TRL Peaces Out

I’ve been wanting to comment on this for a minute. It was announced earlier this month that TRL would be canceled after being on the air for a little over a decade. Word on the net is that MTV plans to create and debut a new version of the show after TRL ends its run.

What can I say? I spent many a day in my 20s watching TRL. Undergrad days at UT were spent watching debut videos on TRL from time to time. I loved my 90s pop, R&B, and hip hop and I think TRL epitomizes that and was really at its height during that time. It goes without saying and it’s been said over and over that TRL was where the 90s pop princesses and boy bands hosted their coming out parties.

What was nice was that it wasn’t just the new popstarts. The royalty visited, too. A nice cross-section of popular culture graced the halls and cameras of TRL. This hodgepodge made for a now historic little show.

I think Carson Daly was the King of TRL. I don’t think they’ve had a better host since him. I like to joke that

Slightly thicker Carson Daly was juicier.

it took so many hosts to replace him. They only seemed to go to the multiple host format after he left and seemed to stick to it through the end of its run. Back in the day Carson was holding it down on his own.

The criticism he got is that he spoke differently depending on what kind of guests he had (pop vs. hip hop, etc.). I really didn’t mind this. I think this is what made him a good host. I think he was sincere in all of his guises. This is what made him relatable to his guests and translatable and universal to the TRL audience. I believe he got his start as a radio dj, so the passion for music was there. I think his late night talk show is still on the air, but I don’t think he or his show have the same spark because of this.

A friend was just recently telling me how he remembers when they used to play all the videos all the way through. This is definitely the end of an era and an end to… my youth? I hope not. I’m only 31. A special two-hour TRL finale will air on MTV on Sunday, November 16, 2008, at 8PM ET.

 

MY TOP 10: 90s/00s Pop/R&B Diva Music Video Jump-Offs – OUTRODUCTION

Outroduction

Well, yesterday concluded the inauguaral MY TOP 10 on popolio.  Hope you enjoyed it.  It’s the first of many more to come.  The next one will kick-off in October.  Look for it. 

If you didn’t get a chance to post your  own MY TOP 10:  90s/00s Pop/R&B Diva Music Video Jump-Offs in the Comments Section, feel free to do so today on this entry.  If you have any general feedback or questions on MY TOP 10 feel free to Comment here as well.  We welcome your interaction.

Peace, Love, and all that Jazz

freddie beat
popolio editor

 

MY TOP 10: 90s/00s Pop/R&B Diva Music Video Jump-Offs – 1. Lauryn Hill “Doo Wop (That Thing)”

1. Lauryn Hill “Doo Wop (That Thing)”

I remember Lauryn was lauded as the “talented” member of the Fugees and was always being asked when she was going to work on a solo album by the media back in the day.  And then it came and, boy, did it come.  The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was released in 1998 (I wasn’t even consciously thinking of its ten  year anniversary when putting this list together or did I know Rolling Stone had recently commemorated it) and garnered her ten Grammy nominations and five wins.  This was the most nominations for a solo female artist at the time.  Number 1, “Doo Wop (That Thing),” kicked it all off.

This was one of those videos that I liked watching over and over and never got tired of.  Great sing-a-long lyrics with a positive message and make-you-think content that were added bonuses. The concept itself was original with the side-by-side screens comparing the old school with the new.  Lauryn looked impeccable.  And she showcased both her rapping and singing skills.

I remember reading, and I’m paraphrasing here, Foxy Brown commenting that everyone had a gimmick and that she and Lil’ Kim had their thing and Lauryn had the positive thing going, but that it was all still conscious image-making.  I don’t fully agree as there’s something that rang true about Ms. Hill’s work and, I think, it’s for that reason, that it touched so many people.

She had such potential and has already achieved so much of it.  It was refreshing, in a genre were women’s perspectives are limited, that this was an alternative point-of-view.  It’s not that the Foxy Browns and the Lil’ Kims shouldn’t be there, it’s that there should be more of a spectrum.  Seemed to be more of selection in the earlier days with Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, Salt-n-Pepa, etc.  I’ll stop proselytizing now, but I think of Lauryn Hill as the great hip hop hope.  I know that’s a lot of pressure and maybe she’s already buckled under it, but I hope we get more glimpses of her greatness or at least some very close attempts in the not too distant future.

 

MY TOP 10: 90s/00s Pop/R&B Diva Music Video Jump-Offs – 2. Missy Elliott “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)”

2. Missy Elliott “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)”

Formerly Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott and currently only Missy Elliott to the masses, her first video, Number 2, “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly),” released in 1997, set a high standard for the rest of her video work.  Missy had been behind-the-scenes writing for other artists for years, when she finally introduced herself as a solo artist, with Supa Dupa Fly, she kicked the door down.  A few rap cameos along the way didn’t hurt. 

Sampling Ann Peebles’ 1973 hit, “I Can’t Stand the Rain,” this video featured Missy’s simple yet clever, nonsensical, and fun rhymes.  There’s unintelligent lyricism and then there’s this.  I think Missy’s style is sometimes mistaken for the former.  With a stripped down, melodic, and well thought out flow, she definitely has influenced other artists since.   With rhymes more bulky and complex at the time, she brought an alternative style that harkened back to old school roots with a ‘90s update.

I’ll name-check Hype Williams once more, because the collaboration between him and Missy is really what made this video special.  His fish eye lens effect, at this point, was fresh and not overwrought.  Name-checking other hip hop/R&B artists and actually having them in the video was a fun treat for music fans.  And the black trash bag outfit was bananas.  

Though her latest release, Block Party, has had many delays and single changes, refreshingly, not a skinny thing, at the time, Missy was, and remains, a true multi-threat performer with stage presence and charisma that’s carried her through with trash bag, flawless makeup and ‘dos, tomboyish yet feminine style, and talents for rapping, singing, dancing, and producing.

 

MY TOP 10: 90s/00s Pop/R&B Diva Music Video Jump-Offs – 3. P!nk “There You Go”

3. P!nk “There You Go”

This video, Number 3, P!nk with “There You Go,” released in 2000, is personal.  I remember exactly where I was when I first saw this video.  I was an undergrad at UT pursuing a film degree to direct music videos, which I never did, and here I am commenting on them.  SIGH.  Anyway, I was living in Jester East (East Side!  M619 to be exact) talking to my brother in El Paso on the phone.  MTV was on in both places. 

On comes P!nk and I’m like, “Do you see this girl?”  “Who is this girl?”  She was a white girl singing black with punk pink hair.  I hadn’t seen anything like it.  I hadn’t had such a reaction to a video since I was a little kid (about 9 or 10) at my neighbor’s house sitting in an armchair right in front of their big-@$$ TV surrounded by the neighbor teens babysitting me and their friends.  Madonna’s “Dress You Up” video was on and I witnessed them have a spiritual experience over her.  I was hooked and I’ve been a Madonna fan ever since.

Back to P!nk, though, another obvious Madonna fan.   Her brand of R&B sounded very TLC, but like the formula had been kicked up a notch and new flavor added.  In the mix of Britney, Christina, Mandy, and Jessica, P!nk stood out as not just another blonde doing the pop thing.  Her pop had an urban edge that even Christina’s soul couldn’t match.  Not necessarily the leader of the pack, P!nk, with new single, “So What,” and upcoming album, Funhouse, was definitely, and still is, a rebel with her own cause.

 

MY TOP 10: 90s/00s Pop/R&B Diva Music Video Jump-Offs – 4. Kelis “Caught Out There”

4. Kelis “Caught Out There”

Kelis is a different kind of chick and she brought it with Number 4, “Caught Out There,” released in 1999.  Doing the cheating song with the shout out chorus before Beyoncé with “Ring the Alarm” in 2006, I wasn’t sure what she was.  Was she R&B?  Was she rock?  Electro?

As the Neptunes’ first muse, they experimented and created with Kelis without the pressures of world-wide success and renown.  The quality of their work with Kelis is the reason why others flocked to work with them and especially Pharrell.

I haven’t been name-checking directors, but Hype Williams deserves to be name-checked for this one.  He is known for creating video trends and then reinventing himself through new trends.  Then he becomes known for those trends, but this video was outside the box of what even he had done.  It stands out amongst his work.

With rainbow hair and an, arguably, feminist and anthemic first single, Kelis was on her way to being a video vanguard.  This video and especially her second, “Get Along With You,” which I prefer, are testament to this.  Though the ambition of these first two videos didn’t seem to translate to her future work, I wouldn’t count her out.

 

MY TOP 10: 90s/00s Pop/R&B Diva Music Video Jump-Offs – 5. Alicia Keys “Fallin’”

5. Alicia Keys “Fallin’”

“…I keep on fallin’/in and out/of love/with you…”  When Number 5, Alicia Key’s “Fallin’,” hit the radio in 2001, I was entranced.  When I saw the video I was even more captivated by the intrinsic drama and cinematic scope of the mini hip hopera.  “Fallin’” cut through the airwaves like a katana blade through a smooth cinnamon roll.  The orange-jump-suited-field-chorus is at the same time awe-inspiring and haunting as their image stays with you beyond your first viewing.

Ms. Keys is of the hip hop generation.  And this video is what happens when someone of some privilege  (piano lessons and performing arts school) puts their lens on it.  You get a romanticized (and actually enthralling) version of the prison love story.  Striking, with braids and an urban chic style, Alicia melded a street sensibility with an organic old school yet modern sound that pleased the masses.

“Fallin’” is a song that speaks for itself.  Though I do not follow Alicia and buy all her albums (I have 1), she had me at “I” with this song.   With music seeming like so much processed and packaged left-overs, “Fallin’” was hot buttered soul on a biscuit.

 

MY TOP 10: 90s/00s Pop/R&B Diva Music Video Jump-Offs – 6. Erykah Badu “On & On”

6. Erykah Badu “On & On”

A modern twist on the Cinderella story and, perhaps, The Color Purple, Erykah Badu, who will be at the Austin City Limits Music Festival next week on, Day 2, Saturday, September 27, 2008, AT&T Stage, brought something different than her contemporaries with Number 6, “On & On,” released in 1997.  With comparisons to Billie Holiday fresh out the box, Ms. Badu made an impression with her head wrap and eclectic mix of afrocentric signifying.  More than a gimmick, she had depth and breadth that hadn’t been heard of in R&B for a minute.  And the biggest impression was left by the music and the videos.

Branding her own philosophy in Baduizm or at least her own self-concept, she was branded the queen of neo-soul.  She’s flown that pigeon-hole long since.  Yet intelligence, mystery, and an old school vibe remain constant.

This video is elegantly simple.  Who doesn’t love the tablecloth dress and wrap? And the groove did go “On & On.”  While others were wondering where all the cowboys had gone I was picking from my apple tree.

 

MY TOP 10: 90s/00s Pop/R&B Diva Music Video Jump-Offs – 7. Beyoncé “Crazy in Love”

7. Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z “Crazy in Love”

Not her first introduction, Number 7 “Crazy in Love,” was Beyoncé’s first introduction as a proper solo artist with a proper solo album.  Destiny’s Child and a contribution to the Austin Powers in Gold Member soundtrack were her previous platforms.  “Work it Out” cast doubt on her ability to shine as a solo star since it didn’t perform as expected, though. In my opinion, it’s a stronger effort sonically and visually. Regardless, she more than recovered with this video.

She loses brownie points for recycling some of J. Lo’s high fashion looks and counting on Jay-Z’s shine to carry her through.  She gets some back for her own hot looks like the tank, jean shorts, and red heels and the fierce dance routine on the stoop.  The booty shake I didn’t care much for, but it did light the country on fire.  She even had Oprah trying to do it.

There’s no denying that this was the hot summer jam of 2003.  It played 24/7 on radio and television.  You can always tell a diva’s got a hot song when she works with a new producer and a bunch of other divas quickly get in line to work with him, too.  If Amerie introduced Rich Harrison, Beyoncé made him hot.

 

MY TOP 10: 90s/00s Pop/R&B Diva Music Video Jump-Offs – 8. Jennifer Lopez “If You Had My Love”

8. Jennifer Lopez “If You Had My Love”

The beginning of the J. Lo pop revolution started with number 8, “If You Had My Love,” released in 1999.   She was On the 6 and we were all on the subway ride with her.  Though she didn’t get her urban make-over until Ja Rule lent his magic with the “I’m Real (Murder Remix)” in 2001, this video got the steam going through the first singles until the excitement of “Love Don’t Cost a Thing” and the J. Lo album, which put things into overdrive.

A portent of things to come for Jennifer and other pop-lets, it shows the world’s fascination with her through a mix of fans watching her every move on live room cams on her official website.  It was a clever use of modern media and examination of its implication on a pop star’s image, performance, and existence.

Maybe not the first video to incorporate the dance break, though it sure feels like it in the modern era.  Its influence is still felt today as Madonna and both Timbs are still doing it on “4 Minutes” in 2008.  Though her musical significance is in question today, at the time, we hadn’t had a grown dance diva with such flair since Janet, Madonna, and Paula before her.