Ex-factor, Lauryn Hill, 1998
I'm part of an album group ... I love being part of this album group. I love that we're building a "vinyl floor" with albums based on votes by group members – I really do love this BUT it has been a little frustrating for me to watch some albums I believe to be groundbreaking and monumental fail to get any love in the group's polls.
Case in point: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. If given the task to choose the 10 most influential albums in my life up to this point, that list – as of this minute of this day – would absolutely include the Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The entire album is a literal magnum opus (it was Lauryn Hill’s only solo album) but this song sends chills up and down my spine every single time I hear it. When Lauryn sings, “tell me who I have to be,” that note makes me tear up. The truth in the lyrics – the truth in her delivery … her storytelling is just profoundly honest.
The structure gets me, too. It is the perfect telling of an entire story with a wide range of emotions. It's a very dramatic song but very understated at the same time. I love how the chorus elevates the experience in a way that almost makes it feel like an emotional break.
For anyone who hasn't listened to Lauryn Hill, start with this song.
https://youtu.be/cE-bnWqLqxE
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