August 21st, 2009
Wayne’s pre-Carter II output is as overlooked as Tha Carter III is overrated. Lately, I’ve been unnaturally obsessed with “Shine” from 2000’s Lights Out.
As Tal Rosenberg pointed out, back then, “Wayne was just firing off words as if he had them stored in the magazine of a machine gun. “Shine” is one of Mannie Fresh’s most drugged-out, wacky, cartoonish rap songs, and Wayne’s verse is hilarious (”All these carrots like I’m a fuckin’ vegetarian”). The song is closer to Carl Stalling than it is to most contemporary rap music.”
Lamentably, if the Rebirth rap-rock guru released a song entitled “Shine” today, it would probably be a Collective Soul cover.
Download:
MP3: Lil Wayne ft. Hot Boys-”Shine”
Posted in Unskippable Songs | 4 Comments »
July 22nd, 2009
It might be a late Wednesday morning, but no time is a bad one to listen to Honey Cone’s “Sunday Morning People.” I’m of the mindset that Motown-influenced, Northern Soul released in 1970 on the Holland-Dozier run imprint, Hot Wax Recordings, can rarely be anything less than brilliant. And “Sunday Morning People” is no exception, with the Los Angeles all-girl trio excoriating hypocritical Christians for going to church all Sunday and “hating their neighbor all week.” Fuzzy guitars churn, lead singer Edna Wright sings with righteous fury, the Honey Cone back-up singers coo with a sweetness that tops even Honey Comb cereal. Andre the Giant would’ve approved.
Download:
MP3: Honey Cone-”Sunday Morning People”
Posted in Unskippable Songs | 1 Comment »
June 15th, 2009
In what’s certain to be yet another in a string of half-baked ideas that fizzle out after one post, Unskippable Songs is dedicated to the songs that you can’t skip whenever they randomly come on shuffle. Last night, while waiting in line at the completely middling Hangover (Zack G. was great, but sorry, a movie built on a sub-Apatow foundation of ass jokes and inane “Chopsticks and Flied Lice” Asian stereotypes, does not a classic make), The Beatnuts’ ode to hail mary prayer gladly blocked out the din of hipsters using the phrase “mise en scene” with a straight face.
Ju-Ju is high on the list of most criminally unsung beatmakers. I mean, he did lace Starks with “One.” Also, The Lakers. This is the most civic pride I’ve felt since Mark Madsen invented jerkin.’
Download:
MP3: Beatnuts-”Do You Believe”
Posted in Unskippable Songs | 3 Comments »
