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Juke Fried Chicken’s Justin Tisdall Explains His 3 Favourite Albums

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by Thalia Stopa | Definitive Records asks interesting Vancouverites to reach deep inside their souls to pull out the three albums anchoring their musical tastes. Today we hear from Justin Tisdall, one of the three masterminds behind Chinatown’s Juke Fried Chicken. On the meaning behind his picks, he relates the following:

“These are all albums that were released – and found – while I was travelling from 1994 to 2007. Every time I put these records on I feel good and I get taken back to when I first slid my headphones over my ears, stepped out into a new city, and the sounds became backgrounds to the new cinema my eyes were witnessing. New sights, sounds, languages and food… These albums are all tied into why at Juke we put so much emphasis on the music we play for our guests. Each of these albums is great to experience with friends in all types of settings, and have undertones and shout outs to the greats before them.”

Nas – Illmatic

“Pairing a young, hungry and poetic talent with the most innovative, creative and musically talented hip hop producers in the industry, this is a 39:52 minute masterpiece. Having this in my headphones was like nothing I’d heard before. I love this record because there’s no wasted tracks and every song is a classic. This is the best hip hop album ever produced. As hip hop was progressing and changing, Illmatic raised the bar and is always my go-to whenever I just need to get back to what hip hop could and should be. Due to this album, I went deep into the rabbit hole of liner notes. Large Professor, Q-Tip, Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul all have albums that have had a profound effect on me. Being from Toronto, these were all groups you could see for five dollars, so not only did this album change me, but so did witnessing this hip hop movement live.”

D’Angelo | Voodoo

“D’Angelo is another brilliant artist, composer and musician that can play any instrument. His musical progressions, vocals and lyrical content meld classic Motown acts with modern instrumentation and sounds that cross genres. You can put this album on anywhere, anytime and it just feels good. This is on heavy rotation at home and at Juke. His freshman album was given to me in grade nine and again, I went deep into liner notes and researched who produced and played on the album. This took me back through all my favourite Motown records like ‘What’s Going On’ and ‘Songs in the Key of Life’. This album was new to me, but brought back those memories of listening to the oldies with my parents.”

Radiohead | In Rainbows

“Almost everybody would argue their best work was done on OK Computer and The Bends. I just think this is such an innovative record that is sonically amazing. They pushed themselves as a band and it shows. This album has some beautiful songs and is just amazing, front to back. It’s the perfect driving album and beach album. This ties in the Pink Floyd innovation with amazing harmonies, melodies, and just great music. I was ATV-ing through agave fields in the highlands of Tequila, heading over a ridge while the sun was setting when ‘Videotape’ came through my headphones with the lyrics, ‘today has been the most perfect day I’ve ever seen.'”

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