March 25, 2006
This weekend past, whilst killing pints in a sea of shamrocks, I bathed in the wonder of this annual celebratory observation of faux Celticness. Which, naturally, made me ponder: what ever happened to House of Pain? I hesitate in labeling this collection gentlemen a one-hit-wonder. I am by no means a devotee of this musical unit, nor am I an aficionado of popular music of the 90s. It is entirely possible that House of Pain had another moderately successful tune that managed to slip under my hip-hop-honky radar. However, I have not managed to find anyone familiar with any House of Pain endeavors beside this one song. Granted, the majority of my acquaintances are indie-rock-slurping crackers. But, EVERYONE knows "Jump Around." So if House of Pain is a one-hit-wonder, this is in deed, noteworthy. You say "House of Pain" and people know "Jump Around." You say "Jump Around" and everyone knows it's House of Pain. There are not too many single-song-sensations you could say that about - unless you are some sort of trivia freak with loads of free time. What's that? "Love Plus One" is by Haircut 100. Really? That's great. That should take you far. Go to sleep. My most significant and in-depth exposure to House of Pain came when I accidentally saw them in concert. They were touring with the Beastie Boys and L7. Needless to say, we, none of us, were there to see L7. When House of Pain took the stage, the crowd, myself included, went squirrel shit crazy. I can't be certain why anyone else was cheering. I assume, like I, they were just grateful L7 was finished. The rap trio's set was, for the most part, unremarkable. They weren't bad, but they weren't great - somewhere between pedestrian and good. I'd give them a grade of mediocre-plus. They were loud, energetic, sweaty, and monotonous. But we all had a nice time enjoying the lack of L7 and anticipating THE song. The one we all knew. The one which allowed us to revel in the warmth of familiarity. The song that would signal that the band we came to see would be performing shortly. And then it happened. Announced by 4 distorted blasts of a trumpet, it began. Huzzah! A song we know! The crowd screamed. We rose. We slammed our overpriced beers. We were getting up, standing up, and all putting our hands(ing) up. We did as we were told: we jumped around. It was neat. Why was it so popular? Why did we all like it? Why do the kids still know it today? Perhaps it is because, no matter how uptight you are, we're all looking for an excuse to jump around. Furthermore, from a music theory stand point, the song kicks all kinds of ass. It was bound to be a hit. It was the "Hey-Ya" of 1992. It has the perfect blend of crossover magic. It's melodic enough to entice a pop music audience while maintaining enough of an edge to keep the hip-hop fans. In addition, it offers up lyrical brilliance with such lines as "tryin' to play me out like as if my name was Sega," which is rhymed with Arnold Schwarzenegger! Poetry. So what happened? Is that it? Is it possible for an artist to have a song that good and then never produce anything like it again? Absolutely. Just ask Rupert Holmes. But has anyone investigated why? How is it possible for one piece to stand out and overshadow an artist's entire repertoire? To find the answer, I went to the source; not House of Pain, mind you. I have a feeling they might be a tad biased. No, I went to the song itself, and I believe I have found the answer. In the second verse of "Jump Around," Erik Schrody, also known as "Everlast" (please let the irony not be lost), claims to have "more rhymes than the Bible's got Psalms." The Bible, in fact, has 150 Psalms. One-fitty may be a lot of Psalms for a bible, maybe the most of any bible; however, I am fairly certain that to maintain a successful hip-hop career one must have significantly more than 150 rhymes. When Mr. Schrody claims to have "more," just how many more does he mean? 152? 160? This is still insufficient. I would wager that other rap artists, such as Snoop Doggy Dogg or Dr. Dre, have collections of rhymes numbering in the thousands. This was, indeed, a fine rhyme which Mr. Schrody hath busted. Nonetheless, if he intended to imply that he has as many rhymes as Mr. Dogg or the good Doctor, then the number of Psalms in the Bible is poor comparison. In three albums they used up all 150+ rhymes. Undoubtedly, it is this deficiency of rhymes that would account for House of Pain's relatively short-lived career. The world is indeed fortunate that these musicians did not endeavor to contend with the Book of Proverbs. If that were the case, more than 80% of the band's records would never have come to fruition. All that aside, it must be said, with this singular "joint," House of Pain proved that, if only for a moment, they indeed gots the skill. So, come, get your fill. They came to get down. They came to get down. So get out your seats and jump around.
Comments
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Carmenilla (anonymous) says...
Hilarious shit! That song is like a green light-go for all white boys to act gangsta. Case in point, at work we have been listening to lots of compilation CDs. When "Jump Around" came on even the most emo/indie of the fellas started bobbing, nay, bouncing to the song. Its impossible to dismiss. The facts speak for themselves....
March 25, 2006 at 11:59 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
SarahSota (anonymous) says...
The Beastie Boys, apparently, have "got more rhyme than Jamaica's got mango" which totally kicks House of Pain's measly "got more rhymes than the Bible's got psalms" ass.
Good blog, Mag. HUZZAH!
March 25, 2006 at 12:07 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
SarahSota (anonymous) says...
I think the Beastie Boys may also have "more rhymes than J.D.'s got Sallinger." Which, for your information, is a whole lot of rhymes.
March 25, 2006 at 1:25 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
MjA (MJ Allen) says...
Thank you, Carmenilla.
Your comment, indeed, supports my basic theory of music.
As I have said in the past: there are two kinds of people in this world -and they both like ABBA...and neither can help moving to "Jump Around".
Dear Mike D,
Please stop trying to pass yourself off as "SarahSota" on the Lawrence.com comments just so you can promote your own band. There are plenty of local artists who need this venue.
Your trio has been around for a couple of decades. I think you are doing okay. Alright? We get it. You're good. Have a cookie.
Q: Is your name Michael Diamond?
A: No, mine's SarahSota.
Nice try.
March 25, 2006 at 1:57 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Joel (Joel Mathis) says...
SarahSota forgets, though, that Beastie Boys have "more hits than Rod Carew."
March 25, 2006 at 3:49 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
MjA (MJ Allen) says...
Rod Carew is my favorite! I have a Rod Carew autographed baseball. I win!
March 25, 2006 at 4:23 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
scary_manilow (anonymous) says...
You DO know about Everlast's solo career, right? RIGHT?
March 26, 2006 at 2:16 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Carmenilla (anonymous) says...
He may have gone solo but I would hardly call it a career. Here's a lyric from his big hit "What Its Like" :
"God forbid that you have to walk a mile in his shoes.
Then you might really know what its like to have the blues..."
um, yah, whatever.
March 26, 2006 at 3:20 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
scary_manilow (anonymous) says...
It's just so ripe for dissection... There should be a sequel to this blog.
He also had a choice acting bit in the movie "Judgement Night." Ugh.
March 26, 2006 at 9:46 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
MjA (MJ Allen) says...
I don't know about a sequel. There may be plans for a trilogy...
March 27, 2006 at 12:59 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hilary (anonymous) says...
hilarious. Oh, how we've missed you, Maggie.
March 27, 2006 at 8:25 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
curtaincall (anonymous) says...
maggie, you so funny. but guess what song will be stuck in my head for the next two weeks???
julia
March 27, 2006 at 4:22 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
megiddo (anonymous) says...
Oh, thank god I have no idea what you're talking about.
I guess I'll put on 'Pelican West' and have a nap, now...
March 29, 2006 at 11:36 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
BFA (anonymous) says...
One thing I would like to correct...
Adam Cook and Amete Balas were there to see L7.
Good Job, Allen. Brilliant!
March 31, 2006 at 5:27 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
kalcarloskals (anonymous) says...
I realize I'm a bit late geting involved, but have always been fascinated by the One-Hit-Wonder. Specificly, how can a band (Procul Harem) write a song as beautiful as "Whiter Shade of Pale" and then produce essentially absolutley nothing else of value? Is the pslams theory correct, they had nothing else left in the tank? That's my only conjecture, the load was blown.
April 11, 2006 at 12:57 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )