Well, to celebrate the upcoming release of Atmosphere’s new album The Family Sign (April 12th) I thought I’d have a go at counting down my 20 favorite Atmosphere songs.
The first link below is to all of the songs in one giant mp3, so if you’re not overly-familiar with Atmosphere, just download this and let it play. Each of the songs also has its own mp3 link. Just click the link, type the letter/number combo. Wait 45 seconds and click download.
Flatbasset - The Best Of Atmosphere
20. Onemosphere
19. Dreamer
18. One Of A Kind
17. Like Today
16. Yesterday
14. Reflections
13. You
12. Watch Out
11. Shhh…
10. Get Fly (You Can’t Imagine How Much Fun We’re Having)
Since they’re constantly pushing the notion that Atmosphere is an “emo-rap” outfit, songs like “Get Fly” are conveniently forgotten by most critics. This is really a shame as, when Slug’s feeling positive, he’s capable of putting together a hell of a song.
If you’ve been listening to the mix so far, you’ve probably noticed that Atmosphere is usually at their best when Ant is constructing beats from piano loops. This is a recurring theme. This song probably stands as the best Atmosphere song to blast with the windows down on 94.
Key Lyric: “Take off the mask, let it all collapse, empty the pack and watch your wings grow back…”
09. Sunshine (Sad Clown Bad Summer)
Admittedly, I’m partial to this song because I live in Uptown. As I’m likely to say roughly a thousand times between March and May, there is not better place on Earth than the south side of
Sidenote: Sad Clown Bad Summer was one of the EP’s that came out between YCIHMFWH and When Life Gives You Lemons. Obviously, Slug’s style went from telling his story to telling other people’s stories on those two albums. A song like “Sunshine” is almost like a test run for changing the narrative style. It’s still his story, but you can see him trying to pull other characters into the picture.
I love the way Ant’s beat kinda wobbles off key, making it sound like this song could’ve come from a 60 year old slab of vinyl. Songs like this are timeless.
Key Lyric: “Ain’t nothin’ like the sound of the leaves when the breeze penetrates these South Side trees…”
08. In Her Music Box (When Life Gives You Lemons…)
I forget where I read it (Pitchfork? Gimme Noise?), but I remember somebody wrote that this song was the first Atmosphere song that sounds like it could have Mary J. Blige singing the hook. That’s maybe the worst idea ever, but I can see the writer’s point.
The story of a young daughter riding around in the back of her dad’s car as he’s, “weaving down Lake Street,” singing along to the radio and eating fast food is, again, far from the “emo-rap” tag that’s dogged Atmosphere. You can see that Slug still loves to rap about himself, but the storytelling that developed over the years leading up to WLGYL have taught him how to tell a story about himself through someone else’s eyes (in this case, a daughter’s).
Ant’s beat is a thing of beauty. Obviously, it manages to incorporate the sound of the titular music box, but also has just enough low end that it sounds like it could be coming out of a car cruising around Uptown. I’m sure it’s not easy to craft a beat that straddles the line between youthful innocence and adult cynicism. What’s really amazing, in this regard, is the way that Slug’s lyrics absolutely wouldn’t work without this beat and vice versa. The flute solo that closes out the song is the perfect coda.
Key Lyric: “She sings along like dad does, she knows all the words but she leaves out the bad ones, except ‘bitch,’she always says ‘bitch’ because it makes her daddy laugh, it’s her magic trick…”
07. Modern Man’s Hustle (God Loves Ugly)
The appeal of this song owes a lot to the sequencing of its parent album. For 14 tracks across God Loves Ugly Slug is mercilessly negative, lashing out at women, other rappers, & himself with equal vitriol. The opening of this song (“The first time I met the devil was at a Motel 6…”) implies that we’re in for more of the same. When that pseudo-verse suddenly vanishes into Ant’s laid back beat, it’s like a ray of sunshine cutting through a day of grey clouds.
Is it just me or does this beat sound like what G-Funk would’ve sounded like if Dr. Dre had been from
Like I mentioned earlier, Slug had been taking shots at everyone and everything over the album, threatening to cut ties with every woman who’s done him wrong (or that he’s done wrong) and even going so far as to embrace his own ugliness. While he obviously still has issues with women on this song, it’s refreshing to hear him concede that, “You must hold on to anyone that wants you…” While he directs this statement to the vague, “Girl,” it’s obviously a two-way bit of advice. Basically, a part of both parties drives each other nuts, but life is too short for grudges.
Key Lyric: “Bundle up in my mittens and coat, as cold as it gets I’ll keep your winter afloat, so let the snow fall…”
06. Say Hey There (You Can’t Imagine How Much Fun We’re Having)
Alright, even though I’ve been trying to poke holes in the “emo-rap” stereotype, sometimes you just have to embrace it. “Say Hey There” is one of the most epic angry break up songs in hip-hop. While Slug has spent plenty of time over his career being angry with women, this one stands up as the most pointed of his attacks. I’m sure it’s not true, but you get the impression that he sat down immediately after having a fight with this woman and down all the scattered, irrational thoughts that come with the situation. It’s filled with the type of things you say during a fight and completely regret once things have calmed back down.
The dark brooding piano lends itself to the slow burning anger.In the third verse, when it hits that dramatic pause, it’s as if something from the unspoken other half of the argument has finally crossed the line, coming back to life with both Ant’s beat & Slug’s lyrics taking a darker and angrier tone.
Personal Sidenote: During one of those awkward periods after a break up, when you’re still in the silly “We’ll still be friends,” phase, I put this song on a mixtape for my ex. You’ll never believe it, but we did not remain friends.
Key Lyric: “I’m returning this Bleeding Heart’s Club membership card ‘cause I want no mothafuckin’ part of it…”
05. Lyndale Avenue User’s Manual (Sad Clown Bad Fall)
I’ll be honest; this one is a strictly personal selection. A song titled “Lyndale Avenue User’s Manual” is bound to hit my heart because, as you all well know, Lyndale Avenue is one of the two loves of my life. The whole song is very vague lyrically, however, speaking as someone who lives off Lyndale, it’s easy to listen to turn it into a narrative about the passive-aggressive characters up and down my neighborhood, as, not only am I familiar with them, I AM them. I mean, I did move here to change and make a new life. Twice.
I’ve said before that I’m not a fan of the rising prominence Nathan Collis’ guitar work has played in recent Atmosphere songs, this beat is a great example of the extra layer he can bring. Coupled with Ant’s drums and those floating keyboards, they manage to create the perfect, um, atmosphere of a night on my street.
Key Lyric: “We all need somethin’ we can stake the blame on, it can’t be your dance that made this rainstorm, it must be the alcohol, and you hate this place ‘cause the town too small…”
04. The Woman With The Tattooed Hands (Lucy Ford)
For whatever reason, indie rappers always seem to get stuck with one song that will always define them. Aesop Rock’s “Daylight,” Brother Ali’s “Forest Whitiker,” Sage Francis’ “Runaways,” etc… If Atmosphere is stuck with one song that will forever define them, it’s this one.
Ant’s beat continually descends down the piano only to come back to the top with a dash of strings. Listen to it carefully and you’ll notice that it’s incredibly simple. The whole song just keeps on this loop.
The fact that the beat never really changes adds an extra dimension to Slug’s tale of watching a woman masturbate. The song clearly has three stages (the realistic set up, the surreal action, the chorus/outro) and the beat never changes during any of them. It’s all in the delivery.
Back in the Lucy Ford days, Slug’s verses were much more cryptic than they are on latest albums. This song acts as a nice bridge between the two eras. While Slug’s woman issues are well documented, “The Woman With The Tattooed Hands” stands as his most nuanced and vexing portrayal of the confusion that women present.
Key Lyric: “On the right hand she had a tattoo of a nude girl, she claimed it is what god resembled, but on the left she had a mirrored image of the same female, and this one, she claimed, looked like the devil…”
03. Always Coming Back Home To You (Seven’s Travels)
A brief history of being a twenty-something in
What truly hits home about “ACBHTY” is that it’s the audio equivalent of what it feels like to walk down
The second half of the song turns intensely personal as Slug “takes a right on Lyndale” and gives us a quick tour of his youth. “Had my
Key Lyric: “No matter where I go, no matter what I do, I’m always coming back home to you…”
02. Don’t Forget (Sad Clown Bad Summer)
If “Always Coming Back Home To You” is the “Minnesota Winter” version (downbeat, introspective) of growing up and living in MPLS, then “Don’t Forget” is the “Minnesota Summer” version (upbeat, bringing everyone on board).
While autobiographically describing the effects hip hop had on his formative years, “Don’t Forget,” perfectly encapsulates the joys of MPLS when the sun’s shining and everything’s going well. Lots of people, crazy adventures, building camaraderie with your fellow winter survivors… This is why
Not to beat a dead horse, but Ant crushes it again with the pianos. This time it’s a nice, upbeat jaunt that matches Slug’s narrative perfectly. It’s easy to hear this as the kind of beat that Slug was driving around listening to back in 10th grade.
If you’re reading this blog, you’re probably a bit of a music junkie like myself. While there’s a good chance none of us will ever grow up to make money off of music, we were all shaped by the music of those teenage years. I mean, if you’re right around 30 it’s easy to remember sitting by the radio and recording songs off the radio.
Key Lyric: “When I look in the rearview now, what would I see if I didn’t have the music in my history?”
01. Smart Went Crazy (You Can’t Imagine How Much Fun We’re Having)
Even after years and years of listening this one still stands up as my favorite.
First of all, it’s a great beat. Charlie Watts is famous for once claiming that the best drummers know when not to play. That seems to be And and Nate’s approach to this beat. The guitar just loops over some bouncy bass and a sample that states, simply, “Yeah, oh yeah…” It’s a lesson in restraint that young producers would be wise to acknowledge.
Slugs lyrics, meanwhile, encapsulate pretty much every different side that he’s shown us over the years.
The Abstractionist: “Sunset, sailboat, set course for hell, a cross and a hammer but you’ll have to get some nails…”
The Realist: “I”ve got a few blocks left before I reach my destination and retrieve my breath…”
The Angry Young Man: “I sting like a first divorce or them first Newports, whatever hurts you more…”
The Sexual Deviant: “Poor taste got passed off as gourmet, this beer is foreplay, we’ll meet up at your place…”
The Trailblazer: “Snuck round back to disarm the alarm from the plantation to the reservation to the farm…”
The Loyalist: “Proud to know ya,
Not does the song serve as a three-dimensional portrait of Slug the person, it also, somehow, creates a collage of images that encapsulate what it feels like to be 30 something in MPLS. Perhaps this is why it still speaks to me.
To reference my renowned “big picture” theory, the song has all the ups and downs that come with barely getting by in this city. Taken on their own, it seems like a lot to process. However, much like “Being a 30 year old in Uptown” provides the unchanging frame for my experiences, Ant’s beat provides the frame for images projected by Slug. This song could have splintered a million different ways, but Ant’s “big picture” beat holds it all together.
Key Lyric: "Manipulated the entry, more user-friendly, now a city full of pain pills and tattoos defends me..."
Alright, I’m officially burnt out on Atmosphere until at least Soundset. I’ll leave you with the video for "Just For Show," the first single off of The Family Sign. Thanks for reading.
