Like most people I spend my Christmas Eve following that most time honored tradition: Arguing about the release date of Public Enemy songs...
Re: Fight the Power: Crap, I was wrong. Fight the Power was released as a single in 1989 as part of the Do the Right Thing soundtrack (which I should have remembered). I was confused due to the fact that the track is on Fear of a Black Planet with 911 is a Joke and that was released in 1990. So I made a mistake. Please write down the date as this is one of the few times that I have ever made a mistake, much less admitted to one.
Anyway, back to the countdown of what VH1 considers great...
#75: Kris Kross "Jump": Daddy Mack and Mack Daddy were so hip that they wore their clothes backwards. I assume this made going to the bathroom an extremely challenging proposition though this was at the same time the Depends adult undergarment was introduced. When people wonder how hip hop became mainstream it is sad to admit that part of the reason was two 13 year olds wearing backwards clothes.
#74: Cher "Believe": I'd have a hard time considering this to be one of Cher's top 100 songs. Not memorable for anything other than being another instance of an artist turning to electronica as the next cool thing right after Moby decided to record a punk rock album.
#73: Marcy Playground "Sex and Candy": Two great tastes that go great together. A rather good song that is surprisingly dark sounding for a one hit wonder. Was seemingly everywhere one summer and then the band just disappeared. I don't even know if they recorded another song.
#72: Barenaked Ladies "One Week": I'm surprisingly ambivalent towards the Barenaked Ladies. I have friends who are big fans but they never did anything for me. I don't dislike them, I have no problem listening to their music when I come across it, but I just never understood what the big deal was. When I can't get behind a band that discusses Sailor Moon in their biggest song I think that is a serious sign that something is horribly wrong.
#71: Arrested Development "Tennessee": Another groundbreaking hip hop song and one that showed that rap can be intelligent. Not that Public Enemy and others weren't showing that before it's just now it didn't scare people in the suburbs. Sadly this song is best remembered for the most awful rap in the middle about horseshoes. It didn't make sense then and it doesn't make sense now.
#70: Jamiroquai "Virtual Insanity": Are we talking greatest videos or greatest songs here? I mean the video was awesome in the "Whoa, the guy is dancing while the floor is moving" sort of way but the song isn't memorable in the least. I remember the guy's hat, which I believe was later purchased by Mystery, more than the song itself.
#69: Korn "Freak on a Leash": I don't really have any problem with this song being on the list. Of all of those new metal bands of the late 90's this was the best track of the bunch. Loud, disturbing and with a rather indecipherable meaning. At least there is no Limp Bizkit in the Top 100. VH1 apaprently has some standards.
#68: Will Smith "Getting Jiggy Wit It": Questions people seldom ask me "EC, are you presently getting jiggy with it?" What are we supposed to be getting jiggy with I do ask? The song title is woefully indescriptive when it comes to the entire state of jigginess. That said, Will Smith could have had a career path of Young MC (one hit song in the 80s leading to an appearance on Celebrity Fit Club in the naughts). Instead he is the biggest movie star around. Pretty cool career path.
#67: Dee-Lite "Groove is in the Heart": Crap, I was in high school when this song came out. That's literally half a lifetime ago now. It's still a for lack of a better term groovy sort of song. Plus, any track that has a surprise appearance by Bootsie Collins will always make a best of list.
#66: Edwin McCain "I'll Be": I honestly don't remember this song at all. In fact, all I know of Edwin McCain is that he is one of those guys like Chris Jericho who is always on VH1s I Love the [Insert Decade Here] shows despite not having any fame whatsoever. Well, Chris Jericho is famous but you know what I mean.
#65: Digital Underground "The Humpty Dance": I now officially call BS on this list. How is this song not in the Top 20? I can guarantee you that if you play this at any social gathering you will get everyone doing the Humpty Hump even though it was never clear what the Humpty Hump was. This track was just all kinds of awesome. Let's remember the lyric that carried me through many a tough time growing up "My name is Humpty, it rhymes with Umpty, I like my oatmeal lumpy."
#64: The Presidents of the United States of America "Peaches": We're not talking about metaphorical peaches here. The song is actually about the fruit and/or vegetable. I think the fact that this song became a hit even took the band by surprise. One of the few times I've ever seen a band interviewed regarding their hit song and they reply "I seriously don't understand why anyone is buying it."
#63: The Notorious B.I.G. featuring Mase and Puff Daddy "Mo Money Mo Problems": So far I have seen minimal empirical data that proves that having mo money conclusively leads to mo problems. I have filed the paperwork to receive a grant to better study this issue in detail. Can't disagree with this track making the list.
#62: Live "I Alone": This is the song featuring the shirtless lead singer bouncing around like a total douche and not their other hit song that featured the word "placenta" in one of the verses. That would be Lightning Crashes, which is up their with Ben Folds Five "Brick" as songs that became hits due to the fact that no one paid attention to what they were actually about. For some reason I always disliked Live even though their songs were pretty good. I just always felt that they were trying too hard to be U2 at a time when there really wasn't a need for another U2.
#61: Sheryl Crow "All I Wanna Do": Yes, I did get this album when it became a big hit. The song has aged well but man, the rest of the album has not. She's another artist who deserves credit for taking advantage of an opportunity and just never letting go. No reason why she didn't turn into a one hit wonder but instead she became one of the biggest stars of the 90s. Again, no complaints about this song making the list.
#60: Bell Biv Devoe "Poison": The degree to which I liked this song when I was 17 is indescribable. I can't tell you why I liked it, other than MTV played it on their countdown show every day, I just did. Of all the former New Edition stars I'd much rather by a new Bell Biv Devoe record than a new Bobby Brown disc.
#59: Weezer "Buddy Holly": I'm amazed that Weezer is still around. Mainly because they are too good of a band to still be in the popular eye a decade after they first hit the scene. A great dorky song and a video set literally in an episode of Happy Days. I've still never quite figured out how they shot the video. It is quite possible that Spike Jonez perfected the Time Machine and simply sent the band back, bribed Garry Marshall, and filmed it during an episode.
#58: Sophie B. Hawkins "Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover": Here's the strange thing about VH1, for as much they are doing a bunch of one hit wonders and big but bad songs they still added tracks like this. It's higher than it should be but it was a good song. But I doubt that it was ever a hit. Sophie had a rather interesting, breathy type of voice that made her intoning of the chorus sound, uh how can I put this, rather exciting? Especially when you never could quite figure out if she was singing to a guy or a girl or some sort of mermaid.
#57: Jay-Z featuring Amil and Ja Rule "Can I Get a...": Once again, I call for specifity in song titles. How do I know what to bring you if you aren't clear about it. I really shouldn't make fun of this song given that Jay-Z owns about half the planet right now.
#56: LL Cool J "Mama Said Knock You Out": It's a freaking crime that they didn't put this track in the Top 20. "Don't call it a comeback, I've been here for years." This is probably on every workout mix ever made and for good reason. It is the ultimate pump yourself up song. Also, this was part of the brilliant Yo MTV Raps Unplugged where LL pulls out a rather amazing version of this song in a new environment. Ah, back when MTV actually gave a rat's ass about music.
#55: Fiona Apple "Criminal": I'm kind of amazed that I don't own a Fiona Apple CD. Given what else is in my collection you would think that I would have gone for this. Maybe I was just put off by her attitude even though it was just the attitude of any 18 year old who thought they understood the world's problems. It's just that most 18 years olds are rightfully not given a microphone and national airplay. This is a killer song with a video that to this day makes me wonder how in the world were they able to air it.
#54: Joan Osborne "One of Us": I hate this song. Hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it. I didn't have a problem with it when I first bought the disc before it became a hit. It's just that after months and motnhs of constantly hearing this whiny song you were actively cheering for her career to go down the drain. This is a great example of how one song can ruin someone's career simply by it never getting off the airwaves.
#53: Naughty by Nature "O.P.P.": We used to discuss and/or sing this song while waiting in line at the cafeteria in college. Given that I hung out almost exclusively with engineers, a group that all wore glasses and looked like we were trying out for the Dilbert convention, this must have been quite a sight. I would like to apologize to Naughty by Nature for any damage this caused to their reputation. And for once, I will say not specifying what the other P stood for added to the mystique of the song.
#52: Sugar Ray "Fly": While I don't really like Sugar Ray there is one story about the band that I love. VH1 used to do Celebrity Music Jeopardy for charity. Mark McGrath from Sugar Ray was unstoppable in the game. It would literally be going into Final Jeopardy "Mark McGrath: 15,000 CC Deville: 4. That's why he has ended up hosting entertainment shows, he's better suited to being a knowledgable personality than a rock star. I give the guy credit just for that.
#51: Tupac (featuring Dr. Dre and Roger Trautman) "California": Closing out the night with the Mad Max inspired video for this song. I never quite understood how a post apocalyptic landscape lent itself to this track but it worked for me. I could go into a discussion of how Tupac has released more albums after he died than he did while he was alive but as a Jeff Buckley fan I have absolutely no ground to stand on in that argument. Hell, I've twice bought rereleases of Jeff Buckley albums that I already owned.
So that's the first half. All the songs should be better from here on in. Sadly looking at the list that is in no way the case. Merry Christmas everyone.
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