EAMONN MARRA

Every Record I Own: 33 1/3 Birthday Celebration Day 1

It was my 33 1/3 Birthday on Thursday 29 June. And to celebrate I’m spending the weekend listening to records and on Sunday I will play them at Sprig and Fern Berhampore. I wanted to write about all the records I am listening to, but I have some other things to do so will do some

Every Record I Own: Missy Elliott – Under Construction

It was my 33 1/3 Birthday on Thursday 29 June. And to celebrate I’m spending the weekend listening to records and on Sunday I will play them at Sprig and Fern Berhampore. I wanted to write about lots of the records I’m listening to, but I’ve got other stuff to do so instead I’m just going to note else what I listen to on each day.

This is my most recently acquired record, having arrived a few days ago. It came from VMP, a vinyl subscription service who’s promotion of a bunch of bonus records really sucked me in. I justified it with my tax return which I had done a rough calculation of online before actually submitting it. Unfortunately I forgot to factor in the ACC levy and ended up with a tax bill instead of a refund and a dent in my savings.

But anyway, I’ve got some really great records from this place which would otherwise have been difficult or expensive to acquire. And I’ve made some choices that I wouldn’t make in other purchases which have brought me to appreciate albums which I’d previously ignored.

I’d assumed that I’d heard Under Construction before because I’ve enjoyed the music of Missy Elliott for years. But when I listened when I was making the decision of the record for this month I realised I’d only heard a handful of songs. That’s a thing I love about records, I have had access to this album at any time on streaming for years, before that I could have listened on youtube or downloaded it. Buying this record, even considering buying the record, was the drive I needed to properly listen to it.

The record opens with a spoken word manifesto which positions the purpose of the album as a tribute to Aaliyah and plea for peace and growth in the hip hop community and getting back to making good music, and ends with the very funny statement

You don’t see Bill Gates and Donald Trump arguin’ with each other
‘Cause both of ’em got paper and they got better shit to do’

It’s quite a complex theme for an album and spelling it out explicitly at the very beginning makes sense. But it is something I’m already sick of after a couple of listens and will probably skip it. There are a few more spoken word interludes, but they’re generally short so not too disrupting. It ends with her speaking directly to critics preempting any criticism she knew they would inevitably come to her. (Before a Work It remix ft 50 Cent)

It’s the type of thing that would maybe be more appropriate in liner notes, but also very few people read liner notes and liner notes don’t even exist anymore. She is successful in hitting the points in the intro, both in lyrics and style. And would I have picked up on this theme myself if I was listening without looking for it specifically? Probably not.

The thing about this album, is it does all what she says it does, but it’s also very fun. So fun that it would probably be easy to miss everything else in it. Work It is undeniably one of the best ever club rap songs. I have never heard it played at a party and ruin the vibe. Nothing I can write about it will do it justice.

I only really got how revolutionary the sci fi future production of Missy Elliott and Timbaland was recently This came from reading the Rap Year Book by Shea Serrano, watching Hip Hop Evolution and following the Number Ones column through the Timbaland dominated 2000s. This album mashes up the synthy futuristic beats with samples that throw back to hip hop. It makes the album feel both very of it’s era and timeless.

The Beyonce collab about staying home with her boyfriend instead of going to the club is also really funny 20 years later.

Fave Tracks Work It, Back in the Day, Slide, Play that Beat

What I listened to on June 29

• Missy Elliot – Under Construction
• Hans Pucket – No Drama
• Jesus and Mary Chain – Darklands
• Maxine Funke – Lace