Just brush my teeth before you leave me, bay-bee

Now, current popular music scares me. I can get into hip hop, but I don't think I understand resurrecting a song like "Angel (of the Morning)" originally popularized by Juice Newton.

Juice Newton, people. Juice Newton. [1]

Sampling is one thing; sampling is undeniably cool in some cases, but this newer version of "Angel" by a guy called Shaggy [2] who can't sing and apparently hasn't got much of a patter but still managed a number one album. Eeew. I've heard a few other instances in which an artist takes an old song and changes it, updates it if you will. I'm not so sure this particular song needed to be updated. The idea boggles my mind.

Why bother to write a new song when you can just recycle Juice Newton?

I'm going to watch basketball now. I will not come up for air until the NCAA has announced the seedings for the tournament, which is all that really matters today.

[1] Do you remember when Saturday Night Live was edgy? OK, trust me, it didn't always suck. Back in the 70s it featured mini-films, and I remember one of those about video game addiction. There was a rehab center/halfway house called Columbia House and the "doctor" suggested that, instead of pumping their change into Asteroids, the kids could use those quarters to "buy this Juice Newton cassette." In retrospect, this seems especially subversive.

[2] To me, Shaggy is and always will be one of two things: the character on Scooby Doo as voiced by Casey Kasem, or a sparkly light green eyeliner by Hard Candy. I wanted to buy it once, but it had sold out.

before - after