Top Ten Thursdays!

April 15th, 2010

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This week Snoop Dogg announced that he wants to collaborate with adult contemporary singer Susan Boyle. Should this musical monstrosity come to fruition it will join a long list of musical duos that make you say ‘whaaaa???’ Some work, some don’t, and some are so bad we try to pretend they never assaulted our ears in the first place. It’s time for the Top Ten Weirdest Musical Collaborations!

1. Tim McGraw and Nelly – Over and Over Again

When people from two different worlds come together we see that we’re not that different from one another. The side-by-side music video showing McGraw and Nelly moving through their mansions, driving in their expensive cars and getting into their private jets gives us an important lesson: rich people are all the same.

Rating: Two blingy belt buckles out of five

over-and-over

2. Aerosmith and Run DMC – Walk This Way

This song is one of the OG (original gangsta’s) of the ‘huh?’ collaborations. Rap/rock collaborations may now be as common as a celebrity flashing their goods to the paparazzi, but at the time this track was ground breaking. The music video for Walk This Way literally showed the two groups breaking down walls to get to one another. I wonder if Aerosmith and Run DMC knew at the time that this song would be the catalyst to break down the walls holding rap back from going mainstream?

Rating: Five Adidas shell toe sneakers out of five

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3. Lady Gaga and Michael Bolton – Murder My Heart

When I first heard about this collaboration, my knee jerk reaction was of course, ‘WTF’? Then, I found out that it was Lady Gaga who sought Michael Bolton out, and not the other way around. So I was all, ‘Seriously, WTF’? It’s the best Michael Bolton song I’ve ever heard, but that’s like saying the piece of dog poop I just stepped in was the best ever.

Rating: One curly blonde mullet out of five

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4. Bone, Thugs-N-Harmony and Phil Collins – Home

Totally wish I could have been side Phil Collin’s head during this awkward video. “Why does that guy have a band aid on his face? What are they saying?” I do have to give props to Bone, Thugs-N-Harmony for including Phil Collins on the actual recording and music video. Usually when rappers sample pop songs the original artist isn’t part of the recording process or video. I think it worked out for everyone. Collins now has mad street cred and Bone, Thugs-N-Harmony got to meet the guy from that Disney song and Grand Theft Auto.

Rating: Three band aids out of five

home

5. Dido and Eminem – Stan

Rolling Stone ranked Stan as number 290 on its list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. Eminem is a freakin’ genius and Dido’s voice is haunting on this track about a fan that becomes obsessed with Slim Shady. It’s amazing that such a great chorus came from Dido’s horrendous song “Thank You.” Who likes this track? I’m a Dido fan and it makes me cringe. Great chorus though!

Rating: Four bottles of hair bleach out of five

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6. John Mayer and Kanye West – Bittersweet

My two favourite ego-maniacs came together to make Bittersweet in 2004 and unfortunately the song is really not good enough to be remembered in 2010. There is a behind-the-scenes clip of Mayer and West in the studio together that is worth checking out. It’s from a time long ago when John Mayer was still funny and Kanye West hadn’t yet pissed off the majority of the English speaking world…aw, the good ol’ days. The song wasn’t a huge hit, probably because it’s kinda whack. It hurts me to type that, but it’s true. Both Mayer and West are amazing musicians and have done stellar collaborations with other people. Unfortunately, this isn’t one of them.

Rating: The video of Mayer and West hanging in the studio is better than the actual song.

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7. Linkin Park and Jay Z – Collision Course

In retrospect this doesn’t seem like such a crazy collaboration. Linkin Park is a rock/rap group and Jay Z is a rapper. But, at the time of its release a lot of people (guilty) were skeptical as to how well the mashup album Collision Course would be received. In a word – amazing.

Rating: Four triangle symbols with your hands out of five

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8. Cypress Hill, Pitbull and Marc Anthony – Armada Latina

On paper, Cypress Hill + Marc Anthony + sampling Crosby, Stills & Nash’s Judy Blue Eyes = Oh-lawd-this-is-gonna-be-terr’ble. Fear not! Cypress Hill produced an amazing song for their comeback album (I’m calling it a comeback). This song is gonna be the jam this summer!

Rating: Four Cuba Libre’s out of five

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9. Justin Bieber and Ludacris – Baby

Let’s review: Luda raps about drunk driving, sleeping with as many women as possible and smoking weed. Justin Bieber sings about puppy love. End result: Bieber gets respect from the hip hop world and Ludacris makes money off his little Canadian meal ticket.

Rating: Three Bieber hair shakes out of five

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10. Hayley Williams and B.O.B. – Airplanes

This song is the ish! Paramore frontwoman and all around rock star Hayley Williams branches out on this collaboration with up and coming hip hopper B.O.B. Big ups to B.O.B. for not going to traditional route and getting an R’n'B artist to sing the chorus and backing vocals for the song. Williams brings edge and depth to Airplanes and with the devoted fan base she’s earned with Paramore, a whole new audience for B.O.B.

Rating: Four airplanes out of five

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