Thursday, January 15, 2009

A Query



Could someone explain to me why the 80s featured so many paranoid Halloween/haunted house songs and why this fantastic genre has totally dried up in our own time?

Rockwell f. Michael Jackson - Somebody's Watching Me.
Beatfreakz - Somebody's Watching Me (Hi-Tack Remix).
TRU - I Always Feel Like...
And unrelated bonus - Rockwell - Obscene Phone Caller. 'If Alexander Graham Bell were alive today, would he want the telephone used this way?"

6 comments:

bding7 said...

what about all those rap songs about the new world order, the man on the white horse, cops gunning for young black men everywhere? 'cell therapy' reminds me of a haunted house, though i know you think goodie mob's first album is boring.

Asher said...

I'll probably rethink my views on Goodie Mob when I get back around to them. I guess I'm not a huge fan of bluesy, gospely, Stax/Voltesque rap, not that it isn't a good idea in theory (although I'm not the biggest fan of that sort of sound to begin with), but more that I don't think the Pimp C's and Organized Noises of the world were that good at it... unorthodox I know. As for new world order rap - well yeah, I guess you could make a case that Jacko-style paranoia lives on in Busta Rhymes and others (although didn't a lot of that stop after the millennium for whatever reason?), but I was more wondering why we don't have goofy paranoid pop.

bding7 said...

although didn't a lot of that stop after the millennium for whatever reason?

yea, after rappers (specifically Busta) realized there was life after 1/1/00, there was no point in about worrying about the world's "planned" end. as for pop in general, that is anyone's guess, but i am more curious about its origins in the 80s.

Charlie Hustle said...

I wouldn't call 'Soul Food' "Stax/Voltesque rap" (bluesy, gospel-y, yes). It's a slightly more-countrified version of 'ATLiens.' Definitely one of my favorite Southern rap records.

Charlie Hustle said...

"...but I was more wondering why we don't have goofy paranoid pop."

Possibly because the only touchstone for this song today is as the punchline to a Martin Lawrence joke in 'Runteldat.'

More likely because, as you mentioned, MJ was an originator of that type of music, and who the fuck wants to be associated with HIM anymore, even as an inspiration?

Asher said...

Um, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Omarion, Chris Brown... seems like a ton of artists are MJ-inspired these days to me, and talk quite openly about it. In fact, on this very topic, note CB's quite Jackoesque video* for 'Wall To Wall,' although the song itself, unfortunately, doesn't have any of the ghosts and goblins goofiness of the vid.

* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Hcd4ryjS-U