I spent all of my 4/20/21 listening to 4/20 themed records, smoking weed, and just taking it easy. It was a fun day, good for the soul.
Here are the albums I enjoyed, a little about them, and some samples from the albums…
We gotta start with “A Question Of Balance” by the Moody Blues. It’s the record I listened to the first time I ever smoked weed in the early 90’s. Also, there are pictures of Bob Marley (drawn by Carl Ristaino) and a press photo of Ani Difranco, both artists who have songs about weed and have used their music to help pave the way for legalization… The Moody Blues album though is sort of psychedelic folk-rock from the 60’s and 70’s. They were very trippy and had some awesome album covers.
Here’s a weed themed song by Ani since I mentioned her
Next up…
Spicing it up with “Connected” by Stereo MC’s from 1992. The title song was on the “Hackers” soundtrack and while I loved that one song and the Hackers Soundtrack albums, I didn’t try anything else by Stereo MCs until just a few years ago. I really missed out, but at least I have it now. It’s such a fun album… kind of a trip-hop/alternative hip hop sound. Awesome cover too, for an awesome album all the way through…
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“Wish You Were Here” by Pink Floyd from 1975. Anything by Pink Floyd is appropriate, though “Dark Side Of the Moon” is probably the most obvious pick for 4/20, but I’m doing a cover album of that later. I picked “Wish You Were Here”from 1975 out of my 4 Floyd albums I have on vinyl though, because that’s what’s speaking to me most right now.
Baduizm by Erykah Badu from 1997. I’ve loved this album since it came out. I first heard about it on the Ani Difranco mailing list and I ordered it from Columbia House with a bunch of other CDs that were recommended to me. I probably still owe them some money. That was how I discovered Bjork and other favorites. This is such a chill album though. It’s R&B/soul as good as it gets.
RIP Guru of Gangstarr, one of my biggest influences. Guru died 11 years ago 4/19 which was a significant time for me and I remember it well. Guru was from Boston and his influence on the Boston hip hop scene was huge. This is his first Jazzmatazz album, which he rapped over live jazz. Jazzmatazz 2 is probably the album I’d play for 4/20 if I had it on vinyl but I don’t. This one is still totally appropriate too though, and brilliant. I highly recommend it…
that’s a good one from that album, and here is a 4/20 one from Jazzmatazz 2
Okay, so this one isn’t exactly weed themed although it’s probably mentioned somewhere on the album, but it just came today cuz I finally found a copy for a decent price and this is a brilliant album… and it was kind of hated at first. It is called “808’s and Heartbreak” and it was Kanye West’s first non-rap album. He just put out a gospell album about a year ago too, making his second non-rap album. This is kind of a pop album with a lot of autotune, which at first turned people away until they took it all in and realized that he was a true artist to be able to take something as taboo in the music world as autotune and make a brilliant album from start to finish with it. A few of the songs on here have by widely covered by rock, pop, punk, and other types of musicians and many now say this is his best, although I dunno about that. He has at least five other albums I think are just as good if not better, but this is a uniquely amazing piece of work, and Kanye really is a true artist and has some of the best album packages that always come with posters and lots of art, and this came with a CD tucked inside the middle between the 2 records. I don’t agree with his politics and opinions anymore, but when I got into him he was left-wing and kinda opposite of what he’s about now, which has only been for a few years since he married a Kardashian. Anyway, whether you like it or not, agree or not, Kanye is gonna go down in history as one of the most significant artists of our time.
This is the soundtrack to the classic Jamaican film “The Harder They Come” from the early 70’s. It is definitely a 4/20 album. The movie was about a weed dealing reggae singer played by Jimmy Cliff, whose songs are featured in the movie and soundtrack, although the soundtrack includes a variety of reggae from that era. It is the type of album that can change you because you feel it so deeply and intensely. If you like any reggae but don’t know this album, please do yourself a favor and listen. I’d also recommend the movie. I personally love it.
Are You Experienced (US Version) by The Jimi Hendrix Experience. The first song on the album is called “Purple Haze” which is a weed strain that goes back at least as far as this late 60’s album. I’ve been into Jimi Hendrix since I was about 13, and I was named after him at age 14 by close friends I still have to this day. They named me Jimi because of the line from “Fire”, “move over Rover, let Jimi take over.” because I am a strong leader and can take over. I changed the spelling to Jymi when I was 15 and started signing it mirror image on my art and poetry as my signature. When I got my first personal email at age 15 or 16 I was Jymi at aol dot com…..no numbers or anything. So naturally when I transitioned in my early/mid 20’s, Jymi was the name that made the most sense to go by even though no one really actually CALLED me Jymi until I transitioned, it was still my name long before that. Anyway, gotta love Jimi Hendrix. Still one of the best guitarists to ever live.
This is the soundtrack to the 1998 film Slam, about a rapper/poet/weed dealer who gets caught dealing and is sent to jail, where he discovers slam poetry and uses it in the most powerful way words and art can be used. This is a movie that changed my life. For one, it opened my eyes to how fucked up and racist the system is. It gave me empathy for “criminals” and gangsters and where they are coming from and how they get caught up in that world. It also showed me how powerful hip hop could be and that a lot of it is meant to educate and open people’s eyes to reality, unlike what I thought hip hop was about for most of the 90’s and the gangsta rap that got radio and MTV play that encouraged negative, reckless behavior, but that was all the doings of the record companies who were only signing gangster artists and claiming that’s what sells, and there IS a place for gangsta rap. I do like some, but it’s not all hip hop is. There was always political and artistic hip hop selling in the underground world. I love so many things about Slam. It is one of my top 5 movies and top 5 soundtracks. The famous slam poet/actor/musician Saul Williams stars in it and the main female character Sonja Sohn who is a love interest of the main character, as well as a poet and teacher in the film, is probably best known for her role on The Wire. It’s an important movie that everyone should see. I immediately learned how privileged I was to be white by watching it (and then made sure I learned more over the years and I know I’ll never fully understand, but it was the first to really make me see it). I was already a spoken word poet and lover of weed, so it was a perfect movie for me. It even won the Sundance Film Festival. Anyway, an amazing hip hop soundtrack which includes the song “I Dare You” by Black Rob who just died the other day. RIP. I shared the Black Rob song the other day, so here is another favorite from the soundtrack…
Easy Star All Stars- Dub Side of the Moon. This is a cover album by a reggae band playing reggae versions of all the songs on Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd. It’s pretty awesome.
To close 4/20, because it will be midnight soon, I have chosen “Man on the Moon 2” by Kid Cudi which I first got on CD as a gift from my sister Nikki and didn’t know if I’d even like it but I fell in love. He is alternative hip hop made specifically for depressed stoners. Even people who don’t like hip hop often like Kid Cudi. I think the last time I took this album out was 2 years ago this time when my friend died. She was a fan. She wasn’t big into hip hop but one time I made her a playlist to play whenever she came over of stuff I knew she liked, and she DID like it, but asked me to add some hip hop to it because she felt like hearing hip hop when she visited was part of the full “Jymi experience” and she specifically asked for Kid Cudi, Bone Thugs, and Eminem to be added, so I will always think of Kid Cudi because we spent a few 4/20’s together and I think we always celebrated with this album. And for awhile I’d grown sick of him because we listened to him often during those days, but I really do think her death 2 years ago was the last time I listened to it, so it’s actually sounding as good as it used to, and giving me positive memories, which is nice. This is a great, solid album from beginning to end though. Definitely recommend.
And that is that. Enjoy the music! Peace!
