Footloose and Fancy-Free Samples

[101 Dalmatian Street]

Another review series. I have ADCD after all. Before I go over this, my Animated Reviews is on hold until I decide to make the next review and my catch-up blogs have not been updated but I will continue after getting the time needed to review all 5 of the next eps for my next blog. I'd put all three review threads on hold if I could as I have my spin-off progression goal set for this year.

 

While I was doing my 20 worst songs countdown, doing some more music reviews came to my mind and this came to fruition.

 

Here, I will be reviewing songs, preferably "songs that notably sample other hit songs." That will be the main subject, with "Whatcha Say" and "Ice Ice Baby" as examples.

 

I'm planning to do each review biweekly, that should be good enough for me.

 

After I'm done with the countdown, I will begin doing my first review for the month. It's not biweekly, but for this month, I start if off by reviewing 3 songs from Flo Rida. BTW, except most of the reviews to be positive.

 

Here's a short list of other songs I'm tempted to review thereafter:

 

Live Your Life - T.I and Rihanna

Fight For You - JASON DERULOOOO

Cupid's Chokehold - Gym Class Heroes

Through the Wire - Kanye West

 

And a list of what I can't review, mostly because I already did them:

 

Whatcha Say - Jason Derulo

Ice Ice Baby - Vanilla Ice

Swagger Jagger - Cher Lloyd

[Doctor Sex]

Most songs might not sample other popular songs but sampling is pretty common in many genres especially hip hop

[Young Nug]

Sampling?

 

Might as well review every Kanye album 

[101 Dalmatian Street]

Most songs might not sample other popular songs but sampling is pretty common in many genres especially hip hop

 

That's true. I'm not saying I hate the idea of sampling, but my reason for these type of reviews is seeing it as an interesting topic myself.

 

Sampling?

 

Might as well review every Kanye album 

 

I dunno if you're joking or being sarcastic, I don't think I see songs like Heartless and Gold Digger having to do with sampling. Clever catch, though.

[Young Nug]

I dunno if you're joking or being sarcastic, I don't think I see songs like Heartless and Gold Digger having to do with sampling. Clever catch, though.

 

I don't think I see songs like Gold Digger having to do with sampling. Clever catch, though.

 

I don't see songs like Gold Digger having to do with sampling.

...

 

You're aware Gold Digger is based almost entirely on a Ray Charles sample from "I Got A Woman", right? And that Kanye's entire career is based on sampling? And that almost every one of his songs has a sample?

[Elastic Dawg]

^ Agreed. Have you not heard "Harder Better Faster Stronger", Steel?

 

Here's a couple decent tunes with sampling (of other songs):

 

"Put Her in the Buck" - 2 Live Crew ("Jungle Fever" by some-70s-disco-artist-I-don't-recall)

 

"Wild Thing" - Tone Loc ("Janie's Cryin'" by Van Halen)

 

"Gangsta of Love" - Geto Boys (the original version has "The Joker" by Steve Miller Band, and the "Gangsta Boogie Mix" has "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynrd Skynrd)

 

"Klink" - Death Grips ("Rise Above" by Black Flag)

 

"I Want It I Need It (Death Heated)" - Death Grips ("Interstellar Overdrive" by Pink Floyd)

 

"Destruction Terror" - Three 6 Mafia (a vocal sample from LL Cool J's "Mama Said Knock You Out", used to...interesting effect)

 

"Berzerk" - Eminem (I'm not too big on this song to be honest, but it has a great sample from Billy Squier's "The Stroke")

 

That's just a few. Finding non-rap songs with sampling is fairly hard. Unless you mean audio samples, in which I point you in the direction of stuff like Skinny Puppy's "Warlock" (lots of Charles Manson talking) and Marilyn Manson's first album ("Portrait of an American Family", which, along with Uncle Charlie, has a lot of John Waters movie samples)

[101 Dalmatian Street]

...

You're aware Gold Digger is based almost entirely on a Ray Charles sample from "I Got A Woman", right? And that Kanye's entire career is based on sampling? And that almost every one of his songs has a sample?

 

Wow. I can be (really) guillible in certain times. Of course, it took be a long while to realize that Kanye's music is built on sampling...

 

I also did hear Stronger and its sample, but anyways...

 

 

 

Album 1: I "Definitely" Have a Good Feeling About This

 

Track 01. Review 01. Good Feeling / Flo Rida

Original Sample: Something's Got a Hold on Me / Etta James

Rating: 2.4 out of 5

 

 

Footloose and Fancy Free Samples. Here, I review a handful of songs that sampled up other individual ones. It's not that sampling makes a person unoriginal or a thief, it's used for reasonable purposes. People's thoughts on the use of sampling is mixed between whether or not it's good or bad. Usually, it can be said that it makes the original song timeless. Other times, it gives more meaning to the "new" song, it doesn't make much sense compared to the "new" song, or some other instances like using a sample as album filler or something like that. Basically, it's the type of music that I'd like to give my thoughts on, starting today. First up...it's Flo Rida's Good Feeling.

 

Before the new song: Soul singer Etta James' Something's Got a Hold on me was released as a single in 1962. Flo Rida sampled a song that was 49 years old at the time. That's pretty cool, but while R&B, soul, and hip-hop are on the same roof, "Good Feeling" has a more electronic vibe and that's giving me some questions...

 

The review: When I heard this song, the pitch raising vocals from Etta kinda pestered me. Understandably, I never heard about the original song until last year when I realized it was sampled and I thought the song only had something to do with Flo Rida. The funny thing is, his voice was much deeper in comparison and when I heard the second line of the hook, I couldn't help but hear one of the singers grabbing their nuts (no offense, I just wanted to say it if I were to complain about that spontaneous high note) so I'd figure somebody else was involved with it, but no. It was then I realized the vocals were done by Etta James, however. She has a good singing voice, but I'm not too fond with the "spontaneous high note."

 

You know, what else do I hear when I listen to "Good Feeling?" Avicii and Ke$ha, I'm looking at you two, but I might as well be the only one who finds the guitar beats sounding similar to...

 

 

Namely the beginning of it where it's all calm before it gets louder. So the way I'm going to describe it, Flo Rida samples a song from Etta James while the guitars coincidentally has a similar sound to Boston's "Peace of Mind." I have no idea if Ke$ha did sample Good Feeling, but then that's where she would come in with "Die Young" where the beat sounds so familiar to the aforementioned one. After that, Avicii would sample "Good Feeling," which sampled "Something's Got a Hold on Me" for his song called "Levels," but without the similarity that "Die Young" had to "Good Feeling's" and its other similarity, namely to "Peace of Mind" IMO. It's crazy when I think about it.

 

I declared this song as a "dishonorable" mention in my Bottom 20 list, so it's easy to tell that this isn't going to be a positive review. Onto Flo Rida's parts within the song...where should I start criticizing?

 

I'll be the president one day

January first, oh, you like that gossip

Like you the one drinking what God sip dot com

 

January first, oh you like that gossip...yeah, I'm not getting this so...I'm not going to use my brain for that. Aaaannnd, I got nothing. Heck if I know what that meant. "Like you the one drinking what God sip dot com," what? Ugh, just...what? Moving on...

 

Witness I got the heart of 20 men

No fear, go to sleep in the lion's den

That flow, that spark, that crown

You looking at the king of the jungle now

 

That's a really big heart, you know. Furthermore, I wouldn't get my hopes up with sleeping in a lion's den. The way I can describe this at this point, it's telling me that "he's the Good Feeling," or the simple "I rule" type of song. I can actually get the fact he's comparing himself to the lion, king of the jungle. I could begin imagining him singing "I Just Can't Wait to be King."

 

No trick plays, I'm Bill Gates,

Take a genius to understand me

 

And now you're comparing yourself to the father of the Microsoft computers? You got a point there, I'm not really a genius to understand...you know, like, "you the one drinking what God sip dot com." And I think I'm through with the song here.

 

Old vs. new. Which is better?: Etta James' "Something's Got a Hold on Me," to a degree. It's not perfect, like I discussed on one point of the original song, but I think it's a better listen than "Good Feeling."

 

Final thoughts: It's fairly better than my worst 20 songs and It has the timeless charm from Etta James, that "surprising high note" I mentioned before kinda annoys me, it has some bad lyrics here and there IMO and I don't see it as much as a perfect fit, to make things short. I'll give it a...2.4 since I can't incorporating anything as similar as Baby Littlefoots and Grandpa Longnecks.

 

 

Next will be another Flo Rida single, but it's not as well known....

[Doctor Sex]

Could you review this it's pretty much him rapping over a whole other song with almost no edits

[Burgerpants]

Try Reviewing "It Was A Good Day" by Ice Cube.

[Cha]

based off Hey There Delilah, please and thank you.

[Elastic Dawg]

A bunch of early Three-6 Mafia songs, too. Everything from samples from "Halloween" to "Beavis and Butthead" to "Unsolved Mysteries".

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoBP_lBVghE

 

 

Esham has a bunch of weird fucking samples too (I think he's the only rap artist to sample Jimi Hendrix's guitar playing). Good stuff, though.

[101 Dalmatian Street]

I didn't expect to get a handful requests....I'll get down to them eventually. I have another song to review at the moment...


"Sampling. It can be good, but it can also be bad."
-Steel Sponge

Track 02. Review 02. Sugar / Flo Rida feat. Wynter Gordon
Original Sample: Blue (Da Ba Dee) / Eiffel 65
Rating: 3.1 out of 5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzV1dWFfFh4

It's only got a million views according to that video. The fact that it's a single and got its own music video isn't stopping me. Continuing on with Flo Rida, here's a sampled song that's not as well known as the other two, with one of them I'm going to review after this one, and what I'm talking about is the one that is titled "Sugar."

Before the new song: Italian Eurodance group Eiffel 65's single "Blue (Da Ba Dee)" came out in 1999 and might as well be notable for how catchy it was. I probably grew up in the generation where dance music was common for a short while. Regardless, there are some specific genres I've been listening to throughout my childhood. I've been listening to country music for most of my life. I've been introduced to classic rock in-between my final grade-school and beginning middle school years. I've introduced myself to some alternative rock and pop music by 2005 and 2006 and decided to get attached to those for a while. Nostalgia attack, I'm sorry. In terms of some dance music songs, "I Like to Move it" and "We Like to Party" caught my eye. I might have listened to Blue at one point, and I guess that's it. 10 years later, Flo Rida would sample the exact song.

The review: The first thing we'll notice is the use of the song "Blue (Da Ba Dee)." I'll talk about how it's sampled up later. I can't really do this without talking about the lyrics...

Da double dee double di

Double dee, double di. What, you mean Double D a.k.a Edd from Ed Edd n' Eddy? Well, some little readjustments wouldn't really hurt.

Hey, I've got a mouth full of cavities.
Sweet tooth, full of mama, like sugar to me.

This song is expected with candy-esque metaphors that it's bound to give me metaphor-diabetes. (If that was bad, I'm sorry) It's a literally sweet song at this point. I'll be the judge of Flo Rida's rap verses. Like I said, I'd have to be a "genius" to understand some of the lyrics I'm going over...

Put my tongue in your face
A little mistletoe, sippin Gram I A.

So you're going to lick her face or something? I'm just being delusional, but I know what you mean. "A little mistletoe, sippin Gram I A," aw man, Flo Rida, stop spouting me words I can't figure out such as [LIKE YOU THE ONE DRINKING WHAT GOD SIP DOT COM]!

Sweeter so flavor, thats good for this player.

Pretty much, youre givin me a sugar rush.
Lil mama, give me high blood pressure when you blush.

Yeah, expect a lot of sugar/pastry related lyrical puns while you're still listening to this. Practically, I feel like I'm listening to a similar yet kinda different song. "I Want Candy" to be precise, cuz' that's the song is feeling like, minus the puns.

Yep! Yep! Your vision. So, so delicious.
Can't help my interest, candy addiction.

Aside from that little creative input, no kidding.

I dont know a piece, Give me all your sweets.
Bottom and top lip, bout to have a sugar feast.
Level with our trip, Im a lip bitin beast.

Yeah, go ahead and bit her lips off, you'll get a taste of that sugar you've always been craving that way. And of course, being coated with sugar/candy related puns/metaphors, moving on...

Squeeze the sugar cane on your mouth, must beat.

Speaking of which...ew. At least she doesn't have to "lick the icing off" right away...

You so sweet, so sweet.
Like my candy, my candy
You so sweet, so sweet.

WOMAN PHYSICALLY FIT, PHYSICALLY FIT...I'm so sorry. I can't really argue with this though. As long as it doesn't sound a bit so annoyingly repetitive and such, this is fine.

Was the glass slipper a perfect fit?: I didn't think about this while doing my Good Feeling review, but it's time I use this add up to the review. The question is, was "Blue (Da Ba De)" a good enough fit be sampled for "Sugar?" In terms of catchiness, I don't mind, so that's a yes. In terms of lyrics, I can't help but think they should have sampled "I Want Candy" or any other song similar to that to give my own suggestion and opinion if they're going with what I just talked about. Overall, I find the idea of sampling "Blue (Da Ba De)" to be rather bittersweet. (BA DE DA BA DUM TSH)

 

Old vs. new. Which is better?: In my opinion, "Sugar" isn't really as good as Eiffel 65's "Blue (Da Ba De)." obviously. So, there's that.

Final thoughts: It's loaded with candy related metaphors, but the lyrics aren't bad regardless. With the use of sampling Eiffel 65's song, it doesn't make the song as bad, even if the original song doesn't match up IMO. This is a fairly good Flo Rida song. I'm gonna give this one a 3.1 for my score.

 

 

The next Flo Rida song is what you would see coming...like a record baby.

[Elastic Dawg]

Eugh, Flo Rida is terrible, and barely even in a fun way.

 

Also, this one completely slipped my mind, but "Born Free" by MIA has a sample of Suicide's "Ghost Rider". Usually i'd kill a bitch over someone touching my beloved Suicide, but, MIA's pretty damn good, and so is the song she has sampling it.

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGLJoXpKo4U

[101 Dalmatian Street]

Track 03. Review 03. Right Round / Flo Rida feat. Ke$ha
Original Sample: You Spin me Round (Like a Record) / Dead or Alive
Rating: 3.0 out of 5

Here it is: the last Flo Rida song for the month, as well as the first single to feature Ke$ha. Got nothing to say, so let's get on with the song...

Before the new song: A new wave British band called "Dead or Alive" was formed in 1980. They disbanded in 2011. Being a one hit wonder in the U.S., "You Spin me Round (Like a Record)" was their best known and only successful song in the States, in which was released as a hit single first thing in the United Kingdom in 1984. Todd in the Shadows' One Hit Wonderland should have some more information on this band, if you want to check it out. And the song is a staple of several resources for YTP, just to add. Technically, I've known of the original song before it was sampled by Flo Rida...or during the time it was being sampled. Flo Rida's song "Right Round" was released as a single in 2009.

The review: So, how does Flo Rida do when he samples up Dead or Alive's song? Let's find out...

You spin my head
Right round
Right round
When you go down
When you go down, down

Alright, so they changed it up a bit again like with "Sugar." Nothing else interesting to say, honestly. Moving on...

Hey, walk out the house with my swagger
Hop in there with dough
I got places to go

Too bad there wasn't anything to rhyme with swagger until some people took notice of "Mick Jagger." Swagger didn't get old until one of the later years, so I guess that gets a free pass.

So far, the lyrics are looking good, nothing much to complain about at this point.

However, the chorus suggests that it's about oral sex. Well...I don't know the meaning behind the original song, but for sure, it's not about oral sex.

Don't open my mouth
Let her talk to my fans
My Benjamin Franklin's

Is this implying that Flo Rida's fans are a bunch of 100 dollar bills or cloned fathers of electricity? Based on what I'm seeing in the lyrics, it might as well also be about girls and money. Imagine a hip hop song without that. Regardless, those three lines sound kinda shabby.

Time to get paid
It's maximum wage
That body belong on a poster

And of course, hot women equals money, or maximum wage. Once again, moving on...

You wanna shoot like a gun out of holster
Tell me whatever and I'll be your gopher

And by gopher...? Heck if I know. If Flo Rida wants to be "her gopher," then I can't ruin that moment for him except that I could think of a better metaphor.

Later on, we get a remix of Flo Rida saying "Down" in different tones.

And that's it. The song should be over and that would wrap up my review for this.

Was the glass slipper a perfect fit?: Kind of...perhaps no. It channels the original song in a way, but I feel like I'm not listening to the original, even with the chorus usually being about oral sex.

Old vs. new. Which is better?: Third song in a row and Flo Rida's sampled up songs still can't match up to the original ones. In this case, "You Spin me Right Round (Like a Record)" being better IMO is no contest. To give the new one more credit, the chorus is at least not as monotone compared to Dead or Alive's song.

Final thoughts: What do I think of "Right Round?" Eeehhhhhhhhhhh....it lacks the upbeat touch from the original, I can hardly see the point of sampling "You Spin me Right Round," yet it's lyrics are not as bad. Generally, I find it to be a meh song. I'll give it a solid 3.


The next song I will review will come by during the first week of February, where I'll plan out my biweekly schedule as well. It's a T.I. and Rihanna song and you should all know by now which song I'm referring to.

[101 Dalmatian Street]

Well, I've owed you guys some reviews. And the next one will have to be on this Friday/Saturday.

 

Track 04. Review 04. Live Your Life / T.I. feat. Rihanna
Original Sample: Dragostea din tei / O-Zone
Rating: 4.1 out of 5

 

 

 

Pretty much another one of those sampled songs to become #1. Does these two songs together do justice?...Let's go right ahead with this right now...

 

Before the new song: O-Zone is a....Moldovan pop/eurodance group who are usually and only best know for "Dragostea Din Tei," or for everyone, the "Numa Numa Song." They didn't seem to last as they've been split up 9 years ago anyway. The song itself has become everywhere all around Youtube and then T.I. and Rihanna would cave in to sample this for one song.

 

The review: The first thing I feel like pointing out is that Rihanna would also do the lyrics in tune to the sampled song. What I'm wondering is why they decided to pick the one song in particular. They don't really use the sample so commonly, so I guess I don't have much else to discuss for Rihanna. Then comes T.I.'s part...

 

Never mind what haters say, ignore them 'til they fade away.
Amazing they ungrateful after all the game I gave away.
Safe to say I paved the way, for you cats to get paid today.
You still be wasting days away, nah had I never saved the day.
Consider them my protégé, homage I think they should pay.

 

The list goes on for his lyrics. I can't also but help notice the reason they use "ay" and yeah....the best way I can describe these set of lyrics at this point as how I can feel a "The Raven" vibe sorta, but all rhyming with "ay." Does that bother me? When it comes to creative use of these lyrics, I don't think so. With that said, I'm liking this so far. As for the next pair, it goes differently and let's go further ahead onto them.

 

Could do without the fame and the rappers nowadays are comedy.
The hootin' and the hollerin', back and forth with the arguing.

 

"Rappers nowadays are comedy," to me, that would sound debatable, just thought I'd make a comment on that.

 

Your values is a disarray, prioritizing horribly.
Unhappy with the riches cause your piss poor morally.
Ignoring all prior advice and fore warning.
And we mighty full of ourselves all of a sudden aren't we?

 

I'm still liking what T.I. is giving us here. I don't honestly know what else to talk about, but indeed do I find the the tone quite serious.

 

And after Rihanna's next verse, I should now start grading this song...

 

Was the glass slipper a perfect fit?: If I'm going to give out a reason why this song wasn't too good, I would put the sample itself into question. I find it odd to place "Dragostea Din Tei" in part of it, in my opinion. They don't actually seem to use the sampled song as often (except for the beat, I think), so it wasn't really as much of an offender. Bottom line is, I don't think it fits perfectly.

 

Old vs. new. Which is better?: It's a hard choice between a funky eurodance song by O-Zone and a T.I./Rihanna song with good enough charm (in which I'm going to cover up in my incoming verdict). With that, I say both are winners here.

 

Final thoughts: What do I think? Simply, it's a good song after the first three Flo Rida tracks I covered up with a simple meaning as "just live your life." It's a song with strong personality and good enough lyrics, even though I would think differently about using "Dragostea Din Tei" to sample up, as "Live Your Life" seems so unique yet not so fitting that way, IMO.

 

 

Next song I'm going to do is one by Jason Derulo himself, and it might surprise us somehow. And oh yes, sorry about the delays and not going through the schedule from the start. I'll hopefully improve with that.

[101 Dalmatian Street]

Track 05. Review 05. Fight For You / Jason Derulo
Original Sample: Africa / Toto
Rating: 3.3 out of 5

 

 

 

The world of sampling is no stranger for Jason Derulo. With tracks like these, it just makes him an easy target. And you know, you're all expecting me to rate it lower, but thing is....I'm thinking that this song might as well be apparently a saving grace from his entire career, but then again, this is Jason Derulo I'm talking about...and the fact that he's sampled a timeless 80's Billboard classic. Topping only #83 on the charts, this is indeed one of his less successful singles.

 

Before the new song: Toto were a famous rock band formed during the near late 1970's and made an impact with the #1 Billboard hit, "Africa." Of course, they had other notable hit songs such as "Hold the Line," "Rosanna," "I'll Be Over You," and others. Going a little back, we got Jason Derulo in which some of you have already known who has been called "a man of no talent," "a hack," and "that one guy who somehow ruined Hide and Seek." You can tell by the rating I gave that I'm going to be criticizing JASON DERULOOOOOO differently.

 

The review: So it starts off with Jason Derulo singing the first three lines off the chorus for Africa, but the difference is that he's not blessing the rains. FOR SHAME- okay, next topic...

 

This is the a part of the chapter of Jason Derulo's career where he just stopped singing his names during his songs. I'd also like to point out that I'm quite glad it's not as treated how "Whatcha Say" was, singing his name, apologizing to a girl for admittedly cheating, the original sample having little to do with the other song and such. But of course, the music video gives us his dance moves and looking sexy and fun most of the time aside from the song's meaning of how he'd "fight for her."

 

What they say - It don't even matter
They don't really understand
Without each other, we are barely breathing

 

What they say...(I think I'm getting Whatcha Say flashbacks here, but that's not the point now...)

 

It's usually your generic love song, but with Africa being materialized into a pop song adds up to it.

 

If you've got someone that's worth fighting for
Don't let nobody hold you down

let me hear you say

WOAH

 

Woah, man.

 

If you've found someone that's worth dying for
The one you can't live without

let me hear you say
WOAH

 

WOAH, I'm trying, M'kay!? (To bad I'm single to really care about doing something like that.)

 

Sadly, I might as well be cutting this segment short. After listening to the rest of this little sentimental sampled up song, I'm going to wrap things up with my final thoughts.

 

Was the glass slipper a perfect fit?: I can't really deny that "Fight For You" and "Africa" are in the same category, but very different from each other as usual. To me, Jason Derulo could have at least picked a song other than Africa for a reason. It fits well, but not when it comes to a musical artist like him.

 

Old vs. new. Which is better?: Let me think this through....this song I just covered up better than "Africa?"....HA!

 

Final thoughts: Yes, believe it or not, I don't think of this as a bad Jason Derulo song, or even as a song in general. You can argue about it all you want, but to add up to my verdict, it's like what I said before that it's a simple sentimental love song with another much more popular song sampled up for it. And you know, I think it works. I also think that Jason Derulo doesn't really attempt or practically butcher "Africa" completely. It's an understatement to say that Jason Derulo has had a reputation of being one of the worst modern pop artists and biggest targets in the music industry, but this song is worth listening to, just like the rains down in Africa....in which I bless. Still, I really care less about Jason Derulo and his other songs.

 

 

Next up...we're going to have some breakfast in America.

[101 Dalmatian Street]

Just thought I'd make an announcement that I will be doing a side-review, as I now have complete interest in doing my own Top 10 best/worst Billboard Hot 100 countdown. And that year will be...

1997

I'm going to give it a month to get my favorites/least favorites from that year all put together though. So, why am I doing this? I wanted to express my thoughts on some the Billboard years and that the year in music, along with any other year, is a good contribution to sampled songs. (Take "I Shot the Sheriff," "I'll Be Missing You," and apparently "Jock Jam" for example.)

Yep, soon enough, I'll be covering up the year after the Macarena, the year that brought us "Barbie Girl" and "I Believe I Can Fly," and of course, the last year Peter Cetera was ever relevant.

[Wumbo]

Ah yes, 1997. The year of "MMMBop". Good luck, Steel.

[101 Dalmatian Street]

Track 06. Review 06. Cupid's Chokehold / Gym Class Heroes feat. Patrick Stump
Original Sample: Breakfast in America / Supertramp
Rating: 4.0 out of 5

 

 

 

I should be back on track right now. This next song is by Gym Class Heroes. They even got themselves a special guest for this one, and it's no other than....Patrick Stump from Fall Out Boy.....

 

Before the new song: Let me say this first: they have some good tracks, "The Logical Song," "Breakfast in America," "Give a Little Bit," but that's it. Regardless, I'm definitely not a fan of Supertramp. Generally, I figured they're not my type of band. Speaking of them, the song used in particular is "Breakfast in America," released as a single in 1979. Unlike their other singles from the album that shares the same title, the single made as far as #62 in the Hot 100. It became more well-known by the time Gym Class Heroes would use it as a sample.

 

The review: Well, let's see how much I could talk about of this song...

 

When it comes to the sample, they just didn't change anything, except with Patrick Stump doing the chorus.

 

It's been some time since we last spoke
This is gonna sound like a bad joke
But momma I fell in love again
It's safe to say I have a new girlfriend
 

Well, he's right, because I'm not laughing...and I know you guys aren't because this might as well be a bad joke too.

 

And I know it sounds so old
But cupid got me in a chokehold

 

It seems as though that it can be interpreted that his love for his new girlfriend is so strong that she could make him choke. Okay then... So far, this is sounding like just some feel-happy relationship song and it's starting to sound good.

 

I mean she even cooks me pancakes
And Alka Seltzer when my tummy aches
 

Yeah, pancakes baby! Bonus points for what the music video looks like.

 

If that ain't love then I don't know what love is

 

Good thing he didn't pick Foreigner's song for Patrick Stump to do. It makes me wonder how that could be executed...

 

We even got a secret handshake
And she loves the music that my band makes
I know I'm young but if I had to choose her or the sun
I'd be one nocturnal son of a gun
 

And now it's come to my realization of how it's starting to get very sentimental and lovey-dovey....until it starts deconstructing the first part of the song very shortly, that is..., with another girlfriend....at least from what I'm seeing from the music video. Let's continue.

 

Annoying old man bite his tongue
I'm not done

 

Not sure about the context of that line....but onwards during that verse is Travie simply complimenting his girlfriend, like before.

 

Call it dumb call it luck call it love or whatever you call it but

 

I don't know what to call it now...

 

Anyways, with Patrick Stump's closing chorus, that should be all I'm going to cover and that's "Cupid's Chokehold" for you guys.

 

Was the glass slipper a perfect fit?: I care less about what Gym Class Heroes would do about "Breakfast in America," so, I don't have anything bad to say about it. It fits. It's a fun song while looking into this, as Patrick Stump does a good enough job channeling Roger Hodgson's voice.

 

Old vs. new. Which is better?: Cupid's Chokehold. If choosing that over Breakfast in America seems to be a problem, I don't know what to say.

 

Final thoughts: To be honest, I was expecting something less appealing, but that's because I'm not the hip-hop type, yet I'm looking into it more and how some hip hop songs manage to work. Admittedly, this song works for me, it's got a good sample, its lyrics can be sentimental, I like how things change around during the song, and it's a fun listen.

 

 

The next song I will cover....I'm thinking an Eminem song.

[101 Dalmatian Street]

Track 07. Review 07. Like Toy Soldiers / Eminem
Original Sample: Toy Soldiers / Martika
Rating: 4.8 out of 5

 

 

 

If you've seen the 1989 year-end countdown from Clappy vs. Billboard Hot 100, that's one way you might have known about "Toy Soldiers." My reason for doing a review on Eminem's song that uses the 1989 song as sample is well...I just picked it, out of any other Eminem song that uses sampling. Judging the rating, I feel like I'm being too positive than critical and covering too many "good songs," by far.

 

Before the new song: The odds of a sample being from a popular song being incorporated into a modern and another well-known song should not surprise us. I for one didn't realize that "Toy Soldiers" was a #1 hit. Anyways, Martika released "Toy Soldiers" as a single, later to become a #1 hit. For the rest of her career, she releases her second album "Martika's Kitchen" with Prince as a producer. Unlike her success from 1988/1989, the album was a commercial failure aside from one top 10 hit. Her other two albums that came after followed suit, as if she's faded into obscurity, I guess. Doesn't stop Eminem from creating the song "Like Toy Soldiers."

 

The review: To start it off, the chorus is mainly what Eminem samples up here before I cover up Eminem's verses. Trying to review this is going to be hard for me....

 

That Ja shit I tried to squash it, it was too late to stop it
There's a certain line you just don't cross and he crossed it
I heard him say Hailie's name on a song and I just lost it

 

You know, when people would put up a celebrity/artist's name into a song, I start wondering if the song itself is going to rely on it on a less tolerable way. Now let's look into songs that has a reasonable cause for the style of songwriting. Obviously, this is an example of a song that uses celebrity/artist names and manages to work. I'm not done here, though...

 

It was crazy, this shit went way beyond some Jay-Z and Nas shit
And even though the battle was won, I feel like we lost it
I spent too much energy on it, honestly I'm exhausted

 

This is the part where I start explaining about the meaning behind this song. It's generally political crap, given the name "conscious hip hop" for the song. Accordingly, it's about Eminem's dilemma with a group of rappers, preferably a destructive community built around rappers. Eminem here also contemplates his issues with The Source magazine, 50 Cent, Ja Rule and Murder Inc., along with bringing the Jay-Z-Nas feud to mention. I'm not an open book on most hip-hop and especially politics to a degree, hence using the facts than my brain, but that's what the song revolves around.

 

To coincide with the word "soldiers," drums to the beat of a marching band is also part of the song, which seems to make sense.

 

Plus Dre told me stay out, this just wasn't my beef
So I did, I just fell back, watched and gritted my teeth
While he's all over t.v. down talkin' a man who literally saved my life

 

You can tell that I'm having some liking for this song, spite its political overtones. With lyrics like those, Eminem gets the job done. Then again, looking at the lyrics is like reading a wall of text for me...

 

We actually tried to stop the 50 and Ja beef from happenin'
Me and Dre had sat with him, kicked it and had a chat with him
And asked him not to start it he wasn't gonna go after him
Until Ja started yappin' in magazines how we stabbed him

 

And this is where the story continues over the meaning of this conscious hip hop track. Do I have anything to say about this so far? To be honest, I dunno where to start. A part of me feels like I only want to get through this without having to worry about knowing everything, but that doesn't seem to be the point.

 

Meanwhile my attention is pullin' in other directions
Some receptionist at The Source who answers phones at his desk
Has an erection for me and thinks that I'll be his resurrection

 

Still true to the point, the little dirty metaphor seems to grab my attention a bit. Anyways, more conscious junk thereafter, Eminem's issues with The Source comes around as the song talks about the editor having a grudge with Eminem while still discussing the 50 Cent, Ja Rule, and Murder Inc. label issue.

 

We still have soldiers that's on the front line
That's willing to die for us as soon as we give the orders

 

With use of the term soldiers, it seems like Eminem would still manage to stay true to it.

 

If ya'll can quit poppin' off at the jaws, well then I can
Cause frankly I'm sick of talkin'
I'm not gonna let someone else's coffin rest on my conscience cause
 

And this would be how Eminem wraps up the song before playing over the original sample's chorus for the last time. To finish off my compliments to this, I like how he finishes this off.

 

Was the glass slipper a perfect fit?: Well, that was Eminem's "Like Toy Soldiers." Does this do well with the original sample? I do not think every sampled song should be in par with the meanings. For this song, Martika's cocaine addiction meaning for "Toy Soldiers" to me doesn't need to matter. As long as Eminem can be able to distinctively incorporate the song into a literal yet a key way of describing the meaning of "Like Toy Soldiers," it's all good. I think this fits wonderfully, to where I point out it give the song a delivery and a strong feeling.

 

Old vs. new. Which is better?: Debating on whether Martika or Eminem's song was better is where I get stuck. In the end, I think I'll pick "Like Toy Soldiers" as my favorite of the two.

 

Final thoughts: Considering that I may haven't gotten the story straight, I feel like I did not do this review as sufficiently as I intended to do, but what can I expect for a political hip hop song? For a conscious hip hop song, I really like this one, I like Eminem's discussions of trying to battle all the things out "like a toy soldier" and try to make things calm. I liked the lyrics, I liked the meaning, it almost succeeds as a solid song. Yet again, there's a bunch of other "solid songs," that Eminem has done. My feelings for this song is to the point where I would say that I recommend downloading this song if you happen to like it too. I wouldn't say it's flawless, but the bottom line is that I find this to be an excellent single.

 

 

Unlike my intended biweekly schedule, I have the next review intended for next week and the next one will be Kanye West's first single, otherwise the single that got him a chance at fame for more other successful songs to come. After that, I will begin my countdown for my best and worst songs of 1997, starting June 7th and ending on the 21st.