MY TOP 10: Songs about Songs — 3. Jennifer Lopez “Play”

You get a 3-for-1 special today!  Here’s the first.  Enjoy.

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I’ve been wanting to do a countdown featuring songs about songs (you know, songs about music, dancing, and/or a certain genre).  I have my 10 songs, but even as I posted Number 10, I wasn’t sure about the order.  So, this one will form as I go.  I normally have my list ready to go before I start.  MY TOP 10 is a music video countdown, but with some songs (maybe two in  particular) occuring before the MTV era, I will  have to improvise and pull something from Dailymotion or YouTube.  Here goes.

3. Jennifer Lopez “Play”

This is the jam that you want to “play” over and over.  And what person who loves to dance (like me!) cannot relate to the line about making your request to the DJ over and over before s/he finally decides to play it?   That’s the line I like to talk along to at the top of my lungs.  This is the highlight of the J.Lo album.   It does have other delights, but this is definitely a standout.  “Play” becomes that song that “Play” is about.

 

MY TOP 10: Songs about Songs — 6. Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam “Let the Beat Hit ‘Em”

I’ve been wanting to do a countdown featuring songs about songs (you know, songs about music, dancing, and/or a certain genre).  I have my 10 songs, but even as I posted Number 10, I wasn’t sure about the order.  So, this one will form as I go.  I normally have my list ready to go before I start.  MY TOP 10 is a music video countdown, but with some songs (maybe two in  particular) occuring before the MTV era, I will  have to improvise and pull something from Dailymotion or YouTube.  Here goes.

6. Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam “Let the Beat Hit ‘Em”

Before J. Lo there was Lisa Lisa — the first Nuyorican pop diva.  This was one of a long string of Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam freestyle/R&B/dance hits.  This came out some time  after the earlier stuff, but it’s still as potent as anything  from the first album.  The audio play is fun and keeps things moving on the dance floor.  One to keep on replay and sing and dance to over and over.

 

MY TOP 10: Music Video Cameos — 5. Jennifer Lopez “Been Around The World”

I thought it would be fun to countdown MY TOP 10:   Music Video Cameos.  That is, music videos with cameos by non-musical personalities who are known for working in other areas of show biz.  My criteria were that:

1) the video be memorable, of course;
2) the featured personality not be another musical artist at the time (now if they became musical artists at a later point that’s another story; they’re still eligible);
3) the featured personality be known at the time (not be an unknown who became known later); and
4) the cameo be a worthwhile part in the video (not just a 2-second spot).

5. Jennifer Lopez in Puff Daddy & The Family’s “Been Around The World” featuring the Notorious B.I.G. and Ma$e

Okay, so it’s no secret I’m a J.Lo fan.  Now, this was right at the brink of J.Lo mania.  A little before kicking off her music career, but she’s in Diddy’s video here who was instrumental in her early pop success.  So, you know things were already percolating and brewing between the two regarding her next moves musically and personally.

If you’re going to have cameo in a music video, this is the way to do it — as the queen of some fictional country.  I’d be the queen of some fictional country.  (Okay, so she’s the princess of Tunisia, but queen of some fictional country is so much better.)  And you get to get your dance on.  I’d get my dance on, too.  A remake of sorts of the Lisa Stansfield classic, “All Around The World.”  Vivica A. Fox, Quincy Jones, and Wyclef Jean also guest.  Enjoy!
 

 

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.