Although every summer of my youth was "life-changing", not even the No. 1 summer in this countdown can top the summer of 1995; heck, there aren't too many years that can contend with 1995 outside of the forthcoming top dawg. For Momma Scribbler, Big Little Brother Scribbler and I, it was our second summer living in our first-ever house in Far Southwest D.C. (or the "Southeast part of Southwest" as many of us D.C. folks call it, which also happens to be geographically accurate) that came with a lot of firsts, including our own rooms and a private line for us to talk about the mindless things that adolescents discuss with our friends. When we weren't at our respective summer programs, the broski and I kicked it around the way with our new friends playing Spades in our backyard, hooping at the basketball courts or hanging at whatever mall was accessible by Metro as we were neither old enough to drive nor mature enough to earn our parents' trust even if we had the age and the license to boot. However, beyond my overall quality of life improving between the ends of ninth and tenth grade--especially from a social standpoint--the following five things rightfully earned the summer of '95 the No. 2 spot in the "Ninetysomething Days of Summer" edition of my "Rave & Favorite Five"...
You never know how a month's worth of random songs being lodged in the corners of your mind will work. Once the last batch of brain invaders left the scene of the crime, the first culprit looking to raid was "In My House" by the Mary Jane Girls. Truth be told, I can't even tell you what made me think of that song recently because as much as I've always liked it, I don't think about it very often. Hence, I had a feeling neither "In My House" would make the cut nor "Put It In Your Mouth" by Akinyele, "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love" by Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack", "My Dad's Gone Crazy" by Eminem nor "The Lovers" by Alexander O'Neal. Guy's "Goodbye Love" had three opportunities to make the list--twice on its own and once via sampling on Mary J. Blige's "Don't Go"--but still didn't make it despite a strong resurgence. Of all people, Rihanna nearly made "Get Out of My Brain!" history with three entries including "Sex With Me" and "Needed Me", but you will soon see which one endured. Now that the losers have been accounted for, let's talk about the winners...
Whereas I went from a "Black Music Matters" in June to mainly "White Boy Wasted" in July, the August edition of "In Heavy Rotation" has its own swagger. Not only could many of these picks be interchangeable, but most of them are from artists who I like and respect, but I'm nowhere near the head of their fan clubs. However, that's the marvel of music: there's always an opportunity for an artist to change your mind or make you more of a believer in their work--especially if it's evident they have the talent and charisma to keep your attention for the majority or the entirety of a project. So enough talking, let's get to the tunes...
