Beavis and Butthead summed it up nicely: Color Me Badd is "that band with Kenny G, George Michael, and Snow."
Michael Parr
· 1 month ago
Does it make me a wuss that I've listened to every track (save for the Aaron Neville tune) on this week's Chart Attack in the last 30 days... from my own music library.
jasonhare
· 1 month ago
By my standards, it makes you awesome, but my standards are highly suspect.
musichelpweb
· 1 month ago
"there are certain elements I don’t think you’d ever find in a Prince song, most notably that awful rap that name-checks the band."
Oh man, you're wrong there...check out Prince rapping on any album between "Graffiti Bridge" and "Emancipation", and I guarantee you there will be several Prince (and numerous New Power Generation) name-checks.
My favorite line in "Do Anything" is when Niki Harris says "make it smooth to the groove like sandwich bread"...HUH?
Like Michael below, my music library is crammed with these songs...I unashamedly admit to owning all of these songs except for Bryan Adams (strange that this song isn't on either of his single-disc greatest hits albums) and Aaron Neville (because the mole frightens me...actually because the song sucks...but the mole does indeed frighten me.
Besides, this stuff is "Abbey Road" compared to the shite in the Top 10 these days.
jasonhare
· 1 month ago
Thanks for the correction. Clearly I haven't listened to a lot of Prince. But does he do it the way Natural Selection does? He'd have to end the rap with "Baby, let me be your Prince" or "Con Edison is a part of the New Power Generation" or something where he's jumping up and down thinking "I'm so clever!"
twostepcub
· 4 weeks ago
Well, he DID release "My Name Is Prince" as a single!
dslifton
· 1 month ago
Ha ha, Jason has Styx on his iPod. I guess when he says, "Suck it, Tommy Shaw," he really means it.
jasonhare
· 1 month ago
I will not apologize for my love of Styx. I like Shaw's contributions to the band as well. I just can't help but do a little jig every time I think about how much he must hate everything Dennis DeYoung has ever done.
JT
· 1 month ago
The Aaron Neville song is the most overplayed elevator muzak ever!!!! I cringe when it hear it...urg. I looked at the date on top- and was surprised that this was the fall of 91. I dont recall, Mariah Carey that fall as I recall it that summer- same with Extreme (really wonderful song).
Thankfully Nirvana was just around the corner as this type of trumpet/base/dance music was heralding the apocalypse. Color me grateful!
DavidMedsker
· 1 month ago
These were dark, dark days. Color Me Badd and Natural Selection, argh.
Say hi to your mutha for me, Jason.
Gary_Oxford
· 1 month ago
Jason, I'm totally with you in the wussiness of liking "Hole-hearted". Not only is it my favorite Extreme song (maybe not the most stringent of standards) but also one of my favorite songs of the 90's. Great guitar playing, exquisite harmonies, propulsion without drums - what's not to like? And I also love "Something to Talk About". But I'm a Dockers-wearing, Wilco-loving, pseudo-rocking Dad, so what do I know?
rockymtranger
· 1 month ago
Where do I start. I actually dusted off "Do Anything" a few weeks ago, and it's still as fun-yet-bland as it was back then. Mariah really was worth listening to back then, and Martika was a bit too deep for her own good. The follow-ups sank like cement blocks. "Romantic" (and the rest of her sophomore CD) was really good, but I will never cop to liking "I Adore Mi Amor". Good call on BA, too.
vasmacky
· 1 month ago
Wow, did you watch the preview for (what I assume is an internet show) j8ded? Horrible name. Is it pronounced JADED or JATE-DED? 8 is not a substitute for the letter A!
Anyway, the preview looks like Ninja vs. Urban Commando vs. The Sopranos, with a little Romero & Juliet meets Battle of the Bands.
Might have to check out a full episode later.
vasmacky
· 1 month ago
Romero & Juliet? I must have been hoping they'd toss a zombie in there too.
theroux
· 1 month ago
I'm cutting "Good Vibrations" some slack. Insipid rapping, yes, but great sampling. And as you noted, they didn't Martha Wash miss Holloway, and actually put her in the vid. Speaking of the vid, I'm pro Mr. Wahlberg shirtless. That association makes the tune somewhat more bearable.
As a semi-random aside...my favorite review of Wahlbergs "Planet of the Apes" remake had this classic headline: "Marky Mark and the Monkey Bunch." Ha!
walloffsound
· 1 month ago
wow Extreme "Hole Hearted" actually peaked at #4 huh ! i liked the song, but preferred "More Than Words" simply bcos back in the days of dating my wife-to-be then, it was way much easier to execute (lol) in a karaoke joint then Hole Hearted which i sadly bombed at ! lol
anyway, looking thru charts like these ... only made me glad that i made the right call to stop tracking the AT40 weekly since late 79. gave up after 10 years ...
and @ Karyn White ... i'd always assumed she was a one-hit wonder with "Superwoman" ... guess i was wrong eh lol
i stand corrected but if my failing memory serves me correct ... i think the 90s was dominated be the ladies ....
KellyStitzel
· 1 month ago
True story: A friend of mine in 8th grade threw a rare school night slumber party when CMB appeared on 90210 and I attended. Am I ashamed to admit that? No, not really - we actually made fun of them most of the episode.
walloffsound
· 1 month ago
@ Mutt Lange (#9. Can’t Stop This Thing We Started) ... guessed so you're rite. but let's also not forget Robert John "Mutt" Lange did produce some fantastic albums too (pre-1984 though) ... AC/DC – Highway to Hell, Back in Black, For Those About to Rock We Salute You Def Leppard – High 'N' Dry Foreigner – 4 and imho the last notable work : Def Leppard – Pyromania, 1983
I feel sorry for those of you who had to endure the early 1990's top 40 as your high school music.
Jlowry24
· 4 weeks ago
That would be me - Grade 11 in the fall of '91, and my friends were just starting to get their licenses, so these are the kind of songs we'd hear on the radio. I really can't defend Color Me Badd or Marky Mark, but I feel like I have to stand up for 1991. There was lots of fun dance/pop music around (C&C Music Factory, Londonbeat, CeCe Peniston, Cathy Dennis, etc.), along with new jack swing...none of that mopey flannel stuff yet. Not to mention U2, EMF, Jesus Jones, Seal, Guns 'n Roses - I would actually argue that 1991 was a pretty good year for music!
Oh yeah...and there's no shame in enjoying "Do Anything", it was the first song I listened to this week. Liked it then and still do now. Thanks a lot for Chart Attack, I always look forward to reading it!
Michael Burke
· 4 weeks ago
"By the way, don’t be surprised if this song is in your head all day. I keep singing it to myself, but I replace the word “love” with random one-syllable words, like “scones” and “balls.”"
He totally does this, with everything. There is not a song lyric that Jason can not substitute obscene or scatlogical words for, instantly. It's a weird form of genius. Because of Jason, I can never again hear the actual words of "Hip To Be Square" (e.g. "I can tell what's goin' on") but can instead hear only Jason urging the listener to fellate him.
I blame his father for this. It would make sense if you have met him.
I LOVE Everybody Plays the Fool, always have. It's an early example of "God damn this chorus is amazing, just make up some dumb verse on the spot so we can start selling it!"
Hole Hearted is TOTALLY a rip off of Give a Little Bit. Nice call.
Had never seen the Mark Wahlberg thing before. I can hear you doing that voice.
kingofgrief
· 4 weeks ago
As essential as "Tell It Like It Is" may be to a balanced diet, I've never been a fan of Aaron Neville's take on "Everybody Plays the Fool". That intro you're so fond of was not meant to be sung. The Main Ingredient version takes us back to that diet I mentioned two sentences ago (as does "Just Don't Want to Be Lonely").
I was the singles manager for the "record" shop I worked at when these tunes were hits. I remember re-ordering the "Do Anything" cassingle (THERE'S a word I haven't typed in over a decade) on a regular basis but I don't think I ever heard it more than maybe twice on any of Houston's Top 40/AC stations. I've downloaded it for the inevitable Class-of-'92 reunion party I'll be hired for one day, even if I think Ms. Harris' vocals are mixed too loud. That said, I too am looking forward to artlessly dropping the line "Make it smooth to the groove like sandwich bread" into conversation.
twostepcub
· 4 weeks ago
nice job, Jason!
BTW Niki Haris is on the dance charts right now with a remake of the disco hit "This Time Baby". If you Youtube it, there's a performance from Palm Springs that's A-1 ....
Hole Hearted was my favorite song from that week. Harmonies rule!
I know one of the CMB guys was in a Vh1 reality show, but forget which one.
And Ishouldn't have had that ice cream, I'll be having "Paranormal Activity" slash Aaron Neville mole mashup dreams!
Ernie twostepcub
twostepcub
· 4 weeks ago
oh and also I think the Martika's Kitchen album is really good considering the period
Ray
· 4 weeks ago
"Diet Prince"... love it! Totally remember hearing "Do Anything" a lot during my final semester before graduating from NIU. Was definitely catchy but I pretty much had them pegged as a "one-hit wonder" at that point.
If I have a favorite "Diet Prince" tune, it would be "In A Mood" by Fabulon. Came out a couple years later, don't think it ever charted on any singles chart but I remember it getting a lot of airplay on (of all places) alternative radio back in the summer of '93.
All Comments
Oh man, you're wrong there...check out Prince rapping on any album between "Graffiti Bridge" and "Emancipation", and I guarantee you there will be several Prince (and numerous New Power Generation) name-checks.
My favorite line in "Do Anything" is when Niki Harris says "make it smooth to the groove like sandwich bread"...HUH?
Like Michael below, my music library is crammed with these songs...I unashamedly admit to owning all of these songs except for Bryan Adams (strange that this song isn't on either of his single-disc greatest hits albums) and Aaron Neville (because the mole frightens me...actually because the song sucks...but the mole does indeed frighten me.
Besides, this stuff is "Abbey Road" compared to the shite in the Top 10 these days.
I looked at the date on top- and was surprised that this was the fall of 91. I dont recall, Mariah Carey that fall as I recall it that summer- same with Extreme (really wonderful song).
Thankfully Nirvana was just around the corner as this type of trumpet/base/dance music was heralding the apocalypse.
Color me grateful!
Say hi to your mutha for me, Jason.
Anyway, the preview looks like Ninja vs. Urban Commando vs. The Sopranos, with a little Romero & Juliet meets Battle of the Bands.
Might have to check out a full episode later.
As a semi-random aside...my favorite review of Wahlbergs "Planet of the Apes" remake had this classic headline: "Marky Mark and the Monkey Bunch." Ha!
anyway, looking thru charts like these ... only made me glad that i made the right call to stop tracking the AT40 weekly since late 79. gave up after 10 years ...
and @ Karyn White ... i'd always assumed she was a one-hit wonder with "Superwoman" ... guess i was wrong eh lol
i stand corrected but if my failing memory serves me correct ... i think the 90s was dominated be the ladies ....
AC/DC – Highway to Hell, Back in Black, For Those About to Rock We Salute You
Def Leppard – High 'N' Dry
Foreigner – 4
and imho the last notable work : Def Leppard – Pyromania, 1983
list of albums he'd produced :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_John_"Mutt"...
Oh yeah...and there's no shame in enjoying "Do Anything", it was the first song I listened to this week. Liked it then and still do now. Thanks a lot for Chart Attack, I always look forward to reading it!
He totally does this, with everything. There is not a song lyric that Jason can not substitute obscene or scatlogical words for, instantly. It's a weird form of genius. Because of Jason, I can never again hear the actual words of "Hip To Be Square" (e.g. "I can tell what's goin' on") but can instead hear only Jason urging the listener to fellate him.
I blame his father for this. It would make sense if you have met him.
I LOVE Everybody Plays the Fool, always have. It's an early example of "God damn this chorus is amazing, just make up some dumb verse on the spot so we can start selling it!"
Hole Hearted is TOTALLY a rip off of Give a Little Bit. Nice call.
Had never seen the Mark Wahlberg thing before. I can hear you doing that voice.
I was the singles manager for the "record" shop I worked at when these tunes were hits. I remember re-ordering the "Do Anything" cassingle (THERE'S a word I haven't typed in over a decade) on a regular basis but I don't think I ever heard it more than maybe twice on any of Houston's Top 40/AC stations. I've downloaded it for the inevitable Class-of-'92 reunion party I'll be hired for one day, even if I think Ms. Harris' vocals are mixed too loud. That said, I too am looking forward to artlessly dropping the line "Make it smooth to the groove like sandwich bread" into conversation.
BTW Niki Haris is on the dance charts right now with a remake of the disco hit "This Time Baby". If you Youtube it, there's a performance from Palm Springs that's A-1 ....
Hole Hearted was my favorite song from that week. Harmonies rule!
I know one of the CMB guys was in a Vh1 reality show, but forget which one.
And Ishouldn't have had that ice cream, I'll be having "Paranormal Activity" slash Aaron Neville mole mashup dreams!
Ernie
twostepcub
If I have a favorite "Diet Prince" tune, it would be "In A Mood" by Fabulon. Came out a couple years later, don't think it ever charted on any singles chart but I remember it getting a lot of airplay on (of all places) alternative radio back in the summer of '93.