Throwing back to the week of November 29, 2003, we find Beyoncé and Sean Paul still dominating the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Baby Boy.’ That song was in the last of its nine weeks atop the chart, soon to be replaced by #2 track ‘Stand Up‘ by Ludacris.
At #3 was the Outkast classic ‘Hey Ya!,’ a song that prompted me to wax nostalgic 12 years ago on the blog. That song would soon ascend to its own nine-week run at #1.
Throwing back to the week of November 8, 2003, we find Beyoncé and Sean Paul holding on to the top spot with ‘Baby Boy,’ in the middle of a nine-week run for the song at #1.
Sitting just behind it, a month away from its own #1 berth, is Ludacris’ ‘Stand Up.’ This is the second single from the rapper’s fourth album Chicken-n-Beer, and would become his first to top the Hot 100.
My blind spot for R&B music emerges again as I consider Usher’s 2004 album Confessions, a massive hit with which I have almost zero familiarity.
This album, the singer-songwriter’s fourth, was the sixth best-selling album of the entire 2000s in the U.S. and produced four #1 singles. You’d think those songs would instantly ring a bell for somebody who was in his early 20s and an avid music listener at the time.
While looking for clips for my Shakira theme week, I came across her video for a song called ‘Waka Waka (This Time for Africa).’ It was written for the World Cup, which I’d probably know if I had been able to watch more than 30 seconds of the World Cup without wanting to gouge my eyes out from boredom.
Seriously, I can watch golf or tennis for hours at a time, but soccer (sorry, football) works on me like anesthesia.
What’s most bizarre is the dichotomy between the brain-numbing quality of the “action” on the field as compared to the unbridled hysteria of the most ardent fans. I mean, golf is boring… sure it is. But have you ever seen a golf fan painted head to toe tearing apart a metal barricade with his teeth because his favorite player almost got a hole in one? Jesus. But I digress.
Meet Me In Montauk 