Cheesy Group Numbers vs. Great Collaborations

"Don't ask how I came about it, but I just watched the "We Are the World" video. Priceless! We all seem to agree that the Idol group songs are cheesy. I can only think of a few [group songs], but I have the utmost faith in you to come up with some obscure and wonderful combinations of people... this may be more difficult than it seems." - Pizzamama

Ah… the dreaded group number. So tacky. But that doesn’t mean that all group songs are. As per Pizzamama’s request, I scanned my playlist for good group songs, which did, in fact, prove difficult. Nevertheless, below is a list of my favorite musical collaborations.

* I normally limit myself to just three suggestions, but this week I decided to list four. I wanted to cover as many musical tastes as humanly possible. Hopefully this will appease some of my detractors, who are all in a tizzy over the erroneous conclusion that I hate mainstream music (I have one word for you: “Disney”). Enjoy!

“Just Pretend” by the Bens (Ben Folds, Ben Lee, and Ben Kweller)

The fates aligned when these three identically christened indie-rockers came together for their Australian concert series and subsequent EP in 2003.

The Bens are all solo recording artists popular with the college radio crowd. All three split from successful bands (Noise Addict, Ben Folds Five, and Radish). They share a distinct Bob Dylan-esk flare for understated folk rock, which they mix with the power pop of this century. Folds’ bittersweet piano, Lee’s country folk guitar and the light tenors of all three voices make the Bens’ EP well worth its meager fifteen minutes.

I never noticed before, but Folds, Lee and Kweller kind of look alike too.

"A Star is Born" by Cheryl Freeman, LaChanze, Lillias White, Roz Ryan, and Vaneese Thomas (a.k.a. "The Muses")

This is that rousing gospel number at the close of Disney’s animated feature, Hercules. Having grown up with The Jungle Book and Beauty and the Beast, Disney’s old hand-drawn features have a special little nook in my heart. Hercules was when things were going down hill, but the film’s saving grace is the scene-stealing diva Muses, who in the unanimated world are actually an impressive gathering of some of Broadway’s best and biggest voices. The various Muses have graced the stage of Dreamgirls, Showboat, Chicago, and The Color Purple as well as won Tonys, Obies, Drama Logues, and Outer Critic Circles.

* If Freemantle and Disney ever work out their copyright issues (a sure sign of the Apocalypse), I whole-heartedly believe “A Star is Born” will show up on the Idol stage. It’s perfect---from the belting vocals to the lyrics about achieving stardom, plus that PG-rating. And Producers, that’s one cheesy group number I’d actually enjoy.

“It’s Okay (One Blood) Remix” by The Game, Jim Jones, Snoop Dogg, Nas, T.I., Fat Joe, Lil Wayne, N.O.R.E., Jadakiss, Styles P, Fabolous, Juelz Santana, Rick Ross, Twista, Kurupt, Daz Dillinger, WC, E-40, Bun B, Chamillionaire, Slim Thug, Young Dro, Clipse and Ja Rule (phew)

Now for a track that will never grace the Idol stage… not in a million, trillion years. As if the original “It’s Okay (One Blood)” from 2006's Doctor’s Advocate wasn’t great---it is---the Game managed to recruit 24 of rap’s biggest, who put aside their feuds to come together for this mother of all posse cuts. The various stylings of these rappers (from Snoop’s laid-back Californian rhymes to Twista’s quick fire, frantic lyrics) are set against a contagious beat that thumps through the bloodstream like a heart pump.

The Game also released three MORE remixes of the song; he divvied up his contributors by region and called the tracks the “Dirty South Remix,” “Westside Remix,” and “Eastside Remix.” It may be “one blood,” but there are at least five different versions of it floating around out there.

Beware: this hip-hop opus pushes twelve minutes.

“Yer Blues” by The Dirty Mac (John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, and Mitch Mitchell)

I know: there’s only one vocalist in this track (John Lennon). Nevertheless, I had to include the song in my list simply because… well… did you LOOK at who makes up the rest of the band?!

The Dirty Mac came together for one show: the Rolling Stones’ not very well received “Rock and Roll Circus.” The televised Circus took place in 1968 but wasn’t actually released for another thirty years because the Rolling Stones weren’t happy with their performances (apparently, they thought the Who outshined them). Nevertheless, the Dirty Mac was an exemplary uniting of some of rock’s biggest icons. The song was originally recorded by the Beatles for the White Album, and the Dirty Mac was ironically Lennon’s first performance without his not-yet former bandmates.

FYI: Next week I’ll be posting my “Suggestion Box,” a list of the best music suggestions I’ve received from readers and commenters. If you want to be included, get your suggestions in now!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Got any ideas for upcoming Good Music Corners? Convince me at CaricaturesByLaura@yahoo.com

__________________________