Boston Globe stole my idea but they didn’t take it far enough. They took Jordin Spark’s Ipod, hit shuffle, and told their readers what the first ten records were.
Here is the list plus (and this is a biggie) my review.
1. “ABC’’ Jackson 5 – Here is what they had that obody else does. Motown behind em and MJ in front.
2. “The Ballad of John and Yoko’’ the Beatles – Really, just Lennon and Macca, but Christ you know it is one of the their great singles. Banned due to that controversial implied comparison and… here is the difference between Zach and the rest of those cats and Lennon and Ono. Lennon and Ono risked somethings in their fight for peace. Like their hair, jail time, and death.
3. “Black Hawk’’ Joe – early, early soul guy Joe song… from his first album… love the drums, they seem to have the hiccups.
4. “Wonderful Life’’ Gwen Stefani -Not one of Gwen’s great moments… it is a completely by the numbers pop song.
5. “Help!’’ the Beatles – Yeah, John, money? Check. Fame? Check? Adoration? Check. Help? Oh yeah, you were overweight.
6. “A Cradle in Bethlehem’’ Nat King Cole – I love this guy, love his pop, love his jazz, love that three piece jazz he changed the world. Loved that christmas song. Not this Christmas song.
7. “Free at Last’’ DC Talk – I’d rather be in chains than hear this again – gives the term obvious whole new vistas of meaning though the band aint terrible.
8. “Wall to Wall’’ Chris Brown – pre-Rihanna beat down, ordinary r&b with a great back beat so you know when to move your toes.
9. “Go Tell It on the Mountain’’ Kirk Franklin & the Family – Franklin is about as big as Gospel gets and this is why.
10. “Partytime’’ Missy Elliott – As a rule of thumb I don’t believe fashion kills pop -a good dance track will always float to the top. So explain The cookbook? Even I missed the boat on what is Timbaland’s best work since that Timberlake album. People mustn’t care for Missy’s vocals any more. It’s the only possible reason for this dogging.