Battlemouth

There hasn’t been much in the realm of new music releases over the past week, so I figured I dig up some old records that I feel strongly that you’ll enjoy. This one I feel very confident about. It’s the Tom Tom Club’s debut and self-titled album.

What? You’ve never heard of the Tom Tom Club? I’m sure you’ve heard their songs… ever hear of Mariah Carey? How about Grandmaster Flash? Okay, I thought so; truth is that the Tom Tom Club is one of the most sampled artists ever, and they started out in a rather interesting way.

Now I know you’ve heard of the Talking heads, but did you know: That while David Byrne was working on his first solo-album-side-project and his collaboration with Brian Eno on “My Life in the Bush of Ghosts,” his bandmates, spouses and rhythm section Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz, were working on their own side project, destined to be arguable more influential than Byrne’s own work.

The Tom Tom Club are a dance band first and foremost, naturally the rhythm is where the bulk of their character lies, a great deal also lies in the light and whimsical tone of their songs. “Whatcha gonna do when you get out of jail? –I’m gonna have some fun!” is probably one of their most signature lines. The song that it comes from, “Genius of Love,” is quite assuredly their signature song, light, airy, with a fun beat and quirky guitar, suitably covered and sampled by more hip-hop artists than I can count. “It’s Nasty,” was most famous sample, used by Grandmaster Flash’s “The Message,” which is the first hip-hop song added to the library of congress’ archive and regarded by most as one of the greatest rap songs ever.

The funny thing about both these tracks, is that they’re only the tip of the iceberg. Got a mixed crowd at your party? This album should please everyone with it’s fun beats and quirky lyrics, and it’ll be a fun conversation piece as people say, “Hey! Isn’t that song from…,” The rest of the record is no slouch either; “Wordy Rappinghood,” while it intially may seem like something out of the, “phantom tollbooth,” will surprise you at how easy it is to sing along and genuinely enjoy yourself.