Songs I Can’t Live Without
In my quest to trim down my iPhone playlist, here are more songs I can’t live without.
Dr. Dre feat. Eminem “Forgot About Dre”
“Y’all know me, still the same ol’ G.” Dre kicks off a great song from a great album. I used to listen to gangster rap in high school at night on an AM radio station because there wasn’t an FM station in the area that played it. I’ve always loved rap music, specifically in the beginnings because it was raw and about survival, not about flossing.
Forgot about Dre came about much later. Rap was mainstream and Dr. Dre was the top producer in the game. His solo album, The Chronic 2001, was great. By now, he had discovered Eminem, who was absolutely killing it. The Eminem verse is what makes this song a keeper. Dre is great, but Eminem is on fire.
Forgot how great it is? Check it out on Youtube.
Reel Big Fish “Sell Out”
This is one of the first ska songs I ever heard and I’ve been a RBF fan since. It’s a satirical song about finally realizing the dream of having a record deal and how you’ve made it now. No more flipping burgers. But it’s also a look at how the music business is a scam and how kids are puppets in the game. I find it interesting that there were two breakout ska hits in 1997: The Impression That I Get by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Sell Out by Reel Big Fish. The Bosstones are still played today, but this ditty seems to have faded into obscurity.
