How I learned to stop worrying and love the Atmosphere: Sad Clown, Bad Summer No. 9 and Fall No. 10

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Atmosphere has released two “Sad Clown, Bad Dub” EPs this summer, led by the strength of two cuts in particular, “Sunshine” from SCB-Summer No. 9, and SCB-Fall No. 10’s “Lyndale Avenue Owner’s Manual.” Listening to these EPs and looking at the Rolling Stone on my floor, I can’t help but think about Kid Rock, Pam Anderson, Radiohead’s new album, “In Rainbows,” and a college relationship.

The fact that I check for Atmosphere albums at this point shouldn’t be that notable. I’m white, I love hip-hop, I’m from Minneapolis, and Atmosphere has been holding down the Minneapolis hip-hop scene for nearly 15 years.

But it wasn’t always that easy.

I’ve always respected Atmosphere, and while I enjoyed a few songs, something always held me back from really enjoying their music. There was a guy I worked with in the dorms named Tom, a laid-back guy who would play Atmosphere CDs while working the front desk. He originally saw them during a performance at his high school and followed them ever since. He would play a lot of their stuff, and it wasn’t bad at all. Grimy, dark, but introspective – I kind of dug it.

Yet around 2000, anytime a person said they liked “underground hip-hop,” they would undeniably ramble on about how they totally knew Slug personally, how their brother was best friends with his cousin and that they “totally had all the Headshots bootlegs before anyone else.”

Added to that, 90 percent of these people were females, who would say they loved Atmosphere because, quote, “Slug is just like sooooo hot.” It’s the Brandon Boyd corollary.

In 1999 and 2001, Incubus recorded two solid albums with plenty of great songs. Yet anytime those songs came on the stereo, any co-eds within earshot would eek out their best Total Request Live impression, which pretty much ruined listening to any Incubus records. (Until Incubus decided they could ruin the act of listening to Incubus albums themselves by making inconsistent recordings. But I digress.)

Even more so, there was a girlfriend I had in college, who pretty much like every female walking the planet, had a douche bag ex-boyfriend. During one of our first dates – maybe it wasn’t even a date, in college I don’t think you went on “dates,” you just hung out with each other for awhile – she remarked that her d-bag ex “loved Atmosphere.” Strike three.

During the tumultuous and ridiculous series of months that followed with that girl, I always hated Atmosphere. Even though there were songs I had previously enjoyed, and even though people were kept raving about then then-recently released “God Loves Ugly,” I wouldn’t bite.

See, when you’re young and dumb, walls seem important. You want to destroy links to any exes that a female has. You think everything will start over new, and you’ll plant your flag on her heart, and be the last to do so. Of course, that’s all bullshit at 20, because several d-bag missions have spacewalked on that emotional moon, and several more will in the future. Really loving someone means being at peace with someone’s past or just not caring about it. Still, in situations when you know stories about the ex-douches, and when you’ve been able to put a face on the name, you don’t want other things that bring up those memories.

So, I hated Atmosphere.

This is the same reason Chuck Klosterman wrote about hating Coldplay in “Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs,” and the same reason Kid Rock wipes his ass with “Radiohead” toilet paper in his “You Never Met a Motherfucker Quite Like Me” video. As Klosterman writes, Kid Rock’s affinity for hating Radiohead most likely had to do with his then-arm candy Pamela Anderson and her ex, Tommy Lee. In Lee’s autobiography, he mentions his 33rd birthday, when Pamela “cranked their favorite band, Radiohead, on the sound system.” Klosterman brilliantly infers that Pamela told Rock this, and it drove him nuts. I’d have to agree.

This is significant for two reasons: Kid Rock is currently on the cover of Rolling Stone, and Radiohead just released a new LP. In the Kid Rock profile, his relationship with Anderson weaves throughout: how Rock has moved on, how he was deceived, how he recorded a song about her on the new album. He says he’s over her, but you never really get that sense. I think there is only way anyone will ever truly know if he has moved on.

(It’s actually a brilliant article written by Austin Scaggs, which shouldn’t be a surprise since he makes his usual 200-word Smoking Section captivating each month. Very recommended.)

Several years ago, after breaking up with that girl from college, I re-listened to Atmosphere. I grabbed the albums from my brother, and save for a few tracks, I really enjoyed them. Subconsciously, I had moved on from what’s her name, but more importantly, I was able to fully enjoy songs like “Between the Lines,” “Modern Man’s Hustle,” “Trying to Find a Balance,” “Always Coming Back Home to You,” “Shhh,” and eventually “Little Man,” “Pour Me Another,” and “Say Hey There,” among several others that Atmosphere continue to release.

The beautiful thing had nothing to do with the relationship – it was a college fling that came and went – it was that I had finally discovered a quality hip-hop group, in my own backyard no less. If anything, I’m almost frustrated that I could have caused myself to miss out on so many great songs over some trivial nonsense. Listen to “Sunshine,” where Slug’s rhymes recall a hungover morning and finding the beauty within it. The albums are more than a primer for next years rumored “When Life Gives you Lemons.” Instead of reading me blab about the EPs, pick ‘em up and give em burn in your car. Underground rap has traded in turntable scratches for a piano. As much as I love hearing any DJ getting their best Premier on during the chorus, it’s a beautiful thing.

And listening to “Sunshine,” I can’t help but wonder if Kid Rock picked up “In Rainbows.” Here’s hoping he did.

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Elliot is embarrassed to say that he’s never seen Atmosphere at First Avenue, main stage or even the 7th Street Entry. This may be why he is such an avid fan of local indie rockers The Exchange and The Alarmists, to ensure himself a spot at the front of the bandwagon. You can reach him here.

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