Tuesday, July 22, 2003
Random thoughts on my top 99 of 1999, part 1.
[For the end of the millennium – oh, I don’t care if it’s not technically correct, shut up – I wanted to do something big, so I went for the obvious, a top 99 of ’99. As at the time I was still making my “phat tapes,” I called these the “superphat tapes.” 6 cassettes. A lot of work. But a lot of fun to listen to – at least, I think so. We’ll find out together, won’t we?]
*
’99 was the year the Roots broke through at long last, thanks to the Erykah Badu-featuring (and Jill Scott-cowritten) “You Got Me,” a sublime piece of hiphop balladry complete with a live drum-n-bass breakdown for a bridge. They followed that with “The Next Movement,” a more classic Roots track, Black Thought flippin’ lyrics while Rahzel beatboxes like no one since Doug E. Fresh and the rest of the guys just play like they do. Even better than Things Fall Apart, I think, is their subsequent live record, The Roots Come Alive - proof that live hiphop can be just as amazing as live rock or what-have-you.
*
“Battleflag,” who remembers “Battleflag”? C’mon, Lo-Fidelity Allstars featuring Pigeonhed? Wherein LFA remixed a track by Sub Pop band Pigeonhed and turned it into a breakbeat-lite whomper, getting on modern rock radio and in countless TV shows? Tastes great, less filling.
*
I love hearing Guru rap. I love hearing nearly any DJ Premier production. Ergo, I love me some Gang Starr. Their Full Clip: A Decade of Gang Starr is a definitive hits collection, and featured the fine, new “Discipline” featuring Total. Really, in a lot of ways with Gang Starr, it’s not about the lyrics, it’s not about the song, it’s not about the guest artists – it’s just about hearing Guru rap and Primo behind the turntables.
*
Did you hear Sisqo’s second solo album? That’s why he’s back with Dru Hill now, reduced to opening concerts for bigger stars again.
*
I’m not a big fan of Beck, earnest, meaning-filled pseudo-folkie. I am, however, a big fan of Beck, the funkiest white man alive, as he shows himself to be (with no irony, thank God) on Midnite Vultures. He means it, maaaan. Beck’s masterpiece isn’t Odelay or even Mellow Gold, it’s Vultures, full of his bizarre non-sequiturs, letting his freak flag fly, like the mutant 150-IQ child of Frank Zappa and George Clinton. And he makes all the lesbians scream, you know.
*
Yes, I got so sick of it; it’s relentlessly overplayed in ever gay club worldwide. But “Believe” truly is one of Cher’s finest moments, a positively anthemic “I Will Survive” for the new millennium.
*
The same way I resent Afeni Shakur and Suge Knight for their exploitation of 2Pac’s catalog, I was livid with Puffy for releasing a posthumous Notorious B.I.G. record. But I have to admit to finding the idea of hearing a Biggie track at long last sampling Duran Duran’s “Notorious” appealing. Shame it wasn’t any better. Biggie deserved better.
*
Is that a Stevie Wonder sample at the opening of Mary J. Blige’s “More Than I Can Say”?
*
Two songs in the top 99 were by animated characters, both from South Park: Terence and Philip and Chef. “Uncle Fucka” is a ridiculously moronic, and even more ridiculously hilarious, song pairing some of the filthiest lyrics possible with total Disney-rama music. “Chocolate Salty Balls (P.S. I Love You)” is dirty, but supposed to be theoretically open to interpretation – but we all know it’s really supposed to be dirty. Hearing Isaac Hayes sing said lyrics only heightens the effect, gloriously.
*
Nas’ “Hate Me Now” is fairly undistinguished lyrically, but the song’s going for one thing: drama. And what better way to eke out that emotion than by sampling Orff’s Carmina Burana? To great effect, I might add.
*
The radio station at which I put in 3.5 years was pretty bad, roughly adult contemporary, with some truly wretched jocks (who are still on the air, amazingly). But over time Stumpy and I convinced our GM to let us start playing new music (albeit sparingly). And one of the good things about working at an independent, small-market station is that you often have the freedom to play what you want, within reason. So I’d test singles from the multi-format music-service discs were received, and if I got good response (or it was a no-brainer), I’d add ‘em to at least my evening shift. A prime example is the singles released from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ Echo, most notably the instant classic “Swingin’.” New but not too new-sounding, fresh yet classic, this was perfect for our format (which we attempted to mutate a bit, when live, into adult top 40 without the crap and with more oldies/classic stuff than most similarly formatted stations, stuff like “Start Me Up” – again, when you’re not dependant on market research to make your programming decisions, you can do stuff like this – you know, like radio’s supposed to be!). Sorry, what was I saying before that rant left the tarmac? Oh, yeah. To sum up: Tom Petty good.
[For the end of the millennium – oh, I don’t care if it’s not technically correct, shut up – I wanted to do something big, so I went for the obvious, a top 99 of ’99. As at the time I was still making my “phat tapes,” I called these the “superphat tapes.” 6 cassettes. A lot of work. But a lot of fun to listen to – at least, I think so. We’ll find out together, won’t we?]
*
’99 was the year the Roots broke through at long last, thanks to the Erykah Badu-featuring (and Jill Scott-cowritten) “You Got Me,” a sublime piece of hiphop balladry complete with a live drum-n-bass breakdown for a bridge. They followed that with “The Next Movement,” a more classic Roots track, Black Thought flippin’ lyrics while Rahzel beatboxes like no one since Doug E. Fresh and the rest of the guys just play like they do. Even better than Things Fall Apart, I think, is their subsequent live record, The Roots Come Alive - proof that live hiphop can be just as amazing as live rock or what-have-you.
*
“Battleflag,” who remembers “Battleflag”? C’mon, Lo-Fidelity Allstars featuring Pigeonhed? Wherein LFA remixed a track by Sub Pop band Pigeonhed and turned it into a breakbeat-lite whomper, getting on modern rock radio and in countless TV shows? Tastes great, less filling.
*
I love hearing Guru rap. I love hearing nearly any DJ Premier production. Ergo, I love me some Gang Starr. Their Full Clip: A Decade of Gang Starr is a definitive hits collection, and featured the fine, new “Discipline” featuring Total. Really, in a lot of ways with Gang Starr, it’s not about the lyrics, it’s not about the song, it’s not about the guest artists – it’s just about hearing Guru rap and Primo behind the turntables.
*
Did you hear Sisqo’s second solo album? That’s why he’s back with Dru Hill now, reduced to opening concerts for bigger stars again.
*
I’m not a big fan of Beck, earnest, meaning-filled pseudo-folkie. I am, however, a big fan of Beck, the funkiest white man alive, as he shows himself to be (with no irony, thank God) on Midnite Vultures. He means it, maaaan. Beck’s masterpiece isn’t Odelay or even Mellow Gold, it’s Vultures, full of his bizarre non-sequiturs, letting his freak flag fly, like the mutant 150-IQ child of Frank Zappa and George Clinton. And he makes all the lesbians scream, you know.
*
Yes, I got so sick of it; it’s relentlessly overplayed in ever gay club worldwide. But “Believe” truly is one of Cher’s finest moments, a positively anthemic “I Will Survive” for the new millennium.
*
The same way I resent Afeni Shakur and Suge Knight for their exploitation of 2Pac’s catalog, I was livid with Puffy for releasing a posthumous Notorious B.I.G. record. But I have to admit to finding the idea of hearing a Biggie track at long last sampling Duran Duran’s “Notorious” appealing. Shame it wasn’t any better. Biggie deserved better.
*
Is that a Stevie Wonder sample at the opening of Mary J. Blige’s “More Than I Can Say”?
*
Two songs in the top 99 were by animated characters, both from South Park: Terence and Philip and Chef. “Uncle Fucka” is a ridiculously moronic, and even more ridiculously hilarious, song pairing some of the filthiest lyrics possible with total Disney-rama music. “Chocolate Salty Balls (P.S. I Love You)” is dirty, but supposed to be theoretically open to interpretation – but we all know it’s really supposed to be dirty. Hearing Isaac Hayes sing said lyrics only heightens the effect, gloriously.
*
Nas’ “Hate Me Now” is fairly undistinguished lyrically, but the song’s going for one thing: drama. And what better way to eke out that emotion than by sampling Orff’s Carmina Burana? To great effect, I might add.
*
The radio station at which I put in 3.5 years was pretty bad, roughly adult contemporary, with some truly wretched jocks (who are still on the air, amazingly). But over time Stumpy and I convinced our GM to let us start playing new music (albeit sparingly). And one of the good things about working at an independent, small-market station is that you often have the freedom to play what you want, within reason. So I’d test singles from the multi-format music-service discs were received, and if I got good response (or it was a no-brainer), I’d add ‘em to at least my evening shift. A prime example is the singles released from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ Echo, most notably the instant classic “Swingin’.” New but not too new-sounding, fresh yet classic, this was perfect for our format (which we attempted to mutate a bit, when live, into adult top 40 without the crap and with more oldies/classic stuff than most similarly formatted stations, stuff like “Start Me Up” – again, when you’re not dependant on market research to make your programming decisions, you can do stuff like this – you know, like radio’s supposed to be!). Sorry, what was I saying before that rant left the tarmac? Oh, yeah. To sum up: Tom Petty good.
# posted by Thomas : 2:04 PM
