Even if Bobby Brown didn't. Love this. Summer of 89--one of the greatest years of my life, and probably the second greatest of my childhood. Good times.
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Am I right in guessing that "Fight The Power" has special resonance for you, with that unforgettable opening bit?... "Ninteen Eighty NIIINE! The sound of another summer!"
I still get chills when I think about the opening of "Do the Right Thing," with Rosie Perez showing the world the hot steps of the time. And I still remember all of the police officers dispatched to movie theatres around the country waiting for the "riots" to break out.
Yes! Rick Moranis!
Bobby Brown does hold up well. I occasionally dust up my 'Remixes N the Key of B' cd (err, I mean fire up iTunes). Some classics on that joint. I saw that dude on his King of Stage tour! He opened for Ready for the World. Their stuff also holds up well...
Most new jack swing has aged well to my ears. It kicked up the dry over-produced straight R&B sound of the 80's with just enough bits of house and hip hop to push things forward.
Karl, I think you are dead on. Songs like "Every Little Step I Take" and most of the Guy songs do a great job of capturing the era (odd synth sounds, steady percussion) while displaying timeless elements like great melodies and playful, clever lyrics. Even something like "Piece of my Love" makes you work for it (if you overlook the "dumb b**** part in the background).
That said, TNC please don't break out any Keith Sweat. Talk about not holding up well.
I'm gonna have to disagree with you on Keith Sweat. I'm still feeling I'll Give all my love to you.
I might be biased cause even back in the day that nasal singing thing just didn't work for me. But my man Aaron Hall. I still bang that "I Miss You" joint.
You know, I was getting ready to clown. Of all the Bobby B songs from the day, "Roni", "Rock Wit'cha", or my personal favorite "Every Little Step" - you went with the Ghostbusers. But you know what, this was an underatted Bobby B song, and hearing it again, I'll be damned if I didn't jam this back in the day!
Long live the Era of Rayon!
long live spell check...geez - underrated.
Speaking of New Jack Swing/Teddy Riley, I've always thought "Remember the Time" is by far MJ's best late-period song.
Bring back "Being Bobby Brown." Immediately.
Best.show.ever.
Whitney: Bobbaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay
OHFG, I loved this jam back in the day! It was out the summer of our family reunion down in Miami back then, and my ma and I danced to it.
Good times.
Ghostbusters II is the first blockbuster movie that I remember actively waiting for ever. Vigo and the river of slime and all of it is one of the cakest movies to come out of that decade.
BTW, two of my favorite Bobby songs are ciphers: Something in Common, his duet with Whitney (pre-crack) and Get Away (that song can get some feet moving on a dance floor!)
Know I know why I follow this blog: within a month, I get to hear On Our Own and the Touch from Transformers the Movie.
Awesome!
YES. I get this song stuck in my head randomly more often than I'd care to admit. Right in line with how well Mary J.'s "What's the 411?" holds up for me.
Skee Lo's "I Wish" is still one of the ultimate jams.
I just saw the live video for 'My Prerogative' the other day and Bobby was on fire....man what happened??!!
Puhleeaze. The only Summer related joint that is timeless is from my youth and 2 years later than TNC's.
Will Smith didn't always write songs about aliens and his kid. "Summertime" wins.
Thank you--this made me happy. Watching the video again makes me realize that Lance Armstrong owes all his style to Bobby Brown.
My first post!
TNC, is it coincidence that your song selections (aged well vs. not so much) were both written and produced by Babyface?
Speaking of the summer of `89 and songs that have aged well, here's Soul II Soul:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVtCFolzgeg
Did Donald Trump ever have hair of his own?
We discussed this on veryserious.org. The question was "How much of the plot of the movie did Bobby know when he wrote the song?" I mean he knew there would be proton packs but anybody could have told you that GB2 would have had them. I feel like he saw a rough cut of the movie that hadn't yet been mixed for sound and took notes while watching it.
I'm always impressed when songs are written for movies that summarize the plot or restate the central themes but were written by someone only tangentially involved. Scarface's excellent "street lights" from "south central" is like that also. I like in the video when he raised his dwayne waynes to to emphasize a point:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnyC-NPEPtk
Was that Christopher Reeve riding the bike?
When I tell you that this is my FAVORITE song from the "Kang of R&B" please believe it. My 12 year-old behind would jam everytime it was on.