Friday, June 22, 2007

The First Twenty-Five Songs I Purchased On iTunes...

So I got suckered into this whole "online music purchasing" scam with a $25 iTunes giftcard for my twenty-fifth birthday. First off, some songs I wanted to buy but could not find on iTunes:

Foo Fighters "Darling Nikki"
Folk Implosion "Cabride"
EPMD "I'm Housing"

And then, songs I wanted to purchase, but forgot about or wasn't going to buy the (necessary) entire album...

Big Star "Thirteen"
Dock Boggs "Rub Alcohol Blues"
Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Sealings"
Soundmaster T "Dance, Too Much Booty in the Pants"
Sonic Rendezvous Band "Electrophonic Tonic" or their cover of "(Like A)Rolling Stone"

And the songs I actually purchased, in order...

Stone Temple Pilots "Big Bang Baby"
I'd been searching for this one on a 7" for ages. It don't exist. So iTunes may have it's advantages.

The New Pornographers "Mass Romantic"
I think I'd been searching for this one on 7" as well. I think it doesn't exist. Heard it once on CJAM (Detroit's only college radio staion, located in Windsor) about two years ago and have been wanting to hear it again ever since.

The Walkmen "Red River"
The lead single off the SpiderMan 3 soundtrack? What awesome world are we living in?

Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Cheated Hearts" (iTunes Acoustic Exclusive)
Saw them do a better acoustic version at their AOL Sessions back in 2004. A free Cass record of the winner's choice to anyone who can email me an MP3 of THAT version. Email me at cassdetroit@aol.com

Yeah Yeah Yeahs "The Diamond Sea" (iTunes Acoustic Exclusive)
My sister has this song on her computer and on first listen I wasn't impressed with the Y's take on the Sonic Youth staple. But I'm willing to give it another chance for ninety-nine cents.

Oaktown's 3-5-7 "Juicy Gotcha Krazy"
Ok, so this is where the secret gets out. I've been trying to recapture the innocent booty hip-hop of my youth (late Eighties and early Nineties) for some time now. Back when 96.3 WHYT in Detroit had such stylin' DJ's as the Party Princess Lisa Lisa and (lest we forget) Fogold, I was the hypest, flyest white kid on my block. After this, the deluge...

KRS-ONE and Boogie Down Productions "Love's Gonna Getcha"
Remember the cable TV channel "The Box"? I wish I had videotapes of their old broadcasts.

Marcy Playground "Saint Joe on the Schoolbus"
Ok, so 89X used to play this a lot and I thought it could've passed for a Nirvana b-side.

Del Tha Funkee Homosapien "Mistadobalina"
Urged to search this one out at my older brother's request. Trying to figure out how to spell the song's title was half the fun.

DJ Freaky and MC Nas D "Gold Diggin Girls"
Vivid memories of 5th grade and Mrs. Hasho's class come rushing back. Sweet sample of Midnight Star's "No Parking on the Dance Floor" is pure finesse.

World Class Wreckin Cru "Turn Off the Lights"
A booty ballad. I thought I'd never get to hear this song again.

K7 "Come Baby Come"
Remember ESPN's "Jock Jams" CD series? This guy must've made millions, right?

DJ Magic Mike "Drop the Bass"
Sampled by the Beastie Boys. Or maybe Magic Mike himself sampled the salty "DROP!" lyric from someone else. Anybody?

AMG "The Booty Up"
Lyrics like "I can play Monopoly and still do it properly" just don't turn up in indie rock. That's why indie rock is lame.

Wyclef Jean "We're Trying to Stay Alive"
Featuring Jean Forte with the unforgettable line "I'm eatin mangoes in Trinidad with attorneys" and although I have no idea what in the hell that means, it has not kept me from repeating it. When I first spun? Clicked? (I don't know how else to say you played a download) this for the first time my eyes welled up, in awe of the ultimate perfection achieved with the Bee Gees "Stayin Alive" sample coupled with a swagger full of half-time drums.

Poison Clan "Shake Whatcha Mama Gave Ya"
I never knew Luther Campbell was on this track. This is featured on the "Booty 101: The Forbidden Dances" album. And to think I'd never have an excuse to type "Booty 101" on here.

Poison Clan "Dance All Night"
A song I had actually forgotten about, but thanks to the existence of "Booty 101" I remember.

DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince "You Saw My Blinker"
Vividly remember venturing into a Harmony House where my dad tried to convey this song title ever-so-delicately without mentioning the obivous "Bitch" addendum to the title. Quite possibly one of his favorite songs of all time after Rick James "Superfreak" and the B-52's "Rock Lobster". My dad rules.

Cybotron "Clear"
Reading about Cybotron it's as if every song they ever did is the most important track in techno history. I unexpectedly discovered that "Clear" is sampled on Poison Clan's "Shake..." and cracked a smile. Awesome.

Cybotron "Alleys of Your Mind"
So this is supposedly the first Detroit techno record. It is perfect in every way, equal parts Bambaaataa and Kraftwerk and totally paving the way for jams like Adult. One of the top 5 dance records I've ever heard.

Cat Power "House of the Rising Sun" (iTunes exclusive)
Her track record of covers versus originals is pretty damn close. If i could just get a complete version of her take on the Nerves "Hanging on the Telephone" then I think the covers would easily win.

The Yardbirds "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago"
I guess this is how they get you...too lazy to figure out how to transfer my LP or 45 versions to CD, I opt for laziness and spend ninety-nine of my last 125 iTunes cents on it. And it still rocks.

Questions: How do all those Stooges bootlegs end up on iTunes? Anyone got any tips for good late 80s/early 90s booty jams I may have forgotten? Or better yet, 96.3 playlists? And what's the deal with album-only tracks? How does everyone else feel about iTunes exclusives? Do the bars under "Popularity" signify how many times these tracks have been bought? Am I the first person to buy some of these?

For a brief moment, I feel as if I've recaptured the days of rollerblading in the basement with the radio cranked. There is no such thing as a guilty pleasure for me. It's just all pleasure.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ghost Town DJs - "My Boo" is one of my favorite songs ever.

Also, oddly enough, I've been revisiting STP's Tiny Music album HARD this past week. "Lady Picture Show" is such a jam.

We're the same age too.

- Zach Curd

Anonymous said...

my favorite 96.3 childhood classic...bart simpson's "do the bartman". what?

Anonymous said...

69 Boyz- "Tootsee Roll"

Anonymous said...

I think albums as a whole should be encouraged (and I think Apple does a good job with the "Complete My Album" deals if you have already bought part of the album) but the album-only incentive tracks are kind of a bummer. I've got Icky Thump on CD, but want to hear "Baby Brother". Oh well!

Anonymous said...

okay, i will be the first one so,

yes i did love New Kids on the Block . i was only 11 and had the most devine pair of la gear boots . in case anyone was wondering joey was my favourite.

on the subject of itunes my 5 day old laptop crashed while downloading a dirtbombs song . just thought i would throw that in there.

happy birthday by the way

Anonymous said...

if you like the kraftwerk samples check out the split second of 'numbers' in 'shake that ass bitch' by the splack pack, or some kraftwerk and some muppets in 'the bass that ate miami' by m.c.c.

dougcoombe said...

I need to
1)Buy you a copy of Big Star #1 Record/Radio City

2)Copy DJ Assault's Mr. Muthafukka CD for you(out of print).

Doug Coombe

Anonymous said...

I was in love with that W.Jean song and I always thought that line that Forte drops is so fucking arrogant I love it. Also, when my girl asks to borrow money I still sing the chorus to "Gold Diggin Girls." Some of my 96.3 jams was "Pop that Coochie" by 2 Live Crew and "Tap the Bottle and Twist the Cap" by Young black Teenagers. I did a lip sync act in my Music class to "I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson" in the fifth grade, but that doesn't leave this blog. Download all of Eazy-E's first album Don't get me started all I did was listen to hip-hop when I was a young buck.


Don't forget "My Mind is Playing Tricks on Me" and "Gansta of Love" with the Steve Miller Band sample I dont know how they made SMB cool but I bet it's having a black midget in your band who get's shot in the face, then changes his name from Bushwick Bill to Dr. Wolfgang Von Bushwickin the Barbarian Mother Funky Stay High Dollar Billstir

Zachary

Anonymous said...

Dude, Ben - Don't forget Young and the Restless' "B-Girls" and "Poison Ivy" ...

Anonymous said...

Also, remember when all the rap folks from the East/West Coast did their anti-gang violence songs? "We're All In The Same Gang" and "(We're Headed for) Self-Destruction" ... so pimp.

See, "Saint Joe" reminded me of Nirvana w/the guitars, but "Sex and Candy" always made both me and Dad think of Beck ... Weird.

Anonymous said...

Great to see Cybotron on there.

For my money I'd add Detroit favourite Carl Craig as 69 / Paperclip People assuming it's on iTunes.

The whole iTunes exclusive, only available on CD single, or 7 inch single 2 ...., makes me sorta sick. If you dig a band you should be able to hear their music on the format of your choice. At the very least each track on a 7 should be on a CD single and vice versa. I dig my 7s and shouldn't have to get into the multi format jiggerpokery.

Anonymous said...

Interesting music choices for a man who claims not to dance.

cassdetroit said...

the comment above made me bust out laughing. HARD. funny stuff. i don't ever remember claiming not to dance. maybe i said i don't dance in public?

later...blacker

Anonymous said...

i view it as more of an abrupt contre-volte than a coup fourre