26
Jun 13
THE OUTHERE BROTHERS – “Boom Boom Boom”
A dilemma, here. On the one hand, the second Outhere Brothers number one is somewhat better than “Wiggle Wiggle” – it shouts at you less, for one thing. On the other hand, the very words “second Outhere Brothers number one” suggest we have left the borders of necessity far behind. The Brothers here sound a little less obnoxious, a bit more playful – nursery rhyme goofs instead of unabashed horndogs. They have better ideas, too – a breakdown early on that sounds like it might be going somewhere, with an atmospheric dancehall intro. But the basic approach, constipated rappers leching over ordinary beats, really hasn’t changed, and “Boom Boom Boom” outstays its welcome just as surely as “Wiggle Wiggle” did, so you send it on its way still wondering why it bothered us in the first place.
4
House!
Just rather belatedly replying to #44 and reflecting on 1995 myself I made the point that there are only two number one singles this year by guitar bands but we’ll see a holding pattern of guitar based number two hits as the year goes on – not necessarily Britpop ones.
Re: #59 Well I guess the stifling heatwave of ’76 caused the necessary tension for punk rock to explode. I always thought if it hadn’t been for the glorious summers of 1989 and 1990, acid house and rave culture – and perhaps the Mondays and Roses – would have died out early. Given they followed a run of limp, wet ones from 85-86-87-88 (that sounds like a Simple Minds album title from when they were “good”, and most music in those years sounded like Simple Minds when they “weren’t” very good. Something had to change..)
Don’t know where you were at the time but ’87 was a remarkably hot and nice summer.
I was only two years old at the time, so these opinions are based on secondary sources and my father’s distrust of eighties (especially the mid-eighties.) But then again, I was born in them..
Of course, people’s expectations of a “good” British summer have fluctuated throughout the years, and sun worshippers were perhaps spoilt by that great run from 1994-1997. I remember the morning of August 31, waking up to Princess Diana’s death and heavy rain from the remnants of a Biblical thunderstorm – it felt like the end of many different eras.. Mark E Smith was right when he said the Great British Public never fully recovered from their [confused and hypocritical] reaction to events in that Paris tunnel.
… not to mention another hammer blow, the paranoia and fanatical, nay, fundamentalist hype over a certain Oasis album released the week before – which musically I really don’t mind that much, but we’ll get round to it later. Though I wouldn’t mind a TPL hatchet job on its cultural impact..
Talking of weather and August 31, 1997, John Kettley is struggling to make it through this forecast, almost close to tears.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i2yaPgqF78
“Its cultural impact” has a much wider frame than just the second Oasis album, and I intend to begin addressing that issue in the very next TPL entry.
This was probably the first Number 1 I can remember just making its way into the top 20 and climbing to number 1 as opposed to the more expected straight to the top records that would occur more often from the mid-1990s.A record from just a year after this and one from late 97 are the other 2 I can recall making leaps but cant go into detail now.
It wasnt entirely unexpected.Radio-friendly (in edited form obviously),Dumb chorus,Teenage respect,Terrace/Sports anthem – the uniforms of the then imperial phase NBA helping no doubt- the unexpected heatwave.Nothing was stopping this juggernaut.Guaranteed to fill the dancefloor.
I’m embarrassed to admit I liked this a lot.All the ways up to dancing like a berk around the house when it was played.Might have also been the key factor in buying Now 31.
would have been an 8 when released but would find it hard to give it anymore than 3 nowadays.
Or, as my dad once sang: “Wa-hey, let me hear you say boom boom.”
I’m sure I remember Mark Goodier playing the explicit version of this on the Radio One Top 40 once during the weeks it was at number one- accidental or not, I don’t know.
Interesting facts (or not, depending on your point of view)- The Outhere Brothers, aka ‘Hula and K Fingers’ produced ‘Summertime’ by Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, and were also behind a number of other dance tunes, including garage hit ‘RU Sleeping’ by Indo.