I'll go ahead and comment on my own story here for anyone who happens to see it. The two albums that exceeded expectations were Vertex and King Of Drums. It's the same reason why for both - very low expectations. I didn't expect anyone outside of my home town to hear Vertex. I figured I'd be lucky to sell 50 cassettes. It went much further than that. And after disappearing for so long, I didn't expect King Of Drums to reach anyone either. As I explained before, my original plan for that album was just to share it with a few friends. I pretty much just made it for myself.
A few people guessed Man Overboard. I love that album and it did a lot for me but the success of Vertex made me start to have expectations. It's always best to have no/low expectations. There was also the fiasco with the vinyl and song about my mom being cut off. That bummed me out royally.
The moral of today's story is to expect nothing. Not an easy mindset to achieve.
I, somehow (serendipity?), found out about Flash Grenade after your hiatus right about when you started to release new material. Couldn't have been happier. Lots of fresh vinyl on my shelf.
A thing I’ve noticed over the years of Substack is that I often find myself reading it in my email rather than the app, which doesn’t allow the ‘like’ option.
It’s a small effort to open the app and hit the heart button but I am definitely guilty of not doing it. I try and go back and like the ones I miss but I imagine that actually goes into the theory you started this post with.
Me liking a post weeks or months later does not add to the day-of satisfaction. What do you think about this?
As far as albums, I feel like my choices would be centered on the albums I love the most rather than the ones that exceeded your own expectations. Hard to guess.
Ah. Interesting. I never considered that. That's probably a factor. But one thing I've noticed across the board is that engagement on pretty much everything is very low. You're an exception, Tan. I always appreciate see your name pop up with likes and comments and whatnot.
Wanted to login and chime in and say the same. Reading this is part of morning ritual whenever i see one pop up in my email! As a life long fan its been very nostalgic reading these and as artist myself super inspiring to read the process from your perspective.
I, too was going to guess Square but simply because I love it and it meant so much to me 20 or so years ago. I could have no realistic guess on the expectations of any album.
SAME! I typically read via email & then try to go into the app and “smash that like button.” But I always read Vertices. And I like to go back and revisit albums again after you include some background. So many vocal Easter Eggs to begin with, but I can’t catch them all when the beats are so funky. Timeless hip-hop is truly the gift that keeps on giving!
I'm going with Man Overboard and King of Drums? I'm going to use this opportunity to say that the Dirtbike albums got thrashed to death. I learned things from the stories on those records too. Along with others, I fell down a Fatty Arbuckle rabbit-hole at the time. It sounds like further instalments would be good for you and us listeners. Also, I have to throw out praise for Billy. A brilliant concept beautifully executed. Love that record.
Homie. Thanks for that. Definitely unconstrained and fair to say that they were very much a reflection of who I was at the time. The circumstances were right for me to make them at the time. A lot of things have to be going right to do something like that.
Been a fan since hearing Vertex in '98, as you have grown and changed so have I, your music has always been the soundtrack of my life. I have always considered you the #1 best lyricist of all time, no bs, hands down! I can literally see everything you say, its like watching a movie when i hear your songs, only people that come close would be Isaac Brock from Modest Mouse and maybe Aesop Rock. All of your albums are amazing, nothing is skippable in my opinion. I know you have stated numerous times about certain eras you cringe at looking back on, but some of those songs "nobody asked for" are my faves, you combined genres and made beautiful things I've never heard and it really spoke to me. Blood of a Young Wolf, Bach of Sci, Roses and Bluejays, Tired Out, Out of Focus, Talkin Fishin, Paper Airplanes, Only War, Heart Shaped Cookies, Bike for Three albums, all the emotion and vulnerability in songs like those
is beautiful, even if you don't see it that way anymore, it was exactly what I needed at the time and I know I'm not the only one. You will forever be my favorite musician and I will forever be grateful that your music has brought such a voice to my life, and as you evolve and grow, so shall I, so thank you for being there for me for the last 27 years, truly means everything to me, keep it up Rich, and thank you for clawing your way out of "retirement" to bless us all again with this new era and refound joy and energy for you craft, you truly are a master class good sir!
Holy mackerel. I hardly know what to say. I appreciate all of that deeply. And just to be mentioned in the same breath as Isaac Brock and Aesop. Geez.
You bring up vulnerability. It was definitely important to me for a long time to be brave enough to make myself vulnerable. And I'm glad it was appreciated. I may have lost that bravery a bit in recent years. Or maybe I'm just a bit more protective of it. But I will say that the next album coming down the chute (which will see the light sometime this coming summer) gets back into a bit more of that. I'll talk about it more in a future post here. The album that's coming (which has actually been finished for years now) was a real test and I worked with some people who brought a lot of stuff out of me. In a sense, I think the album is a bit of a combination of what I was doing in the 2000s and what I'm doing now. I'm excited to share it with you.
The song that starts 'Staggering around town late one night, set of whisky bottles and broken street lights' is my all time favourite Buck song. I think it means more that it took some mining to find it.
Oh no, I feel bad that it isn't a Buck original as my fav :( The driving beats on it have got me through many a long run. Please don't tell me Indestructible Sam or Cries a Girl are covers now! :)
My personal hope and (selfish guess) of an album that exceeded expectations is definitely SHATW (please get that one on vinyl for this Buck AND Tortoise fan)
I wish I could say that was the case. Truth is, that one was probably the biggest disappointment of all! It was really the first time I saw bad reviews for one of my albums and sales weren't great. I really expected the album to blow minds. Me and Tortoise?! Come on! Tumbleweeds.
Bizarrely I came to find you through an article in Kerrang! highlighting '463' which led to the discovery of the 'leftfield hip-hop' section in my local (long gone) record store.
I've always felt a bit of a musical nomad, but that was a really pivotal moment for me, and led me to find Anticon, and made me realise that I was not as alone as I thought.
I've been fortunate enough to catch you live in the UK several times, and one of my happiest memories is randomly finding you were performing on the Left Field stage at Glastonbury as I wandered by with my (now) wife (Wicked and Weird is still a big favourite of hers).
I was gutted to hear of your sabbatical, but I was relieved to hear you were taking time out for yourself, and beyond excited to discover Billy.
It's so encouraging to hear you rediscover your voice, and for your passion to seep out through your pores.
Would you ever consider a reverse 'This Right Here' record, where select tracks from the old voice era were rerecorded and released in your current/original style?
You're discography is a fantastical non-linear time travel experience (if that makes any sense). It may sound cliché, but you and Dose are Benjamin Button figures, and your work continues to blow my mind.
I first heard it whilst ushering for an opera event and heard it performed by Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, and I've been begging to hear someone rhyme along with it!
The first album I heard of yours was Square back when it came out. I've listened to that record countless times and it will always be a favorite. It's my pizza delivery/road trip/confused guy in his early 20s album. Fast forward a few years, I hope an album that exceeds your expectations is the North American Adonis (remake) album you did with Dose One. It was my favorite album of 2024 and is an absolute banger from start to finish. I hope you do at least 10 more albums with Dose because you guys just kill together.
Thanks for that, Ian. I hope Dose and I do more stuff together too. Working with him is very fun and he's a total pro. Nice to see Square getting a lot of love here. Neither of those are the ones I had in mind but certainly important parts of the story.
A magnificent binary palindrome (10100101), there's nothing in the middle, and room 101 on either side (symmetry makes me happy...), from a child of 1984...
After Dirtbikes I was very excited when I seen Laundromat Boogie being released on Black Buffalo (BTW anyone on here hasn't gotten that on vinyl yet go to their website and cop it). Then later Flash Grenade with Tachichi that had some of your production, I was hoping then, you were back in that groove. Appreciate everything!
Nice! I was so psyched to work with Jorun again and I'm really hoping we get to do it again sometime. He's pretty much my favorite hip hop producer ever. He's starting to get his recognition now but he's still vastly underrated and overlooked. We really did some things on that Laundry album. But it went largely unnoticed! Kind of a shame, really.
Weirdo magnet? I love the cassette version you put up. But love the warners version too. Thank you for all the music. I was 50 last week which means I’ve been listening to you for half my life and your resurrection in the 2020s has been my favourite music you’ve ever done. Loved NAA and would love to hear you with more of the old homies.
Did Situation exceed expectations? I have fond memories of hearing songs from that LP at The Marquee on Boxing Day ‘06, and eagerly waiting for it to drop the next year.
There's a lot about that album that I love but not one of the ones I had in mind. I'll probably never talk about some of the reasons why. I still hope people will be able to hear the full original sample-based version of the album one day.
I’ve been following you since your. Vertex era. I have enjoyed all your distinct decades of work and can’t wait for more. Being from Chicago, I’ve had a privilege to live in the best hip hop scene in the early 2000s and forth, and had the opportunity to see you at fireside bowl many moons ago. Keep Moving had been in heavy rotation and being in my 40s and early 20s when I became interested in your music, I love this current era of Buck we are in. I’m happy to own the last three albums on vinyl and eagerly waiting for the new one to be pressed as well. I never realized the importance of a “like” since I never grew up in this social media generation. I will make it an effort to like each post. Man I would love dirt bike vinyls. Reissue everything man!!!
as far as exceeded expectations i would hope one of them is man overboard. that album absolutely crushed me in terms of what hip hop could be. living in nyc and discovering all the new indie hip hop that was just absolutely exploding with creativity and weirdness and carving new directions and paths in hip hop and then to discover man overboard and have it blow my mind was awesome. but if i had to really guess i would say super dope because it was your sort of rebirth for lack of a better word and that album killed too. what an amazing kick off to a buck 65 new era. the other one i would guess is square as that is a beautiful album that really stretches across different styles and feelings.
Hey, Scot. Really good guesses and I appreciate the kind words. Looking back, I can't say I was ever disappointed in how Man Overboard did, overall. That album was a big turning point for me in my career. It took me places. Unlike some of the other albums that came later, I still love Man Overboard but I did have some feelings of disappointment that I won't mention here but it may come up in other responses to comments if anyone picks the right albums. It will tie in.
I'll go ahead and comment on my own story here for anyone who happens to see it. The two albums that exceeded expectations were Vertex and King Of Drums. It's the same reason why for both - very low expectations. I didn't expect anyone outside of my home town to hear Vertex. I figured I'd be lucky to sell 50 cassettes. It went much further than that. And after disappearing for so long, I didn't expect King Of Drums to reach anyone either. As I explained before, my original plan for that album was just to share it with a few friends. I pretty much just made it for myself.
A few people guessed Man Overboard. I love that album and it did a lot for me but the success of Vertex made me start to have expectations. It's always best to have no/low expectations. There was also the fiasco with the vinyl and song about my mom being cut off. That bummed me out royally.
The moral of today's story is to expect nothing. Not an easy mindset to achieve.
I agree with you there.
Not going to lie, King of Drums is in my top 5 albums of all time. So damn good! Bravo!
I, somehow (serendipity?), found out about Flash Grenade after your hiatus right about when you started to release new material. Couldn't have been happier. Lots of fresh vinyl on my shelf.
A thing I’ve noticed over the years of Substack is that I often find myself reading it in my email rather than the app, which doesn’t allow the ‘like’ option.
It’s a small effort to open the app and hit the heart button but I am definitely guilty of not doing it. I try and go back and like the ones I miss but I imagine that actually goes into the theory you started this post with.
Me liking a post weeks or months later does not add to the day-of satisfaction. What do you think about this?
As far as albums, I feel like my choices would be centered on the albums I love the most rather than the ones that exceeded your own expectations. Hard to guess.
Ah. Interesting. I never considered that. That's probably a factor. But one thing I've noticed across the board is that engagement on pretty much everything is very low. You're an exception, Tan. I always appreciate see your name pop up with likes and comments and whatnot.
Wanted to login and chime in and say the same. Reading this is part of morning ritual whenever i see one pop up in my email! As a life long fan its been very nostalgic reading these and as artist myself super inspiring to read the process from your perspective.
Funny to read the comments now.
I, too was going to guess Square but simply because I love it and it meant so much to me 20 or so years ago. I could have no realistic guess on the expectations of any album.
What a nice thing to say!
Thank you for that.
SAME! I typically read via email & then try to go into the app and “smash that like button.” But I always read Vertices. And I like to go back and revisit albums again after you include some background. So many vocal Easter Eggs to begin with, but I can’t catch them all when the beats are so funky. Timeless hip-hop is truly the gift that keeps on giving!
I'm going with Man Overboard and King of Drums? I'm going to use this opportunity to say that the Dirtbike albums got thrashed to death. I learned things from the stories on those records too. Along with others, I fell down a Fatty Arbuckle rabbit-hole at the time. It sounds like further instalments would be good for you and us listeners. Also, I have to throw out praise for Billy. A brilliant concept beautifully executed. Love that record.
I appreciate that, Harry! A lot of the story songs on those album were co-written with my ex-wife, who was a GREAT writer. She gets a lot of credit.
King Of Drums IS one of the two albums that exceeded expectations.
The Dirtbike albums are my favorite. They feel unconstrained and perfectly you.
Homie. Thanks for that. Definitely unconstrained and fair to say that they were very much a reflection of who I was at the time. The circumstances were right for me to make them at the time. A lot of things have to be going right to do something like that.
Been a fan since hearing Vertex in '98, as you have grown and changed so have I, your music has always been the soundtrack of my life. I have always considered you the #1 best lyricist of all time, no bs, hands down! I can literally see everything you say, its like watching a movie when i hear your songs, only people that come close would be Isaac Brock from Modest Mouse and maybe Aesop Rock. All of your albums are amazing, nothing is skippable in my opinion. I know you have stated numerous times about certain eras you cringe at looking back on, but some of those songs "nobody asked for" are my faves, you combined genres and made beautiful things I've never heard and it really spoke to me. Blood of a Young Wolf, Bach of Sci, Roses and Bluejays, Tired Out, Out of Focus, Talkin Fishin, Paper Airplanes, Only War, Heart Shaped Cookies, Bike for Three albums, all the emotion and vulnerability in songs like those
is beautiful, even if you don't see it that way anymore, it was exactly what I needed at the time and I know I'm not the only one. You will forever be my favorite musician and I will forever be grateful that your music has brought such a voice to my life, and as you evolve and grow, so shall I, so thank you for being there for me for the last 27 years, truly means everything to me, keep it up Rich, and thank you for clawing your way out of "retirement" to bless us all again with this new era and refound joy and energy for you craft, you truly are a master class good sir!
Holy mackerel. I hardly know what to say. I appreciate all of that deeply. And just to be mentioned in the same breath as Isaac Brock and Aesop. Geez.
You bring up vulnerability. It was definitely important to me for a long time to be brave enough to make myself vulnerable. And I'm glad it was appreciated. I may have lost that bravery a bit in recent years. Or maybe I'm just a bit more protective of it. But I will say that the next album coming down the chute (which will see the light sometime this coming summer) gets back into a bit more of that. I'll talk about it more in a future post here. The album that's coming (which has actually been finished for years now) was a real test and I worked with some people who brought a lot of stuff out of me. In a sense, I think the album is a bit of a combination of what I was doing in the 2000s and what I'm doing now. I'm excited to share it with you.
Thanks so much for sticking with me. For real.
The song that starts 'Staggering around town late one night, set of whisky bottles and broken street lights' is my all time favourite Buck song. I think it means more that it took some mining to find it.
Ha! The mayor! The weirdest story ever told. Shouts out to the great Governor Bolts!
Oh no, I feel bad that it isn't a Buck original as my fav :( The driving beats on it have got me through many a long run. Please don't tell me Indestructible Sam or Cries a Girl are covers now! :)
that one is a cover. Check out Governor Bolts. But I agree, amazing song, amazing cover!
Mind blown! I never knew that. But I'm sure recognise one of GB's songs with Uncle Climax from a compilation I got years ago. Thank you :)
My personal hope and (selfish guess) of an album that exceeded expectations is definitely SHATW (please get that one on vinyl for this Buck AND Tortoise fan)
I wish I could say that was the case. Truth is, that one was probably the biggest disappointment of all! It was really the first time I saw bad reviews for one of my albums and sales weren't great. I really expected the album to blow minds. Me and Tortoise?! Come on! Tumbleweeds.
I unfortunately figured that would be the case but it’s special to me and was so from day one.
Makes me feel really good to hear that.
Bizarrely I came to find you through an article in Kerrang! highlighting '463' which led to the discovery of the 'leftfield hip-hop' section in my local (long gone) record store.
I've always felt a bit of a musical nomad, but that was a really pivotal moment for me, and led me to find Anticon, and made me realise that I was not as alone as I thought.
I've been fortunate enough to catch you live in the UK several times, and one of my happiest memories is randomly finding you were performing on the Left Field stage at Glastonbury as I wandered by with my (now) wife (Wicked and Weird is still a big favourite of hers).
I was gutted to hear of your sabbatical, but I was relieved to hear you were taking time out for yourself, and beyond excited to discover Billy.
It's so encouraging to hear you rediscover your voice, and for your passion to seep out through your pores.
Would you ever consider a reverse 'This Right Here' record, where select tracks from the old voice era were rerecorded and released in your current/original style?
You're discography is a fantastical non-linear time travel experience (if that makes any sense). It may sound cliché, but you and Dose are Benjamin Button figures, and your work continues to blow my mind.
Best wishes to you, and huge thanks!
So nice to hear from you, Mark. It's great to hear a positive story related to that Kerrang article because so much negative stuff resulted from it!
I'm pretty sure I remember that Left Field Glastonbury performance. I played the festival three or four times and it was always memorable.
Great idea on the 'This Right Here' thing. I'm going to start putting some thought into picks for something like that.
Have a great weekend. Say hello to the better half.
I've always loved ‘Old Time Stuff’, and I'm curious how your current delivery would work, as I find it difficult to imagine without the ‘old’ voice.
Also, it would be great to hear a track that transitioned between the 3 major ages in one track, similar to Sage’s ‘Lost Loves’.
Finally, any chance you work your magic on a Ginastera piece:
https://youtu.be/XfukY-G5MUQ?si=6if8S4LN-AQD7qLT
I first heard it whilst ushering for an opera event and heard it performed by Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, and I've been begging to hear someone rhyme along with it!
https://youtu.be/w0o5uaKHMzM?si=tvzi7-s65aq3b2nR
So many variations, but I love it and dream of a hip hop iteration (I'll leave you alone now!)
“That Right There” is an appealing thought!
The first album I heard of yours was Square back when it came out. I've listened to that record countless times and it will always be a favorite. It's my pizza delivery/road trip/confused guy in his early 20s album. Fast forward a few years, I hope an album that exceeds your expectations is the North American Adonis (remake) album you did with Dose One. It was my favorite album of 2024 and is an absolute banger from start to finish. I hope you do at least 10 more albums with Dose because you guys just kill together.
Thanks for that, Ian. I hope Dose and I do more stuff together too. Working with him is very fun and he's a total pro. Nice to see Square getting a lot of love here. Neither of those are the ones I had in mind but certainly important parts of the story.
165!
A magnificent binary palindrome (10100101), there's nothing in the middle, and room 101 on either side (symmetry makes me happy...), from a child of 1984...
After Dirtbikes I was very excited when I seen Laundromat Boogie being released on Black Buffalo (BTW anyone on here hasn't gotten that on vinyl yet go to their website and cop it). Then later Flash Grenade with Tachichi that had some of your production, I was hoping then, you were back in that groove. Appreciate everything!
Nice! I was so psyched to work with Jorun again and I'm really hoping we get to do it again sometime. He's pretty much my favorite hip hop producer ever. He's starting to get his recognition now but he's still vastly underrated and overlooked. We really did some things on that Laundry album. But it went largely unnoticed! Kind of a shame, really.
Weirdo magnet? I love the cassette version you put up. But love the warners version too. Thank you for all the music. I was 50 last week which means I’ve been listening to you for half my life and your resurrection in the 2020s has been my favourite music you’ve ever done. Loved NAA and would love to hear you with more of the old homies.
Man, just wait til you hear what's coming next. Brains will melt.
Square is awesome.
I agree! It was my first album that came out on a major label which created its own skewed reality. Weird times, for sure.
Did Situation exceed expectations? I have fond memories of hearing songs from that LP at The Marquee on Boxing Day ‘06, and eagerly waiting for it to drop the next year.
There's a lot about that album that I love but not one of the ones I had in mind. I'll probably never talk about some of the reasons why. I still hope people will be able to hear the full original sample-based version of the album one day.
whoa! i love situation, never heard about this sample based version. that would be very exciting to hear!
We had to make the album twice! The first version was pretty much rejected by Warner because they couldn't/wouldn't clear all the samples!
I remember the demos were released at one point; Werner von Wallenrod did a post about it: https://wernervonwallenrod.blogspot.com/2013/01/buck-65-situation-demos.html Probably harder to find now.
Yeah! I downloaded those demos from Paul’s blog years ago. Still have a copy kicking around.
There is a lot to love on Situation.
I thought your other head was named Sixtoo.
I always read to the end. Much love!
Haha. That's actually pretty accurate!
I’ve been following you since your. Vertex era. I have enjoyed all your distinct decades of work and can’t wait for more. Being from Chicago, I’ve had a privilege to live in the best hip hop scene in the early 2000s and forth, and had the opportunity to see you at fireside bowl many moons ago. Keep Moving had been in heavy rotation and being in my 40s and early 20s when I became interested in your music, I love this current era of Buck we are in. I’m happy to own the last three albums on vinyl and eagerly waiting for the new one to be pressed as well. I never realized the importance of a “like” since I never grew up in this social media generation. I will make it an effort to like each post. Man I would love dirt bike vinyls. Reissue everything man!!!
as far as exceeded expectations i would hope one of them is man overboard. that album absolutely crushed me in terms of what hip hop could be. living in nyc and discovering all the new indie hip hop that was just absolutely exploding with creativity and weirdness and carving new directions and paths in hip hop and then to discover man overboard and have it blow my mind was awesome. but if i had to really guess i would say super dope because it was your sort of rebirth for lack of a better word and that album killed too. what an amazing kick off to a buck 65 new era. the other one i would guess is square as that is a beautiful album that really stretches across different styles and feelings.
Hey, Scot. Really good guesses and I appreciate the kind words. Looking back, I can't say I was ever disappointed in how Man Overboard did, overall. That album was a big turning point for me in my career. It took me places. Unlike some of the other albums that came later, I still love Man Overboard but I did have some feelings of disappointment that I won't mention here but it may come up in other responses to comments if anyone picks the right albums. It will tie in.