Ask 411Music 10.14.02 - The Short Form

Posted by Adam Wallis on 10.14.2002

A Quick One This Time: Shannon Curfman, David Essex, Some More People You've Probably Never Heard Of, The New Prodigy Album, More Eminem Feuds, And My Favorite Rappers.

I realized something the other day: since I write for the music branch of 411, I can actually have a 'soundtrack' for the mailbag and look cool doing it. So then, your soundtrack for this edition is In The City by the Jam (which, sadly, can only be purchased in the States as an import) and Cursive's Domestica.

Now, in the words of the Leon Phelps, the Ladies Man, "Hello caller, what is your query?" But one quick message before I begin - I can't exactly blame anyone for not having music-related questions, but without feedback there's no column for me to write, so it's up to you, the reader, to keep Ask 411 Music alive. Even if you just want to play 'Stump the Adam' or see your name in print,
so, do you have any idea who/what I'm talking about, and do you know who it is?

Well, the original "Rock On," featuring exactly those lyrics, was recorded by a British teen idol named David Essex, who managed to make the UK Top Five with it in 1974. He had a pretty good glam-pop album heavily influenced by T. Rex, but then just seemed to fade away - par for the course for teen idols, I suppose. He's still making music, if I'm not mistaken, but it's mostly just him singing standards and no one seems to care anymore.

With that in mind, I propose that one of the two following things has happened: either your sense of the passage of time is completely shot, or someone covered it in the 80's or 90's and I don't remember it happening.

By the way, congrats on being this week's winner in Gamble's thingy.

Colin Cross asks: I liked what I read in the column, so I decided to toss a question out there. I bought an album about 2 years ago called "Loud Guitars, Big Suspicions" by a girl named Shannon Curfman. The album was a pretty cool collection of rock/blues tracks and the liner notes credited her with having written the majority of the material (which is generally worth big points in my book) as well as doing a substantial portion of the guitar work. I really enjoyed the album but I think I might have heard a single song from it played a grand total of once on the air and except for a few novelty appearances on TV due to Curfman's age it seems like the album pretty much got buried everywhere. I suspect that I may be about the only person in the country to buy her album. What I was wondering was if you knew about anything else she might have done since that album. Thanks

Shannon really hasn't done much since Loud Guitars. The album was released on an indie label in 1998, but was picked up a year later by Arista Records and reissued with new cover art and new production, unfortunately, it sold dismally (probably due to the fact that there was, as you pointed out, next to no promotion of the album). As you mentioned, she was very young - born in 1985, she was 13 when it was recorded. However, she's not released any new material since Loud Guitars, Big Suspicions. In fact, her only appearance since then has been as a guest on John Mayall's 2001 album, the appropriately titled Along For The Ride. She was featured as a second guitarist and vocalist on the song "Testify," but that's all she's done in the studio in the past 3 years.

From Simon: I just have a quick question: do you know when the next Prodigy album will be out ?

The official release date is March 2003, but it's been delayed so many times already that I wouldn't advise betting the farm on it actually being released in March of 2003.

Vinne asks: hey i gotta question i cant seem to get an answer too when did the"beef"
between eminem and canibuss start also in ur opinnion whos the greatest rapper
of all time in my opinnion it would be biggie smalls thanks a lot

There isn't much of a beef to speak of between these two, because whatever has happened between them has mostly been just Canibus attacking Eminem. Eminem said in interviews that the feud goes back almost four years, beginning when he met Canibus and the C-man acted like an "asshole." Still, Canibus has been the more vocal of the two, lashing out at Eminem through the character of 'Stan' (stolen from the Eminem song, no less) on songs like "U Didn't Care." Stan pops up quite frequently on Canibus' album C-True Hollywood Stories, actually. Eminem, to the best of my knowledge, hasn't done much of anything to retaliate (there's a reference to Canibus in the song "Squaredance," but that's about it), which is a pretty uncharacteristic move for the man who's fast gaining a reputation as the whiniest guy in music.

As for your second question, I'm all about the old-school when it comes to Hip-Hop, so I'll say Run-D.M.C. or the Public Enemy. Technically, those are groups, but there really aren't that many solo rappers I genuinely enjoy listening to that fulfill all the criteria for 'best ever' (things like influence on future rappers, lyrical skills, freestyle skills, etc.). As far as contemporary Rap solo artists go, I'm a big fan of anything Talib Kweli or Del tha Funkee Homosapien has done/been a part of, Peanut Butter Wolf, and Sage Francis, so take your pick, I suppose.

Believe it or not, that's it for this time around, boys and girls, so send me mail!