My dad was very slow to any sort of new kind of music. But every once in a while he’d surprise me with something that was kind of hip. Enter Neneh Cherry.
Cherry has always been this mysterious musical figure to me. I’m almost sure that I haven’t heard anything else except Buffalo Stance, but I should have right? She’s this eclectic artist with a great name and even named her first album Raw Like Sushi. Like, shouldn’t she have been a break out star?
– Even though this video was probably shot in 1989, it’s still far closer to the videos of the 80s than of the 90s.
– Huh? Sucka.
– No money man can win my love either Neneh.
– I wonder how much the gold toothed smile dude got paid to be in this video for 2 seconds.
– She really needed about 5 hours worth of acting classes for this video, but it’s great in all of it’s terribleness.
– How do you like that fat gold $ around her neck?
I didn’t know this, but this song was a number three single on the top 100 charts and number one on the dance charts.
It would be up to me to add some Michael Jackson to The Best You’ve Never Heard week, since Money Mike didn’t do it.
(Don’t worry, he probably would’ve, but I called first dibs. He’s still the biggest MJ fan on the planet.)
In 2001, Michael Jackson released Invincible, his first album in six years since the HIStory double album. After a few listens, there were some definite conclusions. Firstly, Jackson could still sing as shown on some of the ballads like Break Of Dawn, Heaven Can Wait, and Butterflies. Secondly, he was still capable of making terrible song choices. The Lost Children and Cry were terrible songs. But the thing that many people walked away thinking was that Whatever Happens, featuring Carlos Santana on guitar, was the best song (or Butterflies based on your taste) and was a surefire hit single. But what happened is that Sony didn’t support the album and pushed nothing except the initial single and no one outside of the die hard MJ fans got to hear Whatever Happens.
He gives another smile, tries to understand her side
To show that he cares, she can’t stay in the room
She’s consumed with everything that’s been goin’ on
She says …
Whatever happens, don’t let go of my hand
Viewers of American Idol will be familiar with the song because Mario Vasquez performed it in his audition that was shown before the season. He also sang back up vocals on the original track.
The song starts with an old fashioned instrumental that you’d hear in Westerns as if to say that MJ and Santana were about to draw on each other and a musical explosion was ready to occur. Just walk ten paces.
It’s Latin flavored, but not too much. Santana plucks the strings ever so delicately which forces MJ to sing with more emotion than you’d think possible.
Don’t you let go baby! Don’t you let go!
Lyrically, the song tells a story about a mysterious relationship between a man and a woman. The woman is scared about what they’re doing. The man is trying to make things right. Perfect even. He doesn’t understand that all she wants is just him and that’s all. The conclusion is that whatever happens, don’t let go of my hand. Forever, forever, forever.
Even though the finale of the song seems a bit corny with two of the greatest artists of our time thanking each other, especially Michael’s, “Thank you Carlos”, which seems like it took 20 takes, but it’s the perfect finish. They go out guns a blazin’. Well, sort of.
Whatever Happens is the song that would’ve should’ve could’ve, but didn’t. But thankfully for you, you can now find it because I know it’s the best you’ve never heard.
Usher says that Ne-Yo will be a part of the new project and Ne-Yo had a lot to say about Usher’s latest work.
Well, I was one of the first people to tell Usher, personally, that I didn’t think he was focused on the album … on Here I Stand. I don’t think his focus was in the right place. And I’m a dude, and that’s my personal opinion and I’m entitled to it, and he respected that I kept it real with him about that. I think that this time around … It’s not so much that I think Here I Stand was a bad record, it just wasn’t the Usher that we remembered. I mean, that joint [Confessions] right there went 10-15 million worldwide, so it was going to be difficult to come back from that anyway. So I just think he’s gotta get back to what he knows, which is to get out there and make ’em dance — entertain them at the end of the day. Like, it seems like he had a lot to say, almost like he had something to prove with the Here I Stand record. Like a different dude now: ‘I got a family now, and this is who I am.’ As opposed to before, when it was about, ‘I’mma get up and entertain y’all. I’m gonna sing songs that got something to say, but at the same time, I’m gonna entertain y’all.’ And I think he just needs to get back there. And I think that’s where he’ll wind up.
To shorten what he said, it sounds to me that he just didn’t think the album was hot, no matter what the themes were. And I think that’s what I was getting at. Musically, Here I Stand was fine. But it wasn’t hot. There wasn’t anything on that record that made you stand up and listen.
But what Ne-Yo didn’t say was that he made the album Usher was striving for. If you haven’t heard to Year Of The Gentleman, check it out. It’s a more maturely written record on the relationships vibe than Usher’s was.
