Bad English, "When I See You Smile"
I just watched the video for this. Seldom have I seen such hair.
― Charlie Rose Nylund, Thursday, 22 January 2009 18:17 (fifteen years ago) link
horrible horrible list
Batdance ftw
― Courtney Love's Jew Loan Officer (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 22 January 2009 18:18 (fifteen years ago) link
FYC x 2
― Dr Morbius, Thursday, 22 January 2009 18:21 (fifteen years ago) link
no way!
xp
― Ioannis, Thursday, 22 January 2009 18:37 (fifteen years ago) link
I find the whole Batdance album weirdly fascinating and great so I have no hesitation in voting for it, although Like a Prayer is a pretty great song. FYC annoys.
― Courtney Love's Jew Loan Officer (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 22 January 2009 18:41 (fifteen years ago) link
er BATMAN album
― Courtney Love's Jew Loan Officer (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 22 January 2009 18:42 (fifteen years ago) link
"The Future" was fantastic!
― Ioannis, Thursday, 22 January 2009 19:01 (fifteen years ago) link
"Miss You Much" always sounds anonymous to me; I certainly don't like it as much as "Alright," "Escapade," "Love Will Never Do (Without You)," and ten other Janet singles.
Agreed. "Alright" is very much my favorite off that album.
― Eric H., Thursday, 22 January 2009 19:02 (fifteen years ago) link
"Two Hearts" is a better Motown rip than "Good Thing."
De gustibus and all that. I vastly prefer Collins's "You Can't Hurry Love" to "Two Hearts." And he has way better R&B-flavored songs elsewhere in his solo catalog, esp. "Behind the Lines" and "Who Said I Would."
― Ye Mad Puffin, Thursday, 22 January 2009 19:02 (fifteen years ago) link
Except Lamont Dozier co-wrote "Two Hearts." I love the bridge and the oo-oo-oohs.
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Thursday, 22 January 2009 19:05 (fifteen years ago) link
I didn't even know that! (about Dozier). And I was going to say, purely as a piece of songcraft (and regardless of the singer), I might even prefer "Two Hearts" to "You Can't Hurry Love," mostly for what I think Alfred is referring to as the bridge (or is it the bridge? the part that gets me is the ten-second musical bit coming out of the first chorus). I thought the drums in Collins' version of "You Can't Hurry Love" sounded pretty spectacular at the time, but the rest of it just seemed kind of pointless.
― sw00ds, Thursday, 22 January 2009 19:08 (fifteen years ago) link
Oh crap, I somehow skimmed right past "Like a Prayer."
I would rep for so, so many of these -- Michael Damian, two of three Paula Abduls (voted for "Cold Hearted Snake") . . . suddenly I feel like I should have voted for Martika.
― nabisco, Thursday, 22 January 2009 19:10 (fifteen years ago) link
I also refuse to front as if Milli Vanilli was not pretty awesome
Loved MV at the time, definitely. I remember how pissed off I was when the scandal erupted: suddenly, I was not even allowed to play their records anymore, it was a really really weird thing (a week previous, I'd have to play some of their songs TWICE in a night; immediately after, kaput).
― sw00ds, Thursday, 22 January 2009 19:13 (fifteen years ago) link
In an idea world we would have just switched to having famous middle-aged REAL MV singers walking around in the rain in spandex pants with their guts hanging out
― nabisco, Thursday, 22 January 2009 19:17 (fifteen years ago) link
I confess I don't have a strong memory of many Milli Vanilli songs, but I agree in principle that there's no reason the songs couldn't still be awesome once the jig was up.
Indeed, if one were feeling all pomo'n'shit one could decide that the songs were MORE awesome by virtue of their association with a big meta-joke that was in some way an ironic indictment of and/or comment upon modern Image-construction, starmaking, the music-industrial complex, etc. etc. etc.
― Ye Mad Puffin, Thursday, 22 January 2009 19:27 (fifteen years ago) link
no they were just awesome stupid fun
― Barack You Like A Husseincane (HI DERE), Thursday, 22 January 2009 19:28 (fifteen years ago) link
>>>Indeed, if one were feeling all pomo'n'shit one could decide that the songs were MORE awesome by virtue of their association with a big meta-joke that was in some way an ironic indictment of and/or comment upon modern Image-construction, starmaking, the music-industrial complex, etc. etc. etc.<<<
Don't know if I took it THAT far, but I did at the time strongly champion the idea that they should actually fight back hard on it, point out the hypocrisy of the situation, etc. (or at least give the finger in their next video during one of their dance routines).
― sw00ds, Thursday, 22 January 2009 19:33 (fifteen years ago) link
correction: make that "awesome stupid fun dance routines."
― sw00ds, Thursday, 22 January 2009 19:34 (fifteen years ago) link
My fondest memory of MV: deejays changing the lyrics to "Blame It on the Rain" to "BLAME IT ON HU-SSEIN YEAH YEAH" during the first Gulf War.
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Thursday, 22 January 2009 19:37 (fifteen years ago) link
I vaguely remember that! I hope Rush Limbaugh isn't reading this. Wouldn't want to give him any ideas.
― sw00ds, Thursday, 22 January 2009 19:44 (fifteen years ago) link
Pretty sure the MV track that would hold up best for me is "Girl I'm Gonna Miss You" with its part-and-parcel retread of Chris DeBurgh's "Lady in Red" beat.
― sw00ds, Thursday, 22 January 2009 19:46 (fifteen years ago) link
(Unless the thievery happened in the other direction, though I don't think so.)
Would have been a neat trick for Deburgh to have traveled forward in time to bite off of Milli Vanilli!
― Barack You Like A Husseincane (HI DERE), Thursday, 22 January 2009 19:48 (fifteen years ago) link
Heh - I couldn't recall what year that came out, but I'm assuming it was '85/86.
― sw00ds, Thursday, 22 January 2009 19:50 (fifteen years ago) link
Pretty sure it was late '86/early '87
― Barack You Like A Husseincane (HI DERE), Thursday, 22 January 2009 19:51 (fifteen years ago) link
Always appreciated <a href = "http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/music/rbmilli-91.php">George Clinton's response</a> to MV:
"'We want to get the funk out of the two Milli Vanilli guys because we don't appreciate how the recording industry is treating the artists,' says proven foe of fraudulent funk George Clinton in the March/April New Funk Times (Ehrenstrasse 19, W-5000 Köln 1, Germany). Clinton notes that the Four Tops were the only Motown act who never 'had people sing lead and background' for them. 'Artist' can mean anything. Dancing is an art and pantomiming is, too--even lip-synching is an art! That's a hard thing to do--to dance and lip-synch. And it's hard to lip-synch when you are passionate 'cause when you get carried away and you want to pause it--'wait a minute'--, but the tape says 'Fuck you!' The tape doesn't want to wait.'" Passing off the duo's egomania as the inevitable fruit of their biz-determined charade, George hopes to repeat his reclamation job on the then scandalized, since high-charting Vanessa Williams. 'Once we finish with them, they'll definitely be sangin'! I mean, everybody can sing--even if it's only in the bathroom or a crowd.' Carsten Heyn, who manages the act now dubbed Rob & Fab, says they're currently in a European studio working up a late-summer single. He was sufficiently flattered by Dr. Funkenstein's plan to try and arrange a meeting last time his clients hit L.A., but couldn't make the hookup."
― sw00ds, Thursday, 22 January 2009 19:55 (fifteen years ago) link
oops - link here: http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/music/rbmilli-91.php
"Good Thing" towers over everything else on this list. When I was a wee lad I'd always air-piano the Jools Holland solo. Rock!
― Mr. Snrub, Thursday, 22 January 2009 19:58 (fifteen years ago) link
This might just be the worst list I've ever seen on one of these polls. 1989was an awful, awful year for mainstream pop music.
That being said, I'm going with Mike & The Mechanics' "Living Years"--subtle, poignant,and holds up well.
(seriously: "Batdance" all the way)
― Joe, Thursday, 22 January 2009 23:01 (fifteen years ago) link
Batdance is also perhaps the strangest U.S. #1s I can think of...
― Joe, Thursday, 22 January 2009 23:03 (fifteen years ago) link
Those synths on "The Living Years" are as subtle as a sack of apeshit breaking your kneecaps.
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Thursday, 22 January 2009 23:06 (fifteen years ago) link
"Girl I'm Gonna Miss You" bears more than a slight lyrical/musical resemblance to LL's "I Need Love."
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Thursday, 22 January 2009 23:08 (fifteen years ago) link
First few times I heard Milli Vanilli on the radio, I just assumed they were another good new-jack-swing group. (Might have even thought one of their songs was Bobby Brown. They weren't really that far apart.)
― xhuxk, Thursday, 22 January 2009 23:28 (fifteen years ago) link
has way better R&B-flavored songs elsewhere in his solo catalog
"Easy Lover"! (Okay, not exactly "solo", per se'. But still.)
― xhuxk, Thursday, 22 January 2009 23:44 (fifteen years ago) link
Haha, a friend frequently likes to point out that "The Living Years" is the worst song ever written.
― Bianca Jagger (jaymc), Thursday, 22 January 2009 23:52 (fifteen years ago) link
pretty sure this was the year I got arrested twice
that's just how bad the pop music was
― J0hn D., Friday, 23 January 2009 00:00 (fifteen years ago) link
I kinda wanted to vote for "Batdance" because it's weird and silly and fun, but there's no denying "Like a Prayer" has meant more to me than any of these other songs.
― Tuomas, Friday, 23 January 2009 00:07 (fifteen years ago) link
vick-vick-vick VICKI VALE
― Courtney Love's Jew Loan Officer (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 23 January 2009 00:19 (fifteen years ago) link
I'm pretty sure I haven't heard 80-90% of this list since 1989... (not complaining!)
timely classics indeed.
― (*゚ー゚)θ L(。・_・) °~ヾ(・ε・ *) (Steve Shasta), Friday, 23 January 2009 00:26 (fifteen years ago) link
Like a Prayer should be the runaway winner, but I voted Straight Up just for the wicked synth lead into the chorus.
― ledge, Friday, 23 January 2009 00:34 (fifteen years ago) link
"Straight Up" is a worthier heir to Control than "Miss You Much."
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Friday, 23 January 2009 00:42 (fifteen years ago) link
b. brown just over bon jovi
― crackers is biters (M@tt He1ges0n), Friday, 23 January 2009 01:01 (fifteen years ago) link
so taking you off my speed-dial for this
― J0hn D., Friday, 23 January 2009 01:11 (fifteen years ago) link
Absolutely convinced that '89 was a great pop year, but its greatness wasn't so evident in the number ones (lots of better stuff a little further down the chart, "Buffalo Stance," Soul II Soul, "Paradise City," Young MC, etc.).
― sw00ds, Friday, 23 January 2009 01:17 (fifteen years ago) link
... "The Way You Love Me" (Karyn White), "Every Little Step" (Bobby Brown), "Funky Cold Medina," "Patience"...
― sw00ds, Friday, 23 January 2009 01:20 (fifteen years ago) link
Karyn White's "Superwoman" was that year, too, right? Definitely voted for that in Pazz & Jop. What else hit? Kix "Don't Close Your Eyes," Cinderella "Coming Home" and "Gypsy Road," Def Leppard "Rocket," White Lion "Little Fighter" -- beats the living hell out 2008, that's for sure.
― xhuxk, Friday, 23 January 2009 01:42 (fifteen years ago) link
Warrant "Down Boys" and "Heaven," Will to Power "Fading Away," Tom Petty "Free Fallin'," Don Henley "The End Of The Innocence"...
― xhuxk, Friday, 23 January 2009 02:00 (fifteen years ago) link
Karyn White is SO forgotten.
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Friday, 23 January 2009 02:03 (fifteen years ago) link
yet more here too, probably:
http://robertchristgau.com/xg/pnj/pjres89.php
― xhuxk, Friday, 23 January 2009 02:11 (fifteen years ago) link