Hello friends, I’m proud to say that this
review is a bit of milestone – it’s my one hundred and fiftieth blog entry! Yep,
150! Thanks for allowing me to take you on this musical journey as I root
around in my song collection, bouncing around genres and years, spotlighting
tracks that I enjoy. Hopefully a few of the tunes I’ve reviewed have become
favorites of yours as well.
Tonight’s addition to the Kyle’s Radio Dial canon is a mid ‘90’s pop/hip hop track, which, at its root, is a late ‘60s hard rock classic. Get ready for “Downtown Venus” by P.M. Dawn!
“I’m Downtown Venus… and I’m trying to be by myself…
Habitual dreamers… and no one dreams enough to get me home…”
P. M. Dawn, the duo of brothers Attrel “Prince Be”, and Jarrett “DJ Minute Mix” Cordes, is a group that is hard to pigeonhole. They are typically categorized as a hip hop group, but they are so much more, drawing from influences ranging from soul to jazz, rock to dance, new wave to new age, psychedelia to folk. Probably the best term I’ve heard applied to them is “alternative hip hop”, as they were among the groups that were an alternative to the Gangsta Rap, East vs West coast, Parental Advisory label hip hop crowd that dominated the genre for so long.
The Cordes brothers are best remembered for their top 10 hits “Looking Through Patient Eyes”, “I’d Die Without You”, and “Set Adrift on Memory Bliss”, the latter of which topped the US Pop charts in ’91, and featured a notable sample of Spandau Ballet’s 1983 hit “True”.
“Downtown Venus” was the lead single from P.M. Dawn’s 1995 Jesus Wept album, peaking at #48 on the US Hot 100. Interestingly, it also made a modest showing on the US Billboard Modern Rock tracks, at number 39, but no appearance on the R&B chart.
“I’m Downtown Venus… and they’re trying to divine myself…
And they keep saying… You could be into you, but you don’t know what you’re like…”
Based around an instantly recognizable sample of Deep Purple’s 1968 rock classic “Hush”, “Downtown Venus” presents a story of a female character whom is suffering from depression, low self-esteem, and quite possibly multiple personality disorder (“I’m failing to entertain all of myselves.”).
“Venus” notes that those who try to help and enlighten her say that the first step toward improving her circumstance is to recognize her own self-worth. (“They keep saying… you could be into you, but you don’t know what you’re like”). My suspicion is that “Venus” is a prostitute, as she mentions having misdemeanors, and the name “Downtown Venus” certainly lends itself to a lady of the night.
But then again, maybe my interpretation is off, as I have to consider that a male vocalist is singing these lyrics. Sure, he could simply be providing the voice for this downtrodden woman, but perhaps if HE really IS the Downtown Venus as he states, then maybe the character is actually a transgendered individual, stuck between what he wants to be and what society expects of him. Wow, this song is deeper than I thought!
The music video doesn’t seem to offer many clues, being largely a band performance on an elaborate futuristic set, but there are several cut away scenes involving an angel-like woman in outer space, lots of infinity symbols, and a few moments in which it’s not quite clear what the participants are actually engaging in… so who knows? I imagine this is one of those songs that is best left to the individual listener’s interpretation.
“I could be into me, but I don’t know what I’m like…”
On a side note, The Jesus Wept LP also contains a very interesting cover medley entitled “Fantasia’s Confidential Ghetto”. This musical cornucopia begins with Prince’s “1999”, then melts into the Talking Heads’ “Once in a Lifetime”, and ends up at Harry Nilsson’s “Coconut”. Clever samples of Three Dog Night’s “Mama Told Me Not to Come” and “Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla” (from the pronoun sequence of School House Rock!) are woven throughout the piece for a true musical melting pot of pop influences!
Sadly, Prince Be passed away on June 17, 2016 due to kidney disease. He was young, only 46. Another musical talent lost this year. I won’t list those who have left us in 2016, as there’s been lots of attention given to this topic already elsewhere on the net… let’s just say that I hope that 2017 isn’t as somber a year for the music industry and fans alike.
Coming up for the next entry on the Dial, I’ll hand pick and re-spotlight some of my favorite cuts from the very first year of my blog postings!
Kyle’s Radio Dial… the MORE you listen… the MORE you remember!
Tonight’s addition to the Kyle’s Radio Dial canon is a mid ‘90’s pop/hip hop track, which, at its root, is a late ‘60s hard rock classic. Get ready for “Downtown Venus” by P.M. Dawn!
“I’m Downtown Venus… and I’m trying to be by myself…
Habitual dreamers… and no one dreams enough to get me home…”
P. M. Dawn, the duo of brothers Attrel “Prince Be”, and Jarrett “DJ Minute Mix” Cordes, is a group that is hard to pigeonhole. They are typically categorized as a hip hop group, but they are so much more, drawing from influences ranging from soul to jazz, rock to dance, new wave to new age, psychedelia to folk. Probably the best term I’ve heard applied to them is “alternative hip hop”, as they were among the groups that were an alternative to the Gangsta Rap, East vs West coast, Parental Advisory label hip hop crowd that dominated the genre for so long.
The Cordes brothers are best remembered for their top 10 hits “Looking Through Patient Eyes”, “I’d Die Without You”, and “Set Adrift on Memory Bliss”, the latter of which topped the US Pop charts in ’91, and featured a notable sample of Spandau Ballet’s 1983 hit “True”.
“Downtown Venus” was the lead single from P.M. Dawn’s 1995 Jesus Wept album, peaking at #48 on the US Hot 100. Interestingly, it also made a modest showing on the US Billboard Modern Rock tracks, at number 39, but no appearance on the R&B chart.
“I’m Downtown Venus… and they’re trying to divine myself…
And they keep saying… You could be into you, but you don’t know what you’re like…”
Based around an instantly recognizable sample of Deep Purple’s 1968 rock classic “Hush”, “Downtown Venus” presents a story of a female character whom is suffering from depression, low self-esteem, and quite possibly multiple personality disorder (“I’m failing to entertain all of myselves.”).
“Venus” notes that those who try to help and enlighten her say that the first step toward improving her circumstance is to recognize her own self-worth. (“They keep saying… you could be into you, but you don’t know what you’re like”). My suspicion is that “Venus” is a prostitute, as she mentions having misdemeanors, and the name “Downtown Venus” certainly lends itself to a lady of the night.
But then again, maybe my interpretation is off, as I have to consider that a male vocalist is singing these lyrics. Sure, he could simply be providing the voice for this downtrodden woman, but perhaps if HE really IS the Downtown Venus as he states, then maybe the character is actually a transgendered individual, stuck between what he wants to be and what society expects of him. Wow, this song is deeper than I thought!
The music video doesn’t seem to offer many clues, being largely a band performance on an elaborate futuristic set, but there are several cut away scenes involving an angel-like woman in outer space, lots of infinity symbols, and a few moments in which it’s not quite clear what the participants are actually engaging in… so who knows? I imagine this is one of those songs that is best left to the individual listener’s interpretation.
“I could be into me, but I don’t know what I’m like…”
On a side note, The Jesus Wept LP also contains a very interesting cover medley entitled “Fantasia’s Confidential Ghetto”. This musical cornucopia begins with Prince’s “1999”, then melts into the Talking Heads’ “Once in a Lifetime”, and ends up at Harry Nilsson’s “Coconut”. Clever samples of Three Dog Night’s “Mama Told Me Not to Come” and “Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla” (from the pronoun sequence of School House Rock!) are woven throughout the piece for a true musical melting pot of pop influences!
Sadly, Prince Be passed away on June 17, 2016 due to kidney disease. He was young, only 46. Another musical talent lost this year. I won’t list those who have left us in 2016, as there’s been lots of attention given to this topic already elsewhere on the net… let’s just say that I hope that 2017 isn’t as somber a year for the music industry and fans alike.
Coming up for the next entry on the Dial, I’ll hand pick and re-spotlight some of my favorite cuts from the very first year of my blog postings!
Kyle’s Radio Dial… the MORE you listen… the MORE you remember!
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