...ctions at a frenetic, offhand pace common among true diehard music nerds, and the Genius staff — composed primarily of trendy-looking twenty- and thirtysomethings — tends to speak in its own lexicon. When discussing a song, Lehman will often ask the group what the track's "meme" is — a term that started off as a joke around the office but has since morphed into a way of addressing the recurrence of trends, tropes, and metaphors in popular music. Nia Long and Aaliyah, two Nineti...
Genius: The Annotation Will Not Be Televised | Village Voice
8 years
On this day, the lunch table is led by Tom Lehman, the company's co-founder and CEO. He's kicked back in his chair, the top buttons of his shirt casually undone, as the beat from J. Cole's 2014 single "No Role Modelz" thumps from a pair of speakers. On January 12, Genius will unveil its new collaboration with Spotify, a potential game-changer called "Behind ...
Genius: The Annotation Will Not Be Televised | Village Voice
8 years
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Yo-Yo’s 1996 single “Same Ol’ Thang (Everyday)” is about the importance of finding a man who works hard and treats you well. The first verse opens cheekily: “Mr. Big Spender wanna buy me a shot/Could it be Hennessey or Rémy on the rocks?” Then comes the kicker, “Sittin’ on the dock of the bay…/Watchin’ this fool throw his money away, hey”—all sung to Redding’s melody.
(126) 5 Songs That Sample Otis Redding's "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" | Genius Blog
Genius Founder
8 years
Ol’ Dirty Bastard, a hip-hop legend in his own right, often cited soul music as a major influence. It is not surprising, then, that you can hear ODB groaning the words “sittin’ on the dock of the bay” in the background, at about 1:56 minutes into his 1995 classic “Shimmy Shimmy Ya.”
(126) 5 Songs That Sample Otis Redding's "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" | Genius Blog
Genius Founder
8 years
De La Soul’s 1989 single “Eye Know” is full of samples from some of music history’s greatest performers. There are drums from Sly & The Family Stone, vocals and keyboards from Steely Dan, and horns from The Mad Lads. Most obvious, though, are those unmistakable whistles from “Dock of the Bay” that appear throughout the song.
(126) 5 Songs That Sample Otis Redding's "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" | Genius Blog
Genius Founder
8 years
On Dec. 10, 1967, the legendary singer Otis Redding died tragically in a plane crash. A year and some change later (and exactly 48 years ago today), his seminal hit “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” was released. The song quickly rose to No. 1, making it the first e...
(126) 5 Songs That Sample Otis Redding's "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" | Genius Blog
Genius Founder
8 years
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