- "She was a girl, soft but estranged, we were the two, our lives rearranged, feeling so good that day, a feeling of love that day." In the fall of 1991 the Red Hot Chili Peppers dropped "Blood Sugar Sex Magik", an album many consider to be their best. The album offers hits galore; "Breaking the Girl", "Suck My Kiss", "Give it Away" and "Under the Bridge". Listening to these songs takes me back to high school. It's not a place I'd ever want to go back to but in this case the memories are pleasant. Looking back the interesting thing is that "Blood Sugar Sex Magik" hit it big during the grunge explosion yet there is nothing all that grunge going on here. The Peppers alt-rock music is more rooted in funk than anything else. Speaking of 1991, that was the year James Cameron gave us Terminator 2, a cautionary tale of artificial intelligence gone awry. 20 years later we celebrate as "Watson" bests our foremost trivia experts on Jeopardy. How long before Watson seeks to enslave mankind? I can't imagine it will take long.
2. Rockin' the Suburbs- Ben Folds
- "Let me tell ya'll what it's like, being male middle class and white, it's a b*tch if you don't believe, listen up to my new CD (sha-mon). It wasn't my idea, it wasn't my idea, never was my idea." What could I possibly say about "Rockin' the Suburbs" that would be more hilarious and amusing than the song itself? Not much. It's a regular party in the USA with this song- "and the Ben Folds song was on". In 2000 Ben Folds parted ways with his band mates (the "5") and went solo. His first official solo album, "Rockin' the Suburbs" was released on September 11th 2001. If that's not creepy enough, how about this- in the song Ben Folds references a number of popular 80's artists; Michael Jackson, Quiet Riot, and Jon Bon Jovi. These days Michael Jackson and Kevin DuBrow (lead singer of Quiet Riot) are dead which can only mean that Bon Jovi's days are numbered.
3. B-Boy Bouillabaisse- Beastie Boys
- "New York New York it's a hell of a town, you know the Bronx is up and I'm Brooklyn down. I'd like to butter your muffin I'm not bluffin', serve you on a platter like Thanksgiving stuffin'." A traditional bouillabaisse features various kinds of fish, vegetables, herbs and spices in a hearty stew. This "B-Boy Bouillabaisse" is fortified with 9 mini songs (strung together in 12 and a half minutes) and closes out the classic "Paul's Boutique" album. If you were to pick up the 20th anniversary remastered version of "Paul's Boutique" you'd see all the ingredients; "59 Chrystie Street", "Get On the Mic", "Stop That Train", "A Year and a Day", "Hello Brooklyn", "Dropping Names", "Lay It On Me", "Mike On the Mic" and "A.W.O.L.". "B-Boy Bouillabaisse" probably isn't for the casual fan but "Paul's Boutique" songs like "Shake Your Rump" and "Hey Ladies" belong in your collection if they aren't already there. Getting back to "B-Boy Bouillabaisse" I can't believe "butter your muffin" never found it's way into the parlance of our times.
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