Summer In Stereo #31

"Vivrant Thing" is another record store story of HERC's. It was a hot Saturday night in the Summer of 1999. After putting his kids to bed, HERC zipped across the street to the mall with full permission from MRS. HERC. (Not that he needed it or anything.) Upon walking into the store about 15 minutes before they closed, this song was blasting; probably a few notches higher on the volume knob then usual, probably in a vain effort to overcome the noise of the vacuum cleaner near the rear of the store. HERC did not hear the very beginning of the song, maybe just the last minute and a half (?) He walked back up to the checkout to see if they had a "Now Playing" stand and they did but it was empty so, trying to sound as hip and cool as a thirty-three year old married white guy with three kids and a purple Dodge Caravan can, HERC asked the guy if it was A Tribe Called Quest's new joint cause he recognized the unmistakable sound of member Q-Tip. The guy said, "Nah, it's Q-Tip solo. It's called Favorite Thing." (At least that was what HERC heard him say the title was.) "Is it in stock?" HERC asked. "Not until next week, man," is what he was told. Life happened, so HERC didn't go back in the following week to follow up on the single or a possible album. About a month later, one of HERC's workers asked him if they could play a CD he brought in after they closed for the evening. They closed, the guy popped in the CD, and the second track was that song, "Favorite Thing". HERC got up from his desk, walked over to the CD player to check out the CD case. The album was Violator: The Album and featured various rap artists. Q-Tip had exactly one song on the disc. Track 2 was NOT called "Favorite Thing" but "Vivrant Thing".

It was another three months or so before 'Tip's Amplified album dropped. HERC bought it just before Thanksgiving. The appeal of the song, in addition to Q's playful pick-up lines, is that driving beat.