Board 8 > Rank the Tracks Week 33: Outkast's Aquemini (+ Rancid results)

(+) Yeah! (+)

Previous results can be seen here:
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Rank_the_Tracks

The rules:
1. Listen to the album in full
2. Rank every track on the album
3. For the results, there will be a curve at the top of each list; two additional points between #1 and #2, and one additional point for the next two ranks. This way, the songs that really stick out to someone get an edge that is not immediately negated by someone else putting it lower. In the case of Demon Days, someone's 15th track will get 1 point, 14th 2 points, 4th 12 points, 3rd 14 points, 2nd 16 points, and 1st 19 points. For albums with greater than 15 tracks, everything ranked below #15 will be given 0 points and the scale for the top 15 will be the same as a 15-track album. For albums with more than 20 tracks, you only have to list your top 15 (with 16-20, I still like having the average rank listed)
4. If you want to include comments for individual songs, I will compile them in the results
5. The results will be posted at the beginning of the next topic
6. The deadline to vote is Sunday, October 24 at 8:00 AM EST - though if you are for whatever reason listening to the album around that time, just say so in the topic and I can delay a bit
7. You can sign up to be added to a user cycle for after we finish the queue; once we get through the last planned album, the next person on the list will choose 3 albums which the other users will vote on for the next topic.
7a. To ensure people are being given an actual choice, the three nominated albums must be by different artists. You can otherwise stick to a similar sound or era.
7b. The tiebreaker for these polls will be whichever is listed first in the poll options - make sure to deliver the results in order of your own preference (which will hopefully have the added benefit of influencing people toward your first choice if they can't decide).

OutKast's Aquemini track list:
1. Hold On, Be Strong
2. Return of the 'G'
3. Rosa Parks
4. Skew It on the Bar-B
5. Aquemini
6. Synthesizer
7. Slump
8. West Savannah
9. Da Art of Storytellin' (Pt. 1)
10. Da Art of Storytellin' (Pt. 2)
11. Mamacita
12. SpottieOttieDopaliscious
13. Y'all Scared
14. Nathaniel
15. Liberation
16. Chonkyfire

Schedule:
10/24: Of Monsters and Men - My Head Is an Animal (Jesse_Custer)
10/31: Taylor Swift - Speak Now (Snake5555555555)
11/7: The Avalanches - Since I Left You (SpikeSetsFire)
11/14: Moby - Play (SpikeSetsFire)
11/21: Steely Dan - Can't Buy a Thrill (Seginustemple)

User Cycle sign-ups:
11/28: MetalmindStats
12/5: TheArkOfTurus
12/12: Snake5555555555
12/19: Jesse_Custer
12/26: ZaziGuado
1/2: SpikeSetsFire
1/9: Johnbobb
1/16: VeryInsane
1/23: CasanovaZelos
1/30: Seanchan
2/6: Giggsalot
2/13: RyoCaliente
2/20: darkx
2/27: neonreaper
3/6: Great_Paul
3/13: jcgamer107
3/20: ChichiriMuyo

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Rancid's And Out Come the Wolves results

The participants sorted by deviation from final results:
CasanovaZelos (40)
Raetsel_Lapin (58)
Seanchan (64)
Johnbobb (74)
Snake5555555555 (74)
HBJDubs (84)
Epyo (114)

General Album Comments

Snake5555555555: This is my 9th favorite album of all time

Seanchan: Done 2 listens to this so far. I certainly like this type of punk more than The Pixies. (The Pixies are punk, right? Or at least punk-ish?). Time Bomb and Ruby Soho I had heard before, so that was a nice surprise.

With that said, I'm not looking forward to doing a ranking. 19 songs is just too many! This album is the same length as Powerslave and has 11 more songs. I know, it's the nature of metal vs punk songs, but still! It's hard for me to keep all the songs in my head once you start to get much past a dozen.

Snake5555555555: To me, this is quintessential punk rock. Rancid's Let the Dominoes Fall may have been my first true introduction to the genre, but it was ...And Out Comes the Wolves that truly made me love punk as a cohesive whole. The tracks here are nothing short of firecrackers, short bursts of anger, pure energy, awesome basslines, and the catchiest hooks this side of punk, yet with also a strange sort of lonely sadness always lurking in the background. "Maxwell Murder" keeps off the album immediately with these tenets in mind. It has an ambient opening, the calm before the storm if you will, with wind and church chimes before launching into the explosive riff and Armstrong's speedy vocals about a drug dealer hooking you in with drugs, comparing him to "Jack the Ripper", but worse: he's an ordinary crook and one that can be found on street corners all over the country. There's no need for direct murders when those addicted can do it themselves. It's these kind of topics Rancid continues to tackle throughout the record, and in even darker ways. "As Wicked" is as brutal and depressing as punk music gets, bluntly tackling homeless, hunger, and drug abuse pulling no punches, but Rancid belies its dark messages with sunny hooks and fun riffs: much like the people in the song, forgotten and ignored by society, it's easy to ignore or not even notice the meaning in the first place. Clever stuff. ...And Out Come the Wolves is punk poetry in its purest form, I can close my eyes and visualize this whole album and all the people and places it takes about with ease. It's not always an easy journey, but if you're ever feeling outcasted, depressed, or alone, this album can take just a bit of that pain away, at least for me.

CasanovaZelos: Fun album, but I agree with the people saying this was difficult to rank.

Epyo: Ooh this is the album that got me into Rancid, one of my favorite bands. These days I like most of their other albums more, because this one is so homogeneous, which as said above, makes it hard to rank the songs.

Or so I thought!! But actually I had no trouble. I'm still really hyped about the top 6 songs here, I still like songs 7 through 13, and I'm pretty sick of songs 14-17. And, 18 and 19 I never really liked.

Raetsel_Lapin: Fun album, though it's difficult to rate. It's a constant barrage of rapid-fire, high energy songs and there's never a moment to relax or properly take in everything that's happening. I don't dislike any of the songs and it's obviously a high quality album, but I eventually get exhausted and want a break. I think I'd prefer hearing these songs on a playlist with greater musical variety instead of on an album, but I did enjoy it anyway.

Seanchan: Overall, I think this is a solid album. It feels like it's 10 minutes (3-4 songs) too long though.

Ranking this too more effort than usual. Normally, I can be doing other things as I'm listening and still get that done. With this, I had to sit and focus and try to keep all the songs straight in my head. Which proved tough, as a lot of them sound a little too similar. If I listened to these songs in a different order then this would likely be a different list. But I think I got stuff generally positioned correctly between the top, middle, and bottom.


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And Out Come the Wolves track ranking

19. You Don't Care Nothin' (Track #16)
Score: 12 (Average Rank: 15.71/19)
Biggest Fan(s): Epyo (#10)
Biggest Detractor(s): CasanovaZelos, Johnbobb, Raetsel_Lapin (#19)

Epyo: surprisingly unformulaic. I like the "about me, about me" part

18. The Way I Feel (Track #19)
Score: 16 (Average Rank: 14.14/19)
Biggest Fan(s): Seanchan (#8)
Biggest Detractor(s): Epyo (#18)

Epyo: kinda forgettable and reminds me that the album is ending

17. She's Automatic (Track #12)
Score: 18 (Average Rank: 14.71/19)
Biggest Fan(s): HBJDubs (#7)
Biggest Detractor(s): Snake5555555555, Epyo (#19)

Epyo: kinda cringe, but not that bad. glad to see others also have it low

16. The Wars End (Track #15)
Score: 18 (Average Rank: 13.71/19)
Biggest Fan(s): Epyo (#8)
Biggest Detractor(s): Seanchan (#18)

Epyo: very fun to sing along, the early tempo change is rad

15. Junkie Man (Track #7)
Score: 31 (Average Rank: 12.86/19)
Biggest Fan(s): Johnbobb (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Seanchan (#19)

Epyo: it's all about that weird interlude with the poem around 2:00

14. Daly City Train (Track #10)
Score: 31 (Average Rank: 12/19)
Biggest Fan(s): Epyo (#5)
Biggest Detractor(s): Snake5555555555 (#18)

Epyo: when the bass kicks in at 0:20, feels so good

13. Disorder and Disarray (Track #14)
Score: 31 (Average Rank: 11.71/19)
Biggest Fan(s): HBJDubs (#6)
Biggest Detractor(s): Seanchan (#17)

Epyo: a little forgettable, but the bars right before each chorus are cool

12. As Wicked (Track #17)
Score: 41 (Average Rank: 10.43/19)
Biggest Fan(s): Raetsel_Lapin (#5)
Biggest Detractor(s): CasanovaZelos (#18)

Epyo: "hey grrl I'll be your friend but who's keeping score" I like this weird line

11. Avenues & Alleyways (Track #18)
Score: 41 (Average Rank: 10.14/19)
Biggest Fan(s): Epyo, HBJDubs (#4)
Biggest Detractor(s): Snake5555555555 (#14)

Epyo: the final chorus has an extra harmonizing backing vocal that I love

10. Journey to the End of the East Bay (Track #11)
Score: 42 (Average Rank: 10.29/19)
Biggest Fan(s): Epyo (#2)
Biggest Detractor(s): Johnbobb, Seanchan (#16)

Epyo: If I wanted someone to like Rancid, I'd show them this song

9. Maxwell Murder (Track #1)
Score: 46 (Average Rank: 10.14/19)
Biggest Fan(s): Johnbobb (#2)
Biggest Detractor(s): HBJDubs (#19)

Epyo: I wish the chorus was better, and I kinda think this style of bass solo is a little cringe, even though I love bass in general

8. Old Friend (Track #13)
Score: 56 (Average Rank: 8.14/19)
Biggest Fan(s): Epyo (#3)
Biggest Detractor(s): Johnbobb (#14)

Epyo: do I just like this because I live in Cleveland?

7. Listed M.I.A. (Track #8)
Score: 59 (Average Rank: 9/19)
Biggest Fan(s): Snake5555555555, Raetsel_Lapin (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): HBJDubs (#18)

Epyo: it's the 3 stomps before the chorus

6. The 11th Hour (Track #2)
Score: 61 (Average Rank: 8.14/19)
Biggest Fan(s): Epyo (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Snake5555555555 (#15)

Epyo: I once told someone this was my favorite song of all time, in middle school

5. Roots Radical (Track #3)
Score: 66 (Average Rank: 6.71/19)
Biggest Fan(s): CasanovaZelos (#3)
Biggest Detractor(s): Johnbobb, Raetsel_Lapin (#9)

Epyo: very fun to sing along, great bass

4. Lock, Step & Gone (Track #6)
Score: 74 (Average Rank: 6.43/19)
Biggest Fan(s): HBJDubs (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Raetsel_Lapin (#17)

Epyo: maybe a little repetitive, but the bridge in the middle is good

3. Olympia WA. (Track #5)
Score: 77 (Average Rank: 5.43/19)
Biggest Fan(s): Snake5555555555, Raetsel_Lapin, Seanchan (#3)
Biggest Detractor(s): HBJDubs (#9)

Epyo: tim introducing this song: "this is a song about new york... it's called Olympia WA!" so funny to me

2. Time Bomb (Track #4)
Score: 82 (Average Rank: 5/19)
Biggest Fan(s): CasanovaZelos, Seanchan (#2)
Biggest Detractor(s): Epyo (#14)

Epyo: I'm sorry tim I'm pretty sick of this song, a little too repetitive, crazy catchy tho

1. Ruby Soho (Track #9)
Score: 87 (Average Rank: 5.29/19)
Biggest Fan(s): CasanovaZelos, Seanchan (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Epyo (#17)

Epyo: amazing chorus, but the verses are really boring for me

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bump

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what the hell why are you all sleeping on Junkie Man so bad

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bump

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Did a first listen to this yesterday. Didn't do much for me. Also, man do I hate the non-lyrical/skit endings of so many of these songs...

I've some familiarity with Outkast. I've listened to (at least part of) Stankonia and, of course, I've heard the singles from Speakerboxx/Love Below. I might just be more of a fan of their more accessible/pop songs.

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Hip hop skits are a consistently annoying part of the genre that I am happy have largely faded away

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My ranking:
SpottieOttieDopaliscious (#975 all-time)
Rosa Parks (#750)
Aquemini
Liberation
Skew It on the Bar-B
Da Art of Storytellin' (Pt. 1)
Chonkyfire
Synthesizer
West Savannah
Slump
Return of the 'G'
Y'all Scared
Da Art of Storytellin' (Pt. 2)
Mamacita
Hold On, Be Strong
Nathaniel

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bump

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up

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bump

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I hope more people listen because this is one of the greatest hip hop albums ever

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I'm pretty close to finishing my ranking.

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Up

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bump

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I want to listen to it a few more times, but I'll definitely have a ranking in by Sunday.

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I liked this a good bit more on repeat listens but it definitely falls short of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and good kid, m.A.A.d city. The (roughly) top half of this was enjoyable. But everything from Return of the G down I wasn't very fond of.

1. Rosa Parks
2. Skew It on the Bar-B
3. Chonkyfire
4. Slump
5. Synthesizer
6. SpottieOttieDopaliscious
7. Aquemini
8. Da Art of Storytellin' (Pt. 1)
9. Da Art of Storytellin' (Pt. 2)
10. Return of the 'G'
11. West Savannah
12. Y'all Scared
13. Liberation
14. Mamacita
15. Hold On, Be Strong
16. Nathaniel

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1. Return of the 'G'
2. Rosa Parks
3. Synthesizer
4. SpottieOttieDopaliscious
5. Slump
6. Aquemini
7. Skew It on the Bar-B
8. Da Art of Storytellin' (Pt. 1)
9. Liberation
10. Chonkyfire
11. West Savannah
12. Y'all Scared
13. Hold On, Be Strong
14. Da Art of Storytellin' (Pt. 2)
15. Mamacita
16. Nathaniel


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SpikeSetsFire posted...

1. Return of the 'G'

Hell yeah. Arguably Andre 3000's best verse besides A Life in the Day.

Final day to vote

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Rosa Parks - Might be the best hook in hip-hop history. I mean what is even close? Gold Digger? CREAM? Come on now

Aquemini - This is the OutKast that I wish more people knew. Funky, mellow, vibey music with some of the best lyricism of its time. Andre's last verse is absolutely bananas.

SpottieOttieDopaliscious - The balls on these guys to include an 8 minute (I can't remember exactly) spoken word funk song. But good lord it is legendary.

Return of the 'G' - As I mentioned, might have the best verse in any OutKast song outside of Big Boi's in BOB and Andre on A Life in the Day.

Da Art of Storytellin' (Pt. 1) - OutKast's bread and butter. No one does this kind of storytelling hip-hop better besides maybe early Nas.

Skew It on the Bar-B - Brilliant decision to include a guest verse from Raekwon. Probably the only guy who can pull off an appearance on both and OutKast album and MBDTF and make it feel natural.

West Savannah - Big Boi wrote this when he was like 18 or 19... Let that sink in

Synthesizer
Liberation
Slump
Chonkyfire
Y'all Scared
Hold On, Be Strong
Da Art of Storytellin' (Pt. 2)
Mamacita
Nathaniel

Looks like there's a fairly clear delineation between the top(ish) songs and the bottom(ish) songs. At least so far... Watch the next list have Mamacita at the top, lol!

"Her neck was smelling sweeter than a plate of yams with extra syrrrrup" isn't quite as infamous as "put the pussy in a sarcophagus" but it's one of the lyrics that sticks out at me from this album.

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aquemini isn't quite my favourite album of all time (definitely top 20), but I genuinely don't think i've ever heard a record with more incredible songs on it than this one. the top 11 or so songs on my ranking are all pretty much 10/10, and they're all amazing in such varied ways.

an utterly staggering display of talent and creativity, and one of music's absolute high water marks.

liberation
da art of storytellin, part 2
synthesizer
rosa parks
spottieottiedopalicious
aquemini
skew it on the bar-b
slump
da art of storytellin, part 1
return of the g
chonkyfire
y'all scared
west savannah
hold on, be strong
nathaniel
mamacita

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Giggsalot posted...

aquemini isn't quite my favourite album of all time (definitely top 20), but I genuinely don't think i've ever heard a record with more incredible songs on it than this one

This is kind of how I feel about Speakerboxx/Love Below. It's not a consistent album and it's way too bloated, but there are about a dozen tracks that are preposterously good.

ChainLTTP posted...

This is kind of how I feel about Speakerboxx/Love Below. It's not a consistent album and it's way too bloated, but there are about a dozen tracks that are preposterously good.

That's kinda cheating though, a dozen tracks is still less than half of that album. For aquemini like 80% of the record is that good!

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Hey can I get on this nomination cycle thing

1. Rosa Parks
2. Yall Scared
3. Chonkyfire
4. Da Art Of Storytellin (Part 2)
5. Liberation
6. Return Of The G
7. Skew It On The Bar-B
8. Da Art Of Storytellin (Part 1)
9. Slump
10. Synthesizer
11. Aquemini
12. SpottieOttieDopaliscious
13. Mamacita
14. West Savannah
15. Hold On, Be Strong
16. Nathaniel

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1: Da Art of Storytellin' (Pt. 1)
2: Da Art of Storytellin' (Pt. 2)
3: Liberation
4: SpottieOttieDopaliscious
5: Slump
6: Skew It on the Da Bar-B
7: Hold On, Be Strong
8: Nathaniel
9: Aquemini
10: Synthesizer
11: Return of the 'G'
12: Chonkyfire
13: Y'all Scared
14: Rosa Parks
15: West Savannah
16: Mamacita

EDIT: Fixed song title.
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1. Aquemini
2. Rosa Parks
3. Da Art of Storytellin' (Pt. 1)
4. Return of the 'G'
5. SpottieOttieDopaliscious
6. Liberation
7. Chonkyfire
8. Skew It on the Bar-B
9. Synthesizer
10. Da Art of Storytellin' (Pt. 2)
11. West Savannah
12. Slump
13. Y'all Scared
14. Hold On, Be Strong
15. Nathaniel
16. Mamacita

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Raetsel_Lapin posted...

6: Skew It on the Da Bar-B

Whoops, fixed one error on my list but missed the misplaced "Da" there. Apologies, but at least you can tell what song it is.
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1. Aquemini
2. Synthesizer
3. Skew It on the Bar-B
4. Return of the 'G
5. Rosa Parks
6. Y'all Scared
7. Da Art of Storytellin' (Pt. 2)
8. Slump
9. Chonkyfire
10. Mamacita
11. SpottieOttieDopalicious
12. Da Art of Storytellin' (Pt. 1)
13. West Savannah
14. Liberation
15. Hold On, Be Strong
16. Nathaniel

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Imma go see Dune and then I'll come back and listen to this again. Might be a little late on it
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Final bump (unless someone explicitly asks for more time and then I'll hold off)

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1. Da Art of Storytellin' (Pt. 2)
2. Rosa Parks
3. Skew It on the Bar-B
4. Slump
5. SpottieOttieDopaliscious
6. Mamacita - man y'all are hating on it but this is the catchiest refrain on the album (next to Rosa Parks)
7. Da Art of Storytellin' (Pt. 1)
8. Aquemini
9. Y'all Scared
10. Return of the 'G'
11. Chonkyfire
12. Synthesizer
13. Hold On, Be Strong
14. Liberation
15. West Savannah
16. Nathaniel

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Slump
Da Art of Storytellin' (Pt. 2)
Return of the "G"
Chonkyfire
SpottieOttieDopaliscious
Da Art of Storytellin' (Pt. 1)
Synthesizer
Liberation
Y'all Scared
Skew It on the Bar-B
Rosa Parks
Mamacita
Hold On, Be Strong
West Savannah
Nathaniel
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Seginustemple posted...

Slump
Da Art of Storytellin' (Pt. 2)
Return of the "G"
Chonkyfire
SpottieOttieDopaliscious
Da Art of Storytellin' (Pt. 1)
Synthesizer
Liberation
Y'all Scared
Skew It on the Bar-B
Rosa Parks
Mamacita
Hold On, Be Strong
West Savannah
Nathaniel

You are missing Aquemini

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oh shit duh... I'd put it right above Synthesizer
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