The Pop Zeal Project (Track 85): LL Cool J: “Around the Way Girl”

Ladies Love Cool James, and LL Cool J, for short, loves them right back. He offered further clarification on his 1990 hit single, “Around the Way Girl,” where the rapper describes the type of woman for whom he’s looking. In the prologue to the music video, a frustrated LL, sitting in a casting session, shares what he doesn’t want or need in a girlfriend, particularly “a homegirl that’s jumping out the limousine with the fur on and all that.” All LL wants is a “regular girl.”

Together, LL (James Smith) and Marlon Williams craft visually descriptive lyrics, in order to provide insight for the listener as to the physical traits (“extensions in her hair”; “honey-coated complexion”; “perm in your hair or even a curly weave”) and fashion trends (bamboo earrings; a Fendi bag; New Edition Bobby Brown button) likely sported by “all the cuties in the neighborhood.” With LL’s massive rap-pop crossover appeal, he essentially took what could be considered a regional phrase, an “around the way girl,” and introduced it into the larger MTV-generation lexicon.

And while the lyrics start out addressing physicality and style sense, they eventually begin speaking to the personality of this independent young woman who can read a relationship (“You always know what to say and do/Cold flip when you think your man is playing you”) and, more importantly, knows her value even before getting into one (“I tell you come here, you say meet me halfway”). Unlike a year prior on LL’s track, “Big Ole Butt,” where Tina, Brenda and Lisa were relegated to one particular physical characteristic, on “Around,” “Lisa, Angela, Pamela, Renee” are admired for more.

Holding everything together on the track is the inspired inclusion of classic R & B and funk elements. Rick James earns a writing credit as well on “Around the Way Girl,” as it contains a lyrical sample (“You got me shook up, shook down, shook out on your lovin’”) from “All Night Long,” the 1983 single by the group James formed, Mary Jane Girls. “Around” also features aspects from Keni Burke’s 1982 song, “Risin’ to the Top.” All these components, and LL’s smooth, suave delivery, help make “Around the Way Girl” a timeless rap jam, “fine as can be."

House of Pop: Mid-Century Modern & the Music Video

Turned to MTV Classic’s “House of Pop” today to find the video for Wilson Phillips’ 1990 hit, “Release Me.” This track once again highlighted the group’s pleasant harmonies, while the video showcased the legendary Stahl House in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles. The home was designed by the architect, Pierre Koenig in 1959, and continues to be an icon of the mid-century-modern aesthetic (floor-to-ceiling glass; clean structural lines; orb lighting, to name a few features).

Pop Playlist: The Cars: “Shake It Up”

Listen to The Cars’ 1981 hit, “Shake It Up,” in comparison to their late-70s material, and one can hear how the band did just that. With a sound that at first was more rock-oriented with tracks like “Just What I Needed,” “Good Times Roll,” You’re All I’ve Got Tonight” and “Moving In Stereo” (yes, the song that played over that Phoebe Cates scene from Fast Times at Ridgemont High), “Shake It Up” is pure pop-new-wave. With the birth of the MTV/music-video generation beginning in 1981, Ric Ocasek and the band embraced this sound through the new decade, with pop-ballad, “Since You’re Gone,” and later with 1984’s Heartbeat City (“You Might Think”; “Hello Again”; “Magic”; “Drive”).

Next Stop, The ‘80s: Lipps Inc.: “Funkytown”

The 1980 robo-soul hit, “Funkytown” represents that transitional period after the height of disco in the late ‘70s and before the commercial-new-wave MTV of the early ‘80s. Disco had unfortunately worn out its welcome; once Ethel Merman and many rock stars released disco-inspired records, there were many who wanted disco to hustle out of dodge. To where would music be heading and what would it sound like? According to the group, Lipps Inc. (Lip Sync), it was a, “Town to keep me movin’/Keep me groovin’ with some energy.” That place was known as Funkytown. Its writer and producer, Steven Greenberg sure had insight (“Talk about movin’/Gotta move on”).

“Funkytown” nursed those intoxicating sounds of the ‘70s: a percolating percussion cowbell; soulful vocals by the lead singer, Cynthia Johnson; Chic-inspired guitar riffs; violins; sax. The song even managed to draw inspiration from the sounds of the sci-fi-heavy late ‘70s/early ‘80s (think “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century” and “Battlestar Galactica” on the tube), incorporating computerized vocal modulations, even at one point sounding as if Cylons were laying down vocals. Laser-blaster effects and bouncy electro-keyboard blips seemed to reflect the earnest urge to usher in a “futuristic” sound for the new decade.

To their credit, the group’s heart was in the right place; the track wasn’t “The Hustle,” instead inspiring disco-deprived dancers to embrace “The Robot,” which was later combined with Poppin’ in the mid-‘80s. Even the computerized modulations could be seen as precursors to Auto-Tune of the late ‘90s and beyond. Maybe Lipps Inc. was on to something in 1980, solidifying their foresight as to what music would sound like way in the future. Unfortunately for the group, it would actually be another one-hit wonder, Gary Numan, to take the wheel, steering away from Funkytown and driving straight into Synth City. His “Cars” became somewhat representative of what the first part of the MTV ‘80s would really sound like, with Devo (“Whip It”), Duran Duran (“Planet Earth”) and The Human League (“Don’t You Want Me”), to name a few, contributing accordingly. Thankfully, you’re never too far from “Funkytown.”