Artist: Curtis Mayfield
Album: Curtis
Song Notes: I thought I'd post this song because it's actually the source of a song that made me really sad. There's a new single out, by Monica, produced by Missy Elliott, which is called "A Dozen Roses (You Remind Me)" which uses this song as the base. Of course—it's not the sampling that bothers me. I'm a Negativland fan, ferchrissake. Sampling is A-OK by me, and encouraged! The thing that bothers me is, after a bit of the hook from this song, the Monica lyrics come in, and the first lines are:
Boy you remind me, remind me of my Gucci shoes Every time you walk past, all the girls be lookin' at you You got style, just like a Bentley coupe And I be losin' my mind every time I get next to you
And, well, it just basically keeps going from there. It's basically a trite paean to the idiocy and materialism and, well, wallowing in negativity that Curtis Mayfield spent his life fighting through his music. I'm sure that Curtis Mayfield would be at the very least irritated to know that one of his most romantic songs was being used for something so shallow. I suppose the lyrics could be intended ironically, but I didn't really get that vibe from the song, nor the artwork of the single—it really sounded like a celebration, rather than a condemnation. Which is, well, just really fucking depressing. Here, listen to the real song from the outstanding solo debut Curtis. - Rev. Syung Myung Me