finest pazz and jop winner of the 90s only

Deee-Lite without thinking twice.

Going Fatboy Slim on this

All good songs. I'd rank them:

Groove is the Heart
No Scrubs
Loser
C'mon N' Ride It (The Train)
Cannonball
Smells Like Teen Spirit
Tennessee
MMMBop
Rockafeller Skank
Gangsta's Paradise

damn

"no scrubs" and "c'mon ride it" are two of the titanic 90s songs for me

voting for "no scrubs" tho

Coolio: "Gangsta's Paradise" (1995)
Quad City DJs: "C'mon N' Ride It (The Train)" (1996)
Hanson: "MMMBop" (1997)
Fatboy Slim: "The Rockafeller Skank" (1998)

This span was basically my high school years. I wasn't on board for ANY of this except Fatboy Slim at the time. I was super against Quad City DJs!

tlc and it's not even close

1. no scrubs
[big gap]
2. groove is in the heart
3. cannonball
4. gangsta's paradise
5. tennessee
[gap]
6. the rockefeller skank
7. mmmbop
[abyss into which quad city djs, who i've never even heard of, presumably fall]
9. smells like teen spirit
10. loser

pretty sad list, only 1 is great, 2-5 are good, 6-7 are fine, 9-10 dreadful. "no scrubs" isn't even close to being the best track on its parent album (that would be "silly ho").

"smells like teen spirit" beats loser because tori amos somehow managed to redeem it with her cover

like the rap list jordan polled last month 2000s >> 1990s

it's "no scrubs"

xp lol lex

lex, there isn't a bad song on this list, what the hell is wrong with you

sad-sacked indie kids liked them

I hate the nineties too, but this is a fairly representative list of how one can distill the best of the decade in one fuzzy, thumping loop.

god help the soul who's heard tori amos covering nirvana but hasn't heard quad city djs

^ describes kurdt btw

there are only 2 bad songs on this list but most of the good ones aren't really "best of year" quality. it's like seeing rihanna's "disturbia" or something there. it's fine but so much better exists.

yeah "smells like teen spirit" is just like "disturbia"

it's like seeing rihanna's "disturbia" jay-z's "empire state of mind" or something there. it's fine but so much better exists.

although he probably did hear 95 south right so he basically heard quad city djs. did kurdt ever do the tootsee roll???

just looked them up, quad city djs had one no 57 hit in the uk in 1997, when i was 14, with a completely different song.

approx 5 million times better than the original:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaUL_7H7r40

yeah "smells like teen spirit" is just like "disturbia"

lol they're both kind of annoyingly overdriven and try-hard ~dark~

TLC - "No Scrubs" (1999)
The Breeders: "Cannonball" (1993)
Arrested Development: "Tennessee" (1992)
Fatboy Slim: "The Rockafeller Skank" (1998)
Beck: "Loser" (1994)
Hanson: "MMMBop" (1997)
Deee-Lite: "Groove Is in the Heart"/"What Is Love" (1990)
Nirvana: "Smells Like Teen Spirit"(1991)
Quad City DJs: "C'mon N' Ride It (The Train)" (1996)
Coolio: "Gangsta's Paradise" (1995)

Like/love the top 5, dislike/hate the bottom 5. Overall, a fairly depressing list that also does a fairly good job of summing up the decade, at least in the States.

xpost i cant even

hahahaha

in your dreams, lex

lex has a point: in the otherwise excellent Trees Lounge, Chloe Sevigny sports a closely cropped blond dye job, like Emily Valentine in "90210" or what's-her-name from Roxette. The nineties were like that.

nirvana.

never heard quad city djs before, i guess it grows on you

woomp there it is

I think MMMBop would be the only song I could play on the guitar if someone asked me to play one.

dont understand anyone who doesnt love the quad city djs song immediately

it's called england deej

Voting Quad City. (Dear challop-accusers: Nirvana would be my #2.)

listening to quad city djs now. it's good! i think i've heard it before. basically the "toot it & boot it" of its day, then?

except people knew what it was, yes

lol

It was no "The Dip."

I voted for "Cannonball."

man them including 'what is love' is making this impossible for me - definitely easily between dee-lite and 'cannonball' for me. substitute 'gangsta's paradise' for 'i'll be there for you/you're all i need to get by', maybe replace "loser" with "who's that man" and that's a pretty good 90s overview, covers alot of bases.

or pick another country song, i just heard "who's that man" again this morning on the radio, man what a song.

deee-lite

voted coolio, shoulda voted no scrubs

listened to ~20 seconds of the Tori Amos Nirvana cover

no thanks!

Mostly great songs actually, voted for Nirvana

Coolio's was the only one I flat-out disliked at the time. Three or four I'm neutral on. "Loser"'s the only one I still get a major charge out of on the radio.

i think "gangsta's paradise" was the first rap song to get major grammy attention, which is perfect really. i do prefer pretty much any other coolio hit to it, esp "1,2,3,4" and "fantastic voyage" obv. i had a friend that djed every saturday at this club and ppl would just go crazy for it, demanding he play it again and again (this is in iceland), like literally as soon as it finished playing ppl would be asking he play it again, i can't imagine he reenlisted. still, i got to see my city commissioner sing it at karaoke last thursday so nothing but love for coolio! dangerous minds can suck it though, 187 FOREVER!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ipb59oac9mk

best shit coolio was ever involved with

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utSOWUZz_Po

"coolio and crazy toones will neva sell out, n****"

there's a great picture of that Grammys ceremony where Annie Lennox is standing next to Coolio, and she's wearing her Minnie Mouse earrings and I don't know who's more disturbing.

*head band

Part of why I thought "Gangsta's Paradise" was such a drag was that I loved "Fantastic Voyage" so much. I was also puzzled as to why "Gangsta's Paradise" got a lot of critical attention and, as far as I could tell, "Fantastic Voyage" didn't.

lol kevin reynolds directed 187. i get the cynicism now.

Partially faulty memory: "Fantastic Voyage" did finish third in Pazz & Jop. It wasn't going to beat "Loser," so I guess it did about as well as it could have.

"gangsta's paradise" had a message and that message you CAN. GET. THRU. to INNER CITY YOUTH. if you make them read some bob dylan lyrics. cuz if you think about it bob dylan was the original rapper yknow?
http://bloatedpenguin.mikescottlew.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/key_art_yo_teach.jpg

IF YOU FEEL LIKE DAAAANCING
C'MON IT'S UP TO YOU
WE GOT THE SOUND TO KEEP YOU GETTIN DOOWNDOWWWN
THE TRAIN IS COMING FOR YOU

^^^12" mix is so fucking epic and reccomended for everybody. almost as epic as the "return of the mack" 12"

Quad City DJs were a lot more fun, in retrospect, than Deee-Lite.

The Train FTW

xp kind of a false dichotomy imo

Not really. Both are thought of as fun, and one is more fun than the other.

Tho I admit I was stepping backwards into a "academic fun vs. real fun" contrast.

both are just fun fun

i hear them at literally the same parties.

old ppl parties.

GOOD parties lol.

yeah. i played "whoomp there it is" recently and much dancing ensued

"loser" is the only song on this list i don't like. "groove" all the way, tho

Nirvana. Good records all, Coolio excepted.

Going Fatboy Slim on this

lol me too - such a banger

lets be real tho best fboy slim is totally 'right here right now'

CHALLOP

"C'mon N' Ride It (The Train)"<-- irl lol at the actual title of this song. this list is so great man, can't decide.

xpost no fuckin way

it makes whatever im doing feel really important -- like arguing with whiney

lets be real tho best fboy slim is totally 'right here right now'

lol, no. either "everybody needs a 303" remix or "praise you" imo

deej, i mean on hand...

right here, right, now, right here, right now

on the other hand

RIGHT ABOUT NOOOW... THE FUNK SOUL BROTHER... CHECK IT OUT NOW... THE FUNK SOUL BROTHER

RIGHT ABOUT NOW BOUT NOW BOUT NOW BOUT NOW BOUT NOW BOUT NOW BOUT NOW BOUT NOW BOUT NOW BOUT NOW BOUT NOW BOUT NOW BOUT NOW BOUT NOW BOUT NOW BOUT NOW BOUT NOW BOUT NOW BOUT NOW BOUT NOW

i hope u see my point

Nah, rhrn is def the best fboy slim track, by loads

Voted for "No Scrubs"

Wd probably vote "Fucking in Heaven" as the best Fatboy track

I'm mostly interested in this poll to see how many votes "Tennessee" will get. Nobody will admit to voting for it and then it'll get five votes and finish higher than, say, "Gangsta's Paradise" and "Mmmm Bop".

"Cannonball", very slightly over "The Rockafeller Skank".

And "What is Love" >>> "Groove Is In the Heart". Always was, still is.

why wouldn't people admit to voting for "tennessee"? haven't listened in years but i have nothing but fond memories of it (and "mr wendal" and "people everyday"), it'd be by no means the most shameful thing to vote for here (and people ARE ADMITTING to the most shameful ones so there u go)

Yeah, I like Tennessee and I'd have no problem admitting to voting it, but it simply isn't the best song on the list.

C'mon N' Ride It (The Train)
Rockafeller Skank
MMMBop
Tennessee
Gangsta's Paradise
Smells Like Teen Spirit
Loser
Cannonball
Groove is the Heart
No Scrubs

If it were "People Everyday" instead of "Tennessee," it'd be a very tough call for me. But there are numerous Pazz & Jop singles winners I like less than "Tennessee."

Did everybody stop pretending that Arrested Development's 1992 P&J wins didn't happen? The running joke is over?

Actually, I don't mind "Tennessee" either, but it can't touch most of the other songs here.

I thought at the time that the backlash against Arrested Development's wins--influenced, I'm sure, by Christgau's mortification (though I remember he changed his mind about "Tennessee")--was way out of proportion. And I put "People Everyday" at the top of my own singles list that year.

"Rockefeller Skank" has dated the worst of all these songs imo.

they're all great. even tennessee, perhaps the least 'cool' choice on the list (i'd still argue that their second album is pretty great). almost voted scrubs, almost voted deelite, almost voted cannonball. but to vote anything other than teen spirit would have felt like i was lying to myself.

"Rockefeller Skank" has dated the worst of all these songs imo.

truthbomb

"tennessee" is great, it's just the rest of their output that is corny garbage

Reverend, i challenge you to a game of horse shoes. A game of HORSE SHOES!

I'm mostly interested in this poll to see how many votes "Tennessee" will get.

i loooove "tennessee" but it is in no way the best song on this list so

challenge accepted

Ranked:

Deee-Lite: "Groove Is in the Heart"/"What Is Love" (1990)
TLC - "No Scrubs" (1999)
The Breeders: "Cannonball" (1993)
Nirvana: "Smells Like Teen Spirit"(1991)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- (this is the line under which I don't truly give a shit about anything else)
Hanson: "MMMBop" (1997)
Beck: "Loser" (1994)
Quad City DJs: "C'mon N' Ride It (The Train)" (1996)
Arrested Development: "Tennessee" (1992)
Fatboy Slim: "The Rockafeller Skank" (1998)
Coolio: "Gangsta's Paradise" (1995)

lol, am I the only one who thinks Fatboy Slim never actually topped "Everybody Needs A 303"

all of these songs are good, even the Hanson song which I don't really like

am I the only one who thinks Fatboy Slim never actually topped remix of Wildchild "Renegade Master"?

^^^

Also: "Praise You" >>>> "Rockafeller Skank" although I have no intention of listening to either.

of that batch of singles, I agree that "Right Here, Right Now" is the best one, but both "Everybody Needs A 303" and the "Renegade Master" remix are way way way better

classics:
loser
teen spirit
c'mon and ride it
groove is in the the heart
cannonball
no scrubs

loved them at the time, have dated v v badly:
rockafeller skank
mmm bop

boring:
tennesse

terrible:
gangsta's paradise

rhrn = easily best the fatboy single too, deej otm

rhrn = easily best the fatboy single too

I concur, terrific video too.

Didn't realise Mmm bop was held in such high regard. It's a piece of fluff.

It lacks the Wagnerian gravitas of Fatboy Slim's "Right Here Right Now", true.

Didn't realise Mmm bop was held in such high regard. It's a piece of fluff.

Solid tune, good performance.

And I put "People Everyday" at the top of my own singles list that year.

The actual single version, I hope.

Also I missed a post and thought you all were talking about Jesus Jones.

The actual single version, I hope

Good point--when I actually bought the album, "People Everyday" wasn't the same song at all. (I actually have a vinyl 7-inch of "People Everyday.")

Mmm Bop won P&J for the same reasons as Tennessee and Gangsta's Pardise and Rockafeller Skank-- they were pop/hip-hop/electronic songs with enough rockist signifiers and touchstones and narratives sprinkled throughout to make them palpable for a wider range of voters. It's a good song, but it was def "held in high regard" in part because they played their own instruments, worked with the Dust Brothers, etc. "Barbie Girl" e.g. from the same year kills it. So does "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" or "Wannabee" (which was on that year's P&J poll roll) but none of those pop songs had those other things going for them.

Coolio: "Gangsta's Paradise" (1995)

so bad

Actually, I say actually way too much.

i still kinda like gangsta's paradise, probably not in the upper half of this list though

"gangta's paradise" was my favorite song when i was 9 and i still love it so much and the hate it gets on ilm makes me angry

"loser" is by far the worst of these

"gangta's paradise" was my favorite song when i was 9 and i still love it so much and the hate it gets on ilm makes me angry

― The Reverend, den 22 september 2010 17:03 (4 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

lol yes i still have the single somewhere. knew it by heart even if half the words were made up

Yeah, agree that when it comes to pop singles, many many spice girls/backstreet boys single are a ton better than "mmmbop". Not so much "everybody" and "wannabe" but def "I want it that way", "say you'll be there", "2 become 1", "show me the meaning of being lonely". I didn't realise at the time that "mmmbop" had cred, it didn't at my school!

i can't drop enough come_on_son.gif for this thread. these songs are all stone classics

loved deee-lite, really really loved nirvana, thought arrested development was lame, loved the breeders, loved beck but it didn't wear well i guess, never really liked coolio, the train was and is great, mmmbop was just annoying as hell, fatboy slim seemed fake to me but it's not like i knew any better, i never got over how annoying i thought the delivery of "passenger side" was. my opinions haven't changed much.

In terms of ten (or eleven) year runs, ompare and contrast:

--

1979 - Ian Dury - "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick"
1980 - Kurtis Blow - "The Breaks"
1981 - Laurie Anderson - "O Superman"
1982 - Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five - "The Message"
1983 - Michael Jackson - "Billie Jean"
1984 - Prince - "When Doves Cry"
1985 - Artists United Against Apartheid - "Sun City"
1986 - Run-DMC - "Walk This Way"
1987 - Prince - "Sign 'O' the Times"
1988 - Tracy Chapman - "Fast Car"
1989 - Public Enemy - "Fight the Power"

--

2000 - OutKast - "Ms. Jackson"
2001 - Missy Elliott - "Get Ur Freak On"
2002 - Missy Elliott - "Work It"
2003 - OutKast - "Hey Ya!"
2004 - Franz Ferdinand - "Take Me Out"
2005 - Kanye West - "Gold Digger"
2006 - Gnarls Barkley - "Crazy"
2007 - Amy Winehouse - "Rehab"
2008 - M.I.A. - "Paper Planes"
2009 - Jay-Z ft. Alicia Keys - "Empire State of Mind"

Ompare? Compare. Etc.

Campari.

never got over how annoying i thought the delivery of "passenger side" was.

What! That's the best bit!

In terms of ten (or eleven) year runs, ompare and contrast:

Are you trying to make a distinct point, Ned, or just posting the two lists for comparison?

Yes to both. Actually I was thinking in looking at them all that while the 90s list I could listen to straight through there's at least one each in the 80s and 00s list that would make me get up and break my speakers.

1985 - Artists United Against Apartheid - "Sun City"

big hearty lol

this song is so terrible

Groove is in the Heart. such a perfect song

xpost -- Why am I not surprised you had the same reaction as I did!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjWENNe29qc

NEVER FORGET

I think that was the first time I experienced the "I agree with this message but I never ever ever ever want to hear this again" reaction.

How did "What's Going On (Fred Durst's Reality Check Mix)" not win 2001?

Can't think of many Backstreet songs as pretty good as "MMMBop." Any, really.

otoh, quite a few Spice Girls are better than.

voted Dee-Lite, but Hanson is #2 over Nirvana.

My favorite Fatboy Slim is in the lead-in to "The Rockafeller Skank" on the album, when the guy on the phone says that Fatboy Slim kicks ass. That was the 90s, man.

The band of the '90s.

How did "What's Going On (Fred Durst's Reality Check Mix)" not win 2001?

oh man, even heartier lols

i am listening to 'sun city' for the first time.

i kinda like it!

WC and the Maad Circle = best shit coolio was ever involved with

deej OTM about this no joke.

many xposts

"Sun City" is almost charming now!

Voted for Cannonball because it's such an odd record and I'm pleased it got so much consensus love. I haven't checked Billboard positions but all the others, to varying extent, were obvious big pop hits - even Loser. And I haven't yet played it to death like I have Groove Is in the Heart.

Never even heard Quad City DJs until it appeared in a Blender list I was working on a few years ago. Weird that it made no impact on the UK.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artists_United_Against_Apartheid

little steven? am i reading this right?

you know i was watching sun city and thinking, this isn't too bad. and then bono came on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9NaIYULk6s

but i don't think its awful by any means. i kind of miss that earnest 80s megastar agit-pop thing.

miles davis in his late period lazy cocainey mode, who doesn't love that

sounds like big audio dynamite, but better!

if i weren't at work i'd pay more attn to the video, which i'm sure is just wonderful

oh i just hear lou reed! lou reed, guys.

i kind of miss that earnest 80s megastar agit-pop thing.

Just keep telling yourself that when you relisten to the "We Are the World" remake.

Honestly don't see how "Sun City" or "Fast Car" are all that much dorkier than "Sign O' The Times," tbh. (They're all equally "well meaning." Actually think "Fast Car" is my favorite of those three.)

um, who was making fun of "Fast Car"

See: '80s thread. (Where I should've posted that, probably.)

anyway IMO "Sign O' The Times" wasn't even the best single off of that album so why it's being held up as a standard of unimpeachability is kind of puzzling

Well, it won the poll that year. But yeah, there was way better stuff on the album (which also won.) Two other singles placed Top 10:

4. Prince: "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man"/"Hot Thing" (Paisley Park) 32
9. Prince: "U Got the Look"/"Housequake" (Paisley Park) 27

haha lex has never heard c'mon ride the train. your days of calling ppl corny indies are done, son.

you know, as ridiculous as "sun city" is, I wish it's whole uptempo hipster activist dance party vibe had been more influential than We Are The World's vague inspirational ballad thing

well i've heard it now! it might mean i still get to call people old. (or american.) xp

i can't drop enough come_on_son.gif for this thread. these songs are all stone classics

this opinion is so much more come_on_son. i hate SLTS but can accept its, y'know, existence as pop culture touchstone or whatever - though seriously anyone who DOESN'T prefer the t. amos version has dropped even further in my estimation - but not "loser", ever, that song is a joke. a terrible joke.

sub-geir

no, actually right about on par with Geir

"uptempo hipster activist dance party vibe"

I would love to see something like that now, even if it was awful.

What, MIA wasn't enough for you?

I want MIA "and friends"

like no one else ever dismisses shit they don't like on ilx! but once you do it to a sacred cow you're suddenly compared to geir. i've actually given reasons elsewhere why i think it sucks, which is more than a lot do.

plenty of people dismiss songs and artists

it's when you cross the line into dismissing people who listen to those songs and artists that people start giving you shit, and it happens to practically everyone (see, for example, me on any metal thread)

so it has nothing to do with "sacred cows" and everything to do with you

most of the people who give me shit do it themselves regularly, often to music i like, so it's, yknow, physician heal thyself

and anyway isn;t that what whiney was doing in the first place with the whole come_on_son shit, as if people were required to like fucking nirvana and beck?

most of the people who give me shit do it themselves regularly, often to music i like, so it's, yknow, physician heal thyself

sub-kate

Whiney also gets ton of shit for it! Have you like not seen how much he gets dumped on for his hardman routine?

funnily i think kate also gets ragged on WAY unfairly - it's only partly about how she posts, but mostly about WHAT she posts. plenty of people are as bolshy and rude as she can be, but b/c she's often going against the grain, she gets hated on for it.

these songs are all good/great. smells like teen spirit tops it although it isnt like i really ever need to hear it again, but its a monster. and yknow what, loser is now like the signpost on the corner of corny and fuxor and all, but as a dude who was shilling records at the time it was a fucking awesome song to bust up all the murky crap that was dominating at the time. and if you hate quad city djs you have no soul.

ok then

voted cannonball

Six of these I've never heard all the way through, so I probably shouldn't vote.

hahaha its never stopped anyone on ilx before

Or… you could listen to them right now via the power of the internet.

Yeah, I've got a month before this thing closes, plenty of time.

lex

you seems smart and a nice dude i'd reckon

but the post where you write off quad city djs without even having heard them pretty much defines what i don't like about you as someone that writes/thinks about music

as much as you seem to think you are upsetting the applecart, shaking off the shackles of boring stodgy old boomer and gen x critics that are stuck in their puritan classic and/or pavement worshiping ways, dudes that often bring a whole lot of admittedly judgemental and stupid ideas about what constitutes "real" music and biases against things that are fun or danceable etc to the table.....i can't help but notice that you react to a lot of stuff that *you* are against in pretty much the same way they do...

like your impulse is to dismiss something that strikes you from afar as not being cool or having no value, without ever really trying to engage on it or even, jesus, take 4 minutes to listen to something - even something, in this case, that is EXACTLY like something you would like (quad city djs)

so basically you lots of times seem just like those guys that are like "man this britney spears stuff ain't even music, now...clapton, he can play man" except with a different set of aethetic values.

but i didn't write off quad city djs? i just said i hadn't heard of them. and i listened to them a few posts later, which was basically as soon as i actually could. whereas everyone else either wrote off w/o hearing, or didn't bother listening to the tori amos nirvana cover.

um, a bunch of us have heard the Tori Amos cover, as many of us were in college when it came out

how do you know that xp

No, we wrote off the Tori cover because it sucks.

oh ok maybe you have, i assumed that given how few people on ilx have heard her stuff beyond the few hits she had, an early b-side wouldn't be well known

xp it doesn't suck, at all

Haha fine, tastes differ, I'm being a jerk. But yes, a lot of us know that version.

an early b-side wouldn't be well known

The fact that it's a cover of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" makes it a lot more well-known than any other B-side in her catalog.

yeah i heard the shit out of tori amos in college..

all i saying lex is when ppl start comparing you to geir it's not because they think you are dumb or they don't like you it's because there's a sense that you come to things with an agenda and if it at doesn't first blush fit what you think it correct your instinct is to rip it, not just be open to things and listen

also: jawbox's cover of cornflake girl pwns!

The fact that it's a cover of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" everyone on earth wrote about it when it came out makes it a lot more well-known than any other B-side in her catalog.

― jaymc, Wednesday, September 22, 2010 2:29 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

for the record, i listened to the tori amos cover, since you posted it, and it's terrible.

the piano playing sounds like lorie line, and i don't get what the point of the exercise was from the vocal performance. seems like the dimmest kind of translation, like those punk bands that pick an old tv theme and punk-ify it for lols. see, anything can be a sad piano song! well done.

tlc and it's not even close

1. no scrubs
[big gap]
2. groove is in the heart
3. cannonball
4. gangsta's paradise
5. tennessee
[gap]
6. the rockefeller skank
7. mmmbop
[abyss into which quad city djs, who i've never even heard of, presumably fall]
9. smells like teen spirit
10. loser

pretty sad list, only 1 is great, 2-5 are good, 6-7 are fine, 9-10 dreadful. "no scrubs" isn't even close to being the best track on its parent album (that would be "silly ho").

― لوووووووووووووووووووول (lex pretend), Tuesday, September 21, 2010 7:16 PM

How can you argue that this is not writing off Quad City DJs without hearing them? The most charitable interpretation is that you are assuming it's worse than the 7 songs you like but better than the 2 songs you hate, I guess, but the imagery of something falling into an abyss does not have value-neutral connotations to it.

and the Tori Amos cover is nice enough but in all honesty I'd rather listen to Bat For Lashes, whose Tori imitations are better than Tori herself

jesus i only mentioned quad city djs in that sentence b/c i realised at the last minute they were in the list and i hadn't heard of them

haha, i totally glossed over that post. amazing.

Well, then it's a communication problem! If you'd made your list and said "never heard Quad City DJs" some people would have still given you shit (because it's what they do) but some other people currently giving you shit would have just said "ooh listen to them, they're awesome!"

xp: case in point

i'm totally the opposite on B4L, she's ok but whenever i hear her i just think "you, sir, are no tori amos"

the tori cover strikes more as more creepy and sinister than just sad, really - it's calm and meditative, like a stone room

"The 'DJs' in their name make me presume this is terrible"

"Don't compare me to Geir!"

like, Whiney basically exists on these forums to give people shit, it's sort of madness to really pay attention to it or take it the least bit seriously

also: jawbox's cover of cornflake girl pwns!

― my balls and my nerds (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, September 22, 2010 6:30 PM (5 minutes ago)

see this is a dude who knows whats up

(I think we've had this B4L conversation before; part of it for me is that when Tori was coming onto the scene, it was right around the time that I was rejecting pretty much all music that wasn't rave or industrial unless it was by The Cure or Prince)

the tori cover is uh ok i guess? not much there beyond "oh ok i see that is a *re-interpretation*" but not one that after 2 or 3 listens makes a bit of sense.

and i like tori amos, uh other than the last 5 or so albums i guess. boys for pele is pretty great tho

so basically you lots of times seem just like those guys that are like "man this britney spears stuff ain't even music, now...clapton, he can play man" except with a different set of aethetic values.

so OTM. it's kinda tiresome

whoah many xps

agendas are boring, basically

so basically you lots of times seem just like those guys that are like "man this britney spears stuff ain't even music, now...clapton, he can play man" except with a different set of aethetic values.

In fairness to Lex, EVERYONE is like this to some degree.

lex you do realize that "no, it's not terrible, it's great" is like the critical equivalent of you-started-it-no-you-started-it? you know that, right?

most of these are great, especially no scrubs, but i can't imagine ever tiring of groove is in the heart. it's really not even fair if u throw in what is love!

i do not have to imagine tiring of groove is in the heart.

you are satan himself

dig!

no groove in jjjusten's heart

"C'mon N' Ride It (The Train)" may not be quite as classic as "Wiggle It", but it is right up there.

you are satan himself

― strongohulkingtonsghost, Wednesday, September 22, 2010 9:56 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

no. he is not.

graduated high school in 1991 and hung out with "theater types" and "peeps who did the drugs" in college, you can prob fill in the blanks from there.

no offense to the song tho

xposts

Now I am retroactively outraged that "Wiggle It" lost to "Groove is in the Heart".

lex you do realize that "no, it's not terrible, it's great" is like the critical equivalent of you-started-it-no-you-started-it? you know that, right?

"it sucks" is hardly a criticism that deserves better, though you'll notice that in my NEXT POST i expanded on why the song is great

(I think we've had this B4L conversation before; part of it for me is that when Tori was coming onto the scene, it was right around the time that I was rejecting pretty much all music that wasn't rave or industrial unless it was by The Cure or Prince)

haha again i'm kinda the opposite: despite not really loving any of B4L's music, i feel i have to at least vaguely approve of her out of loyalty to my 14-year-old self, who would have considered a trip-hop tori amos the very pinnacle of music

I get uneasy when everyone piles on Lex because I think his reputation is such that every post gets read in the worst possible light. The main thing that annoys me itt is the repetition. We've all heard the Loser rant by now, and the Smells Like Teen Spirit one - that's where it begins to echo Geir complaining about James Brown. When you've established have no time for the indie aesthetic - or at least the angst-expressing, singing "badly" variety - I don't know what's to be gained by weighing in on it again and again. If there are other posters, Geir aside, who have an equivalent obsession with bashing hip-hop or R&B ad nauseam then I don't know who they are.

did Geir get sb'd or something? haven't seen him lately

search function sez he last posted three days ago, so dude's around

he has a hot post waiting for him

^^ read that as "hot pocket"

Changed his log-in to "banaka" iirc

fwiw lex i love your posts when you are being enthusiastic about some new thing you love, you've def made me check out some pop songs and uk stuff that i never would have.

basically i think most ppl are better posters when they are broing down and kip about music

^^^ too true to even be a truth bomb really. people are just usually more acute about stuff they actually like.

probly cos you spend more time listening to and thinking about stuff you like.

ffs why did I not know jjjusten was sick of "Groove is in the Heart" before staying with him in MN

an amazing opportunity has been missed, ppl

Groove is in the Dan

although this has kind of helped solidify my wedding present ideas

Hire Deee-Lite to play the reception, yeah!

They are probably very affordable at this point.

SORTED

No Bootsy No Credibility

(the idea of Lady Miss Kier spinning late-90s jungle records at jjj's reception seems like the best possible thing next to her putting "Groove is in the Heart" on endless loop)

sorry guys, couldn't respond because i was scrambling to replace a scurrilous traitor groomsman, what were we talking about again?

poor FB

the chills that you spill dabba dabba do dill
something something, my succotash wish

j0hn couldn't ask for another
j-j-j-j-j-0hn couldn't ask for another

(SING IT, BABY)

i swear that "my succotash wish" is the fucking "LEONARD BERNSTEIN!" of that goddamn song

It's the end of the world as we know it (na-nana-nana)

this thread makes me filled with satisfaction of what's to come

i cannot think of one blessed word of what q-tip's verse. i've heard this thousands of times and, nope, nothing

uh, spare "what" in that post

haha ditto, it's like:

mumble mumble
'Specially at a show
mumble mumble
mumble Hendrix mumble
Girl just sing about the groove!

baby you'll see that rhythm is the key

poll question:

q-tip's verse on "groove is in the heart" vs. krs-1's verse on "radio song"

(tho in fairness i can totally always remember the krs verse even if i dont' want to)

I love the way he says DEL-lightful.

del the lightful homosapien

I have to give Tip major, major props for constructing the ultimate anti-earworm for the world's catchiest song

lol what a world:

In 2003 Kirby sued Sega claiming that the character Ulala in the game Space Channel 5 was an unauthorized use of her likeness.[4] Kirby claimed that Sega offered to pay her $16,000 to license her name, image and songs for the game, though she rejected their offer. Kirby later learned that the videogame maker went ahead and used her resemblance anyway, and she decided to initiate the lawsuit. She ultimately lost the suit and a later appeal, based on the appeals court's finding that the character was developed by designers who were unaware of Kirby or her persona.In court it was muted that the animated character looked more like another 90's pop star "Michaela Dornonville de la Cour" from the Swedish band Army of Lovers. Kirby was also mandated to pay Sega's legal fees of $608,000 (reduced from $763,000 requested) for their legal costs; a situation acknowledged by the justices as unfortunate but mandated under California statute. It was also ruled that Kirby would have to pay the cost associated with any further appeals, none of which have been filed as yet.[5] In 2008, her single "Groove is in The Heart" was licensed for use in the Sega video game Samba de Amigo for the Wii console, ironically appearing in a stage featuring Ulala.

Just imagine the wonders he would have wrought had he interpolated a bit on "Hey Soul Sister."

major lols at sega's lawyers bringing up "Michaela Dornonville de la Cour" of the Swedish band Army of Lovers in a trial vs Lady Miss Kier

I know, that's like the most intriguing detail in the whole shebang aside from the supremely awesome dick move of sticking Ulala into Samba de Amigo singing "Groove is in the Heart" after the fact

well and charging her 600 large

it's like a master class

http://www.coolfuntoys.com/graphics/GroverSlideWhistle.jpg http://www.coolfuntoys.com/graphics/GroverSlideWhistle.jpg http://www.coolfuntoys.com/graphics/GroverSlideWhistle.jpg

We're going to dance,
We're going to dance,
We're going to dance
And have some fun

http://www.coolfuntoys.com/graphics/GroverSlideWhistle.jpg http://www.coolfuntoys.com/graphics/GroverSlideWhistle.jpg http://www.coolfuntoys.com/graphics/GroverSlideWhistle.jpg

She probably *needs* to play the wedding reception in order to pay Sega. It's the charitable thing to do.

she djed at a gay club here a couple months back. thought about going

read that as "she died at . . ."

i thought she was doing tortoise covers

Millions Now Living Will Never Be GROOVY!

the chills that you spill dabba dabba do dill
something something, my succotash wish

― goole, Wednesday, September 22, 2010 9:16 PM

A+++++++++++

reading these lists it really drives home point that critics are crazy people w/no discernible taste in music

eiffel 65 v disco inferno?

the band not the song

you know, just for purposes of conciliation

wrong word?

hmm

oh yeah verification

i voted mmmbop! first piece of music i ever owned <3 & it holds up pretty good

groove is in the shart

I liked the '90s a lot when it came to music--I'm probably unusual around here in much preferring the '90s to the '80s--so I was surprised by how little feeling I had for the list above. I went back and checked all the '90s lists, and I see that it's because in every year there was a #2 or #3 or #4 finisher that I liked better than the winner, sometimes a whole lot better. An alternate list drawn from the three yearly runners-up:

1990 - "Nothing Compares 2 U"
1991 - "O.P.P."
1992 - "Jump Around" or "Jump"
1993 - "Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang"
1994 - "Fantastic Voyage"
1995 - "Connection"
1996 - "1979"
1997 - "Tubthumping"
1998 - "Doo Wop (That Thang)"
1999 - "Beautiful Stranger"

'95-'97 are a wash--I like the also-rans a little better, but none of them mean that much to me. '91 and '94 are also a wash, but this time because winner and also-ran are both monumental. (Again, though, right now I'd rather hear the also-ran.) In the other five years, the also-rans swamp the winners for me. No real point here, other than I was confused as to why the winners list didn't jibe with my general feelings about the decade, and now I understand why--many of my favorite singles from the decade just missed winning Pazz & Jop.

what are some of your favorites? Just curious.

clemenza's list is distcintly superior to #1's imo

How did I never know that Q-Tip is the rapper on "Groove Is in the Heart"??

Here was my decade-end list at the time:

1. "Reality Used to Be a Friend of Mine," P.M. Dawn (1991)
2. "Jump Around," House of Pain (1992)
3. "Summertime," D.J. Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince (1991)
4. "Let's Get Down," Tony Toni Tone (1996)
5. "Right Here (Human Nature)," SWV (1993)
6. "O.P.P.," Naughty by Nature (1991)
7. "Self Esteem," Offspring (1994)
8. "Freak Like Me," Adina Howard (1995)
9. "Walking Contradiction," Green Day (1996)
10. "Fantastic Voyage," Coolio (1994)

I don't think there's a song on there that I don't still love, but needless to say, there'd be some changes 10 years later--I spent the '00s catching up on a lot of stuff I missed, and my tastes became more...boring!

that IS a great list.

Unfortunately, as time goes on, the SWVs and Tony Toni Tones and Adina Howards get replaced by the Yo La Tengos and Imperial Teens and whatnot. Like I say, more boring. I miss caring about the radio. I think I even miss caring about videos.

You'll get no complaint about sticking Imperial Teen on a list. "You're One" and "Lipstick" would be in my top thirty.

lovelovelove YLT but do not remove SWV from yr list! DO NOT!!!!

that thang
that thang
that thaaaaaaang

reality used to be a friend of mine <3333333

i think a top 10 of the 90s thread would be a dope thread imo

...until you saw what other people put on their lists

ha

breeders followed v closely by nirvana and deee-lite...

"I can smell the tranquil breezes from a mile away" is such a poetic line imo

LOSER

..is a novelty song that has dated badly.

smh

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdzY49xlvdY

Thurston: "So Beck, uh, your song Loser, man, it's a smash hit. How do you feel about that?"
Beck: "It's like, uh, surfing in some oil spillage. Smash. Smashing."

I have to stick up for "Loser," which a few people have knocked. I actually think it sounds better than ever. There are two or three Beck songs I love even more, but for me, it's held up spectacularly.

it's okaay; I mean, some of the jokes are still funny. It's almost as good as Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm, but the basic idea behind the song has lost its flavor long ago. I'll be honest: No Scrubs was the badly needed-rebuttal that pretty much rendered this song completely obsolete, even though I really don't care much for that song either.

i LOVE the idea of "no scrubs" as rebuttal of "loser"

cuz there's nothing else you need to say to it, really

Only if you take "Loser" at face value, I guess.

Wow--it never occurred to me that "No Scrubs" was connected in any way to "Loser." (It was never a favorite, so I never listened all that closely.) Will give it a listen when I get home.

xp Or TLC cutting through all of Beck's boot-throwing, irony b.s. like the Gordian knot it was...

"Could be interpreted as..."--I realize you're not saying it's specifically an answer song.

^right

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqiYAp4hxAU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJYL4odVu3s

my brain just broke trying to imagine Beck hanging out of a car's passenger window shouting HEY NICE TITS

good thread! Cannonball is my personal favourite but maybe I should be factoring in ~cultural significance~ more, as Cannonball had basically none in the UK, and I do love several others on the list too

"No Scrubs": okay, I can see the connection. Strange, but until I looked it up on YouTube, I literally couldn't remember how it went. (I knew it was ubiquitous at the time, and that I'd remember it instantaneously, but until I checked I wasn't able to hear it in my mind.) Nice, better than I thought at the time. But I'd still take "Loser" in a second. And it has very little to do with the words, which are pretty much what they've always been: some great lines ("a couple of couches, sleep on the loveseat"), a couple that make me cringe, a lot of random randomness. It's the sound of "Loser" that still grabs me. On the one station that still plays it here, as soon as the slide guitar (simulation of a slide guitar?) starts up, I automatically reach for the volume and turn it way up. It's such an odd artifact that immediately captures that time for me.

I've never liked the sound of it at all. I'm more of a "New Pollution" guy.

xp actually clemenza I agree with you on that front; the best part of Loser is probably the acid/junk guitar/hip hop loop hook; it's pretty great. Loser is not my least favorite thing on here, but the lyrics and message of the song does tie it to a pretty specific time and ethos. I do think it's pretty overrated and thereby could not resist slagging it, but it's probably on the level of something like Whiter Shade of Pale or White Rabbit, though I actually like those two songs way more and don't really consider them novelties. But they too sound great while being tied to a very specific moment in pop music history.

btw Rev--Devil's Haircut all the way.*

yeah i almost said that one instead

I heard loser on the radio today at work and thought about it for a long time

mostly just about the quality of the one-liners

voted 'groove is in the heart'

I like "Devil's Haircut" too. My favorites from the first two albums are "Pay No Mind" and "Jackass."

"A Whiter Shade of Pale" is actually a pretty good comparison. Not that they sound at all similar, but it also has some dated and clunky lines, and also instantaneously evokes a specific moment anyway. It's the favorite song of an amazing co-worker of mine who saw the Beatles at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1964.

I've been sitting here relistening to old Beck songs on the hard drive, and I realize one of the reasons I still have good feelings about him: he was a big deal who stopped being a big deal, and ever since he seems a little sad and lost.

isn't whiter shade of pale about some dude whipping his dick out at a cookout?

not sure, but if so then Procol Harum is definitely the winner!

i know it's one of those songs where i found out what it was about (not "drugs") and it was really mundane and totally cast the song in a new light, like all those mccartney songs about his dogs.

ok not quite but whatever: Reid got the title and the starting point for the song at a party.[6] He overheard someone at the party saying to a woman, "You've turned a whiter shade of pale," and the phrase stuck in his mind.[7][8] The original lyrics had four verses, of which only two are heard on the original recording. The third verse has been heard in live performances by Procol Harum, and more seldom also the fourth.[9] The author of Procol Harum: beyond the pale, Claes Johansen, suggests that the song "deals in metaphorical form with a male/female relationship which after some negotiation ends in a sexual act."[8] This is supported by Tim de Lisle in Lives of the Great Songs, who remarks that the lyrics concern a drunken seduction, which is described through references to sex as a form of travel, usually nautical, using mythical and literary journeys.[10] Other observers have also commented that the lyrics concern a sexual relationship.[7]

the lyrics concern a drunken seduction, which is described through references to sex as a form of travel, usually nautical, using mythical and literary journeys

I think that finally clears up "Loser," too.

I always thought it was based off of some poem...(Whiter Shade of Pale that is)

"in a time of chimpanzees i was a monkey" is definitely some whip yr dick out at the cookout style

big deal who stopped being a big deal, and ever since he seems a little sad and lost.

Pretty much describes most pop stars, though, right?

feel hecka pissed that i was deprived of 'the train' for so many years

why was this not a hit in england?

ridic

Pretty much describes most pop stars, though, right?

True enough, but Beck looks like a little puppy dog, so it's especially touching.

I don't know about The Train; it's a fun dance song for sure, but I kind of feel that P&J shoulda went all out & put the Macarena at #1.

lol, yes i agree. it's pleasant but i don't get the love for that song. macarena is monstrous.

20. Right here right now - Fatboy Slim

Single in like April 1999, and quite obviously not a patch on 'Rockerfeller' or 'Everybody Needs A...' or 'I See You Baby' or 'Renegade Master'...

― Enrique (Enrique), Monday, January 5, 2004 11:37 AM (6 years ago) Bookmark

^^ comes correct

I heard "No Scrubs" on the radio today--part of a DJ mix--and on second thought, I think the connection to "Loser"'s a bit of a stretch. They're blowing off guys who hang out car windows and bellow obscenities; they've got the more boorish characters who populate hip-hop and hard rock records in mind. Not that Beck's loser-slacker is any kind of a prize, but he's a different archetype--same point, I think, that apassingspacecadet was making above, which I missed initially.

"c'mon and ride the train" is so jam-packed. it sounds like if basement jaxx were from florida.

You mean Basement Jaxx aren't from Florida??

they rep south dakota

they're from Hialeah.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

talk about a drop off at 1997.

the fuck is with these month long polls

the better to absorb the cultural impact of Eiffel 65's hair

I have never heard of Quad City DJs.

All the same, it was a tough choice, but went with Dee-Lite, as it's one of the best pop-dance songs ever written.

its kind of fun as display name time capsule at the very least

this was pretty easy. MMMBop.

i guess i should finally vote for something -- it's hard because tbh i feel kind of ambivalent and/or sick of even the good ones here. "Cannonball" i guess? that one i'd definitely leave on if it came on the radio, which i can't say for most of the others.

Yes! vote 'Cannonball'!!

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

"Tennessee" is better than half these songs.

agreed, the album winning is an alltime lol but 'tennessee' itself is fantastic, the only thing i loved by them.

Exactly.

I'd rather TLC be tied with Beck rather than Quad City DJs, and all grumbling about Arrested Development's goose-egg otm, but I'm pretty happy w/ the top 3 here

cannonball def split the nirvana vote

dammit, tennessee is a great song. i feel bad now. 'groove is in the heart' deserved the gong, but i didn't vote for it.

smh @ tlc getting so few votes

I love AD and all but you'd have to be pretty crazy to vote for them when given these choices

I wanted to do a "worst pazz and jop winner ever" poll, but it's so obviously "Sun City"

aint gonna vote sun city

Hanson was robbed.

worst ever from the past decade no doubt

I voted for the winner, but kinda anticlimactic for first 90s year to take this poll? still, deee-lite seem very 2010s to me for some reason, unlike almost every other entrant except maybe beck or fatboy slim

deeelite is cool but quad city 4 all time

these results are correct imo

I'm mostly interested in this poll to see how many votes "Tennessee" will get. Nobody will admit to voting for it and then it'll get five votes and finish higher than, say, "Gangsta's Paradise" and "Mmmm Bop".

I don't think it's a bad song

i almost voted for "Tennessee," it definitely in my top 4 out of these options

A GAME OF HORSESHOES

HORSESHOES HORSESHOES

prob my #3 after qcdjs/deee-lite

wish this was somehow my life

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_Zi-YSW3aQ&feature=player_embedded#!

swag this guy out

http://www.gifsoup.com/imager.php?id=1468076