So why is Busdriver’s Temporary Forever on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
I’ve talked a lot about how much I love when jazz and hip hop are meshed together effectively. It’s relatively rare, but when it hits, it really hits. On “Imaginary Places,” Busdriver really hits, and does so with an absolutely scorching flute loop, of all things, and a manic paced and exquisite rap flow.
And all told, Temporary Forever leverages jazz and funk samples and crazy eclectic electronic beats, weirdo rhythms, and unusual time signatures in creating a wild sonic adventure.
In addition to all of that, it occurs to me that there are a number of other things that “Imaginary Places” is doing. If you don’t like this song, you are not someone who is going to be into underground hip hop, for starters. It’s got a raw, minimalist production feel that absolutely works.
Here’s an absolutely incredible live performance of “Imaginary Places.” Rap is a particularly difficult genre to perform live, and “Imaginary Places” ups that ante by a lot. It’s impressive.
There’s a lot of great blending of funk, jazz, and hip hop on Temporary Forever. “Along Came A Biter” is a great example – and it’s also important to note that Busdriver has a real sense of playfulness to both his delivery and lyrics that makes the entire album both head bob-worthy and fun end-to-end.
On “Single Cell Ego,” which is credited to both Busdriver and D-Styles, there’s a great and intense staccato beat. Busdriver changes up the pace of his flow from phrase to phrase, which in the wrong hands would be off putting. Instead, it’s super exciting.
Some stats & info about Busdriver – Temporary Forever
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Rap, Hip Hop, West Coast Rap, Underground Rap, Alternative Rap, Jazzy Rap
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 4 out of 5 stars
- When was Temporary Forever released? 2002
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #434 out of 1,000
Busdriver’s Temporary Forever on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from Busdriver’s Temporary Forever that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
When you cross my mind, you best look both ways ‘cause my personality’s bigger than yours.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.