40 - "Music of My Heart," Gloria Estefan featuring 'N Sync
39 - "Bring it All to Me," Blaque
38 - "Cowboy," Kid Rock
37 - "Shake Your Bon-Bon," Ricky Martin
36 - "The Rockafeller Skank," Fatboy Slim
35 - "Hanginaround," Counting Crows
34 - "Girl on TV," LFO33 - "That's the Way it Is," Celine Dion
32 - "My Love is Your Love," Whitney Houston
31 - "What's My Age Again," Blink-182
We'll begin with two songs fearuting contributions from N' Sync. First, they teamed up with Gloria Estefan for a treacly ballad from the soundtrack of Music of the Heart, a film in which Meryl Streep teaches violin in Harlem. It was directed by none other than horrormeister Wes Craven. That fact is way more interesting than this song. And the Syncsters' JC Chasez guests on the biggest hit by Atlanta R&B trio Blaque, a song in which the women don't care about JC's "thug appeal." I had no idea he had such a thing.
Three male solo acts are here. Robert James Ritchie came from suburban Detroit, became a rapper, and released his major-label debut in 1990, when he was only 19. It bombed, he was dropped, and it took him most of the rest of the decade to get another shot at the big time. But when he did, it was with a mix of rap and Southern rock that propelled his Devil Without a Cause CD to multiplatinum sales. His hit here epitomizes that sound, with pimp-and-ho imagery combined with a swampy rock track. I just have two questions for Mr. Rock regarding the lyrics to this song. One, what are "all the right reasons" to start an escort service? And two, what kind of words of wisdom are "Radio edit?" Anyway, too bad about Romney losing, Kid. Puerto Rican Ricky Martin had been a successful Spanish-language artist before and after leaving Menudo, but it wasn't 1999 until he broke through to the Anglo market. His entry here was the third single from his eponymous album, and it's the one that time has been least kind to. First of all, out of all the silly euphemisms for the female rump that humanity has come up with over the years, "bon-bon" has to be one of the most laughable. And lyrics like "Up in the Himilayas/Come on I wanna lay ya," don't help matters. I must admit, however, that I do kind of like his 1998 World Cup anthem "The Cup of Life." And British DJ Norman Cook had his second major American hit with this dance track built on a surf guitar line and a snatch of rap from a self-proclaimed "funk soul brother." The song had already been used frequently in films and commercials before becomins a radio hit, so people did get a little burned out on it. But now that it's time of ubiquity has long passed, it stands up as a fun little floor-filler.
Three groups also call this section home. Counting Crows picked up another hit with this fun little rock groove about laziness. It's probably my favorite song of theirs, because it's so loose and casual, and they seem to be actually enjoying themselves for once. The Massachussets trio whose initials stood for Lyte Funky Ones had their second and last Top Ten with what I would say is probably the worst popular song of this particular era of boy bands. Terrible lyrics, an awful lead vocal, pathetic rapping. Plus it's apparently about Jennifer Love Hewitt, who I've never liked. At least "Summer Girls" is almost charming in its spectacular stupidity. This is just bad. And California punk-poppers Blink-182 had their first major pop hit with this ode to prolonged adolescence and how girls don't like it when you prank-call their mothers claiming you're a cop who's arrested their husbands. Silly, but crazily catchy, and probably still the best thing they've ever put out.
We finish this first quarter with two female superstars. Celine Dion had her last U.S. Top Ten pop hit with this fizzy little lite-pop tune about believing in yourself and having faith and stuff. And our good Swedish friend Max Martin co-wrote and co-produced it. The guy has the touch. And Whitney Houston had her last pop Top Five with this midtempo ballad, co-written and co-produced by Wyclef Jean of the Fugees, about how she can get through anything as long as she is with the one she loves, the one with whom she has a bond so strong that "the chains of Amistad couldn't hold us." If you don't know what Amistad is, Google it. Or go find the Spielberg movie. Anyway, this was probably her last really good song.
29 - "Angels Would Fall," Melissa Etheridge
28 - "Angels," Robbie Williams
27 - "Bailamos," Enrique Iglesias
26 - "Candy," Mandy Moore
25 - "She's All I Ever Had," Ricky Martin
24 - "I Wanna Love You Forever," Jessica Simpson
23 - "Heartbreaker," Mariah Carey featuring Jay-Z
22 - "American Woman," Lenny Kravitz
21 - "Will 2K," Will Smith featuring K-Ci
This section includes just one band, and two "Solo acts featuring X," so I'm lumping them together. Seattle grunge stars Pearl Jam had their biggest pop hit with this cover of J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers 1964 hit about teenage traffic tragedy. Certainly not representative of the band's overall sound, but Eddie Vedder treats it seriously instead of with winking irony, and it works. Mariah Carey had her whopping 14th Number One hit with this slinky "Can't live with you, can't live without you" jam that features a guest rhyme from one Shawn Carter, who was then just a mere rapper. Now he's an entertainment mogul, a clothing-line owner, and the part-owner of the Brooklyn Nets. Oh, and he's also married to Beyonce. I suppose he's doing all right for himself. And Will Smith is here, with vocal assistance from K-Ci of Jodeci, celebrating the coming New Year's Eve and the start of what he calles the "Willennium." Unlike some people, he wasn't letting millennial anxiety dampen his enthusiasm for the massive celebration to come. "Chaos, the cops gonna block the street? Man, who the hell cares? Just don't stop the beat." he declares. That attitude makes the song's extensive use of The Clash's "Rock the Casbah" almost appropriate.
Three solo women are in this group. Melissa Etheridge had one of her last pop hits with this song that was apparently inspired by feelings she had toward another woman while she was in the process of splitting up with longtime partner Julie Cypher. That kind of raw emotion usually works in her favor, and it does again in this case. One of her best. Nashua, New Hamspshire's Mandy Moore was part of a wave of teenage female pop singers that sprang up in the wake of Britney Spears, and she was only 15 when she scored her first hit with this dance pop confection (pun intended). Not much here, and she didn't have all that much musical success afterward. But she has had a decent acting career, so I guess she came out ahead. And Dallas' Jessica Simpson rode that same wave, despite being a relatively ancient 19 when she debuted with this sexy ballad. I wasn't that familiar with it, and frankly, I was surprised at how well she sings on it. I'd never thought she was that good on her other stuff, but this actually shows some skills. She'd have more overall musical success than Mandy Moore, but that's kind of gotten lost over the years amid weight battles, Tony Romo, and "Is this chicken or fish?"
We finish the first half with four guys. Robbie Williams never broke through in America to the extent he did in the rest of the world, but he did pick up a couple of midsize radio hits there in 1999, one of which was this anthemic ballad about hoping for otherworldly protection and love. It fell short of hitting #1 in Britain, but it has grown in stature to the point where it is considered one of the greatest pop songs that country has produced in recent years. I'm not sure I'd go that far, but it's a fine song, sung well. Another of 1999's major pop trends was the "Latin Explosion," and one of those poised to capitalize on that was the son of Spanish superstar Julio Iglesias. Enrique's first English hit ironically had a Spanish title (translation: "We Dance"), but was otherwise typical, accented loverman crooning over flamencoey guitars. Not my thing, but better than that Jersey Shore song, for sure. Ricky Martin was arguably the leader of the whole Latin-pop wave, and he makes his second appearance this week with a ballad about a woman who's really, really important to him. Possibly the one song of his that still kind of holds up, even though we know now that the gender of the person he was singing about isn't the same one he's attracted to. And Lenny Kravitz is here with a choppy cover of the Guess Who's 1970 #1 that wasn't about a female at all but rather the United States itself ("I don't need your war machines, I don't need your ghetto scenes"). Like I've said before, I like it when a cover version tries to differ from the original, and I'll give Lenny credit for trying, but I'm not a fan of this at all. The rage of the original is blunted into bland lite-funk artificiality. But at least Burton and Randy must have made some good coin from the royalties.
In Part Two: a cynical commericial ploy works spectacularly well, more examples of those trends we discussed today, and what I consider to be one of the great one-hit wonders of all time.
No comments:
Post a Comment