Side A
R.E.M.-Daysleeper
snippet of Labelle's "Lady Marmalade"
Aretha Franklin-Respect
Fastball-Fire Escape
Jewel-Hands
George Michael & Mary J. Blige-As
Toni Braxton-Breathe Again
Notorious B.I.G.-Hypnotize
Seal-Kiss From A Rose
Goodie Mob-Cell Therapy
Hootie & The Blowfish-Goodbye
Jay-Z-Lucky Me
Side B
Whitney Houston feat. Faith Evans & Kelly Price-Heartbreak Hotel
Donna Lewis-I Love You Always Forever
'N SYNC-God Must Have Spent A Little More Time On You
Goodie Mob-Guess Who?
Bruce Springsteen-Secret Garden
U2-With Or Without You
snippet of Barenaked Ladies' "It's All Been Done"
The Proclaimers-500 Miles (I'm Gonna Be)
The Braids-Bohemian Rhapsody
The Cranberries-Linger
Dave Matthews Band-Crush
The Flys-Got You (Where I Want You)
If you take a good look at the tracklist, you'll notice that some of the songs on there were never radio hits. That's simply because Vol. 10 marked a new era for me in making mixes as I got a three-disc CD player that Christmas and I could now record songs beyond the dial. I'm not exactly sure how soon after I got the CD player that this mix was completed since stuff like the Jay-Z, Goodie Mob and Hootie CDs belonged to my brother and it would have taken time for me to develop my favorites when it came to non-singles. I do distinctly remember recording "Daysleeper" a day or two after Christmas, but for me to put a song like "Guess Who?" or "Goodbye" on The Collection would have taken a week or two of familiarity with those albums.
The sequencing of the tracklist is also very telling since the second half of Side A—starting with Toni Braxton—is composed of nothing but songs I recorded from CD, which leaves me to think that I was highly enjoying this new world at the time. I still did record songs from the radio, and without that pesky wire antenna there were fewer moments of static, although the volume was noticeably lower on my new stereo as opposed to the boombox I had been using.
With my new CD player, I was better able to control the direction of my mixtapes, but I had yet to realize the power of cohesion and sequencing. At this point, I was simply thrilled with having unedited tracks with profanity finally be a part of The Collection. Speaking of which...
Song that made Jay-Z one of my favorite MCs: Jay-Z-Lucky Me
First off, I want to say that I love In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 and I think it's his most underrated album. The CD as a whole made me a fan, but it was with "Lucky Me" that I was exposed to the sensitive side of Jay-Z that truly endeared me to him. I thought that the distrust he felt on this song was incredibly sincere and descriptive. I'm usually drawn to vulnerability in hip hop and I always felt "Lucky Me" was one of the best examples during this period.
Song that made me even more curious about Stevie Wonder: George Michael & Mary J. Blige - As
I'll admit that I had no idea this was a cover the first time I first heard it, but when I did find out it was Stevie Wonder, I became even more impressed by the man. He's made appearances on the past few volumes of The Collection, so my appreciation was growing at a steady pace already. I eventually found out that this was a very faithful take on the song, which is probably why George Michael was able to get airplay on WGCI.
I really wasn't kidding when I said that I liked vulnerability in my hip hop: Goodie Mob-Guess Who?
Soul Food is another album I adore, but when I finally got a chance to listen to it on my own, the sensitive track was once again the one that stood out and made its way onto my mixtape. Hip hop was already a language that I felt a connection to, so whenever there was something introspective going on, it would usually leave a big impact on me. After spending more time with the album, I would now rank several other songs above "Guess Who?", so it's interesting to have it documented how I was feeling at a certain point about Soul Food.
Song that made me think that Dave Matthews was actually kind of...cool?: Dave Matthews Band - Crush
As past tracklists have shown, I have no problem with DMB, but even I could tell that they were far from being hip. That voice, those dance moves, that saxophone. Even I could tell that none of those things screamed cool. Then along came "Crush," and my body moved differently to it than with any of their other songs. The bass line was slick enough that it could have sneaked onto urban radio and I was no longer content to just tapping my feet when one of their songs came on. For the first time, I could feel a little bit of soul in their music, which for a while had me believing that the group wasn't made up of complete dorks.
Song that spoke to the obsessive in me: The Flys-Got You (Where I Want You)
So yeah, I had a crush or two (or a hundred) back in the day, so I usually took special interest in any song that was about pursuing or longing. I never cared much for the rap at the end, but it was all about those "oohs" during the chorus and that lower register that most lead singers around the time used that could instantly strike a chord with pining adolescents such as myself.
Song that I never heard in its entirety until I did this post: Labelle-Lady Marmalade
The great thing about recording songs from the oldies station is that I could play them back anytime I wanted and didn't have to wait for them to appear in a Time-Life compilation commercial, thus bringing me fully up to speed with all the grown-ups. I've rarely allowed snippets on my mixtapes since the early days, but whenever I heard an older song on the radio, I usually just hit record hoping that I caught it at the beginning. "Lady Marmalade" is awesome and all, but it wasn't exactly setting the airwaves on fire back in 1998, which left the next time I would hear it again a mystery. I ended up only catching the song right before the last verse, but I knew the hell out of that part until the 2001 remake came along. Up until now, I had never heard the Labelle version from beginning to end and I've obviously been missing out.
I can't help but champion follow-up songs by one-hit wonders, but only if they're good: Fastball-Fire Escape
I've already mentioned "The Way" in an earlier entry and how over the moon I was about it, but "Fire Escape" is another one of those tunes that time has forgotten. I've always felt a kinship with songs like this because despite how catchy I thought it was, it never gained much momentum in popularity. I've never had anything against success, but I did find myself rooting for the underdogs a lot.
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