Go to 97: I Called You Back by Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
Go to 99: These Boots Are Made for Walkin' by Nancy Sinatra
Handsome Boy Modeling School was essentially a joke.
The duo behind the moniker, hip-hop producers Prince Paul and Dan the Automator, assumed over-the-top playboy personas and costumes and created comic sketches about vain and vacuous male models. The group's name references Get a Life, a cult US TV sitcom from the early nineties, samples from which pepper the debut album So…How’s Your Girl?
But in between the goofy skits and layers of irony, there is a lot of smart, well-crafted music as you might expect from the men behind such albums as De La Soul’s Three Feet High and Rising (Prince Paul) and the first Gorillaz record (Dan the Automator).
Both So…How’s Your Girl? and the 2004 follow-up White People are packed with collaborators, including rappers Del tha Funkee Homosapien and El-P, rockers Mike Patton and Alec Empire, DJs Kid Koala and DJ Shadow, and singers Julee Cruise and Cat Power.
The results vary in term of success, especially on the considerably weaker White People, but when they get it right, it is fantastic. One example is Metaphysical, a beautifully weird track featuring Beastie Boy Mike D and Japanese singer Miho Hatori, who delivers a luscious litany of scientific terminology and surreal imagery, all backed by a gorgeous piano, sampled from the Aretha Franklin song Sweet Bitter Love, and Peggy Lee singing “It’s a good day” on a loop.
But even better is The Truth — a stunning piece of downtempo featuring Moloko singer Roisin Murphy and rapper J-Live.
The song is built around a smoky sample from Canadian jazz pianist Galt MacDermot’s song Cold Coffee. The original piece is beautiful and bluesy but in the hands of Prince Paul and Dan the Automator, the piano is stripped of all flourishes and looped into a rhythmic, moody hook.
Next comes a whip sharp breakbeat lifted from a track called Blow for the Crossing by Billy Butler — a sample also utilized by DJ Shadow — and then we get to the vocals.
Roisin Murphy's honeyed tones ooze a sadness and sultriness that is perfect for The Truth’s tale of fading love. At times she’s almost talking, like she’s speaking directly to you and you really really start to think that you should have treated this girl a lot better.
The song progresses beautifully in the hands of skilled producers who know how to keep things interesting. A sax whirls away in the background, the piano loop disappears for the second verse before majestically returning for the chorus, and after Murphy’s sassy middle eight, J-Live comes charging in with the line “Now presiding in this court of hip-hop”.
What follows is a brilliant rap filled with fast-flowing legalese and righteous rhymes, like when “Shoot dope lines first and ask questions later” couples with “Close a case tighter than the jaws of a gator”, or the outrageous assonance of “Stenographers are steady logging the jargon.”
But Murphy is not to be outdone and as soon as J-Live is finished, she is back singing: “Baby I won’t die without you by my side”. This is the harsh truth at the heart of the song, yet the cutting line is heartbreakingly undercut by the plaintive touch of her delivery. Sure, life goes on, but how great it once was.
The Handsome Boy Modeling School project ended shortly after the release of White People. According to Prince Paul, a business conflict caused him to leave the group and he claims Dan didn't speak to him about it all.
Life has gone on for both producers though neither has since found a truth equal to this.
Follow me on Twitter
If you like this, try:
- Metaphysical featuring Mike D and Miho Hatori
- Holy Calamity (Bear Witness II) featuring DJ Shadow and DJ Quest
- Cold Coffee by Galt MacDermot
Go to 97: I Called You Back by Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
Go to 99: These Boots Are Made for Walkin' by Nancy Sinatra
Thanks Rod. Glad you enjoyed it.
ReplyDelete