Sunday 31 October 2021

Generic List Post: October 2021

Obligatory wrap-up post of those songs I've played most during the month when Halloween really did fall on a weekend, me and Gene Simmons were Trick Or Treatin'.

MC Pooh - Life Of A Criminal (video) (1990)
Kurious - Snake Charmer 2 (2010)
Max B - I Wonder (Coco Mango) (2021)
Duke Deuce - WTF! (2021)
Mic Terror - Keep It G (2021)
UNiiQU3 - Microdosing (2021)
The Style Council - It's A Very Deep Sea (1988)
Money Mark - Crowns (1998)

Other notables: DaBoii might have the best Mac Dre homage of 2021; alas, P-Lo's new single is merely okay; Kurious' upcoming album sounds like it could be surprisingly good.

Bonus Generic List Post: 101 favourite non-Rap singles of the 1990s.

Friday 29 October 2021

Max B? More like Maxi Priest amirite

Max B - I Wonder (Coco Mango)
(From the internet; 2021)



Like my Granddad always used to say, you can't keep water in concrete indefinitely because it'll leak eventually. Max B - the first New York rapper since Grand Puba to use patois on record without soundin' like Brad Pitt in Meet Joe Black. Free the Boss Don and the World Boss.

Wednesday 27 October 2021

Your shit is underground, my shit is underwater

The Style Council - It's A Very Deep Sea
(From Confessions Of A Pop Group album; 1988)



Why's It's A Very Deep Sea not on the Style Council best of compilation I own? More importantly, why'd nobody put me onto it until I did a Style Council deep dive recently? What else are you lot hiding from me eh eh?

Not so much Blue-Eyed Soul as Deep Blue Water Soul; re-evaluating the wreckage of one's past to reveal only painful regrets rather than pirate's treasure (shout out to One-Eyed Willy, we in this bitch!) True story: It's A Very Deep Sea is even better than Long Hot Summer, which means it's not only the best Style Council song but the best Paul Weller song point blank. Always preferred Prawn Cocktail Paul Weller to Beef & Onion Paul Weller, meself. Big fan of Salt & Vinegar Paul Weller too though, as typified by The Jam's Funeral Pyre.

The Jam - Funeral Pyre
(From Funeral Pyre single; 1981)



Yeah, he nicked that riff from Love's Seven & Seven Is, but so what? If Rap has taught us anything, it's that there's an art in jacking the best bits of other people's songs. You can have your cake and steal it too.

Monday 25 October 2021

My Mind Spray

Let The Homocides Begin by Top Priority & Percee P has gotta be the funniest song title typo in Rap history.

What's the last Gucci Mane song you really liked? Mines is Ring The Alarm.

2021: the year it was revealed DJ Kool Herc's nightclub stabbing happened because MC Coke La Rock had nipped home to take a shit since he didn't like the club's toilets.

Billy Jam's YouTube channel won the internet last week for uploading Digital Underground's electronic press kit and M.C Pooh's Life Of A Criminal video.

The worst decision Zev Luv DOOM ever made was thinking Popcorn was a Mr Hood-type track rather than a Black Bastards-type track and leaving it off the latter album. A particularly baffling decision considering he chopped up #actual Mr. Hood era B-side Plumskinzz and put it on Black Bastards twice.

What I'd love right now is for a great regional Rap single to come outta nowhere and take over the world like Nelly's Country Grammar (Hot Shit) did in 2000 or Rich Boy & Polow Da Don's Throw Some D's did in 2006.

Failing that, I'd settle for Eatem's Go Get Yo F*ckin' Brotha blowing up. Think of it as overcharging the industry for the way it mistreated Bailey's F*ck Yo Couch.

Did Barry Manilow know that Kurtis Blow raided his wardrobe?

This is in no way an Azealia Banks endorsement, but I hope UNiiQU3's Microdosing goes on to be the new 212.

I was wrong about They Don't Really Love Us by Phil Blunts & Black Jesus being the most Queens-soundin' Rap song to ever come from Yonkers. The answer is #actually G-Notes by Black Jesus & Snypa.

Thursday 21 October 2021

WHO'S MAM IS THIS?

The Biznezzz ft. Yukmouth - Keep It Moving
(From YouTube; 2021)



Oh what a difference an M makes, one little letter. Ain't hearin' much music which tickles my fancy on Thizzler's Instagram these days, so at least they're providing LOLz instead. File The Biznezzz under 'NorCal singer lasses who could play the chief lesbian henchwoman in an all female remake of OZ.'

Because ya host is a hater and a lover in equal measure, here's some 2021 NorCal songs which very much do tickle my fancy.

Ezale - Raised Like This
Dru Down - Everywhere I Go
P-Lo - Going Off
Cellski - Still Clappin'
Stunnaman02 & QuakeBeatz - Big Steppin'
Mozzy - Tycoon
ShuggyBo - Tricky Situations
Mac J - Gotta Grudge
Saweetie - Fast Motion

Bonus Bay Area Biznezz: Billy Jam just uploaded Digital Underground's 1989 electronic press kit to his YouTube channel. Something which often gets forgotten about Digital Underground is that a lotta folks didn't realise that Shock G and Humpty Hump were the SAME DAMN PERSON until the Humpty Dance video.

Wednesday 13 October 2021

Generic list post: 101 best non-Rap singles of the 1990s imho


Hi, I'm Generic British Generation X Guy. You may remember me from such posts as Dear diary, my teen-angst bullshit had Ice-T's Body Count, Christian Slater was a better Jack Nicholson than Jack Nicholson, and Earth is roughly 4 billion years old but I'm glad I was alive at the point in time when SL2's On A Ragga Tip sat attop the U.K Top 40.

Always wanted to compile a best non-Rap singles of the 1990s list but was daunted at how time-consuming and mind-bending it'd end up being. I was right: it was a right royal pain in the posterior to whittle the 1990s down to 101 singles since it's an incredible decade which also happens to be plagued by the absolute worst type of nostalgia - whether it's Rap, Rock, R&B or Rave there's a very specific type of ageing bloke who remains forever frozen in 1996 and who is constantly doing his damndest to ruin 90s classics for me. Anyhoo, after a lotta lotta deliberation this is my definitive 101 favourite 1990s Other Genres™ singles, which is set in stone and never to be changed (... until I remember summat obvious I've forgotten, natch.)

Depeche Mode - Enjoy The Silence (1990)
The Family Stand - Ghetto Heaven (Soul II Soul remix) (1990)
Chris Isaak - Wicked Game (1990)
Happy Mondays - Kinky Afro (1990)
Bell Biv DeVoe - Poison (1990)
Slayer - Seasons Of The Abyss (1990)
Shabba Ranks - Dem Bow (1990)
Jane's Addiction - Been Caught Stealing (1990)
808 State - Cubik (1990)
Madonna - Justify My Love (1990)
Suicidal Tendencies - Send Me Your Money (1990)
EMF - Unbelievable (1990)
Lisa Stansfield - All Around The World (1990)
Alice In Chains - Man In The Box (1990)
INXS - Suicide Blonde (1990)
LFO - We Are Back (1991)
Nirvana - Lithium (1991)
SL2 - Way In My Brain (1991)
Massive Attack ft. Shara Nelson - Unfinished Sympathy (1991)
Prince & The New Power Generation - Gett Off (1991)
Seaweed - One Out Of Four (1991)
Second Phase - Mentasm (1991)
Aretha Daye ft. MC Chan - No More (Making Love) (1991)
Genesis - I Can't Dance (1991)
Liquid - Sweet Harmony (1991)
Soundgarden - Rusty Cage (1991)
Altern-8 - Activ-8 (Come With Me) (1991)
Talk Talk - Ascension Day (1991)
Sounds Of Blackness - Optimistic (1991)
The House Crew - Keep The Fire Burning (1991)
Teenage Fanclub - What You Do To Me (1991)
Young Disciples - Apparently Nothing (1991)
Paperclip People - Oscillator (Electronic Flirtation Device) (1991)
Brand New Heavies ft. N'Dea Davenport - Never Stop (1991)
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Give It Away (1991)
Shades Of Rhythm - The Sound Of Eden (1991)
Danzig - Dirty Black Summer (1992)
Sade - Cherish The Day (1992)
A Guy Called Gerald - 28 Gun Bad Boy (1992)
Mary J. Blige - Real Love (1992)
Cajmere - Let Me Be (1992)
The Prodigy - Out Of Space (1992)
Bobby Brown - Two Can Play That Game (K Klassic mix) (1992)
L7 - Monster (1992)
Chaka Demus & Pliers - Murder She Wrote (1992)
Underground Resistance - Jupiter Jazz (1992)
Faith No More - Easy (1993)
Foul Play - Finest Illusion (1993)
The Breeders - Cannonball (1993)
Big Drill Car - Surrender (1993)
Hardrive - Deep Inside (1993)
Jodeci - Feenin' (1993)
Girls Against Boys - Bulletproof Cupid (1993)
Vicious ft. Doug E. Fresh - Freaks (1993)
Portishead - Sour Times (1994)
Weezer - Buddy Holly (1994)
UK Apachi ft. Shy FX - Original Nuttah (1994)
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Bellbottoms (1994)
TLC - Waterfalls (1994)
Green Day - Basket Case (1994)
Jamiroquai - Space Cowboy (1994)
East 17 - Stay Another Day (1994)
Mariah Carey ft. ODB - Fantasy (Remix) (1995)
Kyuss - One Inch Man (1995)
Total ft. Notorious B.I.G - Can't You See (1995)
Shaggy - Boombastic (1995)
Everything But The Girl - Missing (Todd Terry remix) (1995)
Ghost Town DJ's - My Boo (1996)
Ginuwine - Pony (1996)
The Cardigans - Lovefool (1996)
Blackstreet ft. Dr. Dre & Queen Pen - No Diggity (1996)
Norma Jean Bell - I'm The Baddest Bitch (Moodymann remix) (1996)
Tricky - Christiansands (1996)
Tori Amos - Professional Widow (Armand Van Helden remix) (1996)
Mark Morrison - Return Of The Mack (1996)
Aux 88 - Electrotechno (1996)
D'Angelo ft. Redman - Me & Those Dreamin' Eyes Of Mine (Def Squad mix) (1996)
Lynden David Hall - Sexy Cinderella (1997)
Lathun - Freak It (1997)
Laurent Garnier - Crispy Bacon (1997)
Handsome - Needles (1997)
Dem 2 - Destiny (Sleepless) (1997)
Natalie Imbruglia - Torn (1997)
Beenie Man - Who Am I (Sim Simma) (1997)
Coldcut - Atomic Moog 2000 (Bullet Train edit) (1997)
SWV ft. Missy Elliot - Can We (1997)
Double 99 - Ripgroove (1997)
Money Mark - Hand In Your Head (1998)
Faith Evans - Love Like This (1998)
Stardust - Music Sounds Better With You (1998)
Whitney Houston - It's Not Right But It's Okay (1998)
Tamia - So Into You (1998)
Paul Johnson - Get Get Down (1999)
Limp Bizkit - Break Stuff (1999)
Mr. Oizu - Flat Beat (1999)
Kelis - Caught Out There (1999)
The Messenger AKA Todd Edwards - So Real (1999)
Blink-182 - All The Small Things (1999)
Artful Dodger ft. Craig David - Re-Rewind (1999)
Donnell Jones ft. Left Eye - U Know What's Up (1999)
Larry Heard - Missing You (1999)

As noted previously, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Massive Attack and Tricky selections are songs I love by artists I loathe.

The SL2, Cajmere, and Underground Resistance selections weren't technically the first songs on their respective 12"s but they became A-side anthems in their own rights because they're simply THAT good.

Slint's Spiderland is one of my favourite Other Genres™ 90s albums on some Yank equivalent of Talk Talk's Laughing Stock type shit, but it doesn't have any singles and I'm not too fussed about Slint's actual 10" single.

The entrance to France's Notre-Dame de Royan is my favourite Brutalist architecture which resembles the robot on the cover of A Guy Called Gerald's 28 Gun Bad Boy album.

Monday 11 October 2021

This is Monsta Island not Istanbul or Constantinople

Sum shit I recently found out: Kurious recorded a King Geedorah song with MF DOOM over the Monster Zero beat which was never used but was later completely re-recorded for some Ninja Tunes boxset. Glad they did too because this second version has more #SongTitleSynergy than the original. How did DOOM find a sick Barış Manço' sample for Kurious to give it the works? That's nobody's business but the Turks.

Kurious - Snake Charmer 2
(From some wanky Ninja Tunes boxset; 2010)



PS: They Might Be Giants over The Four Lads all day, every day.

Saturday 9 October 2021

Cleopatra In Memphis

Duke Deuce - WTF!
(From WTF! single; 2021)



Lock Em In The Trunk is the Duke Deuce song I'm waitin' on to drop, but WTF! definitely ain't no entrée. In fact, it's the anthem that Duke's trademark "WHAT THE F*CK!" ad lib deserves. D Squared is very good at condensing Big Crunk Energy down into hardbody exotic shit - don't even front like that beat doesn't sound like Egyptian Lover moved the Pyramids to Memphis.

Tuesday 5 October 2021

One 4 The Britz: Hacienda Hallway

Just noticed that a British holy grail has finally turned up on YouTube: the full episode of The Hitman & Her broadcast from Manchester's infamous Hacienda club in 1989. For doz that literally slept, The Hitman & Her was a British late-night TV show hosted by Stock Aitken Waterman supremo Pete Waterman & then-kids TV presenter Michaela Strachan. Beginning in 1988 the show's M.O was visiting various British nightclubs which were to be provincial meat-markets where Sharons & Tracys and Kevins & Garys would politely dance to current Top 40 pop music and indulge in wacky japes at the behest of Waterman & Strachan.

So far, so standard night at Ritzy's Wine Bar. Until, that is, Waterman & Strachan took a trip to the Hacienda during the peak of Britain's Acid House explosion in 1989 and came across a bacchanal of Mancunian 24 hour party people dancing to rave classics by L.U.S.T, Rhythm Is Rhythm, West Bam, Inner City, Maurice etc. Well, sorta - the club had announced The Hitman & Her would be filming that night so a shitload of Sharons & Tracys and Kevins & Garys also turned up to get their mugs on the telly. Thing is, though, it's this combination of folks which make the episode such a period-piece classic; seriously, there is no better documentation of British club culture in 1989 than the juxtaposition of Waterman & Strachan coaxing a group of hairdresser lasses into singing Beatles karaoke before the cameras cut back to a dancefloor full of Mancunian ravers locked into the plinkity-plonkity hypnotic 303 tweak of A Guy Called Gerald's Voodoo Ray.



Petition to get the aforementioned Voodoo Ray footage (32:35 in the second video) recognised and realised as the song's official video. Note the lad dancing on the stage who looks like a Pakistani Shaun Ryder and another lad who looks like a chunkier Kermit from the Ruthless Rap Assassins. Together they coulda been the Bizarro World Black Grape.