Tuesday, February 18, 2003
back in ’97 and ’98, I made myself a series of mixtapes, 10 in all, titled it’s alright – I feel it! obviously, they were named after the nuyorican soul record of the same name, and attempted to achieve a similar aesthetic, combining house, hiphop, soul, rap, and electronica (the word made sense back then, y’all), alongside a few non-rhythmically based songs that leaned on a groove (the stones’ “undercover of the night,” believe it or not), or a particular feel to them that fit nicely (fiona apple’s “criminal” appeared on one volume, alongside wu-tang, if I remember correctly). these mixes are one of the best such projects I’ve ever attempted, let alone completed; I still listen to ‘em. you know how most (some?) bloggers are – when in doubt, or bereft of new ideas, either do a list, or comment on a mix. time for the latter. [I’m also doing this, however, to give a clearer understanding of where my head, and musical tastes, were 5 years ago. someone’s interested, right?]
it’s alright – I feel it! 3: once again back is the incredible
side a
1. “fly away (butterfly reprise) (fly away club mix),” mariah carey. I’ve never felt why so many aficionados rate david morales’ mix of mariah’s “dreamlover” so highly; yes, it’s lovely, but nothing earth-shattering. neither is this, but it’s even better. for most of the ‘90s, mariah was in some ways morales’ muse, pushing him to his finest remix work, re-cutting vocals (sometimes in radically different arrangements), forcing him to construct ever-more-intricate labyrinths of house perfection. the highest compliment I know to give this remix? it sounds like butterflies.
2. “there but for the grace of god go I,” machine. taken from a gramaphone-purchased bad boy bill mix tape – there was a time when those were still exciting. this was volume 6, I think, and the machine track struck me as so invigorating, so free of restrictions (circa ’79?). the last gasps of disco, as it evolved into house.
3. “nothing to lose,” 2pac. one of ‘pac’s signature just-barely-pushing-ahead-of-the-beat raps, from one of his earliest posthumous releases. you know he’s now released more albums dead than alive? good ‘pac is still better than most rappers.
4. “ripgroove,” double 99. remember when what was then known as “speed garage” sounded so absurdly fresh and exciting? all ridiculous bassline and rewinds.
5. “stars,” simply red. shame mick hucknall seems to be such a prick, ‘cause it seems to’ve overshadowed some rather ace white-boy pop/soul. no, it’s not all good by any means, but he’s had his moments, and this is at or near the top, if for no other reason than the lyric “I wanna fall from the stars/straight into your arms.” the soundtrack to my romantic longings of ’97 and ’98, when I was very single and very not loving it.
6. “the pleasure principle,” janet jackson. her greatest hit of all. hard, stiff body-rock.
7. “head over heels (instrumental),” allure. a completely bland and undistinguished r-and-b girl group (weren’t they signed by mariah? honestly, that’d explain a lot), they were studio proteges of the trackmasters (remember them?), who did this near-perfect track for them. all hiphop snare cadences with a gorgeous piano melody over the top. I don’t even remember what the original sounds like, just this instrumental. this is the kind of thing I would’ve played a lot on my college radio show (and did) two years prior, especially to bed vocals. as my brit friends say, it does the justice.
8. “in my bed (so so def mix),” dru hill featuring jd and da brat. it samples something, I think, or at least sounds like it does, as is generally the case with jermaine dupri’s remix work. the dru boys recut their vocals, adding to the natural histrionics of the proceedings. and it has da brat! Save “funkdafied” and “give it 2 you,” her best performances have always been on remixes of other people’s songs.
9. “oh sheila,” ready for the world. the greatest. prince. ripoff. ever. that’s ever. how I left this out of my top 80 of the ‘80s is utterly beyond my comprehension.
side b
1. “imaginary player,” jay-z featuring angela winbush. One of the few salvageable moments from jigga’s worst longplayer, in my lifetime, vol. 1, with a sample of winbush singing the great rene & angela song “imaginary plaything,” and jay-hova spitting some wicked rhymes ‘bout how you ain’t a playa-playa compared to him.
2. “free (mood II swing extended vocal mix),” ultra nate. she’s widely considered one of the ultimate underground divas of dance; I’ve never agreed. fine voice, sure, but mediocre songs – until this one, based around whaddya know a looped acoustic guitar figure. classy mix from mood II swing, albeit too long by a stretch (14 minutes?!) and a bit oppressive when stacked up against the version on the maxi-single with a live band. one of the anthems of ’97, and rightfully so.
3. “it’s all about the benjamins (instrumental),” puff daddy & the family. puff’s. best. track. ever. hiphop this synthetic shouldn’t be able to swing like this, but it does.
4. “c’mon ‘n ride it (the train),” quad city dj’s. choo choo!
5. “james bond theme (moby’s re-version),” moby. one of the little bald man’s finest moments, laying it on thick over top of that classic john barry-composed guitar riff with lots of dreamy, “go”-esque atmospherics and faux-hiphop rhythms. when I saw him live last summer, this was one of the highlights.
6. “goldeneye (club edit),” tina turner. …and the bond themes just keep coming, with this amazing, and amazingly underrated theme from the mid-’90s. bono and the edge wrote it for miss tina, and it couldn’t even get an oscar nod (but u2’s highly inferior “hands that built america” does? sheesh!). the academy’s loss. number one, how great would it have been to see tina performing on the oscars with a full orchestra? number two, this is a gorgeously over-the-top song, string- and drama-laden, with completely nonsensical out-of-context lyrics (though tina’s certainly right when she speak-sings, “it’ll take forever/to see what I’ve got.” and that “golden honey trap” line makes me giggle – what naughty irish boys, making tina sing a dirrty joke). this remix is a nicely subtle job, classic house sounding, by morales.
7. “outstanding,” the gap band. the bassline that launched a thousand ships.
8. “down with the king,” run-d.m.c. featuring pete rock and c.l. smooth. from their ’93 comeback, sounding fresh as ever with some tough new beats behind ‘em and a strong assist from pete & c.l. it’s about god, in case you didn’t know.
9. “2 bad (refugee camp mix),” michael jackson featuring john forte. decent jacko song, good wyclef remix, very underrated forte. I have nothing more to add.
it’s alright – I feel it! 3: once again back is the incredible
side a
1. “fly away (butterfly reprise) (fly away club mix),” mariah carey. I’ve never felt why so many aficionados rate david morales’ mix of mariah’s “dreamlover” so highly; yes, it’s lovely, but nothing earth-shattering. neither is this, but it’s even better. for most of the ‘90s, mariah was in some ways morales’ muse, pushing him to his finest remix work, re-cutting vocals (sometimes in radically different arrangements), forcing him to construct ever-more-intricate labyrinths of house perfection. the highest compliment I know to give this remix? it sounds like butterflies.
2. “there but for the grace of god go I,” machine. taken from a gramaphone-purchased bad boy bill mix tape – there was a time when those were still exciting. this was volume 6, I think, and the machine track struck me as so invigorating, so free of restrictions (circa ’79?). the last gasps of disco, as it evolved into house.
3. “nothing to lose,” 2pac. one of ‘pac’s signature just-barely-pushing-ahead-of-the-beat raps, from one of his earliest posthumous releases. you know he’s now released more albums dead than alive? good ‘pac is still better than most rappers.
4. “ripgroove,” double 99. remember when what was then known as “speed garage” sounded so absurdly fresh and exciting? all ridiculous bassline and rewinds.
5. “stars,” simply red. shame mick hucknall seems to be such a prick, ‘cause it seems to’ve overshadowed some rather ace white-boy pop/soul. no, it’s not all good by any means, but he’s had his moments, and this is at or near the top, if for no other reason than the lyric “I wanna fall from the stars/straight into your arms.” the soundtrack to my romantic longings of ’97 and ’98, when I was very single and very not loving it.
6. “the pleasure principle,” janet jackson. her greatest hit of all. hard, stiff body-rock.
7. “head over heels (instrumental),” allure. a completely bland and undistinguished r-and-b girl group (weren’t they signed by mariah? honestly, that’d explain a lot), they were studio proteges of the trackmasters (remember them?), who did this near-perfect track for them. all hiphop snare cadences with a gorgeous piano melody over the top. I don’t even remember what the original sounds like, just this instrumental. this is the kind of thing I would’ve played a lot on my college radio show (and did) two years prior, especially to bed vocals. as my brit friends say, it does the justice.
8. “in my bed (so so def mix),” dru hill featuring jd and da brat. it samples something, I think, or at least sounds like it does, as is generally the case with jermaine dupri’s remix work. the dru boys recut their vocals, adding to the natural histrionics of the proceedings. and it has da brat! Save “funkdafied” and “give it 2 you,” her best performances have always been on remixes of other people’s songs.
9. “oh sheila,” ready for the world. the greatest. prince. ripoff. ever. that’s ever. how I left this out of my top 80 of the ‘80s is utterly beyond my comprehension.
side b
1. “imaginary player,” jay-z featuring angela winbush. One of the few salvageable moments from jigga’s worst longplayer, in my lifetime, vol. 1, with a sample of winbush singing the great rene & angela song “imaginary plaything,” and jay-hova spitting some wicked rhymes ‘bout how you ain’t a playa-playa compared to him.
2. “free (mood II swing extended vocal mix),” ultra nate. she’s widely considered one of the ultimate underground divas of dance; I’ve never agreed. fine voice, sure, but mediocre songs – until this one, based around whaddya know a looped acoustic guitar figure. classy mix from mood II swing, albeit too long by a stretch (14 minutes?!) and a bit oppressive when stacked up against the version on the maxi-single with a live band. one of the anthems of ’97, and rightfully so.
3. “it’s all about the benjamins (instrumental),” puff daddy & the family. puff’s. best. track. ever. hiphop this synthetic shouldn’t be able to swing like this, but it does.
4. “c’mon ‘n ride it (the train),” quad city dj’s. choo choo!
5. “james bond theme (moby’s re-version),” moby. one of the little bald man’s finest moments, laying it on thick over top of that classic john barry-composed guitar riff with lots of dreamy, “go”-esque atmospherics and faux-hiphop rhythms. when I saw him live last summer, this was one of the highlights.
6. “goldeneye (club edit),” tina turner. …and the bond themes just keep coming, with this amazing, and amazingly underrated theme from the mid-’90s. bono and the edge wrote it for miss tina, and it couldn’t even get an oscar nod (but u2’s highly inferior “hands that built america” does? sheesh!). the academy’s loss. number one, how great would it have been to see tina performing on the oscars with a full orchestra? number two, this is a gorgeously over-the-top song, string- and drama-laden, with completely nonsensical out-of-context lyrics (though tina’s certainly right when she speak-sings, “it’ll take forever/to see what I’ve got.” and that “golden honey trap” line makes me giggle – what naughty irish boys, making tina sing a dirrty joke). this remix is a nicely subtle job, classic house sounding, by morales.
7. “outstanding,” the gap band. the bassline that launched a thousand ships.
8. “down with the king,” run-d.m.c. featuring pete rock and c.l. smooth. from their ’93 comeback, sounding fresh as ever with some tough new beats behind ‘em and a strong assist from pete & c.l. it’s about god, in case you didn’t know.
9. “2 bad (refugee camp mix),” michael jackson featuring john forte. decent jacko song, good wyclef remix, very underrated forte. I have nothing more to add.
# posted by Thomas : 2:40 PM
