Movies On Demand: Our Vinyl Weighs A Ton

Posted On Monday, June 23, 2014


I remember the first time I heard the name. My first thought was what the hell is a Peanut Butter Wolf? I mean, somebody’s name is really Peanut Butter Wolf? REALLY?!?!?! So, as you can tell so far, I’ve never been a fan of Mr. Wolf for the simple fact that I can’t rock with anyone who’s moniker is just that…Peanut Butter. And since, I’ve never been a fan of good ole Mr. Peanut Butter then there’s no way that I could be a fan of Stones Throw Records right? Well, that’s where this story starts to go a little left. Let’s go back to the first time I heard of Stones Throw Records. My young bul Sha who used to intern for me up at 88.9 was blowing me up about this Lootpack album. Our DJ’s used to always spin “When I’m On The Mic” and I rocked with it and I actually already had the Lootpack album but to be honest, I never gave it the time of day. And not only was Sha blowing me up about this Lootpack album but he was REALLY biggin’ up the group’s producer Madlib calling him the next “one.” Now, first things first, anyone who knows me, KNOWS you should NEVER start off a sentence telling me somebody in ANY arena (MC’s, producers, ball players, etc.) is the next “one.” Cause 9 times outta 10, I’ve already stopped listening to you. But since Sha wouldn’t let dead dogs lie, I finally checked out the album and it was cool…matter of fact it was pretty dope but there’s no way on earth that I saw Madlib as the next “one.” 


So, I’m right back to not paying Stones Throw any mind. So, next up was Madlib’s alter ego Quasimoto. Let’s just say that whole 'lil shing dig didn’t help my outlook of Madlib and Stones Throw either. It wasn’t 'til I came across Yesterday’s New Quintet’s (Madlib’s jazz alter ego…all of these dude’s alter egos weren’t helping his case either) “Stevie” album that I started feeling dude. In fact, I messed with “Stevie” so much that I copped the CD AND the vinyl when it dropped (never did that before) but I also spent a pretty penny for the original CD pressing too. But I still couldn’t say I was a “fan” of Stones Throw. I loved the Madvillian album with Madlib and MF Doom but I still wasn’t a fan. I messed with Madlib and Dilla’s “Champion Sound”…but still no haps. Copped 3 copies of Dilla’s “Donuts” (still got 2 of 'em sealed) but STILL…no haps. And if Aloe Blacc’s album “Good Thing” (which I absolutely LOVED) couldn’t make me a fan of the label, I’d all but given up on being “down” with Stones Throw. I mean, I dug some of the music they dropped and they were FAR from wack but I never got down with Sha’s way of thinking that they were the west coast's version of Rawkus Records. (who I was a HUGE fan of ) Naw, that wasn’t flying with me. 

But fast forward what seems like 100 years later and sumthin’ strange happened. I came across this documentary on the history of Stones Throw called "Our Vinyl Weighs A Ton"…and I actually watched it. Why? Beats the hell outta me. If I had to guess I’d say it was because I just finished the second season of “The Americans” and it just happened to be a Wednesday night and “Fargo” wasn’t on and the Spurs put Bron and ‘em outta their misery and nothing else was on, so I figured why not?
 

Well, after peeping it I can tell you this…“My Vinyl Weighs A Ton” is REALLY dope. One of the first things I dug about “Our Vinyl…” is the fact that PB Wolf has a RACK of old video footage from not only the beginning to present day of Stones Throw Records but going all the way back to dude’s childhood. Just imagine how much doper “Beats, Rhymes and Life” would’ve been if you got to see footage of Tribe while they were recording “The Low End Theory” and “Midnight Marauders” or them hanging out with the JB’s and Red or them writing rhymes together back on the boulevard of Linden. And that’s what you get with “Our Vinyl…” You get to see PB Wolf’s from day one and just how far back his love of music goes and how his relationship with his slain partner Charisma and their deal with Hollywood Basic helped to shape what we now know as Stones Throw Records. But even if you put the footage aside, I think the thing I LOVED about “Our Vinyl…” the most was just how much I learned about Stones Throw and PB Wolf.
 

See, I’m the dude who DESPISES reading or watching something and not finding out anything new but that’s NO WHERE near what you get on “Our Vinyl…” I can’t tell you how many times I was like “who’s dude? Money’s dope…let me google him” or “what song is that? Where’s my phone? I gotta shazam that.” See, those moments are rare with me nowadays and anything that can put me onto to a new artist or ill music is good money with me. Now keep in mind, since I didn’t rock with Stones Throw like that, a lot of the music and artists I got put onto may already be household names to some of ya’ll but for me, it was a dope surprise to see how many ill artist have come through Stones Throw’s doors. And on top of the ill old school footage and me getting put onto a RACK of new music like Dam Funk & Myron and E, who can front on all of the stories of how things came together for the label. Stories like how the Lootpack got signed, Madlib morphing into Quasimoto and YNQ, how Dilla linked up with Madlib, how the Madvillian album came together to how after Dilla’s death PB Wolf started putting out a RACK of weirdo music to eventually morphing into a modern day soul label with the likes of Mayer Hawthorne and Aloe Blacc leading the way. And I did mention the Dilla stories right? I mean, who in their right mind doesn’t wanna hear as many Dilla stories they can get their hands on? But I think the most bugged thing about “Our Vinyl…” is I would’ve NEVER guessed that after all of the dope music Stones Throw has put out over the past 15+ years that it would take a hour and a half documentary to FINALLY make me a fan.

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