RE: Make Legal Drug Money 10 Tracks" In response to Reply # 0
1 The Yearn 2 Music Makes Me High 3 Jeeps, Lex, Coups, Bimaz & Benz 4 Lifestyles Of The Rich & Shameless 5 Renee 6 Legal Drug Money 7 Get Up 8 Straight From The Ghetto 9 Keep It Real 10 Channel Zero
^^^when you realize this album had 6 singles plus Keep It Real was an underground B-Side.
First album I remember suffering from label push backs. Lifestyles was released April 95 and the album didn’t drop until June 96.
22. "RE: Make Legal Drug Money 10 Tracks" In response to Reply # 6
01. The Yearn 02. Music Makes Me High 03. Jeeps, Lex Coups, Bimaz & Benz 04. Lifestyles of the Rich & Shameless 05. Renee 06. All Right 07. Legal Drug Money 08. Straight from da Ghetto 09. Da Game 10. Channel Zero
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7. "RE: Make Life After Death 10 Tracks" In response to Reply # 0
1 Somebody’s Gotta Die 2 Kick In The Door 3 Last Dayz 4 What’s Beef 5 I Got A Story To Tell 6 Notorious Thugs 7 Miss U 8 Ten Crack Commandments 9 Long Kiss Goodnight 10 You’re Nobody (Til Somebody Kills You)
45. "RE: Make Life After Death 10 Tracks" In response to Reply # 7
01. Somebody's Gotta Die 02. Kick in the Door 03. What's Beef 04. I Got a Story to Tell 05. Notorious Thugs 06. Ten Crack Commandments 07. Sky's the Limit 08. My Downfall 09. Long Kiss Goodnight 10. You're Nobody (Til Somebody Kills You)
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8. "Hell yea. A mod should just rename this the "Making Illmatic" post .." In response to Reply # 0
... so we can just do every album they've done, and more. Thanks for making this post, I love that show.
Just listened to the Chronic 2001 ep yesterday, it was typically great. I'll make separate posts for that and LWFC now for people to put their thoughts under.
34. "Haha. We certainly have our habits around here don't we." In response to Reply # 33
I just skimmed both posts and I find it kinda funny how I just straight up didn't take part in the Illmatic post and just commented on everyone else's choices good or bad. Way to put yourself out there, 2017 Brew.
9. "Make Chronic 2001 10 Tracks" In response to Reply # 0 Tue Dec-27-22 10:55 AM by Brew
1. The Watcher 2. Fuck You 3. Still DRE 4. Big Ego's 5. Xxplosive 6. What's the Difference 7. Let's Get High 8. The Next Episode 9. Bitch N****z 10. Bang Bang
24. "RE: Make Chronic 2001 10 Tracks" In response to Reply # 9
01. The Watcher 02. Fuck You 03. Still DRE 04. Big Ego's 05. Xxplosive 06. What's the Difference 07. The Next Episode 08. Bitch N!gg@z 09. Some L.A. N!gg@z 10. Bang Bang
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25. "RE: Make Chronic 2001 10 Tracks" In response to Reply # 9
1. The Watcher 2. Fuck You 3. Still D.R.E. 4. Big Ego’s 5. Xxxplosive 6. What’s the Difference 7. The Next Episode 8. Let’s Get High 9. Some L.A. N’s 10. Housewife
32. "Kurupt more than Hittman. Hittman was the epitome of mediocre." In response to Reply # 27 Wed Dec-28-22 10:39 AM by Brew
Also yea - Dre has a habit of toploading his albums. The Chronic was the same way. Dre Day, Let Me Ride (those beats back to back, fuckkkkk), The Day ..., G Thang, DEEEZ NUTTS, Lil' Ghetto Boy ... good lawd.
The 2nd half of The Chronic is way better than the 2nd half of Chronic 2001 IMO, but Dre's albums are all top heavy for sure.
60. "RE: Make Chronic 2001 10 Tracks" In response to Reply # 9 Fri Dec-30-22 06:39 PM by Oak27
1. The Watcher 2. Fuck You 3. Still D.R.E. 4. Big Ego's 5. Xxplosive 6. What's the Difference 7. Forgot About Dre 8. The Next Episode 9. Let's Get High 10. Bitch N*ggaz
I've always said if 2001 ended after "Bitch N" it'd be my favorite album of all time. That said, it's easily my favorite *sounding* album as far as production/mixing/engineering so even the weaker songs in the 2nd half that I'm not as into I still enjoy listening to.
10. "Make Like Water for Chocolate 10 Tracks" In response to Reply # 0
This one's really tough for me cuz I would only cut 2 if I had more than 10 tracks, but I'll give it a look.
1. Time Travellin' 2. Heat 3. Cold Blooded 4. Dooinit 5. The Light 6. Funky for You 7. The 6th Sense 8. Nag Champa (Afrodisiac for the World) 9. Thelonius 10. Geto Heaven Remix TSOI
I think the only issue is that these 10 tracks aren't necessarily the most cohesive but definitely my 10 favorite on the album. Time Travelin' and A Film Called (Pimp) were the hardest to cut.
Heat Cold Blooded Dooinit The Light Funky For You The Questions The 6th Sense Nag Champa (Afrodisiac For The World) Thelonius Geto Heaven Part Two (the D'Angelo version lol)
16. "LOLLLL mostly agreed." In response to Reply # 13
But I can do without The Questions and Film Called Pimp, personally. But they're not *so* bad that I skip them, either. I just think they're weak points on an otherwise flawless album.
15. "RE: Make Like Water for Chocolate 10 Tracks" In response to Reply # 10
1 Time Travelin’ 2 Heat 3 Dooinit 4 The Light 5 Funky For You 6 The 6th Sense 7 Nag Champa 8 Thelonius 9 Geto Heaven Pt 2 (D’Angelo… not sure why you would ever pick the remix over this lol) 10 A Song For Assata
20. "RE: Make Like Water for Chocolate 10 Tracks" In response to Reply # 10
01. Heat 02. Cold Blooded 03. Dooinit 04. The Light 05. The 6th Sense 06. Nag Champa 07. Thelonius 08. Payback Is a Grandmother 09. A Song for Assata 10. Pop's Rap III
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29. "Hey all, thanks for listening" In response to Reply # 0
The 'Making Illmatic' format has definitely become a popular recurring segment in the podcast, and def fits in the Lesson tradition of putting ourselves through frustrating-yet-somehow-rewarding thought experiments.
We've got a few more in the can (generally trying to do one per month), including one that had already been mentioned in this post.
And yes, please pre-order the game if you haven't done so already. I'm probably gonna make another post for that.
36. "RE: It Was Written" In response to Reply # 35
The Message Street Dreams I Gave You Power Watch Dem Niggas Take It In Blood Affirmative Action The Set Up Suspect Shootouts If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)
38. "^^^^flagrant on the play" In response to Reply # 36
How you taking off Live N Rap thun?!?!
1 The Message 2 Street Dreams (Remix) but then replace R with Bilal and we good for 2022 3 I Gave You Power 4 Watch Dem N 5 Take It In Blood 6 Affirmative Action 7 The Set-Up 8 Shootouts 9 Live N Rap 10 If I Ruled The World
I may actually keep Black Girl Lost over The Set-Up to add more dynamic but I’m on the fence.
43. "RE: Make It Was Written 10 Tracks" In response to Reply # 35 Wed Dec-28-22 10:20 PM by Nick Has a Problem..
01. The Message 02. I Gave You Power 03. Watch Dem N!gg@$ 04. Take It in Blood 05. Silent Murder 06. Affirmative Action 07. Black Girl Lost 08. Shootouts 09. Live N!gg@ Rap 10. If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)
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40. "RE: Stillmatic" In response to Reply # 39 Wed Dec-28-22 04:19 PM by Brew
1. Stillmatic Intro (tho I wish he'd used this one instead https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zu29muTumxw) 2. Ether 3. Got Ur Self A Gun 4. You're Da Man 5. Rewind 6. One Mic 7. 2nd Childhood 8. Destroy & Rebuild 9. The Flyest 10. What Goes Around
>>1. Stillmatic Intro (tho I wish he'd used this one instead >>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zu29muTumxw) > >I love that freestyle like everyone else but it is clearly a >mix tape joint and not at all better than the album intro. > >That album intro may be the best joint on the entire album.
Stillmatic freestyle was great, but the Intro is my favorite song on the album.
44. "RE: Make Stillmatic 10 Tracks" In response to Reply # 39
01. Stillmatic (The Intro) 02. Ether 03. Got Ur Self a Gun 04. You're da Man 05. Rewind 06. One Mic 07. 2nd Childhood 08. Destroy & Rebuild 09. Rule 10. What Goes Around
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1. Act Won (Things Fall Apart) * 2. The Next Movement 3. Step Into the Realm 4. Dynamite! 5. Ain't Sayin' Nothin' New 6. Double Trouble 7. Act Too (The Love of My Life) 8. 100% Dundee 9. Adrenaline! 10. You Got Me
* Illmatic is an intro + 9 tracks so typically when I do this exercise I keep the intro if an album has one to keep the actual "song" list as strong as possible, assuming the intro isn't detrimental to the listening experience or I'm not having trouble deciding between the 9ths and 10th favorite song.
Also, as I was doing this I literally just realized The Love of My Life is called Act Too because it's the start of the second half of the album. JFC I can be slow sometimes.
50. "I can't do without Table of Contents, personally." In response to Reply # 48
Otherwise, our lists are the same.
Also re: keeping an "intro" to maintain the spirit of Illmatic, I think about doing that often when we do these exercises but I never actually follow thru on it. So I appreciate that someone does hah.
Re: Act Won and Too, what does that mean for "3rd Acts" ?
1. Table of Contents (1& II) 2. The Next Movement 3. Step Into the Realm 4. Dynamite! 5. Ain't Sayin' Nothin' New 6. Double Trouble 7. Act Too (The Love of My Life) 8. 100% Dundee 9. Adrenaline 10 You Got Me
55. "RE: Make Things Fall Apart 10 Tracks" In response to Reply # 48
01. Table of Contents (Parts 1 & 2) 02. Step into the Realm 03. Dynamite! 04. Ain't Sayin' Nothin' New 05. Double Trouble 06. Act Too (The Love of My Life) 07. Adrenaline! 08. You Got Me 09. Don't See Us 10. The Return to Innocence Lost
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51. "Make The Black Album 10 Tracks" In response to Reply # 0
1. December 4th 2. What More Can I Say 3. Encore 4. Change Clothes 5. Dirt Off Your Shoulder 6. Moment of Clarity 7. 99 Problems 8. PSA 9. Lucifer 10. Allure
56. "RE: Make The Black Album 10 Tracks" In response to Reply # 51
>1. December 4th >2. What More Can I Say >3. Encore >4. Change Clothes >5. Dirt Off Your Shoulder >6. Moment of Clarity >7. 99 Problems >8. PSA >9. Lucifer >10. Allure
Same
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52. "Make Tha Doggfather 10 Tracks" In response to Reply # 0
1. Doggfather 2. Up Jump tha Boogie 3. Snoop Bounce 4. (Tear 'Em Off) Me & My Doggz 5. You Thought 6. Vapors 7. 2001 8. (OJ) Wake Up 9. Snoop's Upside Ya Head 10. Doggyland
I always likened this album to It Was Written, if only in that they were both destined to "fail" based solely on the fact that they each had the tall task of following up one of the handful of greatest albums ever created.
IMO this is a top 3-5 Snoop album. It's sooooo west coast, more so than even I remember, and has a lot of high highs. I think the 10 above makes a damn near classic album, although I think even one or two of the songs I cut aren't at all "bad." For example, Gold Rush. I love that song but I couldn't cut any of the 10 above to include it.
54. "Hahaha" In response to Reply # 53 Thu Dec-29-22 04:49 PM by Brew
A lot of people do.
I think those, like me, who hold it in high(er) regard are generally west coast "heads". I think the overall consensus is a little more negative, even with hindsight.
All that said, I'd encourage you to revisit it if you're one of the people who hated it at first and never went back to it. I think you'll find that it's sort of a vintage west coast Snoop album, especially relative to a lot of his later work which was mostly hit and miss (one really good album, one really bad), or just a departure from that west coast tone. A lot of the beats hold up really well in that regard.
57. "RE: Make Tha Doggfather 10 Tracks" In response to Reply # 52
01. Doggfather 02. Up Jump tha Boogie 03. Snoop Bounce 04. Gold Rush 05. (Tear 'Em Off) Me and My Doggz 06. You Thought 07. 2001 08. (O.J.) Wake Up 09. Blueberry 10. Downtown Assassins
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A negative for cutting this album is it's already a short album as it is, this 10-song tracklist has a runtime of 21.5 minutes.
1. The Illest Villains *** 2. Accordion 3. Meat Grinder 4. Curls 5. Money Folder 6. Figaro 7. Strange Ways 8. Fancy Clown 9. All Caps 10. Great Day Today
*** One nitpick I have with the show/concept is they typically ditch albums' non-song intros, but Nas' Illmatic isn't 10 songs — it's 9 songs with an intro. I think in order to properly "Illmaticate" an album, if it has an intro it should be kept. It only makes an album stronger rather than fishing for good-but-maybe-not-great track for the 10th pick. With all that said, this is one of my favorite intros to a rap album and regardless of how you feel about 10 songs or 9 songs + intro this is a mandatory keep.
This post re-emerging reminded me that while we have been continuing the series on my podcast, I had not been updating this thread. So I'm about to do that.
I have a few more in the can that are going to likely be published before the end of the year...though one of them focuses on an artist who's since been the subject of some deeply damaging headlines and it has me reconsidering if we even keep the episode at all. Stay tuned, I guess.
78. "To Pimp a Butterfly" In response to Reply # 0
1. Wesley's Theory 2. King Kunta 3. Institutionalized 4. These Walls 5. Alright 6. Hood Politics 7. How Much A Dollar Cost 8. Complexion (A Zulu Love) 9. The Blacker The Berry 10. You Ain't Gotta Lie (Momma Said)
Listened to this one front to back a few times over the weekend. I initially wasn't all that into it when it dropped, I think I was expecting a continuation of good kid, m.A.A.d city and it just didn't click. I've come to appreciate the album more and more over the years. I still prefer gkmc but absolutely understand all of the critical praise for Butterfly.
With that said, this one is an easy to cut to 10. The two interludes are very rarely not skipped, though if I had to keep one it would be For Free. I don't like the decision to use the live version of i (I had flashbacks to Common putting the live version of The Food on Be). u just isn't an enjoyable listen. I liken most of his latest album, love the concept/song writing but for me personally the most important thing for music is to sound pleasurable to my ears. This one isn't. Momma and Mortal Man are the tougher cuts to make. I'd probably keep Mortal Man (but not sure what I'd cut in its place) if not for half of it being the 2Pac interview.
86. "RE: To Pimp a Butterfly" In response to Reply # 78
I don't accept the loss of For Sale or Mama. I just don't!
I AM in agreement that not using the live version of I. I had the studio version pop up on a playlist I had the other day. I was jamming too hard! But then I spent like 20 minutes thinking about how he shouldn't have made 'I' the first single because the story of the album was him 'earning' the theme of that song.
>1. Wesley's Theory >2. King Kunta >3. Institutionalized >4. These Walls >5. Alright >6. Hood Politics >7. How Much A Dollar Cost >8. Complexion (A Zulu Love) >9. The Blacker The Berry >10. You Ain't Gotta Lie (Momma Said) > >Listened to this one front to back a few times over the >weekend. I initially wasn't all that into it when it dropped, >I think I was expecting a continuation of good kid, m.A.A.d >city and it just didn't click. I've come to appreciate the >album more and more over the years. I still prefer gkmc but >absolutely understand all of the critical praise for >Butterfly. > >With that said, this one is an easy to cut to 10. The two >interludes are very rarely not skipped, though if I had to >keep one it would be For Free. I don't like the decision to >use the live version of i (I had flashbacks to Common putting >the live version of The Food on Be). u just isn't an enjoyable >listen. I liken most of his latest album, love the >concept/song writing but for me personally the most important >thing for music is to sound pleasurable to my ears. This one >isn't. Momma and Mortal Man are the tougher cuts to make. I'd >probably keep Mortal Man (but not sure what I'd cut in its >place) if not for half of it being the 2Pac interview. >
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