So you are stuck on a desert island...

And only had three cds you could listen to, what would they be?

For me, I would have to say...

Everything but the Girl -- Tempermental
Pure electronic bliss, not too fast, nor too slow. Tracey Thorn's vocals synch up deliciously with Ben Watt's beats. Relatively unknown to the masses minus that one track "Missing--you know the one And I miss you...like the deserts miss the rain." That was originally more of a rock track until Todd Terry remixed it and sent it off into the stratosphere of clubland. Realizing the success of mixing electronica into their music, their following album split out about 50% electronic/50% brit pop. In their next album (Tempermental), EBTG reached full electronic transformation. Very nice and loungey, quite similiar to the genre known as San Francisco house which is characterized by moderate tempo, rich soulful vocals, and deep driving beats.


A Tribe Called Quest -- Midnight Marauders
It simply does not get any better than this. Top drawer production associated with fond memories. I remember riding in the back of a friend's tempo, rocking this album on cassette tape while drinking a 40 of Old English out of a brown paper bag on the way to a club in DC known as The Roxy. It was a reggae venue which, like many DC clubs, evolved into something totally different, Five. For me this album is as much about the memories as it is the content, both of which are incredible. Lyrically, this album is fun but includes social commentary (which is severely lacking in modern rap music). Tracks really cover alot of ground from the moody to the upbeat. For some unknown reason, I would religiously play this album while driving through Richmond on my way to and from college. The music just seemed like such a natural fit with driving through than city at night.


Deee-Lite -- World Clique
Ah yes, big ups to Miss Lady Kier, Dimitri and DJ Towa Tei. Known to most as one hit wonders with "groove is in the heart" and perhaps by a select few as a two hit wonder with "what is love" this groups is most sadly overlooked. For as different as my first two selections are, Deee-lite masterfully bridges the gap. They are, for the most part, an electronic Housey sounding group, but they have a love and appreciation (and respect) for hip-hop as evident by Q-tip's cameo on groove in the heart. Deee-lite released three albums and I have them all and they have some real gems that never got the attention they deserved.

So, if you had to pick three, what would they be?