The 21st P&J Singles Poll!

what horseshit.

all these P&J lists where the Roots are one of the only decent hip hop records on it are making me feel like a much bigger fan of theirs than I really am. one of the Cash Money singles would be an easy vote but neither are really among my favorites from them in that era.

LEN!

No love for ODB, Al?

I went with Cher. But I could have gone with just about anything except RHCP and Madonna on this list.

"Got Your Money" is the worst thing the Neptunes did before 2002.

I suspected you were a joyless sap.

Bling Bling owns this list

I feel I've never misrepresented myself as anything but a joyless sap. (xpost)

Ture, but I was giving you the benefit of the doubt.

Anyway, ODB gets my vote. Juvenile, Q-Tip, Rickey Martin & Len could fill out a top five. Only really bad things here are "Believe" and "Scar Tissue". Why out all the songs that were big from Play was "Honey" the one that made the cut? That seems really random.

what a shit year. Have voted for Genie... but only by default

True, rather. (xp)

Oh, add "All Star" to the list of very bad.

"No Scrubs" has never done much for me. It just sounds like generic late-90s r&b (probably my least favorite period for r&b of the past 50 years) with slightly funnier than average lyrics.

how many of these songs wouldn't you skip if they came up on shuffle? For me only about 5:-

TLC: "No Scrubs" (LaFace)
The Roots: "You Got Me" (MCA)
Christina Aguilera: "Genie in a Bottle" (RCA)
Beck: "Sexx Laws" (DGC)
Ol' Dirty Bastard: "Got Your Money" (Astralwerks)

well, "Honey" was one of the first Play singles and I think some of the bigger ones didn't really get out there until the following year. it's also my favorite, so i'm fine with it being there.

agreed on "No Scrubs" being mad generic. i didn't even know it was TLC the first hundred times i heard it on the radio.

Worst start to a lyric:Madonna: "Beautiful Stranger" (Maverick)

"Haven't we met?"

NO! THE SONG'S CALLED BEAUTIFUL STRANGER!! WAKE UP!!!

Not as good as I remembered it. Voted for Backstreet Boys, with ODB a close second.

"Silly Ho" >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> "No Scrubs"

Acchhh. Backstreet Boys are #4 in the really bad pile. That song was the bane of my pre-teen existence.

ahhhhh yeah "Silly Ho," best fake Timbaland ever.

Actually, I'd have considered "Genie in a Bottle" too.

I quite like No Scrubs, possibly because its so generic. it encapsulates that whole late nineties r&b thing in the way that, say, Freebird does for Southern rock

Hahaha--I voted for the Backstreet Boys too. Runner's up: Eminem, Cher, Madonna, Britney, ODM and both Cash Money records. Another great year for pop/r&b.

If "Beautiful Stranger" hadn't ripped off Love's "She Comes In Colors" so blatantly, I'd like it more. Oh wait...maybe that's why I like it. Anyway, LEN all the way. It's so dated, and baby I don't care.

um, ODB, actually.

what /who were Smash Mouth? that one passed me by entirely.

If you've seen a family comedy in the past 8 years, you've heard "All Star."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QM96bQkJ-mc

xp

I'd shoot for 112's "Anywhere" (probably the actual best single of '99) as the best Fake Timbaland ever.

HAHAHA xp

"Hey now, you're a rock star, etc.. get PAID!! All that glitters is gold"

etc...

lol @ a young Dane Cook with frosted tips and a waffle iron at the beginning of that video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QM96bQkJ-mc

Oh that horrible song.

Odd, I don't recall ever hearing/seeing "Steal My Sunshine" before:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwtTOxouD5Q

I always thought "I Want It That Way" was a fine piece of product. But it wasn't until Joe Gross in the 1999 Pazz issue compared it to Gertrude Stein's Stanzas in Meditation that I realized it was no piece of product at all. Or rather, it was the ultimate proof that the pop assembly line could produce poetry of an almost disquieting singularity. The well-trained sincerity (NOT an oxymoron) of the voices; the sturdy, non-distracting backing track; the overall arc from quiet to quiet; the "ain't nothing" hooks which are really cascades of question marks - all are designed to streamline what is at heart a mystery so that "I Want It That Way" means exactly what you (or I) think it does. It's like DeBarge made solid.

So yeah, I voted for that. Their "Larger Than Life" is amazing too.

M.I.A.:

Armand Van Helden featuring Roland Clark: "Flowerz" (Armed 1999) - My vote for best non-Prince Prince song. I bet he was jealous as fuck after hearing this. And you know he's heard it.

Will Smith featuring K-Ci: "Will 2K" (Columbia 1999) - Now The Rev REALLY loves me.

Hoppy Potty: "Shpooky Potty" (MAD TV 1999) - A dead-on parody of Ace of Base/Europop.

Peter Heller: "Big Love" (Subliminal 1999) - The "I Want It That Way" of house music.

LFO: "Summer Girls" (Arista 1999) - Soooo much better than that wussy early 1990s house/techno/whatever band of the same name that Simon Reynolds likes.

Britney Spears: "You Drive Me Crazy" (Jive 1999) - How great was Xgau's review of the soundtrack for the film of the same name!

hooooly shit that 'smash mouth' video. RIP KEL MITCHELL.

'bling bling' is probably one of my 5-10 favorite rap songs ever, so i voted that.

the bottom half of this (from like 'vivrant things' on down)>>>>the top half of his

'vivrant thing'**

Will Smith featuring K-Ci: "Will 2K" (Columbia 1999)

This was probably the first big Will Smith single I didn't care for all that much.

I totally need to get a Will Smith hoodie

-- The Reverend, Tuesday, October 16, 2007 8:12 AM (Tuesday, October 16, 2007 8:12 AM) Bookmark Link

I will stand up for many a Will Smith single, (hell, I would have voted for "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" in the last poll if that was an option), but not that one. However, it must be noted: WIKI-WIKI-WILD-WILD WEST

the bottom half of this (from like 'vivrant things' on down)>>>>the top half of his

I'd extend that up to "Praise You", but real talk.

i think when he preformed this @ the '98 (or something) mtv movie awards he rode down the isle on a horse and then halfway through they rotated some big block of metal or something and stevie wonder was behind it playing piano. i can't remember if they had him dressed up like a cowboy or not.

xpost to wild wild west

"...Then She Bit Me" -- Am I alone in my love of this song?

Ladies and gentleman you are about to enter the twilight zone

I was in a club, one friday
A lovely lady comes walking my way
She walked up and she said hello
I said hi, my names Joe
I was lyin', so was she
She said her name was Donny,
But her shirt said Marie.
She said you get to know me,
you'll never forget me
I said why, then she bit me.

Ouch!
That didn't hurt.
Kinda creepy
but she ripped my shirt.
She poisoned me I went to sleep.
Woke up at her house,
At the back of a jeep.
A Blazer, '89
Tinted windows,
I wish it was mine.
Oh, here it is,
But where are my keys?
There they are in the ignition.

I'm at her house.
It's a Tepee.
No, it's a cabin
No a skyscrapper.
No, its an igloo.
A shack.
Forget it, I'll go around back.
It's a castle, with a moat
How I get Across...Boat.

Shooo...I hate that sound.

I went inside,
Looked right, looked left.
There she is.
Oh, no Thats Jeff.
He's invisible.
I went downstairs.
It's a loft.
No, it's a dungeon!
There she is, doing aerobics.
No, yoga.
No, karate.

(You killed my teacher)
But what a body!

No, he wasn't there.
I'm tellin you I saw him
No, really I saw him
He was playing checkers.
No, Nintendo
Ok, I'm lying

There she is,
Watching T.V.
All My Children.
No, thats Cosby.
No, Speed Racer.
Shaft.
No, thats Kimba
My fault...the T.V.'s off.

There she is, what a doll.
No, that's Chucky from Child's play!
I kissed her,
And she told me this is home...
I had entered a dimension Called The Twilight Zone....
Anything can happen.

I'm rough like sandpaper,
Hard like algebra.
You should be glad that I was nice,
And I allowed ya to
Step on stage.
To kick your ryhmes off.
I tried to be nice,
But you mistook that for softness.
Now it's over' to hell with your opinion!
What I say goes from now on,
This is my dominion!
I dare any rapper to step on stage
Cause if you do you'll feel the force of my rage
I'm on a rampage psyche just kiddin
Jeff wanted to do that
But I didn't
I thought that it would make the record dumb
I guess I wasn't wrong

Mary had a little lamb
Her fleece was white as snow
And everywhere that mary went so did humpty dumpty
Jack and Jill went up a hill
To fetch a pail of water
Jack fell down,
And broke his crown
Hickory, dickory, dock

Got to use the bathroom now,
psyche, I was drafted.

i think so.

: ?

the rap songs:

Eminem: "My Name Is" (Aftermath/Interscope) dated poorly
The Roots: "You Got Me" (MCA) A+
Q-Tip: "Vivrant Thing" (Arista) A+
Ol' Dirty Bastard: "Got Your Money" (Astralwerks) A+
Juvenile: "Back That Azz Up" (Cash Money/Universal) A+
B.G.: "Bling Bling" (Cash Money/Universal) A+

i get that Al doesnt like ODB bcuz he is weird ... i mean that song is overplayed as a cross-niche party track but still. What about these songs scream mediocrity exactly???

yeah i might've said this on some of the other threads, but looking at all these P&J singles polls really makes me wonder why critics ever needed the whole "popism" thing to begin with, if that many of them were willing to cosign the cheesiest VH1 shit back in the 90's. (xpost)

i think i wasnt clear upthread about why i was surprised to see it ... its a great song, but there were 20 other popular rap singles about as good that dropped that year that didn't get nominated and i think its pretty obvious that it was notched up for PNJ because of past tribe accomplishments

talking about vivrant thing

Where is "Woah".

(question mark)

"Woah" was 2000, although it's not on that year's P&J either.

Okay, bad internal clock, but I'm trying to think of what rap singles might have made it in but didn't.

"She's a Bitch" <- top 5

watch out for the hook, it ain't my fault, holla holla, who dat

some of these might be '98

guilty conscience, full clip, ms fat booty, simon says, i'm sure big L had a single in '99

chronic 2001 singles in general

yes but "Livin' La Vida Loca"

god why oh why are the ballots not listed from 1999

Money, Cash, Hoes (Remix) / Jigga What? (12") Roc-A-Fella Records 1999

i have this 12"

Aha! Results.

29 Quiet Storm
35 Still D.R.E. (top 10)
40 Gotta Man (blah, not even her best single of that year)
44 Ms. Fat Booty (top 10)
44 Simon Says (slightly overrated)
44 Krust f/ Saul Williams - Coded Language (????)
49 What Ya Want (more like it)
58 Watch For the Hook (got counted separately, should be #40)
65 Breathe & Stop (meh)
72 Watch Out Now (fuck yes)
72 Guilty Conscious
72 Everything Is Everything
72 Who Dat (I'd managed to forget this song existed)
72 Dead Wrong
72 Bitch Please (fuck yeah)
83 Holla Holla
83 Girl's Best Friend (seriously? I haven't heard it since, but I seem to remember it as the low point of late-90s Jigga)
83 Ha (how is this not higher?)

chronic 2001 singles in general

"Forgot About Dre" & "The Next Episode" are 2000.

what are those numbers? hot 100?

P&J finish

Unless you think a song with Saul Williams just barely missed the top 40.

If "Beautiful Stranger" hadn't ripped off Love's "She Comes In Colors" so blatantly

Really? I thought she was ripping off "Light My Fire." That'd be great if she was ripping off both, though. Where does it become "She Comes In Colors?"

Ya know, maybe I'm a big stupid dumb head, but there are precious few singles on these lists that I actively loathe. I mean, they're singles for god's cakes. In three, four minutes, they're done (just like a lot of avant-garde cinema whereas a horror like Gone in 60 Seconds takes two hours from its prisoners). If Dre checked in with just two singles in the 1990s (and NOTHING ELSE), I'd have no problem with the man (well, much less of a problem). But looking at this list, there's seriously not one single single that makes me ill.

Except maybe "Livin' La Vida Loca" because its clueless misogyny comes off more fucked-up than fun from the mouth of such a closet case, esp. one who bolts down his closet doors by mugging for the Republican Party. But the track itself could lift planes off the ground. Desmond Child - he has his uses.

I bet even "Sunny Comes Home" or whatever that Shawn Colvin track is called does not repulse.

Oh I totally know that song! Had no clue it was her. What's it about? A wife who kills her husband? Or just burns her house down? Or...? Anyhoo, it ain't great but I'm not puking. Nice of her to rip off "Mary Jane's Last Dance" at least.

Thank you, youtube.

Unless you think a song with Saul Williams just barely missed the top 40.

-- The Reverend, Thursday, October 18, 2007 4:19 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Link

ha; i missed that. i was confused by all the songs w/ the same number next to them before i remembered that there are a lot of ties in P&J singles.

horseshit:
Limp Bizkit: "Nookie" (Flip/Interscope)
Red Hot Chili Peppers: "Scar Tissue" (Warner Bros.)

ones I have no opinion at all about:
The Roots: "You Got Me" (MCA)
Fatboy Slim: "Praise You" (Astralwerks)
Q-Tip: "Vivrant Thing" (Arista)
Beck: "Sexx Laws" (DGC)
Rage Against the Machine: "Guerrilla Radio" (Epic)
Moby: "Honey" (V2)
Robbie Williams: "Millennium" (Capitol)

ones I more or less love:
Eminem: "My Name Is" (Aftermath/Interscope)
Ricky Martin: "Livin' La Vida Loca" (C2/Columbia)
Kid Rock: "Bawitdaba" (Atlantic/Lava)
Christina Aguilera: "Genie in a Bottle" (RCA)
Juvenile: "Back That Azz Up" (Cash Money/Universal)
Britney Spears: ". . . Baby One More Time" (Jive)
B.G.: "Bling Bling" (Cash Money/Universal)

The rest are okay, I guess.

Guess I'll vote for Juvenile.

Though I do not agree that "My Name Is" has dated poorly. (And I actually remember kind of liking Little T and One-Track Mind at the time.)

"My Name Is" references Pamela Anderson's breasts, still timely. Tom Green and Chris Fitzpatrick? Moby? not so much.

The 1st album singles hold up better than any since, unless you love emo. (ok and I still think "Just Lose It" is fucking awesome, the energy of "Without Me" with reference points that are pretty eternal, like Beavis and Butthead).

Oh wait, I more or less love this one, too:

Backstreet Boys: "I Want It That Way" (Jive)

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

except for tlc, this is probably the first poll where every song that got 0 votes deserved to get 0 votes.

hahaha wow Len ftw! kind of shocking.

no way, I like "Guerilla Radio" and "Honey" and "Millenium" and "Bawitdaba" better than most of the winners.

Look! It would have taken just 10 votes to make "Smooth" the winner!

No love for "Praise You"? I'll take it over overrated "Rockefeller Skank" any day of the week, and hay guyz, I know it's not cool to like, but "Smooth" is a good pop song.

I'll take Kid Rock, Smashmouth, Rage and Chili Peppers over Cher, Britney Spears and Ricky Martin

probably "Millenium" too

i'm all for popism or whatever but "all star" is one of the 5 worst songs ever recorded.

dude read the lyric sheet, it's brilliant!

i missed "bawitdaba," that should have gotten a vote.

i got into trouble for this before, but if XTC had recorded "All Star" sans-record scratches in 1978 people would love it.

i feel like alex in nyc right now but i would support an ammendment to erase smash mouth from every american's memory.

Never heard Robbie Williams in '99. Was he to compensate for Blur not making the final cut?

I'm basing it on the fact that Britney Spears Smash Mouth is incapable of making music of quality and distinction. Thanks again.

-- Alex in NYC, Saturday, October 20, 2007 8:12 AM (10 hours ago) Bookmark Link

"Walking On The Sun" (and maybe even their ? and the Mysterians and War covers) > "All Star" in my book

"Smooth" is a good pop song

I do agree with this, though.

it's pretty even steven between "Walking" and "Star" for me but I'll take both over the War cover easy

I will never for the life of me get why "I Want It That Way" has more canonical credibility than all the other pop songs of that era (i.e. being, what, #10 in that Rolling Stone list of top 500 songs or some shit like that?!?!).

It's a great song (despite the RS endorsement).

It's cringe-worthy, even in comparison to other Backstreet Boys songs.

It's not that I think it's a bad song, it's that I think it's indistinguishable from, say, "The Hardest Thing" by 98°.

(Although, yeah, I think it's clearly a bad song.)