1001 Songs Challenge #735: Dub Be Good to Me (1990)

On 11 February 2019 I set myself the challenging of reading 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die by Robert Dimery (ed.) and following the book’s advice to the letter. I’ve previously read 1001 Films… and started 1001 Albums… but felt 1001 Songs… would be a sensible place to start for what I have in mind here.

My challenge is to read about one song per day and listen to it (YouTube and Spotify, I need you tonight!) before sharing my own thoughts. Some songs I will love, others I’ll hate, and I’m sure there will be those that leave me perplexed but listen to them I shall.

I’ll also try, and most likely fail, to pinpoint the best song from the 1001 on offer but I’m nothing if not foolhardy. Instead of one song, I’m predicting I’ll have about 100 favourites by the end and may have to resort to a Top 10 so far to maintain any semblance of sanity.

So long as I post everyday (including Christmas) then this challenge should come to an end on Wednesday 8 November 2021. Staying with the Barney Stinson theme I am hoping that the whole experience will prove to be…

 

Beats International – Dub Be Good to Me (1990)

 

We’re leaving the US today, dear reader, and making our way back to the UK and to Brighton. Formed in 1989 by Norman Cook, once of The Housemartins and later to become Fatboy Slim, Beats International had a brief career with their specialty being electronica. When we join them in 1990 it is with the release of a new single by the name of Dub Be Good to Me. 

Written by Norman Cook, Dub Be Good to Me is pretty complicated. It is a reinterpretation of Just Be Good to Me by The S.O.S. Band, it samples music from other tracks including, once again Enrico Morricone’s harmonica piece from Once Upon a Time in the West. This happened a few days ago as well. I know that soundtrack is awesome but come on people. You can’t all use it. Lyrically the main cusp of the song is about a narrator who is in love with a guy and wants him all to herself. It sounds like he is not without his flaws and friends warn her to stay clear but she is happy to overlook the weaknesses if it means being with him. Well, that’s alright then.

Dub Be Good to Me is an interesting one with what sounds like a hip hop introduction before the vocals from Linda Layton switch to a troubled love story. The samples from the likes of Enrico Morricone and The Guns of Brixton by The Clash layer this into something rather intriguing. This isn’t my kind of music but I applaud the ingenuity of the sampling which comes together into something rather accessible. The song would top the charts in the UK but Beats International disbanded in 1992 after a very brief but still successful career.

 

Favourite songs so far:

The Animals – House of the Rising Sun (1964)

Simon & Garfunkel – The Sounds of Silence (1965)

The Beatles – A Day in the Life (1967)

The Doors – The End (1967)

Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here (1975)

Meat Loaf – Bat Out of Hell (1977)

Queen – Don’t Stop Me Now (1978)

Ultravox – Vienna (1980)

The Smiths – How Soon Is Now? (1984)

Tracy Chapman – Fast Car (1988)