Old School
My Top 3 Hip-Hop Songs of All Time
Sep 2nd
If you had to choose your top three rap / hip-hop songs of all time, what would they be? As I got on down to my Old School Mix at the gym today, that question worked its way into my head. My top two came to me immediately. The third took a few more seconds of thinking.
My selections all came out in either 1986 or 1987. Many years have passed, and many great hip-hop songs have come along. But when all’s said and done, these three still do it for me. There are a lot of great old school tunes from this era, but a lot of ‘em haven’t aged too well. I’m talking to you Whistle, UTFO, and Boogie Boys. But the three classics below definitely stand the test of time.
How ’bout you? Whether you’re a fan of hip-hop or not – if you had to pick, what would your top three be? Speak, people!
My Top 3 Hip-Hop Songs of all Damn Time
#3: “Paul Revere” (mp3) – Beastie Boys / “Fight For Your Right” and “No Sleep Til Brooklyn” were the early mass favorites from Licensed to Ill
#2: “Peter Piper” (mp3) – Run-DMC / As far as crossover appeal goes, 1986 was a monumental year in hip-hop. Licensed to Ill was released in the spring, and in the summer, Run-DMC released Raising Hell
#1: “I Know You Got Soul” (mp3) – Eric B. & Rakim / The summer of ‘87 was when I met my high school sweetheart, and also the summer that Eric B. & Rakim’s Paid in Full
If you’re interested, I just re-posted my Old School Mix here. Please – when Too Short’s “Freaky Tales” hits, make sure your mother isn’t around. It’s about as NSFW as a song can be.
Peter Piper / Take Me To The Mardi Gras
Jun 23rd
Show of hands: who knows the genesis of the bell & percussion groove of Run-DMC’s “Peter Piper”?
I stumbled on it tonight. I was listening to Afrika Bambaata’s radio show on Sirius Backspin on the way home from work today. He was playing short clips of some of his favorites from back in the day. He played a minute or so of “Nautilus” by Bob James. Nice funky, jazzy little groove. I went on to Blip.fm to track it down. Didn’t find it, but I did see “Take Me To The Mardis Gras”.
I clicked it, and – lo & behold – the source of “Peter Piper”! The song itself was written by Paul Simon, released a year earlier (1973) on Simon’s ‘There Goes Rhymin’ Simon‘. Bob James added that memorable percussion and his own flair to the song on 1974’s Two.
Bob James has to be flattered, but I also think he’d be pissed to know that people go their lifetimes not knowing that his creation is the backbone of one of the classics of early hip-hop.
Bob James / “Take Me to the Mardi Gras” (Blip.fm) from 1974’s Two
Sounds from the Old School (Electro Mix-Tape)
Mar 3rd
I took some time this past weekend to dive into some old school hip hop sites, and uncovered some gems. Don’t even get me started about Original Underground Hip-Hop, where S.O.U.L. posts a staggering amount of old school mixes (two a day since I subscribed). Go over and take a look, you’ll be blown away.
But tonight I have to share a mix I found on DJ Dee-Ville’s blog, Ain’t It Good To You. I’m a little nutty about 80’s electro, particularly artists like Egyptian Lover, the Soulsonic Force, and Man Parrish. So stumbling across an hour and 20 minute long mix dedicated to electro was like strikin’ gold, people. Someone out there has to be feeling this too!
DJ Dee-Ville’s It’s Electro!! Mix (mp3)
Here’s the track listing…
Two great sites to get your old school fix: Ain’t It Good To You and Original Underground Hip-Hop. Have fun…
Ickmusic’s Old School Mix
Jan 23rd
I’ve been itchin’ for a while to put together a nice little collection of my old school favorites. In the mid 80’s, I was in my mid teens when I became obsessed with a. Prince and b. the rap/hip-hop of the day. These are some of the songs I came of age with. Now, some of my favorites included some not so PG material. In fact, some of it was downright foul. Too Short’s “Freaky Tales” is the biggest offender here, followed closely by that 2 Live Crew classic “We Want Some P***y”. But hey, I gotta keep it real, people!
Enjoy…
Ickmusic’s Old School Mix (mp3 – about 71MB)
Playlist:
Run D.M.C. – “Peter Piper” (from Raising Hell
LL Cool J – “Rock the Bells” (from Radio
Whodini – “Funky Beat” (from Back in Black
Public Enemy – “Public Enemy Number 1″ (from Yo! Bum Rush the Show
Doug E. Fresh & Slick Rick – “La Di Da Di” (from The Show / La-Di-Da-Di
Schoolly D – “Saturday Night” (from The Best of Schoolly D
Eric B. & Rakim – “I Know You Got Soul” (from Paid in Full
UTFO – “Roxanne Roxanne” (from UTFO
Too Short – “Freaky Tales” (from Born to Mack
Beastie Boys – “Hold It Now, Hit It” (from Licensed to Ill
2 Live Crew – “We Want Some P***y” (from 2 Live Crew Is What We Are
Sirius Backspin Will Return, and doggone it if it ain’t raining
Dec 16th
As a guy who came of age in the classic age of early hip-hop, aka the 80’s – I was seriously bummed when Sirius’ Backspin channel was canned after the Sirius – XM merger. Sirius and XM did a pretty good job of consolidating, and holding on to the genres, whether on the Sirius or XM side. Old School Rap, unfortunately, was a casualty with no replacement on the XM side.
Fast forward to today’s press release, that, due to subscriber complaints, Backspin will make a triumphant return on January 15th! Sweet! I can can get my fix of the greats: Kurtis Blow, Doug E. Fresh, Eric B. & Rakim, Grandmaster Flash, and all the other Old School pioneers.
1/19 Update: Backspin is indeed back. I confirmed today. It doesn’t show up in the menu yet (probably not until Sirus-XM’s next update, whenever that is). You can find it on Channel 39 on the Sirius side.
Stay tuned for an Old School mix I’m putting together, featuring a bunch of my favorites from the era.
So the question you’re asking yourself at this point is: “Why the photo of Keith Sweat in a lightning storm?” Well, Keith is most definitely old school, and something rare has come to the my hometown – Rain. I’m talking all day, steady, beautiful rain. And since the late 80’s, when Make It Last Forever was released, “In the Rain” has been one of my favorite rain songs. Okay, yes, I know Zeppelin’s “Rain Song” is legendary, and so is CCR’s “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” and “Who’ll Stop the Rain”, and of course, Prince’s “Purple Rain”.
Buut, old Keith’s rain tune always pops into my head when the rain falls, which isn’t very often in these parts. Listen to Keith’s rain song, won’t you?
Keith Sweat – “In the Rain” (mp3)
From the 1987 album, Make It Last Forever
Public Enemy at Pitchfork’s Festival
Jul 26th
In the annals of classic hip-hop, last week’s Public Enemy show at the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago has to go down in the books as Historic.
Chuck D., Flava Flav and the boys performed their classic, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, in its entirety.
Here’s “Rebel Without a Pause”…
I saw P.E. perform “Rebel” 20 years ago at a concert in Milwaukee with LL Cool J and Whodini (and..?) – long before the hipsters grabbed hold of “It Takes a Nation…” Aren’t I awesome?
Old School Friday
Jul 11th
My geeky music life just got geekier. You know the new iPhone came out today. Well, those of us with “old” iPhone get the 2.0 upgrade gratis, which includes the App Store – which includes a ton of free apps made exclusively for iPhone. The coolest, in my humble opinion? Remote!
By downloading the free Remote app, I can now control my iTunes from anywhere in the house. I’ve had the Airport Express, which lets me stream my iTunes to any stereo inside or outside my house. So how does Remote enhance the experience? It means when I’m out washing my car in the driveway, and Manilow’s “Mandy” comes blasting through the speakers, I can coyly hit the “Next” button.
Sweet.
But that was now and this was then…
George Clinton – “Do Fries Go With That Shake?”
The System – “Don’t Disturb This Groove”
Beastie Boys – “Hey Ladies
Everybody all aboard
Mar 2nd
The Gap Band. Venice Beach 1983. Charlie Wilson dancing in the surf in a Speedo.
Yep, Spring is in the air.
Shaq joins the Suns – Sports Music
Feb 12th
I’m a baseball fan above all else, but I have to say, my hometown team’s recent trade for Shaquille O’Neal has me pretty excited to watch more Phoenix Suns basketball. The Suns are the second best team in basketball as it is – thanks in large part to the guy they just traded away to the Heat – Shawn Marion. But something tells me things are going to get even better with Shaq on our side. And you Heat fans must be a happy bunch picking up someone of the caliber of Marion.
This of course segues into sports music. The only basketball song I can think of is Kurtis Blow’s “Basketball”, with his shout out to the greats of the day: “Dantley and Wilkins are on the scene, And Ralph Sampson is really mean!” Who’s Dantley?
Are there any other basketball songs out there? For baseball, all I can think of off the top of my head are “Centerfield” by John Fogerty, and Bob Dylan’s “Catfish”. Football…. yep, the “Super Bowl Shuffle”. Ah – Steve Earle’s “No. 29″. What else in the way of pop/rock sports-themed tunes?
Kurtis Blow – Basketball (LastFM)
Bob Dylan – Catfish (LastFM)
John Fogerty – Centerfield (LastFM)
Old School Friday: Lisa Lisa!
Jan 11th
It would be interesting to investigate the history of Old School Friday, and how often it correlates directly with an after work happy hour. I’m pretty sure the former has always been accompanied by the latter. So who am I to mess with destiny?
Tonight, we forget about Britney Spears and her paparazzi boy toy; we forget about Huckabees and Romneys and O’Reillys; we forget about the fact that I live in a country where Howie Mandel and Jeff Foxworthy have hit prime time game shows in the year 2008. Yes, my friends , we go back to a simpler time…
Lisa Velez was a latina teenager from the Hell’s Kitchen area of Manhattan when she was introduced to the strapping young lads from Full Force: Paul Anthony, Bow-Legged Lou, Shy Shy and friends. When they heard her sing, they dubbed her Lisa Lisa, and put her together with a roadie from Full Force (Mike Hughes) and a friend, Alex “Spanador” Moseley (is there a better nickname than Spanador? I think not).
Full Force produced Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam’s first hit single, “I Wonder If I Take You Home”, which became a pop and R&B hit during the summer of 1985. They would go on to have success with singles like “Can You Feel the Beat”, “All Cried Out”, and “Lost in Emotion”.
Checking out Lisa Lisa’ web sites tonight, it looks like she’s still going strong, doing some singing and acting, and even planning a tour in 2008.
And she still looks great – holy crap I feel 15 again!
Grrreeeowrrr…..
Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam (w/ Full Force) – I Wonder If I Take You Home (mp3)
Buy
Full Force – Old Flames Never Die (mp3)
Buy
Links:
- Lisa Lisa’s Official Site | MySpace
- Full Force’s Official Site
Video: “Can You Feel the Beat”
Video: “Lost in Emotion”
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