There’s an AM radio show out of Seattle that I podcast called Too Beautiful To Live. Last month, the show ran a contest called the TBT-Ella-Ella Watch, to decide on the summer single of 2008. Out of several worthy contenders (“American Boy” by Estelle and Kanye, and Snoop’s bizarre collaboration with Willie Nelson, “My Medicine,” being the other good ones), the clear winner was “The Stoop” by Little Jackie. This is a friggin’ glorious song, a sleek modern recasting of the old Invictus Records sound, circa 1971, by a Brooklyn-based duo consisting of neo-soul singer Imani Coppola (who had some solo hits in the 90s) and producer Adam Pallin. (The album, also called The Stoop, comes out Tuesday.)
Little Jackie,“The Stoop”
Well, this week there was a shocking and unexpected development in the story, which was that when the show’s producer and co-host, Jen Andrews, called Little Jackie’s label, S-Curve Records, to tell them the good news that Little Jackie’s song had won the listener poll, the PR person’s response was basically to flip out and demand to know how she had even heard the song (remember, the album isn’t out yet), and then to say that “The Stoop” wasn’t going to be released as a single.
Seriously, people. How is this song not a single?
That is a cool record. I like the slightly overdriven drum sound. And I love the fact that there’s no obvious hook.
The album is called The Stoop, so S-Curve must have thought they had something there. It’s Tom Jones’ current label, and he’s had a bunch of hits lately, so they must know what they’re doing right?
Great song, pretty much defines what a single ought to be. But, uh, BigSteve… no obvious hook?! This is one of those songs where the whole thing is a hook.
Seriously, Mod, we need to get into this issue of “hooks.” We don’t seem to understand each other here.
That’s actually what I meant, hvb, that the whole song is one big hook. I meant that you couldn’t single out a single element as the hook. The rhythm track and the way the words pour out in one long tumble inside the rhythm track is the, a hook .. it’s hookish. Now I remember why I deleted the sentence where I tried to say this.
I agree that it’s a vague concept.
this doesn’t sound all that different from what i hear as i go up and down the dial while driving in the car, which i suppose means that it IS a single, and the record company idiots are missing the goldmine that may have just fallen into their laps.
but record company people occupy a weird place between artist and listener and bank teller. they make tons of bad decisions from that awkward territory. is this news? not really.
now….let’s get into the hook thing.
if the “whole thing” is a hook, hvb, then i think what you’re really saying is that you like the *sound* of the “whole thing,” and you want to keep listening, even though there are no isolated moments that form the ear candy or climaxes of the song.
fair enough. hooks aren’t just choruses. the can be any manner of device that brings the listener in…the ear candy, as I said.
HOWEVER, in this case, we could have the same song executed differently, and i imagine that you, hvb, would be among the first to complain that it’s a poorly written tune, with no hook. in other words, if the sound (the arrangement, production, execution) was flat, or not to your liking, you wouldn’t be saying “the whole thing is a hook”.
interesting stuff.
Hey, Sat —
I agree and disagree with you here. And I also retract my earlier statement that the whole song is a hook. I should’ve been clearer: there is no moment in this song where there isn’t a hook-y thing happening.
Let’s go to the tape!
1. Opening piano figure (which keeps on going throughout song): HOOK!
2. “Ain’t no Beverly Hills…”, and all subsequent similarly tuned utterances: HOOK!
3. “It’s like West Coast this…”, and all similar… HOOK!
4. “I la-la-la-la-love my hood..”: HOOK!
hmmmm…..
what’s the difference between “the whole thing is a hook” and “there is no moment in this song where there isn’t a hook-y thing happening?”
disingenuousness?
This is the thanks I get for crawling around in the semantic weeds with you, Sat? Whatchoo talkin’ bout?
I like the ‘la-la-la-love my hood’ part too. But I think most producers would pull that out, make it a full blown chorus, and hit you over the head with it at least a dozen times before the song was over. What I like is the way it’s buried in the overall flow. The track is not bejeweled with isolated, as saturn said, and distinct hooky moments, like say a Jellyfish number. I think it is the overall sound that’s the hook.
now now, settle down, hvb.
i just don’t see the point in the difference between “the whole thing is a hook” and “there is no moment in this song where there isn’t a hook-y thing happening.”
i’m interested in your view…just trying to tease it out of you.
BigSteve does a good job of explaining things.
btw, happy 4th everyone!
blow something up!
hey Sat,
My wife and i were listening to Penthouse by Luna today, and it reminded her of you. She says Hi!
kil, that’s flattering!
and it’s also serendipitous in a “plate of shrimp” sorta way: only *minutes* before reading your post, I was just listening to that album on iTunes. Weird!
please tell her i said ‘hi’! and be NICE to her!
you got it.
The Stoop’s pretty good huh?
i love the fact that this sound is big right now.
Crying For The Queen is the cut to look for – that’s going to hit.
“Crying for the Queen” is a goodie — and a hilarious dis of Amy Winehouse — but the one I keep going back to is “Guys Like When Girls Kiss,” a big, dramatic ballad a la Lesley Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me” where Imani explains that she’s decided to become a lesbian, because a) boys suck, and b), it’s really going to bug her ex-boyfriends.