1001 Songs Challenge #978: Super Bass (2010)

On 11 February 2019 I set myself the challenge 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 every day (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… legendary!

 

Nicki Minaj – Super Bass (2010)

 

 

It’s time to end 2010. We’re leaving the UK today, dear reader, and making our way across the Atlantic Ocean and all the way to Trinidad and Tobago. Nicki Minaj began her career in 2004 and started out with mixtapes which gained her some traction, as did her costumes and wigs. When we join her in 2010 it is with the release of her debut album, Pink Friday, and from there 1001 Songs have gone with the track, Super Bass. 

Super Bass is Nicki Minaj’s homage to guys who are, in her eyes, the real deal. She regales us with tales of these men and how good looking they are but also how there is an element of danger about them. They go about their world with a hint of arrogance, dress well, are talented and simply irresistible to the eye. Minaj finds herself seemingly helpless in their presence but she too has the hint of a badass about her. She sounds like she can take care of herself but, for now, some guy is her focus and it doesn’t sound as if she will take no for an answer.

Nicki Minaj is another name I have heard but I know nothing about her music, past or present. My musical ignorance I put down to my youthful days being behind me and my penchant for favouring rock music above all else. I did like the tough talking nature of Super Bass, its rapped lyrics creating a memorable picture of the guys Minaj is fixated on and leaving me reaching for the Urban Dictionary at times, not ashamed to say. Minaj’s debut album was a big success and her career has continued to prosper since. Off the stage she has been beset by many tragedies in her family but music clearly continues to provide a safe haven.

 

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)

Tracy Chapman – Fast Car (1988)

U2 – One (1991)

Radiohead – Paranoid Android (1997)

Snow Patrol – Run