Date: Sept 6, 2003
Weeks: 4
Any song that contains both the Atlanta Braves tomahawk chop cheer and a recurring sample of a police siren is vying for the title of Most Annoying Song I've Ever Heard. And the worst thing is that that tomahawk cheer seems to be the closest this song comes to a melody.
The drum and bass line are actually very enjoyable. I like what's happening there. That is a solid base on which to build a fun song. Also a plus is P. Diddy's rapping. I like his voice and style. I can't say I've heard this Murphy Lee before, but his voice and style are okay. And that's about the end of the list of things I like about this song.
As for things I don't like, there's the tomahawk chop standing in for the melody, like I said before, and the police siren sample. Listening to this song in the car would irritate me. I'd constantly be checking my mirrors before I realized the siren was in the song, not coming up behind me on the freeway. I still don't like Nelly's voice, although this song helps explain why he spelled the title of that other song "Herre," because that's how he actually pronounces that word in this song.
Overall, though, I guess the general sound is kind of all right. If I ignore the things that irritate me, it's a decent enough song to dance to during some of the middle parts. It's from the movie Bad Boys 2, and I bet it fits in with the movie. But the lyrics... oh, the lyrics.
First we have the obnoxious branding. They make sure to insert the rappers' names into the beginning of the song. Not like they're singing about themselves, but like they're making sure if you hear the song on the radio or in the movie, you'll know exactly who sings it without having to ask or read the credits. Then they add "Bad Boys 2, the Soundtrack, let's go." So now you know exactly where you can buy this song. I guess I'm surprised this sort of thing doesn't happen more, but it sure removes any chance that a song could be mistaken for art.
I feel like some of these lyrics in the Murphy Lee part need special individual commentary:
"They be like he the man, but I'm really a Thundercat." That's a really clumsy He-Man reference. No one would ever connect "he the man" to "He-Man" without the Thundercats reference. Also, would you rather be a Thundercat than He-Man? Especially when you're trying to reference your virility with regard to sex with women?
"Connect like Voltron." Murphy Lee was a nerd like me when he was a kid, wasn't he?
"Collect so much grass popo thinking we mow lawns." The police wouldn't think you're mowing lawns if you're "collecting" grass. Even I know that slang. Plus it makes little sense from a lawnmowing perspective. Maybe they should have said they collect so much grass, the police think they compost. No, that's stupid, too.
Otherwise, it's just your typical rap "I like to sleep with many women, and I get to because I am just that awesome" song. Nothing new to see here, lyrically.
My verdict: Don't like it. It's not a terrible overall sound, but there are too many obnoxious details that ruin it.
Showing posts with label Nelly. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nelly. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Song #885: "Hot in Herre" by Nelly
Date: June 29, 2002
Weeks: 7
Make that "Hot in Herre [sic]" by Nelly. What's the meaning of that misspelling? Most misspellings are either trying to make a pun or capture how people talk, but this one just seems like a typo. If they wanted that word to sound drawn-out, wouldn't "Heere" be a better choice? And it doesn't even sound drawn out in the song, so it's really quite pointless.
The backing music is enjoyable. Everything happening in the bass line is good stuff, and the little guitar strum accents throughout are well-used. In researching the possible significance of the misspelling of "herre," I stumbled across a claim that this song's backing track is taken from "Bustin' Loose" by Chuck Brown. I definitely hear a rhythmic similarity in the bass. That can't be denied. But I think "Hot in Herre" is adding enough pitch variations to come off feeling sufficiently original.
I'm no expert in judging rap, but I know what I like, and I don't particularly like Nelly's voice. Mostly I think it's a little high-pitched and whiny. His rhythmic sense is good, but his tone is a bit hard to take. He seems to contrast with the music, rather than matching it.
The lyrics are complete nonsense and yet the gist is quite clear: Nelly wants everybody to get naked because he thinks it would be sexy. But it sounds more like he's just sexually harassing every woman in the room. "Take it off like you're home alone." Alone in the middle of the crowded dance club. "I got a friend with a pole in the basement. I'm just kidding like Jason. Unless you're gonna do it." Ah, one of my favorite slimy pickup techniques. Make an outrageous suggestion, then claim you were kidding. But you actually weren't kidding at all. Also, who is Jason, and why is he kidding? That feels like filler.
(Side note: I looked around, and some of the (very sincere) suggestions I read were hilarious. He's referring to a basketball player named Jason Kidd. He's referring to Jason in Friday the 13th (because he intends to murder the girl in the basement?) He's referring to Jason Alexander from Seinfeld (which had ended 4 years before this song hit No. 1). Nope, I'm more convinced than ever that it's just filler.)
Oh, I mentioned the lyrics were nonsense. "Nelly took a trip from the lunar to Neptune." Okay, "lunar" is an adjective. You can't use it as a two-syllable synonym for the moon because it fits your rhythm. Also, you went to Neptune? That might explain why these lyrics are borderline insane.
My verdict: Don't like it. I like the music, but not the lyrics. Thankfully, Weird Al has me covered. Also, while poking around, I found this funny folk-rock cover of the song.
Weeks: 7
Make that "Hot in Herre [sic]" by Nelly. What's the meaning of that misspelling? Most misspellings are either trying to make a pun or capture how people talk, but this one just seems like a typo. If they wanted that word to sound drawn-out, wouldn't "Heere" be a better choice? And it doesn't even sound drawn out in the song, so it's really quite pointless.
The backing music is enjoyable. Everything happening in the bass line is good stuff, and the little guitar strum accents throughout are well-used. In researching the possible significance of the misspelling of "herre," I stumbled across a claim that this song's backing track is taken from "Bustin' Loose" by Chuck Brown. I definitely hear a rhythmic similarity in the bass. That can't be denied. But I think "Hot in Herre" is adding enough pitch variations to come off feeling sufficiently original.
I'm no expert in judging rap, but I know what I like, and I don't particularly like Nelly's voice. Mostly I think it's a little high-pitched and whiny. His rhythmic sense is good, but his tone is a bit hard to take. He seems to contrast with the music, rather than matching it.
The lyrics are complete nonsense and yet the gist is quite clear: Nelly wants everybody to get naked because he thinks it would be sexy. But it sounds more like he's just sexually harassing every woman in the room. "Take it off like you're home alone." Alone in the middle of the crowded dance club. "I got a friend with a pole in the basement. I'm just kidding like Jason. Unless you're gonna do it." Ah, one of my favorite slimy pickup techniques. Make an outrageous suggestion, then claim you were kidding. But you actually weren't kidding at all. Also, who is Jason, and why is he kidding? That feels like filler.
(Side note: I looked around, and some of the (very sincere) suggestions I read were hilarious. He's referring to a basketball player named Jason Kidd. He's referring to Jason in Friday the 13th (because he intends to murder the girl in the basement?) He's referring to Jason Alexander from Seinfeld (which had ended 4 years before this song hit No. 1). Nope, I'm more convinced than ever that it's just filler.)
Oh, I mentioned the lyrics were nonsense. "Nelly took a trip from the lunar to Neptune." Okay, "lunar" is an adjective. You can't use it as a two-syllable synonym for the moon because it fits your rhythm. Also, you went to Neptune? That might explain why these lyrics are borderline insane.
My verdict: Don't like it. I like the music, but not the lyrics. Thankfully, Weird Al has me covered. Also, while poking around, I found this funny folk-rock cover of the song.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Song #920: "Grillz" by Nelly (featuring Paul Wall and Ali & Gipp)
Date: Jan 21, 2006
Weeks: 2
I can easily imagine where grills originated and how they became a fad. Somebody, faced with the embarrassing prospect of getting adult braces, had way too much ego wrapped up in being cool, and way too much disposable income. They figured that if they put some bright decorations on their braces and refused to be embarrassed, they could own it and stay cool. Fellow nerds take note, the ability to own your uncoolness and turn it into a trend is what separates us from the truly cool.
It's easy to imagine how it spiraled from there. People who needed braces wanted the fancy and cool braces. Then people who didn't need braces wanted them anyway, and the trend culminated in this rap song at the top of the charts.
It's one thing to make a pop song that captures and promotes a cultural trend, like a dance or a fashion. But this song's intent is made clear in one particular line: "Call me George Foreman 'cause I'm selling everybody grillz." Yep, the song is upfront about it: it's an ad campaign designed to sell a product. In fact, the rapper of this particular lyric, Paul Wall, apparently owns a fairly significant grill business. This is starting to feel like a local business owner making a TV commercial rap about his products, but with higher production values and better talent.
The backing track to a lot of rap music is usually pretty minimal, but that doesn't mean it can't be entertaining. I'm a sucker for songs that use a good sample for a backing track. My favorite rap song is "O.P.P." by Naughty by Nature, entirely because of their excellent sampling of "ABC" by the Jackson Five (#233). But this song features a repetitive series of synthesizer tones and drum taps. It's not the worst backing track I've ever heard, but it's not very good either.
The vocals aren't bad. Nelly and his guests don't have unpleasant voices, and they generate a pleasant rhythm. The woman singing the chorus, Brandi Williams (who isn't credited as a featured artist despite carrying the chorus), does all right in a role that could easily come off whiny or obnoxious. The singing and rapping is the best part of the song. Any of these people could easily make a decent song if they just focused their efforts on another topic and found better music to back it up.
My verdict: Don't like it. "You see my grandmama hate it." And so do I.
Weeks: 2
I can easily imagine where grills originated and how they became a fad. Somebody, faced with the embarrassing prospect of getting adult braces, had way too much ego wrapped up in being cool, and way too much disposable income. They figured that if they put some bright decorations on their braces and refused to be embarrassed, they could own it and stay cool. Fellow nerds take note, the ability to own your uncoolness and turn it into a trend is what separates us from the truly cool.
It's easy to imagine how it spiraled from there. People who needed braces wanted the fancy and cool braces. Then people who didn't need braces wanted them anyway, and the trend culminated in this rap song at the top of the charts.
It's one thing to make a pop song that captures and promotes a cultural trend, like a dance or a fashion. But this song's intent is made clear in one particular line: "Call me George Foreman 'cause I'm selling everybody grillz." Yep, the song is upfront about it: it's an ad campaign designed to sell a product. In fact, the rapper of this particular lyric, Paul Wall, apparently owns a fairly significant grill business. This is starting to feel like a local business owner making a TV commercial rap about his products, but with higher production values and better talent.
The backing track to a lot of rap music is usually pretty minimal, but that doesn't mean it can't be entertaining. I'm a sucker for songs that use a good sample for a backing track. My favorite rap song is "O.P.P." by Naughty by Nature, entirely because of their excellent sampling of "ABC" by the Jackson Five (#233). But this song features a repetitive series of synthesizer tones and drum taps. It's not the worst backing track I've ever heard, but it's not very good either.
The vocals aren't bad. Nelly and his guests don't have unpleasant voices, and they generate a pleasant rhythm. The woman singing the chorus, Brandi Williams (who isn't credited as a featured artist despite carrying the chorus), does all right in a role that could easily come off whiny or obnoxious. The singing and rapping is the best part of the song. Any of these people could easily make a decent song if they just focused their efforts on another topic and found better music to back it up.
My verdict: Don't like it. "You see my grandmama hate it." And so do I.
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