Tuesday, April 18, 2000

Eminem “The Real Slim Shady” released

The Real Slim Shady

Eminem

Writer(s): Marshall Mathers, Andre Young, Tommy Coster, Melvin Bradford, Mike Elizondo (see lyrics here)


Released: April 18, 2000


First Charted: May 5, 2000


Peak: 4 US, 12 GR, 15 RR, 11 RB, 19 MR, 11 UK, 6 CN, 11 AU, 9 DF (Click for codes to charts.)


Sales (in millions): 7.0 US, 1.8 UK, 10.37 world (includes US + UK)


Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 1029.13 video, 1391.24 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

After the independently released Infinite in 1996, Eminem released his first major-label album The Slim Shady LP in 1999. It reached #2 on the Billboard album chart and went five-times platinum. It set him up for an even more massive follow-up with 2000’s The Marshall Mathers LP, which hit #1 and sold more than 25 million copies worldwide.

The album’s lead single, “The Real Slim Shady,” gave Eminem his first top-ten hit in the U.S. and first #1 in the UK. He went on to top the UK charts with “Stan” and “Without Me” before finally topping the Billboard Hot 100 in America with “Lose Yourself.”

The Los Angeles Times called it “a modest step to the mainstream – a fresh and funny, almost PG-rated swipe at everything from the Grammy Awards to shallow teen pop.” WK Eminem was intentionally courting controversy with the song to get publicity and sell more records. SF

The song came about because Interscope record executive Jimmy Iovine wanted a song to introduce the album similar to how “My Name Is” had done so for The Slim Shady LP. Eminem and Dr. Dre and others wrote the song just hours before the final copy of the album was due. WK Until then, “Who Knew” was intended as the first single. WK

The video went a long way in promoting the song. Eminem played up his Slim Shady character and mocked his signature bleached-blond hair look with “a troop of young men with blond hair dressed like Eminem.” SF He also wears a superhero costume and “slams his enemies with comic book intensity.” WK It won the Video of the Year at the MTV Music Video Awards.


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First posted 6/25/2023.

Monday, April 10, 2000

The Hives Veni Vidi Vicious released

Veni Vidi Vicious

The Hives


Released: April 10, 2000


Peak: 63 US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU


Sales (in millions): 0.42 US, -- UK, 0.67 world (includes US and UK)


Genre: post-punk revival


Tracks:

Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts.

  1. The Hives Declare Guerre Nuclearaire [1:35]
  2. Die, All Right! [2:46] (10/22/01, --)
  3. A Get Together to Tear It Apart [1:52]
  4. Main Offender [2:33] (9/3/01, 24 UK)
  5. Outsmarted [2:22]
  6. Hate to Say I Told You So [3:22] (12/4/00, 86 US, 23 UK, 35 AR, 6 MR)
  7. The Hives Introduce the Metric System in Time [2:06]
  8. Find Another Girl (Jerry Butler, Curtis Mayfield) [3:12]
  9. Statecontrol [1:54]
  10. Inspection Wise 1999 [1:37]
  11. Knock Knock [2:10]
  12. Supply and Demand [2:26] (9/24/01, --)
All songs written by Randy Fitzsimmons unless noted otherwise.


Total Running Time: 27:55


The Players:

  • Pete Almqvist (vocals)
  • Nicholas Arson (guitar, backing vocals)
  • Vigilante Carlstroem (rhythm guitar, backing vocals)
  • Dr. Matt Destruction (bass)
  • Chris Dangerous (drums)

Rating:

3.950 out of 5.00 (average of 21 ratings)


Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album:

“American punk rock seems to get more watered down with each passing year. Leave it to the Swedes to remind the USA that we were once the home of the Stooges and the MC5.” JJ The “rousing, stompin’ garage rock” JS of “the Hives’ Veni Vidi Vicious owes its very being to Detroit’s punk genesis; they may be decades too late, but the Hives capture the zeal and fury perfectly.” JJ “‘Party Party!’ they seem to be saying, and you just want to join.” JS “More records like this need to exist.” JS

“The album’s title is a play on words uttered by Julius Caesar after conquering Asia Minor in 47 B.C. Said Caesar: ‘Veni, vidi, vici.’ (In English: ‘I came, I saw, I conquered’).” WK With “plenty of fuzzed, struttin’, propulsive guitar work on this disc to assault your ears,” JS one has to conclude that this, the Hives’ second album, has indeed accomplished that task.

Die, All Right!, an angry rant against capitalism, spikes the aural brew with frontman Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist’s nasty nasal shouts. Just as rocking is Hate to Say I Told You So, which boasts a clunky punk groove and delightfully dark lyrics such as ‘Do what I please gonna spread the disease because I wanna / Gonna call all the shots for the no’s and the not’s.’” JJ

Veni Vidi Vicious clocks in at just under half an hour – a perfectly timed charge of codeine-meets-caffeine and decibels-meets-delicious-rock.” JJ


Notes: “The Japanese edition offers several bonus features, including videos, a website connection, and three bonus tracks (Untutored Youth, Fever, and Mad Man).” JS

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First posted 9/15/2009; last updated 3/9/2022.

Sunday, April 9, 2000

In Concert: Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band

Kemper Arena in Kansas City, MO on 4/9/2000

image from ConsequenceOfSound.net


The Set List:

1. Take 'Em As They Come
2. The Promised Land 4
3. Two Hearts 5
4. Darkness on the Edge of Town 4
5. Darlington County 7
6. Factory 4
7. The River 5
8. Youngstown 11
9. Murder Inc.
10. Badlands 4
11. Out in the Street 5
12. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out 3
13. Downbound Train 7
14. Candy’s Room 4
15. The Ghost of Tom Joad 11
16. Racing in the Street 4
17. Light of Day
18. Ramrod 5
19. Bobby Jean 7
20. Born to Run 3
21. Thunder Road 3
22. If I Should Fall Behind 10
23. Land of Hope and Dreams

* Numbers refer to the studio album which first featured the song.


Review:

Click here to see other concerts I’ve attended.

Prepare yourselves – this is as anal as it gets when it comes to details you probably don’t really need to know. It’s rare that I get any chance to share my useless knowledge of music trivia, though, and the occasion of a Springsteen concert comes as close as I can probably get to justifying my torture of others with such knowledge.

So, let’s tackle the set list based on his album releases.

1 Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. (1973)

2 The Wild, the Innocent, & the E Street Shuffle (1973)

Alas, Bruce played NOTHING from his first two albums. I wouldn’t have minded seeing “Blinded by the Light,” “For You,” or “Spirit in the Night” off his first album. Those have all been made much better known as Manfred Mann songs. I’d have loved to see Bruce steal ‘em back.

3 Born to Run (1975): Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out was arguably the most rocking point of the evening. Bruce certainly got the crowd revved up, though. It also worked well to do an extended jam and band introductions in conjunction with this song. Of course he played Born to Run. What a shocker. Who would ever guess he would’ve played this? Of course everyone knows this as Bruce’s classic – rock lists, especially album-rock stations like KY, often put this song in their top 10 lists of all-time. However, from the standpoint of commercial success, this song only reached #23 on the pop charts. Amazingly, he had sixteen songs which were more successful on the charts and he played NONE of them! Not many artists could pull that off and still put on such a great show.

4 Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978): Bruce tackled six cuts from Darkness on the Edge of Town. I was surprised to see that album so heavily represented. It was a shame he completely ignored FIVE of his studio albums in placing so much emphasis on this album. Badlands was a rocking song, but not one of my favorites. Good choice for a live performance, though. He also tackled the title cut, which I really like, so I was glad to see it. Racing in the Street was another gem. Between this, “The River,” “Thunder Road,” “If I Should Fall Behind” and “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” I totally got my money’s worth.

5 The River (1980): Two Hearts is not one of my favorite cuts from The River. Just a plain ol’ rocker. However, the title cut was my personal highlight of the evening. At the risk of revealing a bit too much sentimentality, I was actually in tears at this one. It was absolutely gorgeous with that long sax solo, harmonica solo, and Bruce’s powerful vocal. I recognized Out in the Street when he played it, but couldn’t remember what album it was on. I never got into The River album very much. I’ll listen to it more now. Take 'Em As They Come, the opener, was on the 1998 box set of never-released material that spanned his entire career, but was recorded in 1980. I was surprised he kicked off with a fairly unknown tune.

6 Nebraska (1982): Come on! Nothing? Not even “Atlantic City”?

7 Born in the U.S.A. (1984): Darlington County was the first of three Born in the U.S.A. songs. Amazing, Bruce completely avoided the 7 top 10 hits from that album. I must say, I didn’t mind, but was quite surprised at how much he avoided the hit material from that album. I would have loved to hear a stripped down, slow version of “Born in the U.S.A.” I have such an animal from a 1996 EP that is absolutely beautiful. I love Bobby Jean. I read recently that this song isn’t really about a long-lost love, but about when Steve Van Zant first left the E Street Band. It puts the song in a new context. He also tackled Murder Inc., which first appeared on the 1995 Greatest Hits, but dates back to the Born in the U.S.A. days. I didn’t expect this, but it definitely was a good choice.

8 Tunnel of Love (1987): Sigh. Another album completely overlooked.

Light of Day (1987) was originally recorded by The Barbusters (Joan Jett and the Blackhearts) in that classic, memorable 1987 film of the same name starring Joan Jett and Michael J. Fox. (Then again, aren’t all of Fox’s screen moments classics – think Teen Wolf, Casualties of War, Greed, The Frighteners, Bright Lights Big City, etc.)

9 Human Touch (1992): Nothing.

10 Lucky Town (1992): An incredible version of If I Should Fall Behind with Patti Scalfia, Clarence Clemons, Nils Lofgren, and Little Stevie Van Zant all taking turns on vocals. I loved it! It blew away the original album version!

11 The Ghost of Tom Joad (1995): I was pleasantly surprised to see a couple cuts off this album. Then again, it’s the last studio album he recorded (time for new material, Bruce!). The original version of Youngstown was the hardest-rocking song on from that album, but was still very stripped-down and acoustic in the original version. I really liked the harder-rocking live version.

Well, there you have it - far more detail than you could have possibly wanted. I loved the concert, though, and wasn’t quite ready to move on. While I’ve been typing, I’ve “relived” the concert by playing all the album versions of the songs in order. Not quite the same, but it’s O.K. Bruuuuuuce!


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Last updated 2/19/2023.

Saturday, April 8, 2000

N’Sync debuted in the US at #1 with No Strings Attached

No Strings Attached

N’Sync


Released: March 21, 2000


Charted: April 1, 2000


Peak: 18 US, 14 UK, 15 CN, 3 AU


Sales (in millions): 11.11 US, 0.1 UK, 17.4 world (includes US and UK)


Genre: pop


Tracks:

Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts.

  1. Bye Bye Bye (1/11/00, 1 US, 1 RR, 25 AC, 19 A40, 3 UK, 1 CN, 1 AU)
  2. It’s Gonna Be Me (4/28/00, 1 US, 1 RR, 28 A40, 9 UK, 1 CN, 11 AU)
  3. Space Cowboy (Yippie-Yi-Yay)
  4. Just Got Paid
  5. It Makes Me Ill
  6. This I Promise You (9/8/00, 5 US, 4 RR, 1 AC, 27 A40, 21 UK)
  7. No Strings Attached
  8. Digital Get Down
  9. I’ll Never Stop * (6/13/00, 13 UK)
  10. Bringin’ da Noise
  11. That’s When I’ll Stop Loving You
  12. I’ll Be Good for You
  13. I’m Not the One *
  14. I Thought She Knew
* UK edition


Total Running Time: 47:15


The Players:

  • Lance Bass
  • JC Chasez
  • Joey Fatone
  • Chris Kirkpatrick
  • Justin Timberlake

Rating:

3.756 out of 5.00 (average of 28 ratings)


Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album:

After their self-titled 1997 debut, *NSYC split with their management, citing that financier Louis J. Pearlman defrauded them. WK They moved to Jive Records, a company considered the kings of teen-pop because of artists such as the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears. To dinstinguish themselves from their peers, *NSYNC incorporated pop and R&B elements. WK The New York Times’ Jon Pareles described it as “1980s rhythm-and-blues that sought to balance pretty melody atop hip-hop’s street-level beat.” WK

The music didn’t have quite the “charismatic punch ala Britney or Christina” WK but *NSYNC still “deserve credit for shaking things up a little bit, since it’s resulted in an effervescent, ingratiatingly cheerful album that’s a vast improvement on the debut.” AMG

“The storming lead single Bye Bye Bye [is] a pile-driving dance number with the catchiest chorus they’ve ever sang.” AMG It created “hype for the album’s eventual landmark success.” WK No Strings Attached debuted at #1 on the Billboard album chart in the United Sates with 2.4 million copies, setting a record for one-week sales. The record held until Adele’s 25 in 2015.

The “futuristic synth-driven” WK Digital Get Down “is about video cybersex, which is a clear indicator of post-pubescent consciousness of the group.” WK Billboard’s Al Shipley said Space Cowboy (Yippie-Yi-Yay) and It Makes Me Ill were the kinds of songs which attracted “the young fans who made teen pop into a cottage industry.” WK *NSYNC incorporated “beat-box type vocals in It’s Gonna Be Me, Just Got Paid, and percussion in Bringin’ Da Noise.” WK

The album is “considered to be the peak of the teen pop genre.” WK It also marked the transition from massive CD sales for blockbuster albums to people downloading music via peer file sharing sites.

“The album isn’t really just singles-n-filler, it actually is well sequenced and fairly balanced, much like the Backstreet Boys’ Millennium or Christina Aguilera’s [debut] album. Like those records, No Strings Attached pulls away from the standard dance-pop formula, strengthening it with harder street beats, electronica flourishes, ballads with some grit, and well-crafted pop tunes. Nobody is going to mistake this for Fatboy Slim, Beck, or TLC – it’s still lightweight teen-pop. Yet, it’s very good teen-pop, managing to not only work well within its limitations, but to push it slightly while retaining its breezy, hooky identity.” AMG

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First posted 3/25/2008; last updated 4/30/2022.