Prince "17 Days"
The title for my last post is actually part of the chorus for this song. This "When Doves Cry" b-side has Prince lamenting over a lover who has gone astray. He finds resolve in the cool drops that, at least momentarily, wash away his blues, sending him (and you) straight to the dance floor.
"You've been gone for 17 days and 17 long nights,
the main drag is knowing that you're holding someone else tight...
so let the rain come down, the rain come down,
let the rain come down, down"
Raekown Featuring Ghostface Killah "Rainy Dayz"
"On rainy days I sit back and count ways on how to get rich, son..." plots a hungry Ghostface Killah--aka Toney Starks aka Pretty Toney aka The Wallabee Champ aka Ghost Deini--on this treat from Raekwon's stellar 1995 debut, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. This album would prove to be the New Testament for any mid-nineties rappers trying to make a name (or several) for themselves in the world of crime-related hyperreal hip hop. Ghost and Rae spit one verse a piece, each expressing aspirations to leave behind the world of drugs and violence for a better tomorrow ("...soon get married, raise a family"), all recited over piercing RZA production.
Bob Azzam "Rain, Rain Go Away"
I don't know too much about Bob Azzam, but this song is cute and funky--kind of not unlike Pepe LePew. I first heard this as the backing track for a skit from Ghostface Killah's 2000 masterpiece Supreme Clientele. The key here is simple production laced with typically beautiful 60s backing vocals, as Bob begs the wetness to "come back another day." The rain never sounded so darn cheerful, except for maybe this next song.
B.J. Thomas "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head"
I think I first heard this song on an episode of The Simpsons. I can't say anything else better than this clip can:
Prince "Purple Rain"
Prince is one of the few artists allowed multiple slots on any single list that I compile. There would be no list without him. He's shaped so much of my musical sensibility that it would be a crime against all that is funky to deny him. This is the title track of the soundtrack to the movie that would blast Prince's star into the stratosphere, illuminating his innovative blend of rock and sex and spirituality for all the world to see. Even those dismissive of Prince's genius find it difficult to ignore this song. A story of friendship and love--once thought lost, now regained--Prince asks us all to let him guide us to the Purple Rain. That place, or state, rather, in which loves ultimately conquers, bringing us all a little closer to each other.
It should be noted that the rain in New York is NOT purple. I just got off a crowded 4 train full of cranky and annoyed people who made me feel that we were waaaay to close to one another.
Bonus: "Purple Rain" live in Syracuse, 1985 (hurry before this gets removed)
Pt. 1 of 2
Pt. 2 of 2
Honorable Mention: New Edition "Can You Stand The Rain", Soul 4 Real "Candy Rain", SWV "Rain"
Peace
3 comments:
Madonna - Rain
Hillary Duff - Come Clean
Milli Vanilli - Blame it on the Rain.
Come on Micah! If these three masterpieces don't get mentions then you are slippin'!
The Duffster was heavy on my brain, but she ain't had no hits in a minute so I decided to leave her off.
Jokes aside, the Madonna song REALLY did come to mind, but then I looked down at my feet and suddenly realized that I was wearing rollerblades. She was subsequently omitted.
And we all know what the hardest part about rollerblading is right?
Telling your parents you're gay.
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