Due to good but unexpected circumstances, I had to step away from this newsletter for the last few weeks. So now that summer is over, it’s time to get back into spreading the word of awesome tunes!

I won’t waste any more of your time…let’s bring on some great new music!

As always, if you’re not already following me over on Instagram, Facebook, or Bluesky, please do so.

Now, here comes the music…

I’ve been waiting to write about this album, as someone passed me the song “Goldfish” a few weeks ago, and I have been absolutely OB-SESSED with it since! This album covers a wide range of sounds, from electro-pop to indie rock to R&B to tripped-out acoustic songs; yet it works as a cohesive record, drawing you in further and further.

PRIMARY opens with something that feels like Sgt. Peppers meets Soft Bulletin-era Flaming Lips, all on a ten-strip of great LSD. It’s a wildly fascinating introduction to the sonic exploration ahead, and the basslines and hooks will quickly captivate your ears.

But back to “Goldfish,” which sounds (to me) like 90s Dr. Dre produced a Billie Eilish song - and I mean that in the most complementary way possible. The track glistens and pulsates, defying any known genre classification; and demands to be played over and over.

My brain kept going back to the music of Esthero, as the range of sounds and styles covered here, along with Emily’s voice, are of similar ilk. There’s a unique sense of intimacy across the album, which is not necessarily based on the amount of noise being made, and that is another element which sets this record aside as something special.

PRIMARY is an album that cannot be easily defined, yet it will make you smile and groove with every spin. Get your ears on it!

Click and enjoy: Bandcamp — Spotify

For years, I have been telling every music fan in my life that they need to keep an ear on Greg Foat. He has been astoundingly prolific, releasing more than 20 albums over the past 6 years; and the quality of those records ranges from ‘great’ to ‘phenomenal.’

Opening Time is a return to a classic piano trio arrangement, but the more cosmic vibes from Foat’s past few years of work are sitting underneath many of the compositions. It’s an ideal blend of many of the musical approaches he’s taken, and the word I kept coming back to for this record was ‘gorgeous.’ These songs are just that; and masterfully deployed by all three musicians.

Whether it’s the gentle flow of keys on the opening track, the fitting pace and feel of “Skipping Tones,” the elasticity of “Transcendence,” or the wonderfully spacey “Awakening,” the trio are in top form in every sonic direction they choose.

“Awakening” in particular deserves special note, as the way Jihad Darwish weaves magical bass work before they dive into a slow, deep groove - it’s just something every music fan needs to experience firsthand to fully appreciate.

Opening Time is another fantastic addition to Greg Foat’s catalog, proving once again that he is, without question, one of the absolute best in the current jazz scene.

Turn in and space out: Bandcamp — Spotify

Another album that manages to cross over a number of genres is Jonny Nash’s Once Was Ours Forever. While it is predominantly a blissed-out ambient guitar record, it touches on dream pop, electro-emo (a term I just made up), classical and many other softer styles. The record gets almost shoegaze-y at times, and it is this subtle diversity in sound that demands repeated spins.

The album quickly surrounds you, floating and shimmering with just the right amount of reverb; and though these songs are mostly instrumentals, when vocals do enter the compositions, they blend seamlessly. The overall sense of serene tranquility is never disturbed, which is part of the charm of this album.

Speaking of vocals, it was the collaboration with Satomimagae that brought me to this record; and “Rain Song” is one of the most impressive, spellbinding moments on the album. Not to take away from the rest of Nash’s masterful work, but this is a stand-out track.

Once Was Ours Forever manages to be hypnotic, but not sleepy; which is what separates out truly excellent achievements within this style. Bottom line is that your ears need this record. Trust me.

Check it out here: Bandcamp — Spotify

That’s all for this week. As always, share and enjoy.

If you don’t want to read, here’s the link to the mixtape.

For those who do want to read a bit…..

I absolute L-O-V-E pop music! Always have, and chances are, I always will. I offer zero apologies, and do not refer to it as a “guilty pleasure.” I feel no guilt, because great pop music is sheer enjoyment.

For decades, there has been a stigma within so-called “music lovers,” that pop music is somehow a lesser form of music, and to appreciate it makes you a less educated or a less cultured music fan. This is just nonsense, and is the basis for those music snobs who see themselves as “too cool.” It is musical elitism at its worst, and people need to get over themselves.

So, this month’s mixtape is a dive into some of my all-time favorite pieces of pop music perfection; including classics from more than half-a-century ago, as well as very recent songs that I dig.

As always, if you’re not already following me over on Facebook, Bluesky or Instagram, please do so.

Now, here comes the music…

Side A:

• There are few more blissfuly perfect openings than that found on The Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back.” More than half-a-century later, it can still light up any room, and demands that you sing along!

• Madonna’s “Borderline” is the single greatest pop song in the entirety of music history. I will die on this hill. It has every pop element in perfect balance, and it never ages.

• Before they took a break to serve their mandatory military service, BTS were dominating music across the globe. They are set to return later this year, and their hordes of fans are already foaming a the mouth. “Boy With Luv” is wildly catchy, and the backing vocals from Halsey offer excellent punctuation and contrast.

• For those too young to remember radio in the 90s, Mariah Carey largely owned it for years. There were SO many singles I could have picked from that would have fit perfectly on this mixtape, but there’s something about the heat of summer that makes “Fantasy” feel right.

• The name Giorgio Moroder doesn’t have the instant recognition that it should. Fittingly seen as “the father of disco,” his pioneering work also serves as the basis for the vast majority of electronic and dance music to this day. A decade ago, he released an album full of collaborations, and the title track (with vocals from Sia Furler) is my favorite.

• What can I say about The B-52’s “Love Shack” that hasn’t been said a million times before? There’s a reason this song continues to be ubiquitous at any place people are looking to have a good time. It stands as one of the greatest sing-along songs ever, and is the essence of fun. Also, did you know that one of RuPaul’s first “big” appearances was in this video? Check out the 2:05 mark…

• One Direction sold more than 70 million records, and yet Harry Styles has managed to carve out a wildly successful solo career after that group’s disbanding. While there are a number of excellent moments in his solo catalog, “As It Was” is my favorite.

  • For my money, Billie Eilish is the most fascinating performer over the past decade of pop music. The sonic creations she forms with her brother (and producer), Finneas, are always original; and continue to push the boundaries on what we can consider “pop.” Though there are other songs in her catalog that I enjoy more, I thought it was most fitting to go with her breakout single, “bad guy.”

• For anyone currently in their 40s, *NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye” needs no introduction. You likely spent a number of months singing along to it, trying to mimic “the dance,” or in some cases, you spent that time constantly changing the radio station to avoid this song. It was one of the most infectious (both good and bad) songs of the decade, and still holds up in the pop genre.

• Britney Spears next to NSYNC? Did you see what I did there? I’m so clever! “Oops…I Did It Again” shows every element of why Britney ruled the planet for a number of years. The production work, the beats, and nearly every one of her vocal affectations are found here…and it’s just a great song. #TeamBritney4Eva!

• There are few intros more instantly recognizable than Soft Cell’s version of “Tainted Love.” The song was first released by Gloria Jones as a b-side back in 1965, and found a bit of fame a decade later. However, it’s hard to argue anything other than this as the definitive version.

• When was the last time you looked at the track listing to Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814? It’s kind of mind-blowing when you realize that the album yielded 7 Top 5 singles (a record never equaled), and was the first record to produce a #1 single in THREE separate years. A truly monumental record, and “Escapade” will forever be one of my favorite Janet songs.

  DING! Time to flip to side 2!

Side B:

• Hey, remember when I mentioned RuPaul back on side 1? Well now….YOU BETTER WORK!!! "Supermodel (You Better Work)" came out of nowhere and absolutely dominated the airwaves for months as 1992 turned into 1993. The song remains a sticky-sweet, completely badass track; and decades from now, people will still be quoting RuPaul’s opening command!

• Back in 2018, I was working at SiriusXM; and I feel like EVERY time I went down into the office lobby, this song was playing. “The Middle” defines the term ‘ear worm,’ and apparently, more than a dozen other artists (including Charli XCX, Demi Lovato, and Tove Lo) recorded vocal demos before Maren Morris was selected.

• To call Robyn’s “Dancing On My Own” ‘iconic’ is an understatement; and it has since been argued as one of (if not THE) greatest song of the entire decade. From the irresistible mid-tempo synth and electronic drums to Robyn’s heartbreaking lyric, it is perhaps the saddest “club banger” in music history.

• Did I wait until halfway through side two to get to The King Of Pop? I mean, he DID open the mixtape, so go take a Xanax. That said, picking just one song from Michael Jackson for a mixtape like this is pretty much impossible. So, I went with the first of his songs that I can remember hearing. Still a great song, more than 40 years later.

• Yes, I consider the bulk of Taylor Swift’s catalog to be pop music; ESPECIALLY her 1989 album. I absolutely adore “Shake It Off,” as the beat and orchestrations are phenomenal, and Taylor’s self-deprecating lyrics and video show how much she is able to embrace a silly side. Yes, she made some poor PR decisions in the wake of this song (trying to copyright phrases), but the song is still awesome.

• When Daft Punk, Nile Rodgers and Pharrell got into a studio together, it was pretty much impossible for anything short of ‘legendary’ to be the outcome. Rodgers stands as one of the under-appreciated Gods of writing iconic riffs, and he deploys another on “Get Lucky.” This song pretty much forces you to dance, so don’t fight it! Give in and enjoy!

• I still argue Lorde’s Melodrama as the the best album of 2017, as well as one of the best of the entire decade. It is a musical masterpiece, and while “Green Light” isn’t my favorite song on the album (“The Louvre” or “Writer In The Dark”) it is unquestionably the most fitting for this mix.

• I’ll admit that whenever I hear the opening synth run on Cindi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want To Have Fun,” I immediately think of that other song that sounds JUST like it. That said Cindi was (and is) beyond an icon, and it’s hard to imagine 80s pop music without this song.

• Ignoring the allegedly well-founded copyright lawsuit currently in progress, Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” is nothing short of a modern pop classic. Injecting just the right amount of disco-groove, her voice glides effortlessly over the minimal instrumentation. If all you know is Miley is her early work, this is absolutely a track you need in your life!

• It would have been wrong of me to create a mixtape of pop music without Wham! being included. “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” is a slice of cheesy-pop-perfection. George Michael’s voice is nothing short of glorious, and this song remains just as infectious decades later. Also, yes, this is a second Zoolander reference in today’s newsletter.

• Hey! Remember when “being a YouTuber” was something people would brag about? Well, around that time, Carly Rae Jepsen released a fantastic return to “bubble gum pop,” that quickly added a new phrase into teenage slang. This is just a fun song, and hopefully your ears have recovered from 2011 and you can appreciate it again.

That’s all for this week. As always, share and enjoy.

Yesterday afternoon, word broke that Ozzy Osbourne passed away. For anyone who likes louder music, Ozzy has been a God for decades. He has become an outright icon across the globe, giving his final live performance less than 3 weeks ago at a massive farewell concert in Black Sabbath’s hometown of Birmingham, England.

For those of you who only know the urban legends of Ozzy, and have never delved into the Black Sabbath catalog beyond “Iron Man” and “War Pigs,” read on and learn just why he was held in the highest of regard for more than half a century.

There are a handful of people in the history of the world worthy of being known by a single name, and Ozzy was more than qualified. Throughout the first 20ish years of his career, he exemplified why so many were afraid of heavy metal; and the case can be made that Ozzy created the blueprint for all hard rock and metal singers. His nicknames of “The Prince of Darkness” and “The Godfather of Heavy Metal” were both fitting, but over the last 20 years, we were treated to the other, more humorous side of his personality.

Ozzy’s voice and presence were unmistakable. He knew how to sound dangerous and crazy on records, and his stage antics were those of legend. He understood how to get a crowd riled up, and made plenty of headlines with his reckless behavior over the years.

Adding to his iconic status, when you look at the past half-century, there really isn’t any extended period where Ozzy WASN’T relevant. He somehow managed to dodge the ‘obscure’ era which most artists encounter in longer careers. He was a constant presence in the music scene, giving us the real life embodiment of the unhinged, Wild Man that many wished they could be.

Yes, he bit the head off a bat on stage - however, it was somewhat of an accident. I spoke about it back in 2011, in my very first episode of “Music Myths.”

He simply WAS Ozzy. A name that defined a single person in history, and brought with it mountains of lore, respect and and heavy metal awesomeness. He was such a massive cultural figure, that the concept of a world without him is very difficult to process; yet we must.

So, let’s take a look at four of my favorite Black Sabbath songs, from four of their most impressive albums. All of these records are flawless from beginning to end, and I highly suggest you check them out in their entirety.

Starting with the first song off of the band’s first album, which also happens to be the name of the band, might seem a bit cliché. However, this is one of my favorite tracks from Black Sabbath, and it does a great job at showing the heavy, dark sound which made so many people scared of their music. If you’re trying to understand why most music historians see Black Sabbath as the beginning of heavy metal, doom and many other subgenres, this song is all the evidence you need.

“Black Sabbath” is wonderfully overwhelming, as it looms over the listener, threatening a catastrophic sonic collapse at any moment. It is the tension-and-release the band creates which makes this song so special; and when “Black Sabbath” moves into its final movement (around the 4:34 mark), you can feel the song descending into madness.

Ozzy’s vocals are deep and impassioned, cementing the song’s overall unsettling feeling; and when he sings “…Satan coming round the bend…” the entire heavy metal musical style was instantly given its calling card. Songs of the devil and this level of evil were few and far between in 1970, and it would be a number of years before the media started questioning Led Zeppelin’s relationship to the occult. Black Sabbath did it first, and lyrics of evil in all forms became a standard part of their music.

On many levels, “Black Sabbath” is truly a watershed moment in music history, and to put it simply, this is an extraordinary way to musically announce yourself to the world.

Turn it up LOUD! YouTube — Spotify

Paranoid is unquestionably the band’s best known album, and when I finally got past the big singles in my youth, “Electric Funeral” instantly became my favorite - possibly my favorite song in their entire discography.

The slight ‘wah’ on Tony Iommi’s guitar is absolutely perfect, as Ozzy paints a lyrical picture of a nuclear apocalypse. Every corner of the song is dark and foreboding, but in a a way that was very relevant to societal fears in 1970. There is a presence to this song that is unnerving, yet simultaneously righteous; as the descending tones feel like bombs falling and the world coming to an end.

As the song kicks into high gear around the halfway mark, Ozzy’s frantic vocals perfectly mirror the frenetic drumming of Bill Ward. This, to me, is one of the keys which set Black Sabbath apart from other bands of the time: they were at ease shifting tempo all over the place, keeping the overall mood of a song intact. This ability gave their songs a unique feel, and is a testament to their collective songwriting talents.

“Electric Funeral” is one of those songs that never ages for me. It still hits just as hard, and remains one of their finest moments.

Horns and volume up! YouTube — Spotify

Master Of Reality is, in my opinion, the unsung masterpiece of the Black Sabbath catalog. The band really turned up the fuzz and doom, and the record contains some of my favorite riffs. “Into The Void” is one of the three songs on the album where Toni Iommi tuned down his guitar, giving the songs a bigger, more hefty sound; which would become a sonic cornerstone for countless later trudge metal and doom metal bands.

For many who love the heavier side of metal, this song is the pinnacle of the sound; and it has been cited by countless metal icons as their favorite in the Sabbath catalog. With good reason - as the main riff is heavy, and pounds the listener in a way not previously heard in music.

Ozzy’s vocal presents a stark tonal contrast on “Into The Void,” serving as the only element of the song that doesn’t sound low and dusky. This polarity is one of the elements which lifts the song to greater heights, and is another Black Sabbath sonic trick that has been copied endlessly over the decades.

“Into The Void” is a spectacular song, but rarely gets the notoriety it deserves within both the Black Sabbath catalog, as well as the overall heavy metal pantheon.

Dig in and get down: YouTube — Spotify

With all due respect to the title track and “Sabbra Cadabra,” this is my favorite song from Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. The main riff is awesome, and these are arguably the best and most powerful lyrics on the entire album. This, to me, is also the end of the best era of Black Sabbath, as while there are later records I like, the first 5 Sabbath records are absolutely perfect to my ears.

This album strikes a great balance between the sound the band had become known for, with some more experimental musical approaches; and this song walks that line. The guitar riff has a driving trudge, and Iommi gets a solid, growling tone in the chorus sections to contrast with the wavy distortion he creates during the verses.

“Killing Yourself To Live” is also one of the finest performances from Sabbath’s unparalleled rhythm section, and Geezer Butler’s bassline often goes overlooked on this track. It’s slightly buried in the mix, but he creates a deep groove under the guitar and vocals.

This song also gives us one of the best examples of Ozzy’s higher-octave vocal work. This pitch, combined with his somewhat-shouted vocal approach, is the model that so many later singers have attempted to copy. The song is a direct takedown of how the music industry preyed on bands at the time, and the lyric is sadly still relevant many decades later.

Maximum volume required: YouTube — Spotify

In truth, it’s difficult to find an ‘off’ moment anywhere in Black Sabbath’s first half-dozen records, and this level of quality output laid the foundation for Ozzy’s life as one of music’s most iconic frontmen. Though there are moments within his solo catalog that are certainly worth mentioning, I will always be most drawn to his first few albums with Black Sabbath. He defined a genre and a style, with a creative output and presence that will never be matched.

Ride easy, Ozzy. You’ll be missed, but never forgotten.

As always, share and enjoy.

I know what you’re thinking: “MORE great releases from this year?!!? REALLY?!?!” Yep. More great releases from 2025. It’s been a fantastic first six-and-a-half months in nearly every genre, once again proving that if you can detach yourself from the musical mainstream, there are more extraordinary new tunes than you have time to enjoy.

This week, my selections are definitely albums that are ready to take your brain for a ride. From blistering, fuzzy tones to cosmic instrumentals to a solid soundtrack for grave-robbing, I’ve got something for everyone this time around.

As always, if you’re not already following me over on Facebook, Bluesky or Instagram, please do so.

Now, here comes the music…

At least once a week, I spend time using Bandcamp’s “Discovery” feature, and plowing through dozens of albums I’ve never heard. Nearly every time, I find myself loving at least one or two of the albums I discover; and the moment I heard the self-titled debut EP from Requiem Blues, I knew I’d found a few favorite band.

Hailing from Liverpool, this power trio have released one of the best half-hours of uncompromising, steamy psych-rock awesomeness to emerge in years. Everything from the reverb and distortion to the riffs and lyrics are simply perfect, and if someone told you this was a “lost” band from the early 70s, you’d probably believe it.

The way the bass drives “Living In Fear” is nothing sort of sensational, and this song in particular is just a raucous festival of riffs from all three band members. If you haven’t already cranked the volume to maximum, the opening drop on “The Pressure” will force your hand to do so, as it almost feels like a Thin Lizzy studio jam (minus one guitar, and meant with the highest of praise).

There’s just no way around it: for all those currently running the always-wrong “rock is dead” argument, go grab a copy of Requiem Blues, turn the volume up ALL the way, and shut the F up!

This one goes to eleven: Bandcamp — Spotify

This record found its way onto my radar thanks to the always excellent Ambient Audiophile. Jeff’s picks are top-notch, and your ears will thank you for subscribing to his newsletter and radio show.

Do we want to call this psych-country? Cosmic Americana? Ambient country? They’d all be fittingly accurate, as this record feels like walking down a dusty, desert trail at sunset…on a ten-strip of acid. Maybe think of it as the full story of the rider in America’s classic “Horse With No Name.” You know, the part in between the lyrics, where he’s lost in the desert and slowly spacing out? In my brain, that analogy makes sense.

There is a gorgeous, reverb’d wobble throughout this album that keeps pulling you in deeper, and even when vocals momentarily enter the sonic landscape, they shimmer perfectly with the guitar and pedal steel.

These songs meander and bubble, they drone (in a good way) and yet never lose you as a listener - they are completely captivating as they wind paths through your brain. With each passing moment, they surround you more with a uniquely entrancing tone and appeal. It’s just one of those records that you won’t realize how badly you needed, until you experience it firsthand.

Turn in and space out: Bandcamp — Spotify

Another gift of Bandcamp’s “Discovery” feed, there is something wonderfully eerie and dark about this album - but it manages to do so in a subtle way. That is to say, it’s eerie and dark without trying to be eerie and dark. Once you hear it, I think that’ll make sense - it just feels very organic and not forced in any way.

Throughout Bury Me, you’ll find brilliant angular rhythms and melodies, sitting under a perfectly deployed level of dreary fog. There’s also a layer of psych-rock spinning across these four songs, but it somehow also feels simultaneously like post-punk or shoegaze all at the same time. Don’t read that as the EP being musically confused - because it’s not; there are just a lot of influences at play.

At some points, the EP could be a sonic sister of AA Williams’ extraordinary debut EP, while at other points it feels like dream-pop…but in this case, it is a fitful, unsettling dream. If this is any indication of what’s to come on her next album, that record is going to be one of the best, whenever it comes out!

This is simply 14 minutes of music your ears need to hear, as they’ll be better for it after the fact.

Check it out here: Bandcamp — Spotify

That’s all for this week. As always, share and enjoy.

This week, we’re going to take a bit of a deep dive into a subject I always love digging into: the source of the backing sounds on some of your favorite songs. Though samples are most evident in the world of hip-hop, below I’ll be discussing beyond that, including two of the most famous, non-hip-hop songs of 1994 and 2001 respectively.

While many producers have created iconic beats and orchestrations from scratch, the overwhelming majority of the time, hip-hop producers are manipulating bits and pieces from older songs. This is in NO way saying that these producers are less talented - quite the opposite. The ability to find a unique sound, and reshape it into something completely new, is a rare skill to master.

Setting aside things like the “Amen Break,” and Chic’s “Good Times” which have been used so many times it’s beyond cliché; as well as purposefully ignoring moments like Beastie Boys sampling Led Zeppelin (both of which are classics in their own right), this week I am going to push beyond, and even shed some light on a sample which has long been mis-attibuted to Daft Pun

Finally, let’s give a strong nod to the ENTIRE Parliament-Funkadelic catalog and all things George Clinton, as a large chunk of hip-hop is rooted in both his music as well as his influence.

NOTE: If you enjoy this sort of stuff (finding the samples), I went ahead and created a playlist of some of my favorites. Enjoy!

As always, if you’re not already following me over on Facebook or Instagram, please do so.

Now, here comes the music…

While I am in NO way trying to call Dr. Dre’s talents as a producer into question, I think it’s important to point out that nearly every element of his industry-shattering 1992 hit “Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang” was…well…IS this song.

I remember the first time I heard “I Wanna Do Freaky Things To You,” and it nearly made my brain explode. I mean, here it was - the entire “magic” that was “Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang,” but without the lyrics I knew by heart. For years, I loved dropping this on friends, and watching them process reality in an entirely new way.

The only real addition Dr. Dre made was re-recording the original keyboard line, and layering a number of different instruments on a Yamaha SY77 synthesizer. It gives far better sonic contrast to the original, and continues to be pointed to as the foundation of the “G Funk sound.” He also added a bit more percussion, but overall, the original remains intact.

Obviously Dre and the SN-double-O P added their legendary rhymes to the song; but at it’s core, “Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang” is basically them rapping over an unaltered version of Leon Haywood’s 1975 song.

“I Wanna Do Freaky Things To You”: YouTube — Spotify

“Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang”: YouTube — Spotify

When I look back at the most important and influential musicians in my 45+ years of existence, Trent Reznor and Iggy Pop are both pretty high up on the list. Yet until I was well into my 20s, I had no idea that the basis for one of the former’s biggest hits was built upon a song by the latter.

To cut to the chase: Nine Inch Nails’ mega-hit “Closer” is largely based on Iggy Pop’s 1977 track, “Nightclubbing” As soon as Iggy’s song begins, you’ll hear exactly what Trent Reznor did, in terms of manipulation, to build the base rhythm to “Closer.” The subtle adjustment in reverb and very slight tempo change turns the sound on “Closer” into something even more sinister and menacing than Iggy’s original.

Bonus trivia: “Nightclubbing” was written and produced by Iggy Pop along with…David Bowie…who would collaborate on a song with Trent Reznor, and do a dual-headlining tour with Nine Inch Nails.

“Nightclubbing”: YouTube — Spotify

“Closer”: YouTube — Spotify

While The Isley Brothers are responsible for a number of iconic samples across hip-hop history, this might be my favorite…maybe.

If you were a teenager in the early 90s, chances are you spent your fair share of time driving around with one hand on the wheel, feeling like a total badass as Ice Cube’s “It Was A Good Day” blasted out of your stereo. Well friends, this song is what provided that silky smooth structure over which Ice Cube spun his lyrical tale.

The original Isley Brothers song is so untouched on Ice Cube’s track, that you might find yourself rapping over their playing - it’s that burned into the heads of so many people.

The Isley track was actually the b-side to “Groove with You,” and didn’t get much airplay at the time, but thanks to Ice Cube’s use, it has become an underground classic. This is definitely a song you can throw on, and surprise your friends with your deep musical knowledge!

“Footsteps In The Dark, Parts 1 & 2”: YouTube — Spotify

“It Was A Good Day”: YouTube — Spotify

There was a moment back in late 2001/early 2002 where Daft Punk’s “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” was inescapable. It seemed to be on constant radio rotation, and coming out of the speakers of every car. With good reason - as the main sonic refrain of the song is one of the best ever….but Daft Punk didn’t write it. In fact, they lifted it in its entirety from Edwin Birdsong’s 1979 track “Cola Bottle Baby.”

That’s right! Daft Punk didn’t come up with that killer melody and pulse - they just did an incredible job of finding an unknown gem that perfectly matched their sonic style. When asked about how they came across the song, Daft Punk said that they randomly found it while going through stacks at a local record shop; and it doesn’t get much more “classic sample finding” than that!

This was far from a case of “new band reworks famous song.” “Cola Bottle Baby” was, for all intents and purposes, utterly obscure - until Daft Punk made it one of the most recognizable sounds ever. Birdsong spoke many times about how after the song had been out for more than 3 decades, it wasn’t until this moment that most people found out about it.

Does this make “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” less of an incredible moment in music history? Absolutely not. But next time you want to impress your friends, maybe put “Cola Bottle Baby” on, and see how they react.

NOTE: Yes, I know this song was used on another famous hip-hop track, but I have zero interest in mentioning that individual.

“Cola Bottle Baby”: YouTube — Spotify

“Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger”: YouTube — Spotify

While few know the name of the original song, anyone who has paid even the smallest bit of attention to 90s hip-hop will instantly recognize the opening bars as the foundation of Wu-Tang Clan’s iconic 1993 track “C.R.E.A.M.” The brief, 5 second refrain, was all that RZA needed to create one of the most well-known songs in hip-hop history.

While RZA is rightfully regarded as one of the greatest producers in the history of the genre, he really didn’t change much - if anything - before making this 5 seconds work perfectly as a 4 minute loop. Listen to the Wu-Tang song again and pay close attention: there are no tricks, and few fills - it is literally the same 5 second refrain over and over, for the entirety of the song.

While this level of repetition might lead to a song feeling dull or dragging on, the way RZA deploys light touches from his drum machine, and the pace and sound of the three emcees, manages to keep things fresh and engaging.

If you’re looking for another amazing variation on this musical theme, make sure to check out El Michel’s Affair’s take on the song.

“As Long As I’ve Got You”: YouTube — Spotify

“C.R.E.A.M.”: YouTube — Spotify

That’s all for this week. As always, share and enjoy.