Monday, December 22, 2008

Happy Chanukah!

Today is the beginning of Chanukah. To celebrate, here are four contemporary holiday songs I like:

I believe this is supposed to be a Chanukah song, since it starts with a Hebrew prayer and ends with Beck screaming "Chanukah pimp!" over and over again. Don't put it on your holiday mix for your grandmother unless she's cool with lyrics like "my shit's so poignant I'm going to need some kind of ointment" and (inexplicably) "ejaculating on buffet tables." On the plus side, it's got a fresh beat and the only shout out to New Balance shoes I've ever heard on a record.

- Christmas Rapping by Curtis Blow.
Some will say this song is overplayed and way too long, but it's still pretty good for a novelty record. For me the highlight is when Curtis says "stereoo" to make a rhyme work. Now that's dedication to the craft.

I have to be honest. This song is shit. But as part of a pact one of my ancestors must have made with Satan, I have to like every song with a vocoder in it. I like the song's repeated references to "I Wanna Be Your Man" (which you should listen to instead, because it's awesome and I had it performed live at my wedding) as if people needed to be reminded that this song was by Zapp -- because otherwise everybody might assume it was by the other band that uses a vocoder on every single song.

-Santa Rap by the Treacherous Three (from Beat Street).
I'm not sure if this is on any albums or not, but I remember it solely from Beat Street. Also not one for your grandmother's Christmas mix, but it does contain Doug E. Fresh's epic beatboxing and the use of the word "facsimile."

2 comments:

  1. found: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tT5noclsXS4
    Mark watched 122308 22:32 by force

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  2. Given that I have a rap line about NB's constantly stuck in my head, I had to respond to this.

    High Priest (from Antipop Consortium, "Ping Pong"): "My song sing about the freedom of my people/New Balance sneaker fever thunder receiver/one to the three it's H.P." (APC is known for their "stream of consciousness raps, as evidenced here.)

    Another classic line about the shoes comes from Phife Dawg, on Tribe's "Buggin' Out": "I sport New Balance sneakers to avoid a narrow path."

    A Google search for "'new balance' lyrics hip hop" turns up several other songs that mention the brand.

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