“wat are you doing new year’s eve?”—ella fitzgerald / everyone who hates planning, begrudgingly
Wu-Tang Clang - C.R.E.A.M.
The Clan first became known to hip hop fans, and to major record labels, in 1993 (see 1993 in music) following the release of the independent single “Protect Ya Neck”, which immediately gave the group a sizable underground following. Though there was some difficulty in finding a record label that would sign Wu-Tang Clan while still allowing each member to record solo albums with other labels, Loud/RCA finally agreed, releasing their debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), in late 1993. This album was popular and critically-acclaimed, though it took some time to gain momentum. The success of Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers established the group as a creative and influential force in early 1990s hip hop, allowing Ol’ Dirty Bastard, GZA, RZA, Raekwon, Method Man and Ghostface Killah to negotiate solo contracts.
It’s vintage music video time again! Edgy alternative artist Fiona Apple was born on this day in 1977, so to celebrate her 33rd birthday, here is the video for her most widely appreciated single, “Criminal”. ”Criminal” was released as the single for Apple’s 1996 album Tidal. It was the single that launched Apple into media spotlight—something, as we all discovered, that she had, and still has, an incredible amount of disdain for.
The video for “Criminal”, directed by Mark Romanek, is blatantly provocative and gave the public their first shocking encounter with Apple’s style. The video was extremely popular with MTV, and later that year, Apple was invited to accept an award for Best New Artist at the MTV Video Music Awards. While accepting her award, Apple delivered a very accusatory, spontaneous speech, in which she blamed MTV for having too much of an influence on the world, which she described as being “bullshit”. Although she received much criticism for her actions, Apple has said that she doesn’t regret anything about that night; she simply explained, “I just had something on my mind and I just said it”.
Regardless of Apple’s view towards her fame and the media, “Criminal” is a song that has rightfully claimed its spot in music history. Just like Apple, both the song, and its music video, are bare and vulnerable—full of emotion and turmoil. The jazz-inspired piano and low, sultry vocals provided by Apple perfectly portray the character spoken of in the lyrics—a girl who does bad things, regrets them, but most likely goes right back and does them again. With the outspoken, wavering persona Apple has taken on in the spotlight, one can’t help but to think that she’s a bit of a “criminal” herself.
-Leah Creary
Vintage music video time! This is the official video for Green Day’s “Basketcase”, which was released on their hit album Dookie in 1994. The video was shot in an actual mental institution in California, that had been completely abandoned at the time. It was also originally shot in black and white—color was added during editing, in order to add a layer of surrealism to the video. Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong wrote this song about his own struggles with anxiety; he has said that during the time the song was written, he often felt as though he might be going crazy.
To this day, Dookie is still Green Day’s best-selling album—selling 10 million copies in the United States alone. The album produced five chart-topping singles, and earned Green Day a Grammy for Best Alternative Album in 1995. At the time it was released, many die-hard fans felt that members of Green Day had completely sold out due to the album’s popularity. I, for one, am grateful that Green Day were given the credit they deserve for a solid album that is appreciated just as much today as it was over ten years ago.
-Leah Creary
Audio
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via musichistory
“A.B.C.’s, Pts. 1 & 2” by Smilin’ Joe [1954]
Cousin Joe Pleasant (born Pleasant Joseph) was more than your average New Orleans juke joint singer. In 1931 the 23-year-old landed a spot as a dancer at Louis Prima’s club (where he met nine-year-old dancer Earl Palmer). He played ukulele and guitar in Sidney Bechet’s band in St. Louis the early 1940s. Later that decade he worked at a number of major labels in New York, recording sessions with the likes of Earl Bostic and Hot Lips Page. In 1945 he even auditioned to replace Deek Watson in The Ink Spots.
In the late ’40s Joe returned to his native New Orleans. He recorded a number of sessions in the early 1950s for the Imperial label in which he was backed by some of New Orleans most famous musicians. By the time “Smilin’ Joe” recorded the two part “A.B.C.s” in 1954, kid dancer Earl Palmer had become the best drummer in New Orleans. He backed his old friend on many of his early ’50s sides. Palmer played a key role in the transition from New Orleans R&B to rock and roll. He had played on (among many other classic songs) Fats Domino’s “The Fat Man” in 1950, Lloyd Price’s “Lawdy Miss Clawdy” in ‘52 and would play on both Smiley Lewis’ “I Hear You Knockin’” and Little Richard’s breakthrough hit “Tutti Frutti” in 1955.
Cousin’ Joe went on to perform regularly in New Orleans and across Europe while Palmer became arguably the most coveted session drummer in rock history.
If I’m ever in danger of forgetting how ridiculously amazing the 60s was for pop music, a new song will appear out of nowhere and blow me away. Something about the era created an apparently bottomless well of open, ungarnished and instantly gratifying pop songs, which I keep stumbling into and thinking ‘Why the hell have I never heard this one before?’
‘My Guy’ by Mary Wells is extremely simple, highly repetitive, and absolutely inspired; 3 minutes of all anyone could ask for from a pop song. Ed O’Brien (of Radiohead fame) selected it as his choice for a space-themed mixtape in an interview with Adam Buxton, which is where I first heard it. Asked what the song actually had to do with space, O’Brien replied that the connection was cinematic - he pictured in his mind a scene in which the astronaut is standing on the surface of the moon and gazing at the Earth, and rather than soundtracking this grandeur with thumping Strauss à la 2001, the song that starts playing to capture the moment is ‘My Guy’.
