Welcome to My Weekly Mixtape, a podcast that
takes the classic mixtape approach to building
a modern playlist. I'm your host, Brian Colburn.
Joining me for tonight's collaboration is Amanda
Kohlhofer, host of The Sip List Podcast. Amanda,
thanks for joining me tonight. Thanks for having
me. I'm so excited. I'm excited to have you here.
So let's start with the question I ask everybody
before we get things going. Amanda, what does
the word mixtape mean to you? I mean, it definitely
just brings back my childhood. you know, my teen
years was kind of like mixtape and then moved
into mix CDs and in like the late, late nineties.
But yeah, I mean, you made a mixtape for everything
and I had like four or five different tapes laid
out by my stereo and I'd be like, okay, what
do I want to make a mixtape of? And then I'd
stick it in the stereo and just listen all day
to record the songs I wanted on that tape. So
yeah, it's just my, my childhood. Same here.
And that's kind of what we're going for tonight.
I know with my buddies and I, we would get together
and we'd sit down by the stereo and we record
a mixtape and then play video games and hang
out and listen to those songs. And it was a collaboration
between my musical tastes and their musical tastes.
And we're going to do that tonight. I'm excited.
Same here. And since we're in the month of February,
Valentine's Day is right around the corner. So
tonight, Amanda and I will be curating a mixtape.
of 90s slow jams just in case you were looking
to set the mood with your loved one 90s style
now for me this was actually a very challenging
list because rock has always been my wheelhouse
so i was originally thinking of pulling a bunch
of rock songs but the more we kept talking about
slow jams i'm like these songs are going to stick
out like a sore thumb so i really had to dig
deep and kind of dust off some cobwebs of some
of the old cassette singles i used to own in
the early 90s to come up with a list so for me
tonight this is out of my comfort zone and i'm
kind of excited to dive into this to see how
much i actually have that you have and vice versa
yeah so i am curious amanda what were you looking
for in the songs that you brought to the table
this evening well This is a very specific genre
for me that I really love. When I was a teenager,
I don't know if anybody in Oklahoma City will
be listening to this, but if you had KJ 103 and
you listened on Sunday nights, they had slow
jams. I actually think that first they called
it the quiet storm and then they started calling
it slow jams, but it was R &B slow jams every
Sunday night. And I would listen to it and fall
asleep to it. And so I was thinking like all
of those songs and then also. songs that I made
mixtapes of, you know, for people that I liked
or to play during certain times, you know, set
the mood, if you will. So yeah, that's kind of
how I formed my list. All right. Well, let's
get down to business then. Tonight, as I mentioned,
Amanda and I are going to be curating a 90s slow
jams mixtape, and we're going to use the old
cassette deck approach, meaning our mixtape will
be broken up into two sides, side A and side
B. Amanda, as my special guest, will begin side
A with her first song choice, and then I'll add
a song that I feel best follows up that choice.
We'll then flip -flop choosing songs until we've
mapped out 10 songs for side A. We'll then give
our mixtape a proverbial flip and we'll map out
side B. Only this time, I'll kick the side off
with Amanda choosing second. Our overall goal
for this episode is to craft the best 90s slow
jams mixtape possible with only 20 songs. At
the end of the show, you can take our conversation
to the next level by visiting the 90s slow jams
page at myweeklymixtape .com and give our final
mixtape a listen via the embedded playlist. Finally,
if you like what you're hearing on the show,
please consider becoming a Patreon mixtaper at
patreon .com forward slash My Weekly Mixtape.
I'd also like to welcome this week's newest Patreon
mixtaper, David Lee Smith. David, thank you so
much for being part of the mixtaper family, and
I appreciate all the support you've been giving
the show thus far. Woo, David! Amanda, before
I turn it over to you to reveal your track one,
some of the fellow mixtapers who follow me at
My Weekly Mixtape on either Facebook... twitter
instagram and tick tock have chimed in with their
ideal opening track for a slow jams mixtape and
i want to share them now so we can have some
food for thought as we lead into it okay patreon
mixtape or cactus p chimed in with casey and
jojo's all my life silks freak me new kids on
the blocks i'll be loving you forever pm dawns
i die without you and then outside of patreon
Oh My God, I Love That Song chimed in with Guys,
Let's Chill. Jason Spiegel chimed in with Johnny
Gill's My, My, My. Brian at the Soundtrack Your
Life podcast chimed in with Janet Jackson's Again.
The X Radio X podcast chimed in with Jodeci's
Lately from MTV Unplugged. Jamie Lynn Howe chimed
in with Brian McKnight's Back at One. And Coley
Green chimed in with Madonna's Justify My Love.
Now, Amanda, we've got those picks out in the
universe. I'm going to officially press record
on our mixtape and the floor is yours. Why don't
you dive into which song you chose to kick off
side A? Okay. Well, all of those choices were
great and the majority of them are on my list.
Picking the first song is difficult because I
want to kind of ease into it. So I'm going to
start with probably one of my favorite slow jams
of the 90s, but it's a little more upbeat. I'm
going to go with Can We Talk by Tevin Campbell.
Nobody said that as a first pick, but that's
what I'm doing anyway. So this song, first of
all, the video was so beautiful. The song is
just so beautiful. You know, you think about
when you're trying to talk to someone you like,
but you're shy and you don't really know how
to approach them. And his voice is just so silky
and smooth. And that song just hits me right
in my heart. Like, oh, that's so beautiful. It
is a really good song. That is one that I'm actually
surprised you went with that as a starter because
that was not one that was on my list. But as
soon as you said it, I'm going, yeah, why didn't
I think of that one? That's a great pick. So
now coming out of that, I have to come up with
something that compliments that. And I think
I know what I'm going to go with. This one was
a second hit for a band. And I know when I say
the name of the album, everyone's going to automatically
think I'm going with the title track. but i'm
not so i'm gonna go back to 1992 and the album
is if i ever fall in love and the band is shy
but i'm gonna go with baby i'm yours i absolutely
love the harmonies in that song it gives me that
70s motown vibe with the just perfect four -part
harmonies it's a very smooth song it's sweet
And it's one of those songs that was probably
played at a lot of weddings back in the 90s.
It just feels like one of those perfect slow
jam love songs. And to kind of bounce off of
Tevin Campbell's smooth vocal delivery, I feel
like they have that in this song as well. So
I'm going to go with track two, Shy's Baby, I'm
Yours. Nice. Okay, well, you definitely scooped
me on Shy because I did have If I Ever Fall In
Love. I thought that one needed to be more in
the middle or maybe like the start of side B
because it's just so like pure and soft and like
you get all those melodies. So, but your choice
is great too. I really like that. I loved shy
back in the day. So great. Now you have the challenge
of what to follow it up with though. Okay. Let's
see. So this is one of the artists that I had
two songs written down and I had to decide which
one I want. I think I'm going to pick the one
that's my favorite just by a tad. Before I Let
You Go by Blackstreet. I feel like Blackstreet
didn't get enough love for Before I Let You Go
and then Don't Leave Me was the other one I had.
So both just really fantastic songs. Before I
Let You Go just had a real smooth, but sort of
not upbeat, but it had like the tempo, but just
a super smooth jam. Love Blackstreet. blackstreet's
great i think most people automatically think
no diggity or for me because i was a rock guy
in the 90s they had a single called fix and they
did a rock version that was a remix so to me
that was like wow this is really wild and blackstreet
also did a cover of billy jean by michael jackson
as the b -side to no diggity so to me they were
always like kind of this party -esque group,
you almost forget that they had songs like Before
I Let You Go. Because when you mention Blackstreet
now in 2023, everyone's going to go, no diggity.
No diggity, no doubt. Exactly. But there are
these other songs lying beneath the surface that
I think are unfortunately forgotten when you
talk about that band and they shouldn't be. So
I'm glad you picked that one. And this next pick
is actually going to be tough for me. Actually,
you know what? Now that I said that, it's not.
I'm going to say you're making this next pick
hard for me, and I'm going to go to 1997, rated
next, and I'm going to go with Next's Too Close.
Nice. Coming out of Blackstreet, this one's a
little more upbeat. It's got a little bit more
of a groove to it. I wouldn't call it a fast
dancer, but it definitely has a groove to it
that's maybe a little more high tempo than a
slow jam. but man this song was so ridiculously
catchy it was everywhere on the radio the vocals
were spot on perfect and it's dare i say it it's
a sexy song it really oozes it and it's a fantastic
track that i think follows up black street really
well so i agree for track four i'm gonna add
in next too close i didn't have that one only
because i did think it was a little too upbeat
but It's kind of funny. I don't know if you're
on TikTok, but I think this is more last year.
There were so many TikToks of people our age
going, you know, songs that you didn't realize
what the lyrics were in the 90s. And they're
listening to that song and they're bopping and
then they're like, uh, we have no business listening
to that song. No, no. But when you listen to
it now, you're like, oh, that's a double entendre.
I see what they're doing there. It just went
right over our heads. That's all. But honestly,
musically, that song was just spot on. And even
though it's a little faster, I feel like it's
slow enough to kind of keep it in that mood and
that vibe that we're going for with this. Yeah,
that sounds great. Okay, well. I was going to
do something different, but I think to come down
from too close, we'll just take it down a little
notch with a song that's still a little upbeat,
but a little slower just to kind of maybe, I
mean, we'll see what you do after, but if we're
going to go back down into the slow, smooth stuff,
I am going to go with, this is actually another
artist I had two songs written down of. I just
realized it. I'm going to go with Twisted by
Keith Sweat. Such a great song. That whole album.
And the other one I had written down was Nobody,
which is just such a sexy song. But Twisted's
like, you know, you can kind of groove to it,
but it's slow enough that you can like sit down
in your chair and groove to it and just like
lean back. And I like the lyrics. Yeah, I see
where you're going with that. That one did not
make my list, but I could see immediately why
it does make this tape. And that's one of those
ones where it's like, because this isn't my wheelhouse,
as soon as you said it. the cobwebs kind of got
dusted off my brain and I went, oh yeah, that
does work. So this is where if it's a rock episode,
I'm like firing on all cylinders. And on this
one, I feel like I'm getting some knowledge of
songs that I just didn't remember. And I'm so
stoked about that because that was a fantastic
tune. Yes. Yeah, it really was. I had that CD
and I played it on repeat. It was so good. Now
coming out of that. I think I want to go with
something with definitely slower. And I want
to bring some females into this discussion because
there are some female slow jams that are absolutely
amazing. And I'm going to go with one that I
think is probably one of the best female vocal
groups of the 90s. And I'm going to go off the
album Funky Divas from 1992. And I'm going to
go with En Vogue's Giving Him Something He Could
Feel. fantastic choice yeah that song is 70s
perfection in a 90s shell that song in 1975 would
have been as big of a smash as it was nearly
20 years later in 1992. it's got this 70s r b
vibe the vocals are so smooth so beautiful and
it's got such an attitude on top of the silky
delivery that they're using in the vocals so
you feel what they're saying and this is one
of those songs that again you think of en vogue
people go to free your mind people go to the
uh what a man with salt and pepper this one gets
almost buried and it shouldn't because it's easily
one of their best songs so it's my favorite it's
fantastic so and Vogue giving him something he
could feel I love that that song is so just yeah
you're right you have like the older vibes it's
like kind of like if Gladys Knight and had a
girl band or like whoever and they went on further
they would sing songs like that you know I don't
know which I know she did stuff by herself but
it just feels like one of those kind of groups
where it's so you feel like you could be in a
speakeasy or something just like sitting back
having a glass of wine and listening to it it's
so classic it's got a timeless sound and a timeless
energy to it and i think the thing that draws
me to 90s r &b versus modern r &b is the fact
that this was their natural voices it was not
a lot of auto -tune going on not a lot of the
modern effects that are pretty much the mainstay
of music now. I'm hard pressed to find a pop
artist that doesn't incorporate auto -tune to
almost the point of a robotic nature. There was
none of that. En Vogue was, if they were standing
in front of you, they could just belt that out
in that three, four part harmony and nail it
right in front of you without any other music
playing. And that was a talent that I feel like
unfortunately gets overlooked. in modern age
because so many people are so used to that robe
i don't want to call it robotic but to that auto
-tune sound it almost becomes if you're not using
it what's wrong with this but it's actually natural
and normal so the unnatural has become normal
and i feel like and vogue their voices were so
refreshing i mean going back to free your mind
which is not a slow jam at all listen to the
gravel and the grit that they're singing And
then they belt into the harmonies going into
the bridge. That's all like passion. Yeah. That's
not contrived in any way with moving around a
dial in the studio. And I feel like modern music
needs that kick in the pants, so to speak, because
songs like this just are timeless. I agree. Totally.
And I actually had Hold On by Envo Gritten Down.
Another great one. Giving him something he can
feel. I think I like that better. It's just so
like. I don't know. Yeah, it's perfection. So
the question is, do I want to follow up with
a female group as well? Or do I want to go back
the other way? We're on song number seven. Okay,
I am going to pick a girl group again. And then
now I have to decide which one. That's not who
I thought you were going with. I was looking
at my two other girl groups going, don't pick
that one. I'm going to go with a lesser known
one, actually. I actually think this was maybe
a one hit wonder too. I am going to go with Stroke
You Up by Changing Faces. Loved that song in
the 90s. Was so sexual. And, you know, I was
like, maybe. 16 when that song came out, maybe
15. So, you know, I understood some of it, but
not all of it. But I could just imagine like
making out with my boyfriend and just be like
stroking his hair and he's stroking my hair.
And it just felt so like, oh, that would be the
perfect song to just make out to. And it doesn't
get a lot of love, which I think it should. Yeah,
that's definitely one that I don't think I'm
going to guess that a few people listening to
this show are going to have to pause and go look
it up. Probably. But I will say this. You don't
have to because if you just go to myweeklymixtape
.com and go to the Slow Jams page, we've got
it sitting there waiting for you so you can listen
to it and kind of have the 90s Slow Jams play
along at home game, I guess, if you want to call
it that. All the work's done for you. Yeah, that's
a deep cut. And it only got played, I think,
for like a year or two and then just kind of
went away. You're definitely jostling some cobwebs
off people's minds tonight. I like that. Yay.
So now coming out of that. i'm gonna actually
flex a little bit of my rock muscles with this
one okay but when you hear the song i think there'll
be no doubt that it is a perfect slow jam i'm
gonna go back to 1991 and when i say the name
of the album you're automatically going to think
huh and then when i say the name of the song
you'll probably go oh yeah that definitely works
as a slow jam and the album is 1991's mama said
And I'm going to go with Lenny Kravitz, It Ain't
Over Till It's Over. Okay. Yeah. It is a 70s
R &B style song. He stripped out the rock guitars,
like in Mama Said and Are You Gonna Go My Way?
He has got a very silky smooth voice. I feel
like I've said silk a million times in this episode.
It's the main adjective to describe most of these
songs. it really is i we should probably get
grab a thesaurus here and try to find other words
for silk but really yeah there velvety there
you go velvety smooth but lenny kravitz has a
gravel to his voice and he took it out for this
song and when you listen to that song in this
mix where we're going right now i think it fits
in absolutely perfectly and i get to at least
bring a little bit of where i stand musically
into this discussion which is a rock guy who
has respect for pop and r b and here was an artist
who crossed over from rock to pop to r b and
back and did it consistently and still does it
he bridges genres and i feel like this one slides
perfectly into side a this tape so far i agree
that's a great choice I wouldn't have personally
picked it, but I definitely agree that it goes
and it's a great song for sure. Ooh, what am
I going to follow that up with? Hmm. I guess
I'm going to throw in something a little more
popular and something I think that would be a
decent follow -up to that one. I am going to
go with I'm Still in Love With You by New Edition.
Ooh. Another favorite song of mine. Loved New
Edition so much. And that song is just so beautiful.
It's definitely a good like breakup song slash
I want you back song. New Edition and New Kids
on the Block were just like everything to me
in the 90s. They were everything to a lot of
people. Did you see the New Year's Rockin' Eve
with New Edition performing on stage in Times
Square? What'd you think? Well, I was there,
so. You went? Yeah, I was in Times Square. We
were at a party in a building right above Times
Square. So we got to watch everything. It was
and we had food and drinks and bathrooms. So
it was cool. Oh, I was about to say that's the
perfect way to do it. The only way I would do
it. You could not pay me to stand in that crowd.
I don't just there's no universe where standing
in that crowd is even remotely appealing. Yeah,
because you can't have anything. You can't have
drinks. You can't have food. If you leave and
go to the bathroom, you're going to lose your
spot like. It's pretty crazy. So yeah, that was
the best way to do it. And yeah, when I saw new
edition, I was like, I couldn't see them physically,
obviously, but I was like, yeah. So I had to
turn it on the TV and stuff. So yeah, I don't
care how old they are. It's like new kids on
the block. I'll still watch and listen. Yeah.
Now coming out of that song, I'm going to stick
with the R &B group here because we're closing
out aside. And one song I knew I wanted to include
on this. It's definitely a slow jam. I don't
know if I'd call it a love song. The lyrics make
this more of a breakup song. But when you're
talking about the end of the side, I have the
perfect closer. And this is the only time I could
drop a closer. So I am going to close out Side
A from the 1992 Boomerang soundtrack. And I'm
going to go with Boyz II Men, End of the Road.
One of my... favorite pop songs of the 90s period
and maybe one of my favorite pop songs of all
time it is so beautiful the lyrics hit me every
time i hear it it is boys to men's greatest song
in my opinion and i'm a huge cover nerd me first
and the gimme gimme's do a fantastic punk version
of it which i love because i love closing out
punk mixes with it because again end of the road
I just love the song. And Boyz II Men, there
was no way we were getting through a 90s slow
jam episode and not talking about them. I'm guessing
I scooped the band for you in some way, shape,
or form. Oh, yeah, for sure. But if you don't
have End of the Road, I'm going to guess you
would have went with the other song I had kind
of sitting in my list, which was I'll Make Love
to You, the other big Boyz II Men song. But closing
out Side A, Boyz II Men, End of the Road. I would
love to hear what you think of this one. I had
Into the Road as well. It brings back middle
school dances. I remember dancing to that with
boys that I liked and just, yeah, such a beautiful
song. And of course, Boomerang is, oh, that song
fits so perfectly into that movie and story,
which that's a movie I really like. Boys to Men
can do no wrong, in my opinion. They were my
first concert, actually. Really? With not that
album, but with the following one that had, you
know, I'll Make Love to You and Water Runs Dry
and all those songs. Yeah. So I agree. That's
perfect to close out that side. Good choice.
Thank you. Last time I was walking around Disney
with my family, we were in Epcot. We're walking
around and all of a sudden we're going by one
of these pavilions and I hear end of the road.
So I'm like, Ooh, stop. I want to listen. And
I'm listening to the song and my kids are like,
you know, we want to go to the next thing. And
I'm like, let me hear the song. And I'm saying
to my wife, I'm going. This cover band is there
are spot on. And then when they were finished
with that song, they go into I'll make love to
you. And I said, hold on a minute. And it was
legit boys to men performing in Epcot. So I said,
let's just stay here for the next 10 minutes.
And we found an excuse to get the kids a snack
and we watched their set and they were unbelievable.
They are so good live. Oh, yeah. Just so amazing
vocally. One of the best. If R &B, I don't want
to say of all time, but especially from the 90s
on, easily one of the best R &B groups. Yeah,
they still are. To this day, they still put out
great stuff. I saw them maybe four or five years
ago. They were touring with New Kids, TLC, Minus
Chili, and Nelly. Really? Yeah, and it was fantastic.
That's a cool lineup. Cause I know Nelly's also
been doing a lot of country shows with like Florida,
Georgia line. Oh, nice. Okay. Yeah, it was, it
was great. My whole childhood summed up in one
concert. There you go. You had salt and pepper
in there. It would have been perfect. Yeah. It
always brings out a little extra flavor, right?
The salt and pepper. And with that, folks, we
are concluding side A of our 90s Slow Jams mixtape,
which consists of Tevin Campbell's Can We Talk,
Shy's Baby I'm Yours, Black Street's Before I
Let You Go, Next's Too Close, Keith Sweat's Twisted,
and Vogue's Giving Him Something He Could Feel,
Changing Faces' Stroke You Up, Lenny Kravitz'
It Ain't Over Till It's Over, new additions i'm
still in love with you and boys to men end of
the road remember to head over to my weekly mixtape
.com so you can hear all the songs we've discussed
in this mix through the playlist embedded on
the episode page now amanda before we hit stop
and flip our proverbial mixtape over to side
b why don't you tell listeners a little bit more
about the sipless podcast and what you're doing
over there Thank you. So I am the host of The
Sip List, which is a top five podcast. We pick
a topic and we list our top five favorites and
mostly pop culture, movies, TV, music, books.
We tackle some other random topics as well. And
we actually did recently 90s bands and groups
that didn't get as much love as we thought. And
Blackstreet was on mine. So we do stuff like
that. I have different guests and we try to.
bring information to people and get them to try
new things and nothing's off the table so definitely
check it out so now we are flipping over to side
b and i have the task of starting things off
and i think i'm going to start with something
that leans slightly more towards the rock end
of r b but it's another artist that when i mentioned
the song name i immediately when i played the
song and said this is perfect for this mix regardless
of this person does rock music or leans r b or
leans pop he does everything i should say he
did everything and he did everything perfectly
so i'm going back to 1991 and i'm going with
the legendary prince and the new power generation
and i'm going with the title track diamonds and
pearls good one an absolutely gorgeous song And
it's R &B tinged with Prince's flavor. So it's
not necessarily like the other R &B songs we're
talking about tonight. But let me tell you, Prince,
whatever he does is gold in some way, shape or
form. Oh, yeah. And this song is that. It is
beautiful. It's sexy. It's got a little bit of
a rock vibe to it, where in my mind as a musician,
it's like, ooh, I connect with this. And it just
gets stuck in your head. It's one of those songs
that once you hear it, it's like, I got to play
that again. That thing's got a groove to it.
So I don't know if it's necessarily a slow jam,
but man, I think he nails it on this one. I think
it's a perfect way to kick off a side because
it opens the doors to some maybe new directions.
So I'm going to start side B with Prince and
the New Power Generation, Diamonds and Pearls.
I like that choice. that is a great song one
of my favorites by prince actually although does
prince have many bad songs i don't think so no
no and i mean if we were doing an 80s slow jam
mix purple rain come on i mean and again that's
another one it's kind of rock but you know there's
the r b that's just flowing through it because
that where he was musically he defied the genres
and that's what i love about it because I could
sit there and put Prince on a rock mix. I can
put him on an R &B mix and nobody can argue either
one because he was so multifaceted. It's just
plug and play in any type of mix. And that's
what I love about him. And I miss about him so
much. I would have gone straight for Darling
Nikki if I was doing an 80s one. Oh, yeah. That's
another great one. That's a great slow jam. I
mean, but again, with the rock and the guitar
and the, you know, just everything is so good.
And then Talking Rock. Obviously, you know, Prince,
the Purple Rain album is a little bit of a rock
album. But in the 90s, Darling Nikki had an explosion
when the Foo Fighters covered it for a B -side.
And that shows that that R &B -esque rock song
fit perfectly into the rock world because there
was zero R &B in the Foo Fighters version. Oh,
yeah. But the vibe was still there. And that's
because Prince wrote it that way to kind of have
that cross -genre appeal. So, yes, I couldn't
say I could do an entire episode on Prince. And
I still don't feel like there's no way to do
him justice in 20 songs. No, I don't think so
either. But yeah, that's a really good one. So
I have a song I'm waiting to drop and I keep
like it doesn't end up quite following what you
give me. But I think I'm just going to go ahead
and go for it. I'm just going to rip off the
bandaid and we're going to go directly into Freak
Me by Silk. i've been waiting for it and i'm
like let's just do it let's just throw it in
there who doesn't love that song i mean seriously
this song is was everywhere you could not turn
on a radio station without hearing this every
hour on the hour every top five at nine on z100
in new york city they always had the top five
at nine and i think that song was on there for
months months and months it just never left Yeah.
And, you know, again, it's like I had a boyfriend.
That was his favorite song. So when we would
talk on the phone, he'd always play it for me.
And it's like we were in like ninth grade. We
could listen to the lyrics and we knew what he
was saying, but we weren't really like, hey,
you want to come over and look me up and down?
No, we're 15. We're not going to do that. It
was much more of an innocence to it, listening
to it when we were that age. It's just like,
again, hey, let's make out to the song and to
the groove. And, you know, the words are nice,
too, but not taking it literally. Right. And
I think I got the perfect song to follow that
up with now because it's definitely one where
it came out in 1991. So I was still a freshman
in high school. So obviously the song lyrics
were a little more. meant for people older than
I was, but the song was everywhere. You could
not escape it on radio. And it was in one of
the biggest movies of the year, which was new
Jack city. And I'm going to go with color me
bad. I want to sex you up. This song was everywhere.
And I know there are people either laughing or
screaming at their headphones right now that
I'm including color me bad in a slow jams mix,
but this was a massive, massive hit. song yes
everybody owned it it was number one for god
i mean the band is only for the most part known
for this i know they had other songs but really
this is the one everybody knows so i don't know
if they're a legitimate one hit wonder because
i think they did have a secondary charting hit
but i don't i'll be perfectly honest i don't
remember any of the other ones oh i do because
i have one written down oh okay well they're
great you can fill me on what that is and uh
maybe Cure some more cobwebs off my head. Yeah.
So they're from my hometown. They actually grew
up very close to where I lived, but I did have
a color me bad song, but I had a slower one and
it was, I adore me a more. You're right. Oh my
God. I was going to pick instead of freak me,
but I changed my mind. Oh. And then I scooped
you on color me bad with the wrong song too.
Apparently, you know what? It's fine. But yeah,
that song was super just. so sensual and velvety
and you know even though they're a bunch of white
dudes you just still the groove it was very like
they had the 90210 soundtrack vibe where you
got a lot of different people but it was just
all very like just very sexy and especially with
a little bit of spanish in there you're like
okay wow yeah that was definitely i'll be honest
i completely forgot about that one as soon as
you said it it was like You're right. 100%. 100%.
Well, mark that off my list. That's okay. Okay.
I want to sex you up. What am I going to follow
that up with? How about... Hmm. Let's slow it
down a little, but not too much. I will go with
I Want to Know by Joe. Ooh, okay. So not a super
drop down into slowness, but, you know, making
our way down the hill with it. Love that song.
That was another massive, massive hit. Yeah.
I mean, if you hear a guy singing to you, I want
to know what turns you on. Thank you. Yes, please.
Let me list all the ways. Thank you for asking.
I appreciate that. Yes. There's a guy who is
willing to learn. He is our king. I will take
it. Well, following that up though, obviously
we have done podcast episodes before and we've
talked about music a bunch of times and I listened
to all different genres and something that was
big in the nineties was the R &B country crossovers.
And there are two R &B country crossover hits
that I have in my list and I'm trying to figure
out which of the two I want to go with. And I
think I'm going to go with All For One. And the
song is I Swear, which was from their 1994 self
-titled album. But it was originally recorded
as a country song by John Michael Montgomery
for his 1994 album, Kicking It Up. So it was
a hit simultaneously on country radio and on
R &B radio by two different bands. I thought
All for Ones was first. John Michael Montgomery's
version actually came out a few months earlier.
However, at the time, they were both kind of
simultaneously being played on regular pop radio
for the All for One version and country radio
for the John Michael Montgomery version. And
it's not like a big difference in time. So obviously,
there's definitely some overlap there. Learn
something new every day. All for One is one of
those groups again. fantastic harmonies beautiful
harmonies and i feel like that kind of 50s doo
-wop yes element that still lived through motown
and through the 90s was still big because you
had groups like boys to men all for one and to
me i just love the fact that the harmonies were
so perfect And then when you strip it down to
John Michael Montgomery's version, it's just
him and some background vocals. It still works
as well. So again, there's this little bit of
a crossover appeal in the songs I'm picking tonight
because it's just who I am musically. But I do
want to give a shout out to Succotash54 because
he chimed in with All For Ones, I swear as well.
So I'm glad I'm not alone with this one. No,
that's a fantastic song. My only issue with that
song and actually it's not an issue. It's just,
I can't find that song to be like super sexy
because every time I hear it, I picture Ryan
Reynolds in a fat suit. singing it from just
friends so it ruins i mean it's a beautiful song
it just ruins the mood because all i can picture
is that well now now i'm picturing it crap can
i just go back and scratch it off and put something
else in no it's a great song it's just you know
that movie is tied to that song for me yeah damn
you ryan reynolds oh i love him okay Well, so
I'm also going to follow it up, I think, with
a little, man. So let me ask you this. This is
a technical question and you can leave this in
or take it out. Are we going to call Jodeci and
Casey and Jojo the same? Hmm. You know, let me
follow that up with a question and say, are we
going to consider Refugee Camp All -Stars featuring
Lauryn Hill and Lauryn Hill one and the same?
So let's just say they are two different groups.
Okay. I'm going to go ahead and go with All My
Life by Casey and JoJo. Following up a beautiful
love song with another beautiful love song, I
think. I swear you get the, like you said, 50s
doo -wop, but slower. I think with All My Life,
you get more of the Motown feel, but you've still
got the pretty love -songy music. I don't know
how to describe that. It's kind of separated
from some of the other where you have the smooth
R &B grooves. It's more like a boy band love
song, but with guys with way better voices. I
definitely hear the pop. element coming through
this one. That's what I'm looking for. It's definitely
leaning more pop than R &B, but it still completely
fits the genre and completely fits the mood.
I don't hear any universe where this song was
absolutely massive. I want to say I worked in
a record shop the year that this single was out,
and we could not keep this single in. People
were coming in and buying that single like we
were buying boxes of it. It was just massive.
And I can remember at least two or three people
coming in because it was going to be their wedding
song. And they were looking for the single to
buy to bring to the ceremony because back then
there was no such thing as MP3s and such. It
was just DJ spinning actual CDs back then. So
yeah, that song is perfect for this mix. Such
a popular wedding song too, for sure. Definitely,
definitely. All right, well, look, you mentioned
the whole KC and JoJo and Jodeci thing, and then
I followed it up with the whole Refugee Camp
All -Stars featuring Lauryn Hill or Lauryn Hill.
I got to go with Lauryn Hill. There is no way
you could talk about Slow Jams and R &B without
Lauryn Hill, and her cover of Frankie Valli's
1967 hit Can't Take My Eyes Off You fits perfectly
into this mix. the miseducation of lauren hill
is an absolute classic hip -hop and r b album
yep it's actually a hidden track from the album
and i think it's one of the best songs on the
album her cover is simply stunning i do want
to give a shout out to amy borchin who chimed
in with the fugees killing me softly which could
also be used in this list lauren hill yeah in
a 90s r b without including her i feel like we
would lose all credibility Because she just encapsulates
what 90s R &B was all about. She's the queen
of it, in my opinion, alongside of Whitney. Because
Whitney probably is one of the hardest voices
to top. Even though her R &B was a little bit
more pop -leaning, Long Hill is one of the best,
as far as I'm concerned. And you know me and
I love cover songs. But just for... Explaining
purposes. The other one I was kind of going back
and forth with was from the 1997 soundtrack to
love Jones, the sweetest thing, which was another
great Lauren Hill track, even though she was
only a feature on it. It's still great. I went
with Lauren Hill. Can't take my eyes off you.
I love that. So you did scoop me on Lauren Hill.
First of all, yes. Miseducation of Lauren Hill.
One of the greatest albums of all time, in my
opinion, I had X factor. I thought that that
was a little more of a slow jam. And I just,
I love the vocals in that song. I love the beat.
It's just that song to me is perfection. But
so, you know, yeah, her cover is just amazing.
So I think that's what edged it out for me over
that one was just the fact that I'm such a sucker
for cover songs. Right. And hers is so much.
i love frankie valley's version like if i'm thinking
an oldies episode that one is a perfect oldies
love song but hers just took it to this new level
to the point where i mean the hair on my arm
is standing up just talking about her vocal delivery
that's how incredible it is and she's just one
of the best so either the song you picked or
this one or the fujis she was everywhere and
deservedly so You also can't forget Heath Ledger's
cover of the song. Oh, 10 Things I Hate About
You. I am a friend I lived with in college. We
used to play random stuff when we would get ready
to go out to the bar. And that song was one of
the ones we would sing to it. We had a dance
with our hairbrushes. Like we'd be getting ready
and that song would come on and we'd just be
like dancing around singing it because we love
10 Things I Hate About You so much. But we listened
to the Frankie Valli version, honestly. Okay.
So I think I have two choices left, and this
is difficult. Okay. I can't leave this person
off. Talking about Lauryn Hill, I think this
is another person that 90s R &B, you can't have
a mixtape without having her on it. So my pick
is going to be By Your Side by Sade. Ah, all
right. Ordinary Love, No Ordinary Love. I think
that's the one that gets the most attention.
If you think of her in the 90s, most people think
of that song. But By Your Side, honestly, is
such a gorgeous song. The music is beautiful.
The lyrics are beautiful. It makes my heart feel
like it, you know, your heart kind of constricts
when you listen to it because it's just so touching.
And it still has that R &B groove where it's
like, you know, it's a sexy song, but the lyrics
aren't really. you know the lyrics are more like
a love song so oh i couldn't leave her off so
we had to have that one honestly if we again
i talk about the 80s because at some point i'm
sure there's going to be an 80s r b jams the
first one that comes to mind is smooth operator
i mean that song is pure velvet silk because
we keep using those words but yes i mean her
voice is just otherworldly like it's so iconic
It's so memorable and it's just so smooth. It's
soothing. Yeah. You feel relaxed and warm listening
to it and it just invites you in. Yes. I feel
like her voice is a whole ASMR vibe. Like you
could just listen to it and just be like, like
she could sing the alphabet song and I would
just still be relaxed listening to it. She should
have her, it should just be, what genre of music
are you listening to? I'm listening to Sade.
Yeah. It's whatever she's got going on. That's
what I'm here for. Exactly. So I only have one
song left and this is really, really tough. Yeah.
Really, really tough. What I want to do, I'm
not going to use this song and I'm going to take
a gamble here and just talk about it for a second
because I said something earlier and I don't
want to not finish that thought. And a song I'm
not including was. Another song that had both
a country and R &B crossover because I had said
all for one and another song. And I just want
to give a shout out to this other song, which
was the Tony Rich Project's Nobody Knows from
his 96 album Words. Kevin Sharp recorded a country
version in 1996 for Measure of Mine. And I wanted
to give a shout out to my friend Jamie Lynn Howe,
who not only chose this song, but also. brought
up the cover version as well she's another music
person like me so i was very impressed and i
was kind of hoping to sneak it in but i have
to go with a different song here because it's
one of my favorite songs of the 90s and once
again people might raise an eyebrow to this one
to me because technically there's a little bit
of a rock to this person's persona but there's
also a lot of r b and Because I started this
side of picks with Prince, I get to double dip
the Prince R &B vibe because it's a song he wrote
for 1990s, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got,
and it's Sinead O 'Connor, Nothing Compares to
You. I don't necessarily know if it's considered
R &B, and I am perfectly willing to take any
flack from people. I am thinking about this more
from a vibe of what I'm seeing with these songs.
When I'm looking down the list and I'm seeing
Silks Freak Me, Casey and JoJo's All My Life,
Lauryn Hill. I feel like Sinead O 'Connor, that
song just slides right out of Sade in a cool
way here. I love the vocals in it. I love the
delivery of that song. And cover songs I had
mentioned, End of the Road by Boyz II Men was
done by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. On that
same album, they covered Nothing Compares to
You. And then a version that I personally cover
is Chris Cornell's acoustic version from XM Radio
of Nothing Compares to You, which I swear to
God, the first time I heard it, I had to pull
over my car. I had tears in my eyes. I was just
so, it had just passed and they had put it out
for that. posthumous compilation they had put
out for him and i heard it and i just it just
overtook me he was so gorgeous on the delivery
but sinead's version is so iconic i know she
had a lot of stuff that happened after the song
blew up a lot of controversy the whole snl thing
but man 30 something years later i put this song
on and it's like i gotta hear it like i gotta
hear her sing it because her vocals are just
so stunning on this one and i get it This is
an R &B playlist. I know it doesn't work, but
I feel like there's enough of an R &B feel and
flavor of this song. And it is who I am musically.
So I'd be lying if I didn't kind of at least
acknowledge who I am musically and what I'm bringing
to this playlist. So it's probably left field.
But I hope somebody out there listening appreciates
the little bit of a change. And if not, feel
free to. you know, let me know what you would
have picked differently. But again, it's all
subjective. There's no winners or losers or anything
like that here. Right. So Sinead O 'Connor, nothing
compares to you. Okay. Yeah, I definitely wouldn't
have picked that, but it's also a great song.
So you know what? This is your mixtape too. So
let's put it on there. Now my problem is what
to finish this out with because. I have two choices
that I can't decide between. I'm going to finish
out Strong. All right. This is too hard to pick,
so I'm just going to go with this one. Another,
I feel like R &B, it's a group that you have
to have huge in the 90s. I am going to close
it out with Weak by SWV. All right. Perfect.
I loved that song so much. Actually, that whole,
I had it on cassette and just all of their songs
were so good. It was between that and I die without
you by PM Don, which would have been a great
song to close it out with to you. They're both
great songs. And I mean, I could do a whole second
tape probably. So I'm looking at my list and
I know there's going to be people. This is the
part of the show where I start getting the emails.
Wait a minute. What about blank? What about this
song? What about that song? I get, I'm looking
at my list. Unbreak my heart by Tony Braxton.
Seal kiss from a rose. I mean, we talked about
Whitney Houston, but you could easily throw I
Will Always Love You in there, which again, another
song that had the country version by Dolly a
long time earlier. But Whitney's version, I mean,
geez. We skipped over Brian McKnight, Aaliyah,
Usher. Yeah, Toni Braxton. I had Let It Flow
by Toni Braxton because it's a little lesser
known one, but super, again, smooth. Yeah. I
mean, it's just, there's, and I was deciding
between Casey and Jojo all my life or lately
by Jodeci. I was glad somebody suggested that
because one of my most favorite songs from the
nineties, again, memories tied to a boyfriend.
It was his favorite song and he always played
it for me on the phone and just a little twin
to my heart every time I hear it. And I always
go back to the MTV unplugged version. Cause to
me kind of being the rock guy, I really respected
that, that rendition of it. It just. It took
a beautiful song and made it, I guess, more beautiful.
Yeah. That song really just you can hear the
raw like passion in his voice singing the words.
And it just like like I tear up every time I
hear it because it's just like, man, like such
a good song. Incredible voice. And then I want
to go back and just go back to the whole color
me bad thing. I was actually flip flopping between
because I wanted to have one song that just made
people's jaws kind of go, oh, come on. And it
was either I Want to Sex You Up or H -Town's
Knockin' to Boots from 1993. I felt like those
two songs were pretty interchangeable. They were
pretty on the nose. And I wanted to kind of throw
one of those like obvious, overtly sexual, but
played all over the radio anyway picks. I didn't
want to include both of them because I felt like
then it was taking it a little too, you know,
kind of off on tangents. Well, I almost threw
Pony by Ginuwine in there. that was definitely
brought up i know david owens had written on
facebook about including that one so you would
not have been alone yeah i thought about it and
back and forth by aaliyah like aaliyah has so
many good ones one thing i've learned about doing
this show is that the beauty of it is from the
feedback i've gotten from people that are listening
first off thank you to those people that there's
always room for a volume two oh yeah because
every mixtape is going to have its ups and downs
and peaks and valleys because that's kind of
the musical conversation that's unfolding. And
the fact that we kind of twisted and turned through
this one, at the end of the day, I feel like
we've put together a very strong mix, even though
there's people that are going to say, how about
X? How about Y? How about Z? You're exactly right.
And you know what? If we had 120 -minute tape,
it would break quicker than the 90 -minute, but
we could have squeezed a few more songs in. Right.
But look, Valentine's Day happens every year.
There's always next year's Volume 2 mix to follow
up with because there's plenty of other songs
we missed. However, let's remind people of what
Side B consisted of because we've been talking
about a bunch of different stuff here. So the
ones that made the final mix. Yes. Side B. Prince
and the New Power Generation's Diamonds and Pearls.
Silks freak me. Color Me Bads, I want to sex
you up. Joes, I want to know. All for Ones, I
swear. Casey and JoJo's all my life. Lauren Hills
can't take my eyes off of you. Sade's by your
side. Sinead O 'Connor's nothing compares to
you. And SWV's weak. One more time, I'll say
it. I know this is not my wheelhouse. And if
I messed up on the... that's not truly an r b
thing i apologize there's no mal intent i just
felt like the songs had a vibe and i'm bringing
my vibe to that vibe and i hope the other mixtapers
out there like what we put together because i
think this is a really really killer 90s vibe
here I agree. I mean, I definitely wouldn't call
nothing compares to R &B, but I don't think it's
sticking out like a sore thumb. I think it, you
know, goes with the vibe and it's your mixtape.
That's the beauty of mixtapes is you can have
whatever you want on it and it's tailored to
your specific, which is why as much as I, you
know, mixtapes and burn CDs and all that, digital
music is probably one of my favorite inventions
ever with technology. Because I don't have to
carry around 25 mixtapes or burn CDs when I want
a certain vibe. I have a playlist for everything
you can imagine. I know we've talked about this
before. And so digital music has been a life
changer for me in terms of making any kind of
playlist I want. It's just right there and it's
so easy. Yeah. And the thing with Sinead O 'Connell,
look, as soon as I was pulling it out, I'm like,
I'm going to catch it for this one. Just like
on Playlist Wars when I pulled out a Christmas
song. for a u2 playlist wars battle i heard about
it but look at the end of the day prince wrote
it and i truly mean what i say that i feel like
prince was one of the few artists that could
take rock r b pop and all these different things
and make it prince so in the universe of prince
being the signature songwriter for nothing compares
to you i felt like it gave it that credibility
to fall into again a rock leaning r b song which
is similar to what sinead o 'connor was going
for on that version right so it it was a little
bit of a gray area and you know what i just i
i love the song so much and grace me yeah there
you go and then like you said about digital music
head over to myweeklymixtape .com because digitally
we have all the songs we've talked about tonight
on this episode in a playlist ready for you to
listen on the 90s slow jams page hey if you need
a playlist for valentine's day we made it for
you you don't even have to do any work here you
go seriously just send it to your significant
other and be like honey i just was thinking of
you and i put all these songs together the only
way that'll backfire is if she is a fellow my
weekly mixtape listener exactly But then if she
is, she'll just email you and I, Amanda, and
thank us. Hey, don't pull a Chandler and friends
when he uses Janice's mixtape and then she starts
singing in the middle of it. We won't do that
to you. That is hysterical. My wife, it's her
favorite show of all time. I've seen every season
probably more times than I've seen any other
show. That episode always made me laugh to tears
when her voice comes in and starts singing it.
It's unbelievably funny. I love the way you look
every night, Chandler. Well, Amanda, before we
hit eject on this final mixtape, why don't you
tell people where they can find the Sipless podcast
if they'd like to hear more about what you're
doing over there? Thank you. So the show is available
on all podcasts. Casting platforms. The website
is the siplist pod .com. I am also a member of
the, I did not make these rankings podcast network.
So you can go there and find the other shows
that are on the network. We're doing lots of
cool stuff. And actually Brian, I hope to have
you on as a guest soon. So we'll talk more about
that, but yeah, anything siplist related, go
check it out. The siplist pod and we're on Twitter,
Facebook, Insta, TikTok, all the places, all
the places. i'm having a hard time keeping up
with the tick tocks though i'm trying me too
it's a lot it is and and my teenager comes over
to me and she'll judge me on on what i what i
did she's like dad come on you got no no no this
one's got to go do it again I'm like, I got a
director here. What the hell? Start paying her
to do it for you. Dang. Seriously, right? I should
consider that. Way to earn that allowance. I
mean, I'm fairly good on TikTok. I make a lot
on my personal account, actually. It's just keeping
up with it all. When you release a podcast episode,
I mean, people don't realize how much work goes
into this if you're really trying to promote
it. It's not just dropping an episode. It's every
single social media, tagging people, you know,
everything. So it's a lot of work and sometimes
stuff gets missed, but. we're out there. So,
yeah. And that's why every time I say it, I'm
so thankful to anybody who takes time out of
their busy lives and schedules to listen to the
conversations that we're having and the content
that we're putting out and the support. And I
love listening to The Sip List when I am out
for a car ride because I love arguing with the
pics from my car, even though I'm not on the
episode. I was on one episode with you. We did
the Foo Fighters, unfortunately, sad episode
because Taylor Hawkins had just passed. But I
love hearing the way different people approach
different topics. And I think your show is fantastic
at doing that. And I enjoy you bringing that
other side to this mixtape tonight. And I thank
you so much for being a guest. And I look forward
to future collaborations with you as well. Same
here. I'll be back anytime you need somebody.
All right, mixtapers. Remember, you can find
my weekly mixtape on Facebook. twitter instagram
and tick tock at my weekly mixtape you can also
head over to myweeklymixtape .com to hear the
music discussed on tonight's episode and to check
out the full catalog of my weekly mixtape episodes
if you'd like to support the show please consider
becoming a patreon mixtaper at patreon .com forward
slash my weekly mixtape that's all for this week
i certainly hope the songs that we talked about
this evening put you in that valentine's day
mood most importantly Thank you for listening,
and until next time, enjoy the tunes.