Classic Album Tweets: The College Dropout

As a lot of you may know, the 10 year anniversary of Kanye West's The College Dropout was this week. I had intended to write about it for my Ten Years Gone series, but ultimately I felt that I would have made the same points there for a future Kanye album I also considered worthy of a decade retrospective. With my desire to somehow acknowledge The College Dropout, I put the two ideas together by taking to Twitter last night and getting familiar with an old friend. Hopefully this will be a regular feature on Hectic But Eclectic.

I kinda wanted to write about College Dropout's 10 year anniversary, but decided to hold out for a future Ye album. So I'm live tweeting CD!
— Ivan Mitchell (@hecticivan) February 11, 2014

Getting ready to put on The College Dropout and tweet about the experience. Yes, this copy is ten years old. pic.twitter.com/8EXiJuvcdp
— Ivan Mitchell (@hecticivan) February 12, 2014

Almost forgot this thing was 21 tracks, but of course that was pretty normal back then. Also are these major chords on We Don't Dare?
— Ivan Mitchell (@hecticivan) February 12, 2014

We Don't Care is probably one of the more jubilant album openers in hip hop. Such a bright sound. I remember smiling hard on my first listen
— Ivan Mitchell (@hecticivan) February 12, 2014

What has Miri Ben-Ari up to? I kinda had a crush on her back in the day because she had curly hair and played violin. #albumtweets
— Ivan Mitchell (@hecticivan) February 12, 2014

All Falls Down. One of only a few good things to come from the Lauryn Hill Unplugged album. #albumtweets
— Ivan Mitchell (@hecticivan) February 12, 2014

The mastering on Kanye's albums have improved so much. I still love Spaceship, but always thought it was a victim of the Sound Wars.
— Ivan Mitchell (@hecticivan) February 12, 2014

And what I mean by Sound Wars is that in the iPod era, record labels would master albums at a louder, but murkier fidelity. Sound not crisp.
— Ivan Mitchell (@hecticivan) February 12, 2014

I had been reading a ton of reviews for College Dropout leading up to its release. Jesus Walks was always mentioned, but I wasn't prepared.
— Ivan Mitchell (@hecticivan) February 12, 2014

Jesus Walks was probably the point that I knew I was going to love the album. So heavy and that bridge with the choir was so new to hip hop.
— Ivan Mitchell (@hecticivan) February 12, 2014

Some folks may joke about it, but what Kanye described about BlackPlanet on Get Em High likely happened thousands of times a day.
— Ivan Mitchell (@hecticivan) February 12, 2014

Why has no one ever asked what Kanye's BP profile looked like? None of the retrospectives have touched on this important question.
— Ivan Mitchell (@hecticivan) February 12, 2014

Was not a fan of the video for New Workout Plan (save for Tracee Ellis). The visuals in my head were much funnier. Song was hilarious to me.
— Ivan Mitchell (@hecticivan) February 12, 2014

Totally got distracted looking at pictures of Miri Ben-Ari. #albumtweets http://t.co/VvDnnQ19UZ
— Ivan Mitchell (@hecticivan) February 12, 2014

Ugh. Breathe In Breathe Out. Always felt this was shoehorned in here. Just didn't fit with album and not on same level as other songs.
— Ivan Mitchell (@hecticivan) February 12, 2014

Jigga That Nigga : The Blueprint :: Breathe In Breathe Out : The College Dropout
— Ivan Mitchell (@hecticivan) February 12, 2014

I heard the beat for School Spirit in the College Dropout commercial featuring Dropout Bear. That was the moment I knew I wanted to buy it.
— Ivan Mitchell (@hecticivan) February 12, 2014

I can't find it anywhere, but the commercial was shot at a high speed and poor Dropout Bear was getting picked on. I just had to hear it.
— Ivan Mitchell (@hecticivan) February 12, 2014

Two. Fucking. Words. #albumtweets
— Ivan Mitchell (@hecticivan) February 12, 2014

By the time Two Words came along, my jaw might have dropped. That song could have easily been the climax or ended the album (cont...)
— Ivan Mitchell (@hecticivan) February 12, 2014

...but everything had been so consistent up until then that I didn't consider it a standout. The album itself stood out. #albumtweets
— Ivan Mitchell (@hecticivan) February 12, 2014

It was obvious that Kanye knew how to put together an album. Nice seamless comedown after firepower of Two Words. Emotional trio to end LP.
— Ivan Mitchell (@hecticivan) February 12, 2014

ATCQ had albums that flowed well. De La, Dr. Dre, Outkast, etc. They created experiences and understood track sequencing. Ye studied well.
— Ivan Mitchell (@hecticivan) February 12, 2014

As Last Call is playing, I'm taken back to a time when Ye was an underdog. Pretty inspiring looking at where he is now. Maniacal hustle.
— Ivan Mitchell (@hecticivan) February 12, 2014

Not enough credit for the arrangements on Last Call for keeping things interesting during Kanye's monologue. Never felt like fast-forwarding
— Ivan Mitchell (@hecticivan) February 12, 2014

Next month: Purple Rain