Handsome Boy Modeling School - "Sunshine" (1999)
May 3, 2007 18:53:23 GMT -5
Post by jaxxalude on May 3, 2007 18:53:23 GMT -5
This was probably the most "popular" single coming out from their debut album, So... How's Your Girl?. For those who don't know, Handsome Boy Modeling School was (and still is, I think) a project formed by two of hip-hop's all-time most cherished producers, Dan The Automator and Prince Paul. While Dan would go on to world stardom by producing the Gorillaz's self-titled debut album, Prince Paul had already had a taste of success by being a member of De La Soul, with his Midas touch especially felt on De La's genius of a debut, 3 Feet High... And Rising!.
With Handsome Boy Modeling School, though, they went beyond hip-hop and crafted a hot mess of an album which ranged from hip-hop itself to trip-hop flirts (back when trip-hop still wasn't synonymous with MOR trite like Dido), with occasional nods to electronic experiments and turntablism. "Sunshine" was part of the trip-hop section and featured both prodigal sons Sean Lennon and Spain's Josh Haden (son of jazz great Charlie Haden) on vocals and precious help from keytar maestro Money Mark. The song itself is kind of a haunting love song, with the not so subtle quirk that this is two men singing it as if they were addressing each other, thus carrying some gay undertones.
And even if the original is great, personally I hold a torch for Groove Armada's Sunset Dub remix. It only takes a portion of Josh Haden's vocals - namely the chorus lines "forget about your sorrows, forget about your heartache, life is nothing but a shadow" and "forget about your worries, forget about the bad times, life is nothing but a shadow" - and blends it into a dub-inflected Balearica groove which sums up everything good downtempo electronic music has when done right. I was trying to avoid using the chill-out thing here, but this remix is just one of those perfect tracks to do just that: chill, whether it's after a crazy night out or as the soundtrack to that memorable Summer sunset. Magic, I tell ya!
With Handsome Boy Modeling School, though, they went beyond hip-hop and crafted a hot mess of an album which ranged from hip-hop itself to trip-hop flirts (back when trip-hop still wasn't synonymous with MOR trite like Dido), with occasional nods to electronic experiments and turntablism. "Sunshine" was part of the trip-hop section and featured both prodigal sons Sean Lennon and Spain's Josh Haden (son of jazz great Charlie Haden) on vocals and precious help from keytar maestro Money Mark. The song itself is kind of a haunting love song, with the not so subtle quirk that this is two men singing it as if they were addressing each other, thus carrying some gay undertones.
And even if the original is great, personally I hold a torch for Groove Armada's Sunset Dub remix. It only takes a portion of Josh Haden's vocals - namely the chorus lines "forget about your sorrows, forget about your heartache, life is nothing but a shadow" and "forget about your worries, forget about the bad times, life is nothing but a shadow" - and blends it into a dub-inflected Balearica groove which sums up everything good downtempo electronic music has when done right. I was trying to avoid using the chill-out thing here, but this remix is just one of those perfect tracks to do just that: chill, whether it's after a crazy night out or as the soundtrack to that memorable Summer sunset. Magic, I tell ya!
