Side A
K.P. & Envyi-Swing My Way
Stone Temple Pilots-Sex Type Thing
snippet of Toni Basil's "Mickey"
TLC-Waterfalls
Metallica-Turn The Page
Zhane-Off My Mind
Lauryn Hill-Can't Take My Eyes Off You
The Offspring-Why Don't You Get A Job?
TLC-Silly Ho
Celine Dion-My Heart Will Go On
John Mellencamp-Not Running Anymore
Blues Traveler-But Anyway
Primus-Wynonna's Big Brown Beaver
Side B
Crucial Conflict-To The Left
Boyz II Men-Water Runs Dry
Tool-Sober
Dave Matthews Band-So Much To Say
Metallica-When It Sleeps
TLC feat. Outkast-Sumthin' Wicked This Way Comes
Redman-Whateva Man
Red Hot Chili Peppers-Soul To Squeeze
Stone Temple Pilots-Creep
Placebo-Pure Morning
Monifah-Touch It
Live-I Alone
One of the luxuries of having a CD player was that I now had more control over my mixtapes. If nothing good came on the radio for a while, there was no need to fret since I could select a number of tracks from the albums that my brother had. A lot of my earlier mixes had some filler due to me just being thrilled with being able to record and own songs. With the CD player, there was a higher probability that I would enjoy future volumes of The Collection.
As precise as I had become with recording songs in their entirety from the radio, I would still resort to snippets here and there, usually if they were older songs. My patience in waiting to capture a song from beginning to end paid off with a better quality of mixtapes, but whenever I heard something from the '80s or earlier, I became reckless and disregarded any caution by quickly hitting record. Back in 1999, you never knew the next time you would hear Toni Basil's "Mickey" on the air. Other than that, things kept rolling along smoothly for Vol. 12.
Song I hated when it first came out, but eventually warmed up to: Stone Temple Pilots - Sex Type Thing
Out of all the post-Pearl Jam/Alice in Chains grunge bands that started popping up from 1992 on, Stone Temple Pilots eventually became my favorite, although I was not a fan of this first single. As was the case with "Cherub Rock", it was hard for me to get past the fact that I could barely make out what the lead singer looked like in the video and thus resulted in me not being able to make a connection as a youngster. It also didn't help that the title of the song also didn't show up in the chorus. Yes, I'm aware of how weird that seems but I've since gotten over it. After repeatedly watching the video over and over on MTV, my resistance wore down once I associated the lyric, "I know you want what's on my mind" with the song title. Then it clicked and me and "Sex Type Thing" have been on good terms ever since.
Song that made me appreciate listening to albums all the way through even more than I did before: Zhane - Off My Mind
I've never been concerned with only listening to new albums since I've always been intrigued by good music of any era, even if it was just a few years old and seemed passé. As I've stated in earlier posts, I really didn't get a chance to purchase albums of my own and if I didn't hear a full-length through a family member, I likely didn't hear it at all. One of the albums I was anxious to hear from my brother's CDs was Zhane's debut based on the strength of the singles. I had a gut feeling that it would be a good one and I ended up being correct. One of the many highlights was "Off My Mind," a jazzy number that sounded nothing like I had expected to be on the album. Just the fact that I had known so little about a gem like that on such a popular album made me realize even more that listening to CDs from beginning to end would always be worth it.
Song that always caught my attention with its opening lines: Placebo - Pure Morning
I've never been interested in weed, but I was always so delighted to hear about it at the beginning of this track. I always liked how it got straight to the point because it always made me stick around for the rest of the song, even if the only words I still know are those first four lines. Throw in the word "breasts" and "Pure Morning" definitely stuck out Q101. The song itself was no slouch either, with a repetitive melody that was easy to catch on to and a load of haziness all around.
Another album track from an album that I never got the chance to listen to during its heyday: TLC - Sumthin' Wicked This Way Comes
I didn't discover Crazysexycool through my brother's collection since my mom had it on cassette. By the time I finally listened to it during the summer of '96, they were no longer on the radio, so I was still behind. Even though I was already familiar with the album, I still took advantage of my brother's CD copy and used it to record "Waterfalls and "Sumthin' Wicked This Way Comes" for this mixtape. When I initially started to listen to Crazysexycool, this track immediately became my favorite and I luckily I didn't have to rewind too far to listen to it since it was the last track. Dre's verses were obvious high points, but it was something about hearing distorted guitar on an R&B track that endeared me to this song. I've always been a fan of that kind of juxtaposition.
If you're between the ages of 25-45 and grew up on the West Side of Chicago, chances are you know at least a few lines from this song: Crucial Conflict - To The Left
I used to have the belief that in order to consider yourself a true West Sider, you must either own Crucial Conflict's The Final Tic or at the least be able to recite a verse from "Hay." Since the group proudly repped the West Side, their debut album was a great source of pride and became a universal communicating point all the way from Damen Ave. to Austin Blvd. I never bought the album, but simply going to school and hanging around friends, I already knew a good deal of the songs from either them playing it or constantly quoting it. "To The Left" was always one of my favorite tracks because it felt soulful, but it was also one of their hardest. "Hay" and "Ride The Rodeo" got the most play on the radio and TV, but everyone in the streets knew that this is where it was at.
The only song from The Collection that my mother ever sang along to: Boyz II Men - Water Runs Dry
Since the ironing board was right next to my bedroom in our apartment, it was easy for anyone in that spot to be able to hear exactly what I was listening to. My taste was a lot more varied and contemporary than my mother's, so I'm pretty sure she didn't find much common ground with what came from my speakers most of the time. So yes, she had to listen to Crucical Conflict's "To The Left" before "Water Runs Dry," but once it came on, I could hear her singing along. It wasn't that surprising since 1.) It was Boyz II Men. Everybody's mothers loved Boyz II Men 2.) It was a big hit during its time, and 3.) It was written by none other than Babyface. This wasn't a really significant event, but whenever I listen to this volume, I always tend to remember that moment and I really don't know of any other instance she sang along to one of my mixtapes.
Song that showed me just how aggressive women could be: KP & Envyi - Swing My Way
The gender roles in our culture have led us to believe that when it comes to courtship, men should always be the initiator. Of course, just the opposite has happened countless times, but whenever this occurred in TV, movies and music at the time, it was still seen as shocking. What I loved about "Swing My Way" was how bold and confrontational it felt. KP had a need and nothing was going to stop her from achieving it. I knew girls like that, but it was refreshing to hear a track like that since they were underrepresented. Having an all-out catchy chorus didn't hurt its enjoyment either.
Song I thought was the sexiest during its run: Monifah - Touch It
For just about any adolescent male, a video such as "Touch It" would definitely have its highlights. And no, I'm not talking about the Apocalypse Now references, but the image of Monifah in a short dress with a high slit was about as sexy as television would allow. It was also a pretty smart move to sample Laid Back's "White Horse," already a sexy beat in its own right. What really did it for me was how breathy her vocals sounded. She made it feel like as if she was about to lose control at any moment.
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