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And Now A Few Thoughts About Stabbing Westward: Wake-Up Video

Posted 3/3/11 9:30 am EST by in Wake-Up Video


Normally, Wake-Up Video celebrates significant moments in music history. But today is a little light on events. Sure, it's the anniversary of the release of Madonna's landmark 1998 album Ray of Light, but that was celebrated in this space exactly one year ago. Today also happens to be the 25th anniversary of the release of Metallica's Master of Puppets, but there will be a more significant salute to that legendary release later today. So rather than try to write something significant about the first indoor ice hockey game (which happened on this day in 1875), let's talk about Stabbing Westward.

Stabbing Westward exist as proof positive that having a silly name didn't have to get in the way of radio success in the 1990s. The Chicago-based industrial band first formed in 1985 but didn't release their first album Ungod (a workmanlike grinder that owed a lot to Ministry) until 1994. But it was 1996's Wither Blister Burn & Peel that turned them into modern rock radio staples and headliners. The single "What Do I Have To Do?" fell into heavy rotation in the early months of '96, and the band's loud, spooky sound and angst-ridden lyrics (the album opened with the couplet "I'm such an a--hole/ God, I'm such a stain") made them a perfect fit on radio.

For a band I don't consider to be one of my favorites, Stabbing Westward have made a strangely significant impact on various parts of my life. When I got cut from the high school soccer team during my freshman year, I cranked up "Falls Apart" to make myself feel better. (Actually, I wasn't even really cut, as the coach didn't have the stones to get rid of five of us and wanted to create a sort of reserve squad where we could earn our spots on the team on a game-by-game basis, a plan I still find staggeringly cowardly.) Later, my college roommate declared that Stabbing Westward was his favorite band of all time (he was particularly partial to their 1998 album Darkest Days). (Saying Stabbing Westward is your favorite band isn't necessarily strange, but it got weirder when he told me his second favorite band ever was Led Zeppelin.) And one of the clearer memories I have from going to radio festivals during the Wither Blister Burn & Peel era was when one of my best friend's girlfriends was singing along to "Shame," and when the chorus got to the line "How can I exist without you?" she sang, "How can I have sex without you?" We got into an argument about which lyric was correct, and it turned into a big thing.

Anyway, Stabbing Westward broke up in 2002 and the band members went their separate way. "Shame" remains a pretty solid anthem with a video that is more clever than it has any right to be.


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Cee Lo Green Bares His Soul: Wake-Up Video

Posted 3/2/11 9:30 am EST by in Wake-Up Video


Before the incredible cross-cultural smash that is "F--- You," and even before he teamed up with DJ Danger Mouse for the psychedelic pleasure cruise that was Gnarls Barkley, Cee Lo Green was simply an esoteric guy from Atlanta who used to be in a hip-hop group. His raspy, croon-ready flow always stood out among the voices in Goodie Mob, and when the group decided to part ways, Cee Lo was the first member to try his hand at a solo career. He dropped his solo debut Cee Lo Green and His Perfect Imperfections hit hard in 2002, but on his second album Cee Lo Green ... Is the Soul Machine — released on this day in 2004 — kicked everything up a notch (or eight).

Green's first solo album was as pure an exploration of an artist's id as has ever been captured on a record, and because of that, His Perfect Imperfections is an often thrilling but wildly uneven affair. The same can not be said of Is the Soul Machine, which is a laser-guided assault on the senses that finds a perfect sonic bed in which Green's exquisite voice can roll around.

Part of the reason for the sonic expansion is the addition of a number of outside producers. Cee Lo relied on Dungeon Family stablemates for his first album, but Is the Soul Machine invited the likes of Pharrell Williams, Jazze Pha and Timbaland along for the ride. Though he was still a few years away from settling into the post-modern Motown vibe that suits him best, Green's dalliance with Timbaland's futuristic stutter-stepping R&B on the single "I'll Be Round" is a strong entry in his diverse, largely excellent career.


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David Bowie Sells His Future: Wake-Up Video

Posted 3/1/11 8:30 am EST by in Wake-Up Video


Throughout his long and storied career, David Bowie has made a habit out of innovating and staying way ahead of the curve. Rather than shift as things are happening (the way Madonna does), Bowie has always anticipated where culture is moving and has gotten there first. He doesn't always knock it out of the park (neither his electronica album Earthling nor his dalliance with Tin Machine should really be considered career victories), but more often than not he gets it right. He has even been on top of innovations that have nothing to do with music, as Bowie was one of the first major artists to embrace the Internet (he even had his own AOL-esque web portal for a while) and on this day in 1997 he kicked off one of the boldest business moves of his career when he sold "Bowie Bonds," which were investment securities people could by that were attached to the money Bowie made from his music.

As a way of generating income for himself, Bowie essentially packaged everything he had recorded prior to 1990 (that's 287 songs over 25 albums, including such modern masterpieces as Space Oddity, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, Low and Let's Dance) and pre-sold any future revenue he might make off that catalog (including income from royalties, sales and licensing). When they went on sale on this day in 1997, the Bowie Bonds were purchased by Prudential Insurance Company for $55 million, with an interest rate of around eight percent and a life span of 10 years. Bowie didn't just want money to buy boats, as he gave up the right to collect royalties for that decade in exchange for money to purchase the rights to songs owned by his former manager.

In the end, the bonds were only a good move for Bowie himself, who re-claimed much of his intellectual property. The bonds themselves declined in value thanks to the bottom out of the record industry (they were downgraded in 2004 to a level just above junk), but that doesn't make the songs themselves — including the 1980 single "Ashes to Ashes" (from the album Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)) — any less valuable in spirit.


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Jewel Picks Up The Pieces: Wake-Up Video

Posted 2/28/11 8:35 am EST by in Wake-Up Video


Even if you weren't familiar with Jewel's music back when her debut album Pieces of You hit store shelves on this day in 1995 (and you probably weren't, considering her big single "Who Will Save Your Soul" didn't break until later in the year), you almost certainly knew her narrative.

Jewel Kilcher grew up in Alaska with her dad in a house that didn't have indoor plumbing (she used an outhouse) and often sang songs with her father in bars for extra money (it was there she learned to yodel). She made her way to Interlochen Arts Academy in Interlochen, Michigan, where she focused on her guitar skills and began writing songs. She made her way out west and occasionally ended up living in a van while she played her songs in coffee houses and clubs. She eventually caught the attention of people from Atlantic Records, who signed her to a deal and paired her with producer Ben Keith (who is best known as the producer of many of Neil Young's solo albums; Young's band the Stray Gators, which featured Keith on steel guitar, backed Jewel on her debut album).

Pieces of You didn't make an immediate impact, but her story began to circulate and "Who Will Save Your Soul" picked up spins on radio toward the end of 1995. By early 1996, "Who Will Save Your Soul" had grabbed a ton of MTV airplay, and Jewel morphed into a superstar (even landing on the cover of Time magazine). Her debut album also spawned two more big singles in "You Were Meant For Me" and "Foolish Games," but "Who Will Save Your Soul" has the sort of rugged beauty that got her discovered in the first place.


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Madonna 'Bows' At Number One: Wake-Up Video

Posted 2/25/11 9:30 am EST by in Wake-Up Video


By design, Madonna's career has had a number of intense peaks and valleys. When an artist does as much shape-shifting as she does, some stuff is bound to hit big while others fall flat. After hitting a series of home runs at the end of the '80s, the '90s were full of those extremes, but on this day in 1995, she climbed to her highest point yet when "Take a Bow" ascended to the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100.

"Take a Bow" came from Madonna's 1994 album Bedtime Stories, a huge bounce back after the critical and commercial flop that was 1992's Erotica (perhaps Madonna's first misstep as an artist). While Bedtime Stories is considered to be a more radio-friendly move for Madonna, it's actually a fairly radical-sounding album, full of rugged R&B hooks and her first dalliances with the extremes of European dance music (which would be more full explored on 1998's Ray of Light and 2000's Music). It ended up spawning a number of hits for Madonna, including "Secret" and "Human Nature," but "Take a Bow" was by far the biggest smash. Co-produced by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, it's a lush album-closing ballad full of layers of strings, sexy beats and a creamy melodic center.

When "Take a Bow" hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100, it replaced TLC's "Creep" (which had held on to the pole position for four weeks). It remained there for seven weeks before it was finally replaced by Montell Jordan's "This Is How We Do It," giving Madonna her longest reign on top of the chart. It also ended up being Madonna's final chart-topper of the '90s (she didn't get back to number one until 2000's "Music," her last chart-topper to date).

The video for "Take a Bow" was in heavy rotation on MTV during the early part of 1995. Directed by Michael Haussman (who also helmed Kanye West's "Jesus Walks" and Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack"), the clip stars Madonna as a woman in love with a bullfighter and is notable for the extended sequence where she appears to masturbate in front of a television. It's an excellent performance from the Material Girl — so convincing, in fact, that she later revealed that the video essentially acted as her audition tape for "Evita."


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Train Arrive For The First Time: Wake-Up Video

Posted 2/24/11 10:30 am EST by in Wake-Up Video


One of the key narratives surrounding the success of Train's "Hey, Soul Sister" — undoubtedly one of the most ubiquitous hits of 2010 — was that it represented an incredible comeback for the band. Prior to "Hey, Soul Sister," Train were probably best known for their 2001 album Drops of Jupiter, which spawned a pretty gigantic hit of the same name. But they first got a taste of radio ubiquity when their single "Meet Virginia" became a chart smash in 1999 (peaking at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100). It came from the group's self-titled debut album, which was released on this day in 1998.

Train originally formed in San Francisco in 1994. Frontman Patrick Manahan (who had previously performed in a Led Zeppelin covers band) moved out west from Erie, Pennsylvania and began playing local bars and coffee shops with guitarist Rob Hotchkiss. The duo slowly put a band together and began to form the core of their rootsy, crunchy sound. When they couldn't sign a record deal, they released their first album independently in 1997, and though it did not make commercial waves, it did attract the attention of a number of other bands, earning Train opening slots for the likes of Hootie & the Blowfish, Barenaked Ladies and Counting Crows.

Aware Records signed the band and re-released Train with a different track listing. The first single "Free" picked up some minor airplay on rock radio stations, but "Meet Virginia" became a massive crossover hit and propelled Train to platinum status. The memorable video stars actress and former "Noxzema Girl" Rebecca Gayheart as a foxy diner waitress.


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Naughty By Nature Ring In The New Year: Wake-Up Video

Posted 2/23/11 8:30 am EST by in Wake-Up Video


When people discuss the best rap groups of all time, they usually bring up a handful of early adopters (Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Sugarhill Gang), some true gate-crashing visionaries (Run-DMC, Public Enemy) and a convention-defying collective or two (Wu-Tang Clan, OFWGKTA). Rarely do they bring up Naughty By Nature, but the group totally deserves a mention among the rest of those names. Like the game-changers of the late '80s, Naughty By Nature managed to wed the worlds of hardcore rap and pop music for a fusion that became the absolute standard for rap music moving forward. Along the way, they notched a healthy roster of mainstream hits, and on this day in 1993, they released their second album 19 Naughty III, as strong a hip-hop album as you could find in the pre-Puffy '90s.

Following the success of the group's 1991 self-titled debut (which contained the crossover top 10 smash "O.P.P."), Treach, Vin Rock and DJ Kay Gee returned to the studio to produce a second full-length that more thoroughly showed off their skills. The finished product is best known for the pop smash "Hip Hop Hooray" (which has a much more rugged lyric sheet than the chorus would suggest), but the deep cuts on 19 Naughty III make it a keeper.

It was a particularly great showcase for Treach, whose bouncy, deceptively speedy flow lend a sense of electric urgency to most of the tracks, highlighted by the punchy "The Hood Comes First" and the cheeky "Written On Ya Kitten." But "It's On" remains an unheralded gem, featuring one of Kay Gee's greatest productions.


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Carmelo Anthony Joins The New York Knicks: Wake-Up Video

Posted 2/22/11 8:30 am EST by in Wake-Up Video


Over the course of the last few years, the New York Knicks have experienced an impressive turnaround. For most of this century, the team was a punchline, lead into total irrelevance by former general manager Isiah Thomas. But under new GM Donnie Walsh, the team has taken years of terrible drafts, horrible free-agent pickups and atrocious contracts and spun it into a team that is much more of a contender, highlighted by the off-season addition of Amar'e Stoudemire. However, while this Knicks team seemed playoff-bound, they still aren't considered an elite squad like their fellow Eastern Conference denizens the Miami Heat, Orlando Magic or Boston Celtics. The team took one more step toward greatness on Monday (February 21) when they successfully executed a trade with the Denver Nuggets (and the Minnesota Timberwolves) to bring dynamic forward Carmelo Anthony to the team.

Anthony came at a steep price, as the Knicks sent sharpshooter Danilo Gallinari, speedy point guard Raymond Felton, hard-nosed big man Wilson Chandler and very tall backup center Timofey Mozgov to the Nuggets (in addition to a trio of draft picks. In exchange, the Knicks picked up Anthony, aging point guard Chauncey Billups, defensive specialist Shelden Williams, unpredictable power forward Renaldo Balkman (who was originally drafted by the Knicks in 2006) and journeyman point guard Anthony Carter. The Knicks also picked up Corey Brewer from the Timberwolves in exchange for Anthony Randolph and Eddy Curry's expiring contract.

That's a lot of names, but the centerpiece of the transaction is Anthony, who is one of the NBA's most electrifying scorers. Of course, the Knicks lineup is now almost entirely new, and whether or not that new core can gel by the time the playoffs roll around is now the question on the table. But at the very least, Anthony will be coming back home (he was born in Brooklyn) and undoubtedly will be able to pursue his outside activities more deeply — including Kross Over Entertainment, his record label that features a number of hip-hop personalities. The label's first release was Cassidy's big comeback album C.A.S.H., which featured the single "Face 2 Face."


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Indie Rock Loses A Legend In Bob Stinson: Wake-Up Video

Posted 2/18/11 10:00 am EST by in Wake-Up Video


No matter how many colorful words are written about the greatness of the Replacements, they will always remain perpetually underrated. That's because their excellence can scarcely be measured, as the Minneapolis band managed to craft some of the greatest songs of the 1980s, helped define one of the most critical underground movements in music history and generally push buttons and envelopes for the duration of their existence. He was forced out of the group in 1986, and the rest of the band splintered in 1991, but all hope of reconciliation ended on this day in 1995 when founding member and lead guitarist Bob Stinson passed away at his home in Minneapolis.

Stinson, a formidable six-string player, formed the band (originally called Dogbreath) with drummer Chris Mars and his younger brother Tommy on bass (Tommy was only 11 years old when he first started playing in a band with Bob). The trio jammed on '70s rock staples without a singer before meeting Paul Westerberg, who joined the group as a singer and second guitarist. A power struggle began almost immediately, as while the three core members of the group were mostly into partying, Westerberg was an organized taskmaster who demanded focus.

That pull between two poles is evident on the early Replacements recordings. Their 1981 debut Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash is a sloppy masterpiece, full of raw energy and kinetic playing barely held together by Westerberg's evolving sense of melody. Eventually, Bob Stinson's freewheeling guitar playing and manic approach to production was tempered by Westerberg, and the subsequent Replacements recordings became more stately and refined. By the time the group signed to a major label and released 1985's Tim, the band had become one of the finest underground pop concoctions of all time.

But things came to a head in 1986. Around the time the group started recording the demos for 1987's Pleased to Meet Me, Bob Stinson either left on his own due to the ever-widening creative rift between himself and Westerberg, or he was dismissed from the band because of a drug and alcohol problem. Undaunted, Bob Stinson formed a short-lived band called Model Prisoner and then a longer-term outfit called Static Taxi. Neither band gained much attention or success outside of the immediately Minneapolis area, and Static Taxi were broken up by 1991. Bob then joined the ever-rotating lineup of a band called Shotgun Rationale before playing briefly in a group called Dog 994 and ending his musical life with the Bleeding Hearts.

Bob Stinson was a beloved founder of one of the most important bands to ever plug in an amp and trash a stage, and his musical legacy has been undersold a bit because the most successful and recognizable Replacements songs (notably "Can't Hardly Wait") were recorded without him. Still, the early Replacements albums are all excellent, and the energy and beauty captured in songs like "Bastards of Young" has rarely been repeated since.


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Destiny's Child Make Their Debut: Wake-Up Video

Posted 2/17/11 9:30 am EST by in Wake-Up Video


As we get further away from their peak, doesn't it seem like Destiny's Child should be considered among the greatest R&B acts of all time? In less than a decade together, they produced four albums with four chart-topping hits, moved nearly 50 million units and — perhaps most importantly — influenced an entire generation of R&B stars. But before the solo albums, big-ticket videos, sold out tours and chart dominance, they had to start somewhere, and on this day in 1998, Destiny's Child dropped their self-titled debut album.

The group began when the members were just teenagers. Originally called Girls' Tyme, the group had as many as six members when they first started performing and attracting national attention from producers and record moguls. When the group finally got serious and focused on producing their first album, they changed their name to Destiny's Child (a reference to a passage in the Book of Isaiah) and cut their membership down to the four core members who made up the first true version of the group: Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett. Under the leadership of manager Matthew Knowles (Beyoncé's father), the group scored a deal with Columbia Records and put together their debut album, which featured input from some of the biggest names in music at the time (including Wyclef Jean, Jermaine Dupri and Rob Fusari, who would later go on to aid the career of Lady Gaga).

Strangely, Destiny's Child was not much of a chart hit (it peaked at number 63 on the Billboard 200), but it did end up selling over a million copies and spawned the smash single "No No No," whose remix ended up near the top of the Billboard Hot 100. Lineup changes, solo albums and worldwide domination came later, but this was our first glimpse into the world of Destiny's Child.


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