HYPNTZT.I.A. 2 (ep), Dan Black, 2009.
This is a great example of why we started this blog. I heard this version of "Hypnotize" over New Year's. The first time, I thought to myself, "This sucks. What a fucking insult." Then the second time, my stance softened. By the third time, I was walking upstairs singing Dan Black's operatic version of the chorus (which, by the way, works better because of his accent "cahn't you see" etc). By the time I got home, I was practically running upstairs to find it.
The fact that "Hypnotize" isn't even a top-10 Biggie song for me* works in Black's favor, but really, he just does an amazing job here. I think my initial problem was that it seemed like a total gimmick. Then as I heard it a couple of times, I realized that this was impossible. You can't make a song as heartfelt and carefully plotted as this without truly loving it.
I was told/read briefly Biggie's mom didn't allow this version to be released, so Black snuck it out on an EP. I don't have much real interest in figuring out how true this is, but the fact that he released the same song with different lyrics (decent ones, but not good ones) show how Black understood he'd really captured lightning in a bottle on this one. He couldn't simply let the fact that it was a cover that he had no rights to get in his way.
Symphonies
Black is a master of the swelling emotional moment, and I haven't listened to Un or his other albums enough to know if I find it annoying or appealing quite yet. Stay tuned, I guess.
*(too much Simmons footnote) Favorite Biggie (in no particular order): Juicy, What's Beef?, Kick in the Door, Gimme the Loot, Somebody's Got to Die, Things Done Changed, I Got a Story to Tell, Machine Gun Funk, Warning, Ready to Die. As you can see, the poppy songs don't really work for me, but Juicy is just undeniable.
Kind of surprised about how un-bad this is. It took me a couple of listens before I could accept the basic premise of it, but it's really grown on me. How do you feel about the Tiny Dancer/Juicy mashup in Girl Talk's "Smash Your Head"? I try to stay away from mashups because I feel like they're probably just going make me stupider or fatter or lazier or something. But this is one of the most inspired pairings I've ever heard. Also, the Grizzly Bear/Dead Prez done by the Hood Internet was pretty awesome (and I kind of hate that Dead Prez song).
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