(no subject)

[miko2]

Today's Song: I Like What I Like by the Baha Men

Back in the early 1990's when I was on the lookout for world music of all kinds, especially anything that mixed traditional and modern music or crossed into rock, I picked up a cd b The Baha Men, who are of course from the Bahamas. Later I picked up their second release. 1992's Junkanoo! and the 1994 follow up Kalik were both centered on traditional Junkanoo music, which is basically island party and dance music from the Bahamas. It was fun to listen to a few times, but I really didn't feel the need to ever own more. (Around the same time I'd picked up Break the Chains and Voudou Nou from Rara Machine, which was Haitian voodoo rock music -- somewhat similar stuff. Rara Machine has faded into obscurity, and I had assumed the Baha Men would do likewise.)

Several years later I came across their 1997 release I Like What I Like and their 1998 release Doong Spank in the bargain bin at Silver Platters and grabbed them. I was surprised the band was still around and releasing music. Their newer stuff was much less traditional and much more fun. Songs like Whine'd, Mash De Roach, That's the Way I Get Down (a dual cover of KC and the Sunshine Band's That's the Way I Like It and Get Down Tonight, the voodoo-spooky Exhuma's Reincarnation and of course I Like What I Like are all great fun party tunes, the kind you can't help but dance to. I became a bigger fan of the band, and I still like these songs.

Of course, finding their cds in the bargain bin didn't bode well for their future (so I thought). Little did I know. Less than a year after that, they released Who Let The Dogs Out?. The rest, as they say, is history.

I saw a reviewer in Newsweek I think it was, about a year after their big hit, who said that they were destined to be a one-hit wonder and fade into obscurity. I had to laugh. This is a band that had been touring, recording, and partying hard for about ten years before their big break. And their one hit was one of the biggest smash hits one could hope for -- or as they say on their web site,

...the rest is world music, dance club, sports stadium, Macy”s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and Grammy Awards history (winner for Best Dance Recording, 2000). The album dominated the U.S. Top Ten for the rest of 2000, reaching triple platinum sales in only four months while also going Top Ten in no less than twelve countries, certified gold or platinum in ten. The group also received a Billboard Award for World Music Album of the Year as well as a Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award for “Favorite Song.” The novelty hit turned anthem of anthems made the band ubiquitous on radio and TV. The band performed before the opening pitch of the World Series and they were the first band to ever play live on ESPN. Famed baseball hero Alex Rodriguez made it his theme song every time he stepped up to bat, and the San Francisco Giants played it at the end of every home win. Not surprisingly, “Who Let The Dogs Out” was named the #1 Sports Anthem of all time by MTV.

So yeah, I'm crying for them and their one-hit wonder status. You think a band that toured hard year-round for ten years (they reportedly did about 200 shows per year) is sad that they can't repeat such success? You think life post-Who Let The Dogs Out? is harder than the ten years that preceded it? ^_^

Anyway I like to think their whole attitude to life is summed up in the lyrics of this silly dance song:

I was hanging with the boys the other day
When I saw you looking my way
I took the time to come talk to you
But you wouldn't talk to me

You said you don't like the kind of clothes I wear
You don't like the way I do my hair
You don't even like the way I talk
Is that all?

Well it don't matter to me
I'm going to live my life free
No it don't matter to me
I've gotta live my life free

You know, I like what I like
I like what I like
Just let me live my life free
I like what I like

I like to live in reality
Do the things you think don't matter to me
Sometimes I smile when you walk away
I like the way your body sways
I'd like the chance to have a talk with you
And share my positive attitude
Girl, I can't understand your vibe
But you can't say I didn't try

Hey, I like to party late at night
Just hanging with the crowd
You like to stay home, watch tv
Don't like the music loud
I like the sound of people jumping
I like the sound of music thumping
If you don't like what I like,
Well -- You don't like what I like!

But it don't matter to me
I've got to live my life free
It don't matter to me
I've got to let me be me

I like what I like...

Check it out... or their dual cover That's the Way I Get Down... both lots of fun.