Chart Flashback: June 6, 1998

Since our summer reading theme is Read to the Rhythm, I thought it would be cool to do a bunch of posts in the next couple months looking back at popular songs of summers past. Let's rewind back to the summer of 1998. Brandy and Monica's duet, "The Boy is Mine," topped Billboard's Hot 100 Singles during the week of June 6, and was probably stuck in your head for the rest of that summer. For the most part, R&B artists dominated the rest of the top 20... including the original line-up of Destiny's Child! Plus, Will Smith continued to juggle his acting and rapping careers, and showed off his dance moves in the video for "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" (triple threat!).

Several songs in the lineup were definitely inescapable during 1998, from "You're Still the One" by Shania Twain to "Truly Madly Deeply" by Savage Garden to "All My Life" by K-Ci and JoJo, which was recently used in one of the final episodes of Parks and Recreation. The inclusion of both "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" from the Backstreet Boys and "I Want You Back" from 'N Sync on the charts was just the start of the battle for best boy band, which would play out on MTV's TRL throughout the late '90s and early '00s; you liked one or the other, not both ('N Sync for me).

Click on the album title to place a hold or click on the song links to download the songs from Freegal (you may download 3 songs per week with your FRVPLD library card):

1. "The Boy is Mine" - Brandy & Monica
Never S-A-Y Never by Brandy & The Boy is Mine by Monica

2. "Too Close" - Next
Rated Next

3. "You're Still the One" - Shania Twain
Greatest Hits

4. "My All" - Mariah Carey
The Essential Mariah Carey

5. "I Get Lonely" - Janet Jackson featuring Blackstreet
The Velvet Rope

6. "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" - Backstreet Boys
The Hits: Chapter One

7. "The Arms of the One Who Loves You" - Xscape
Traces of My Lipstick

8. "All My Life" - K-Ci & JoJo
All My Life: Their Greatest Hits

9. "Truly Madly Deeply" - Savage Garden
Savage Garden

10. "It's All About Me" - Mya & Sisqo
Mya

11. "Sex and Candy" - Marcy Playground
Marcy Playground

12. "Body Bumpin' Yippie-Yi-Yo" - Public Announcement
All Work, No Play

13. "Let's Ride" - Montell Jordan featuring Master P & Silkk the Shocker
Let's Ride

14. "Adia" - Sarah McLachlan
Mirrorball

15. "I Want You Back" - 'N Sync
'N Sync

16. "Frozen" - Madonna
Ray of Light

17. "Turn it Up (Remix)/Fire it Up" - Busta Rhymes
Total Devastation: The Best of Busta Rhymes

18. "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" - Will Smith
Big Willie Style

19. "No, No, No" - Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child

20. "I Got the Hook Up!" - Master P featuring Sons of Funk
I Got the Hook Up Soundtrack


Source: Billboard Magazine Archive

A Valentine From De La Soul

"Love sought is good, but given unsought better."

-William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night (III.i)

The best valentine that you, or anyone, will receive this year comes courtesy of the legendary hip hop trio De La Soul. In celebration of the 25th anniversary of their classic debut album 3 Feet High and Rising, the group is offering their entire discography for free download. Repeat: the entire De La Soul catalog can be legally downloaded for free via the group's website; from 3 Feet High and Rising and De La Soul is Dead (endlessly inventive albums on which producer Prince Paul completely redefined the art of sampling in popular music) to their more sober-minded '90s work and beyond. This give-away is not limited to studio albums, so even devoted fans can find rarities and instrumentals for download. This is an extraordinary opportunity to familiarize yourself with one of the most innovative musical acts of the last quarter century. But, you've got to be quick about it, as the offer expires when Valentine's Day expires.

The Rise and Fall of Wu-Tang: An Infodiscography

An enterprising designer named Jess Bachman has assembled an "infodiscography" of the legendary hip-hop group, Wu-Tang Clan. These visually striking graphics offer an insightful overview of the myriad Wu-affiliated releases, and are particularly useful for exploring the members' solo projects. The three-part series sets out to highlight the rise, fragmentation, and decline of the group. I would argue that the enduring artistic influence of the Wu-Tang Clan precludes anything like a decline, but it's a well executed project that can be especially useful to beginner or intermediate Wu aficionados. If you'd like to know which of these solo projects are available through the library, you can take a look at the list I've compiled in bibliocommons.

The "infodiscography" graphics themselves are quite large. Check out part one after the jump.

Time Capsule Album Obsessions: High School

My high school years aren’t really a period I’m nostalgic about.  Like a lot of people from a small town, I spent much of  high school looking forward to leaving home and going to college.  I was more of an honor students than a rebel, but I did experiment with punk rock and light subversion.  After spending my freshman and sophomore years listening to emo (Bright Eyes, mostly) and glam rock (thanks to Ewan McGregor) I discovered the Cure and 80s post punk (which would dominate my playlists until grad school).  Below are five albums that I listened to way too much during high school:  

 

The Smiths- The Queen Is Dead.
Find it in the catalog!  
The Smiths are basically required listening for every angst-ridden high school student.  At the time, I could certainly relate to Morrissey’s sizable amount of self-pity on songs like “I Know It’s Over” and “Never Had No One Ever.”  But it was more than just adolescent woefulness that drew me to the Smiths.  Morrissey has one of best voices in rock, and he can be pretty funny at times.  Also, Johnny Marr’s excellent guitar work makes the music still sound fresh today.  
 

Favorite tracks: The Boy with the Thorn In His Side, There is a Light (That Never Goes Out), Some Girls are Bigger Than Others

Joy Division- Closer

Find Closer in the catalog! 

I think I definitely enjoy this album more now than I did in high school. Back then, I thought liking Joy Division made me dark and edgy, so I pretended to enjoy it more than I did.  And I liked the cryptic but bleak lyrics.  It wasn’t until college, when a lot of bands started to emulate Joy Division’s sound that I began to appreciate how spare and yet awesomely rocking they were.  Still, I listened to this album a lot in high school for only sort of liking it.  Perhaps, I just wanted to scare my parents.

 

Favorite tracks:  Isolation, Heart and Soul, The Eternal.  

  Joni Mitchell-Blue

Find it in the catalog! 

My sophomore year of high school, I bought a turntable.  I had a cheap box record player before this, but the turntable was a definite step up.  To build up my record collection, I'd buy pretty much anything from the 60s and 70s that was reasonably cool or had a spiffy cover. This was one of those records.  I bought it for it's pretty blue cover, but played it over and over again for its mellow vibe and romantic angst.  At 15, I hadn't really lived enough to understand the complex emotions on the album.  But I was naive enough to think that I did.

Favorite Tracks: California, River, A Case of You.

Simon and Garfunkel- Bridge Over Troubled Water

Find it in the catalog!

I went to high school about 30 years after it was cool to like this album.  Thankfully, none of my classmates knew who S and G were and therefore were clueless as to how much of a geek I was.  I started listening to S and G after hearing that Paul Simon was a big influence on my then rock-God, Connor Oberst of Bright Eyes.  My dad didn’t have Graceland, but I permanently borrowed his copies of Bookends and BOTW.  Paul Simon’s witty, literate, and offbeat lyrics really appealed to me.  I also liked the band’s quirky folk rock sound.  BOTW is an ambitious but fun album.  S and G played around with a bunch of sounds, including gospel (“Bridge Over Troubled Water,”) straight rock ‘n’ roll (“Baby Driver”) and even Bossa Nova (“So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright”- not my favorite).  There are lots of classic songs on the this album, including the title track, “The Boxer” and “Cecilia,” but my all-time favorite song is the haunting “Only Living Boy in New York.”

 

Favorite Tracks:  Cecilia, Keep the Customer Satisfied, Baby Driver, Only Living Boy in New York, and Song for the Asking. 

Belle and Sebastian- If You're Feeling Sinister

Find it in the catalog! 

I discovered this band from one of my friends who was much hipper than me.  From their cool, retro red cover to their jangly, 60s inspired folk pop, Belle and Sebastian were pretty much perfect in my book.  Stuart Murdoch's lyrics were smart and funny, but a little wistful.  Belle and Sebastian were more or less the sonic equivalent of watching a Wes Anderson movie.   What more could a pretentious, old soul 17 year old want in a band?  Even with their post-Juno popularity and accusations of tweeness, If You're Feeling Sinister and Tigermilk are still favorites of mine. 

Favorite Tracks: The Fox in the Snow; Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying; If You're Feeling Sinister

Check out my whole list of high school album obsessions.