02/19/2008
Shopping At The Mall Of Mariah
Robbie Daw presents a weekly pop music update here on Towleroad! Robbie runs his own pop music site called Chart Rigger.
Last week I purchased my first Mariah Carey album. Granted, it was her Greatest Hits, and nothing adventurous like Butterfly or avant garde like Charmbracelet. But nonetheless, it was a personal turning point.
Chalk it up to Mariah's new single, "Touch My Body," spreading like the plague after premiering on radio last Tuesday. Hell, even before that, MP3 blogs were posting the slinky tune before being shut down. Fans uploaded it to YouTube. DJs played it ahead of schedule. Everyone at work seemed to be blaring it in unison over and over and over again. Clearly this woman wanted her body touched, and with a shaky hand, I reached for iTunes and gave in to temptation. But since the sexy jam isn't yet available for purchase, shelling out 17 bucks for all Mariah's hits seemed like a wise alternative.
Now, at one point in your life you catch on that some of our brothers-in-arms seem to pay exceptional attention to iconic female singers with names like -- and I'll just pull these out of nowhere -- Madonna or Diana or Whitney or Britney. Myself, while I lean more to the Minogue side of things, I lose interest quickly if the songs aren't up to scratch. (Body Language? Kylie, how could you?!) For every "I Wanna Dance With Somebody," there is a "Heartbreak Hotel." For every "Into The Groove" there's a "Hanky Panky" and for every "Pleasure Principle" there lies a "Black Cat" in wait. And so I realized early on that the "intense diva worship" gene seemed to have passed me by, or at least lies muted somewhere deep within.
I first viewed Mariah from askance. At age 16, I got a job working at National Record Mart. It's a curious thing, if not slightly befuddling, to have insight into the country's popular music taste, albeit from the perspective of a Western Pennsylvania mall. And in the late summer and fall of 1990, America had an insatiable appetite for Wilson Phillips, Mariah Carey and The Righteous Brothers' chestnut, "Unchained Melody" (thanks to Ghost).
I can appreciate the contributions of each now, but at the time it was unfathomable to the teenage mind that safe, bland compositions like "Vision Of Love" and "Love Takes Time" were topping the charts while acts like Deee-Lite and Black Box barely scraped into the Top 10. Hell, even Pebbles seemed radically edgy by comparison.
Soon the whistle-registering Carey would take over the world, and, even more worrisome, every radio format within earshot. Her first five singles went to #1, and the 20-year-old chanteuse was off and running. Around the time of her 1993 Music Box album, I giddily read a review in Entertainment Weekly referring to her as "a human shopping mall," as if she had become a giant, consumer-friendly entity.
As the years went by, Mariah did serve up some undeniably classic pop songs; "Someday," "Can't Let Go" and "Emotions" come to mind. By the time I was 21 and far less narrow-minded -- and hitting the local gay clubs --"Fantasy" was out, and musically, Mariah and I had "become friendly."
Jumping into the new millenium, mind you, while in my book Glitter was a fascinating achievement in comedy, clearly, the rest of the world didn't think so. Mariah was wheeling her ice cream cart onto TRL and smashing her dishes against the fireplace. On the surface Carey seemed to be suffering from a much-publicized breakdown, but something else was happening: she was becoming more human and less shopping mall.
Here was a divorcee who, after a previously-spotless track record, made a few bad decisions on the job. A couple of flops ensued, but when she started referring to herself as "Mimi" and being photographed twirling around on tropical beaches drinking Veuve Clicquot in a bikini and stiletto heels, the world readily welcomed back a slightly nuttier Mariah.
Even my own mother mellowed to the superstar. Three years back she informed me she "just loves that 'We Belong Together'" after seeing Mariah on Oprah. I finally came clean myself, and confided that I'd been harboring secret "like" for Mariah for some time, myself.
And now, 18 years after "Vision Of Love," here I sit with the songbird's entire catalogue of hits at the click of a mouse. Naturally, some of these are easily skipped over (read: any duet with 98° or composition with the word "believe" in the title). For the most part, though, after listening and having certain memories flood back, I'm grasping just how omnipresent her music really was these past two decades. I get strange pangs upon hearing "Touch My Body" randomly during the day, the kind not felt since the radio just happened to play your favorite song at the perfect time when you were a kid.
Who knows? Maybe, you and me, Mariah, we really do belong together.
TODAY'S NEW RELEASES:
StrangeFolk, Brit band Kula Shaker's first new studio album in nine years.
Allison Moorer's set of covers, Mockingbird.
The Raveonettes' Lust, Lust, Lust, featuring two bonus tracks not available on the international version.
Fischerspooner's The Best Revenge digital remix EP.
Sphere: Related ContentPosted 4:15 PM EST by Robbie in Mariah Carey, Music, Music Recommendations | Permalink
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"Touch My Body": Typically whorish. Unusually dreadful.
Posted by: 24play | Feb 19, 2008 4:25:18 PM
i used to like Mariah, ALOT until she turned all hoe-bag on me, her act got OLD pretty quick after the Butterfly album and to me, she has never gotten back to the kick ass musical status she had in the 90's another casualty of hip hop and r&b's tired regurgitated sound!
Posted by: Ventura | Feb 19, 2008 5:00:04 PM
i used to like Mariah, ALOT until she turned all hoe-bag on me, her act got OLD pretty quick after the Butterfly album and to me, she has never gotten back to the kick ass musical status she had in the 90's another casualty of hip hop and r&b's tired regurgitated sound!
Posted by: Ventura | Feb 19, 2008 5:00:12 PM
I love Mariah and not for "OMG, diva!" reasons.
She's written (alone and/or with a contributor) practically all her own songs. "Vision Of Love" to me isn't bland at all, but a soulful, stirring song that sounded like nothing else on the radio when it debuted.
She has one of the greatest voices EVER. Her range is amazing, but if you listen to songs where she doesn't show it off, there's a richness and passion to it that gets overlooked (see "Make It Happen", "Can't Let Go," etc.)
There's a recurring theme of positivity in her music that, while courting criticisms of blandness or overly sugariness, really resonates with a huge population of people. I remember seeing a news story that talked about how her song "Hero" had a significant effect on decreasing teenage suicide.
Yes, the whole insane, ice-cream-cart-wheeling, champagne-swilling diva image is funny and fun, but she truly is talented.
Instead of pitting "divas" against each other and trashing them, why can't we all enjoy the music they make, and if we don't, remember that others like them and hold our harsh words?
Also: "TOUCH MY BODY" RULZZZZZ!
Posted by: Johnny Glitter | Feb 19, 2008 5:00:26 PM
"...nothing adventurous like Butterfly or avant garde like Charmbracelet..."
I am sorry. I spit my drink all over the screen at the above in a fit of laughter.
If you think Mariah is either of the above, your head would explode at a PJ Harvey, Amy Winehouse or Lauryn Hill.
Posted by: Marco | Feb 19, 2008 5:22:14 PM
Fantastic pictures of Mimi, and, thanks for the update and news!
Posted by: Sebastian | Feb 19, 2008 6:24:01 PM
That was one of the most frightening confessions of loss of intellect I have ever read.
Truly disturbing. Seek professional help now.
Posted by: protogenes | Feb 19, 2008 6:39:47 PM
Congratulations Robbie on your 'coming out' as a Mariah-liker. She's definitely not the brightest crayon in the box, but the woman's got talent NO ONE can deny. It's served her well, made her millions and promised her a more than comfortable life. Of course, her music has helped, inspired and saved millions upon millions of people worldwide with her truthful, sometimes inane and simplistic lyrics and melodies.
As Robbie said, she's proven she's human too. It's probably healthy for her to have haters (here's looking at you Marco, Ventura and 24Play), which surely keeps her grounded and should hopefully prevent another 'breakdown.'
Marco: So if one's seeking 'adventurous' or 'avant garde,' we need to turn to eccentric, headline-seeking loons who portray a great image as druggies? Yeah, good argument. (PJ Harvey's the exception on that last charge.)
Granted, Ms. Hill had that one great album, but she's fallen off the edge and is DONE. Amy may seemingly be clean now, but I expect her to head down the same dark road again, soon. Her 'talents' are extremely overstated and God only knows what she was warbling on the Grammys. Yeah, Mariah may also be eccentric to some degree, but she's definitely not in the same class as those women.
Posted by: Jimmy | Feb 19, 2008 6:52:56 PM
Oh no, I've struck a nerve in a lamb.
But I agree Mariah's not in the same class as those women, for sure. 100% positive.
Those women have made great records. Mariah has made hers.
I would still like to know what's so adventurous and avant garde about the aforementioned albums.
Posted by: Marco | Feb 19, 2008 7:09:17 PM
Um, recognizing that the latest single is appallingly weak hardly makes me a Mariah hater.
While I was never a fan of her earlier stuff (aside from remixes), Mariah's last album was fantastic and showed tremendous growth. "We Belong Together" is, without a doubt, one of the finest pop singles of the decade
Rauhofer's Reconstruction Mix of that tune is also one of the decades' finest dance productions. And I love, love, love Mariah for understanding that the dance remixes of her songs are something entirely different—she's one of only a handful of pop stars who gladly and regularly go into the studio to re-sing the vocals for remix producers.
Oh no, while I do enjoy chucking at the spectacle that is Mimi, I definitely revere her talent and artistry. My hate is saved for hacks like Celine Dion who possess an incredible instrument and display not an ounce of artistry in their use of it.
I just hope the rest of Mariah's album is a lot better than the mediocre "Touch My Body."
Posted by: 24play | Feb 19, 2008 7:28:22 PM
Marco, hon, for someone into PJ Harvey and Amy Winehouse, you certainly aren't very adept at detecting a little thing called IRONY. I believe Mr. Daw had his tongue planted firmly in-cheek, but then I only know that because I read his comments within the context of the entire article.
Posted by: Hamilton | Feb 19, 2008 8:05:53 PM
I love Mariah and have been for a long time... I guess ever since her song Hero helped me through the hard times of coming to terms with my own sexuality...
Posted by: Matt | Feb 19, 2008 10:03:19 PM
Mariah Carey is the very definition of "mainstream hack". She is the female, somewhat urban version of Barry Manilow, except even he was more musically adventurous.
Posted by: EZWRITER | Feb 19, 2008 10:10:55 PM
Mariah lacks innovation and she lacks class, simple as that. Her hair has hardly changed in 18 years. The lack of class is evident in the way she markets herself in a stripper-like fashion. That' so old, Mariah. Madonna did it simply to pander to sleazy straight males, and Mariah picked up on it.
Posted by: adam | Feb 19, 2008 11:49:48 PM
For God sake's MARCO, the writer's comment that Mariah's records are "avante garde" and "adventurous" was CLEARLY tongue in cheek. Jesus.
But what IS hilarious is that you think Lauryn Hill and Amy Winehouse are "avante garde".
Posted by: Ryan | Feb 20, 2008 12:40:01 AM
I still think this song is a fucking pile of shit and not comeback-worthy. She could have done better, but I'll still buy her album because I've bought all the others.
Posted by: Adem With An E | Feb 20, 2008 7:36:26 PM
Ryan, don't shit your pants. I didn't get the tongue and cheek thing in that overwrought valentine of an article to MC. Nor did I call Amy or Lauryn avant garde. Please read what's there and not what you wish to between the lines.
I;d say get over yourself but that's clearly not an option.
Posted by: Marco | Feb 22, 2008 3:17:58 PM
Nice feature article, btw. A lot of people resisted Mariah, but her omnipresence on radio and MTV just about allows the vulnerable to succumb to her music, which, although cheesy at times, is actually intentionally therapeutic. TMB is not her best first single, but it was made to plague every pop/urban/r&b station out there, and tease our ears.
Posted by: JK | Feb 25, 2008 3:20:40 AM
yea ur right marco already 60 million in audience and growing, and she hasnt even did a video or released the track digitally...crazy well those goes the elvis record..i dont want to jinx so thats all im going to say...oh! and that pic with Mariah with a white background..someone put a manly hand on her right one i knew off the bat such haters in this world...
Posted by: Ray Ray (The Latino Prince) | Feb 25, 2008 5:15:46 AM
Mariah Carey is the BEST of THE BEst She Can Sings everything ..love Her Voice and her music and Her Beaty ..CANT STOP LOvInG uu MARIAH ...Noooo matter WHAT theY SaY or do about U mimi ..U R THE BEST DIVA evEr ..I will keep on suupport U FOREVER
Posted by: FAWAZ | Feb 25, 2008 6:19:20 AM
I love myself some mimi, errr, is it MC now? :D
Congratulations for giving into your calling. :D
people, so what if the guy likes mariah? so what?!?!?!
let him be and enjoy his music.
Posted by: Hot_ken | Feb 25, 2008 6:21:17 AM