Hip-Hop Smoothed Out on the R&B Tip With a Pop Appeal To It

Holy crap, I miss Bell Biv DeVoe. "Never trust a big butt and a smile," indeed. "Poison" brings me back to 1990. The summer between junior and senior year of high school.

Remember when hip-hop videos included the mandatory scene of people dancing in front of a blue screened image... of them dancing? (LL Cool J's "Around the Way Girl" is another one. Trippy, yo.) The overalls with one side unbuttoned (and sayings painted on the back)? The Dwayne Wayne glasses with the sunglass portion flipped up?

Aw, now I'm gonna have to find my copy tonight. Or maybe I won't have to: New music Tuesday releases today include "Bell Biv DeVoe - 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection" from Geffen (but isn't that pretty much just three singles off the "Poison" CD)?

It's a good Tuesday for new releases actually: Also out are Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black," and the intriguing "Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions of Bjork." Meanwhile, coming next week, Maria and I are both looking forward to Tracey Thorn's "Out of the Woods."