Me'Shell Ndege'Ocello - Pocketbook
**1/2 (out of four)
My assessment of Me'Shell Ndege'Ocello in 1994 - "butch-looking bisexual soul-singer who, besides having a name no one can pronounce, sings a duet with Madonna on her new Bedtime Stories album entitled 'I'd Rather Be Your Lover.' The thought of that is worse than that Elton John-RuPaul number 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart.'"
My assessment of Me'Shell Ndege'Ocello now - butch-looking bisexual soul singer who I really wouldn't mind watching get it on with Madonna. Me'Shell exudes mellow confidence in "Pocketbook," a video from the 2001 album Cookie: The Anthropological Mixtape. The entire album oozes with funk, occasionally of the aggressive and political-statement forms, and it's worth a few listens.
For my money, though, Ndege'Ocello's delivery - which relies heavily on spoken word over actual singing - makes a lot of her songs seem monotonous and interchangeable. "Pocketbook," between its talk-singing verses, does actually feature a memorable chorus. The lyrics, which are basically a lesbian seduction attempt, are playful and kinda clever. ("Your mama gotta be fine / You probably breast-fed / Cause you look real healthy.")
The video itself is a kind of cross between the laid-back, coffeeshop and hip-hop cultures. Ndege'Ocello brandishes a white bass guitar while being surrounded by more than a half-dozen identically dressed dancing hotties. (Hey, the lesbians know how to party. It's all good in the girls' locker room.)
Veteran director Liz Friedlander quick cuts shots of the party people with shots of Ndege'Ocello singing from behind a DJ rig. There's plenty of eye candy, but the video loses points for hammering us with dozens of subliminal "Buy My Record" signs. The dancing hotties are even wearing half shirts that say "Buy My" and short shorts with "Record" smeared across the ass. That's shameful, almost. All that unsubtle effort and the Cookie album still only sold 102,564 copies.
My assessment of Me'Shell Ndege'Ocello in 1994 - "butch-looking bisexual soul-singer who, besides having a name no one can pronounce, sings a duet with Madonna on her new Bedtime Stories album entitled 'I'd Rather Be Your Lover.' The thought of that is worse than that Elton John-RuPaul number 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart.'"
My assessment of Me'Shell Ndege'Ocello now - butch-looking bisexual soul singer who I really wouldn't mind watching get it on with Madonna. Me'Shell exudes mellow confidence in "Pocketbook," a video from the 2001 album Cookie: The Anthropological Mixtape. The entire album oozes with funk, occasionally of the aggressive and political-statement forms, and it's worth a few listens.
For my money, though, Ndege'Ocello's delivery - which relies heavily on spoken word over actual singing - makes a lot of her songs seem monotonous and interchangeable. "Pocketbook," between its talk-singing verses, does actually feature a memorable chorus. The lyrics, which are basically a lesbian seduction attempt, are playful and kinda clever. ("Your mama gotta be fine / You probably breast-fed / Cause you look real healthy.")
The video itself is a kind of cross between the laid-back, coffeeshop and hip-hop cultures. Ndege'Ocello brandishes a white bass guitar while being surrounded by more than a half-dozen identically dressed dancing hotties. (Hey, the lesbians know how to party. It's all good in the girls' locker room.)
Veteran director Liz Friedlander quick cuts shots of the party people with shots of Ndege'Ocello singing from behind a DJ rig. There's plenty of eye candy, but the video loses points for hammering us with dozens of subliminal "Buy My Record" signs. The dancing hotties are even wearing half shirts that say "Buy My" and short shorts with "Record" smeared across the ass. That's shameful, almost. All that unsubtle effort and the Cookie album still only sold 102,564 copies.
posted by daytime at 11:11 PM
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