The first time I heard “Hypnotize” on the radio, I knew it was gonna be huge. Biggie’s impeccable flow had seemingly improved in the two-plus years since he’d released his debut Ready To Die. Puff Daddy and his Hitmen sampled Herb Alpert’s 1979 disco hit “Rise” in a way that had equal appeal to the… Read More “Hypnotize” by The Notorious B.I.G. (1997)
Before John Mellencamp began taking himself a mite too seriously, he was just a fun rocker guy who hit on a massive earworm with summer ’82’s “Hurts So Good”. “Hurts” broke him wide open, catapulting its parent album American Fool to the top of the album charts and peaking at #2 on Billboard’s Top 100.… Read More “Hurts So Good” by John Cougar (Mellencamp) (1982)
Trent Reznor’s tortured, angry persona got old for me pretty quick for a couple of reasons. One; a performative aspect began to creep into it after Nine Inch Nails achieved massive mainstream success, and two; the bloat of 1997’s The Fragile was a major turn-off. It just seemed like too much to get through). With… Read More “Hurt” by Nine Inch Nails (1994)
“Hungry Like The Wolf” was the first time many of us in America heard of Duran Duran. Perhaps more importantly, “Hungry Like The Wolf” marked the first time many Americans saw Duran Duran. And while there was certainly a contingent of people who saw the Fab Five as major eye candy (like my cousin Antoinette… Read More “Hungry Like The Wolf” by Duran Duran (1982)
The inclusion of “Hungry Heart” on this list gave me a little bit of internal tumult. By adding it, was I trying to puff up my Springsteen bona fides? Or my rock bona fides? Was my intention to include it based on the nostalgia of it being the first Springsteen song I was aware of?… Read More “Hungry Heart” by Bruce Springsteen (1980)
Folks, the early ‘90s were a much simpler, more innocent time. It was a time in which you could believe that Shock G, the mastermind behind Oakland-based funk/rap collective Digital Underground and Humpty Hump, the outfit’s Groucho-nosed comedian, were two different people. At least I believed they were two different people. What can I say?… Read More “The Humpty Dance” by Digital Underground (1990)
When I was a kid, there were definitely people that cast aspersions on Michael Jackson’s sexuality. In the late ‘70s and ‘80s, the “Michael is gay” rumors were prevalent, to the point that a rumor floated (and was published) that MJ had actually undergone a sex change operation. Allegedly, the sex change was so that… Read More “Human Nature” by Michael Jackson (1982)
I remember at the height of “Human”‘s success, someone (I’m fairly sure it was Donnie Simpson on BET’s “Video Soul”, but I’m not 100% positive) remarking that it was the “hardest” sounding slow jam that he’d ever heard. That’s the truth. Slow jams were…well, soft. “Human” was sensitive, but the beat kicked. Producers Jimmy Jam… Read More “Human” by The Human League (1986)
“How Will I Know” was the song that made Whitney Houston America’s sweetheart. And as calculated as Clive Davis’s plan to make her a superstar were (release a couple of singles that solidified a base of R&B fans before making an all-out pop push), it worked. And it worked with a great song, even if… Read More “How Will I Know” by Whitney Houston (1985)
I don’t know if you’ve ever lost a friend to suicide. I’ve lost several; off the top of my head I can count four in the last seven years. And in at least one of those cases, I feel as though there’s something I could’ve done to save them, or something that I did do… Read More “How To Save A Life” by The Fray (2005)
Five Star Jamz 