Spice Girls Top Story

TOP HIT 10 SONGS

OF THE LAST MILLENNIUM

'Happy Birthday,' Righteous Brothers Hit Century's Most Played Songs
"You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' " tops BMI's list; ASCAP leads with song originally titled 'Good Morning to You.'

Staff Writer Teri vanHorn reports:

"Happy Birthday to You" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' " (RealAudio excerpt) were the most performed songs of the century, according to the two largest performing rights organizations, ASCAP and BMI.

The birthday song, which was copyrighted in 1935, topped the ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) list. The 1960s Righteous Brothers hit written by Barry Mann, Phil Spector and Cynthia Weil topped BMI's (Broadcast Music Incorporated) list. The two rival companies track public performances of music for their clients, songwriters and publishers, to determine licensing fees and other royalties.

ASCAP's top 10 of the century:
1. "Happy Birthday to You" (Mildred J. Hill, Patty Hill) 2. "Tea for Two" (Irving Caesar, Vincent Youmans) 3. "Moon River" (Henry Mancini, Johnny Mercer) 4. "Over the Rainbow" (Harold Arlen, E.Y. "Yip" Harburg)

]5. "White Christmas" (Irving Berlin) 6. "Hello Dolly" (Jerry Herman) 7. "As Time Goes By" (Herman Hupfeld) 8. "Blue Moon" (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) 9. "Rhapsody in Blue" (George Gershwin) 10. "Night and Day" (Cole Porter)

BMI's top 10 of the century:
1. "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' " (Barry Mann, Phil Spector, Cynthia Weil) 2. "Never My Love" (Donald Addrisi, Richard Addrisi) 3. "Yesterday (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) 4. "Stand By Me" (Ben E. King, Jerry Lieber, Mike Stoller) 5. "Can't Take My Eyes off of You" (Bob Crewe, Bob Gaudio) 6. "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay" (Otis Redding, Steve Cropper) 7. "Mrs. Robinson" (Paul Simon) 8. "Baby I Need Your Loving" (Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland) 9. "Rhythm of the Rain" (John Gummoe) 10. "Georgia on My Mind" (Hoagy Carmichael, Stuart Gorrell)

Spice Grrrls
Heavy on the angst.

By Steve Kandell
In the press material accompanying the debut album from Kittie, no fewer than three references are made contrasting the band with Britney Spears. Even though the members of Kittie are four girls ranging in age from 15 to a grizzled 17, they are taking great strides to ensure they are not lumped in with the current kiddie-pop phenomenon. (Actually, when exactly did this phenomenon ever go away? Are we so vain that we can't remember Another Bad Creation? The Osmonds?) But methinks Kittie doth protest too much, since there's not much chance these girls will be mistaken for the reigning wholesome teen queens anytime soon. In fact, these are the sort of girls who beat up the Britney Spears of the world for lunch money, then cut class to smoke in the parking lot.
If there's any bandwagon that this kiddie grindcore band is jumping on, it's not the little red one steered by the moppets of Hanson or the maidens of Lilith Fair, but the stolen one piloted by the thrash bands of Ozzfest. Simply put, Kittie is to Fear Factory as the Donnas are to the Ramones. They look like the Muppet Babies version of L7 and trade in a bottom-heavy, gloomy brand of goth-metal that is more closely associated with an overabundance of testosterone. Lacking any perceivable musical virtuosity or lyrical acumen, the young women of Kittie are nonetheless capable players. Spit offers 12 bile-spewing dirges featuring churning guitars and angry growling vocals that are probably no worse than your average Coal Chamber tune, although that may be damning with faint praise. The lyrics are world-weary and bitter beyond the bandmembers' years. High school must be worse than I remember.
Some of the tunes, such as the impressively layered "Charlotte" (RealAudio excerpt) and "Paperdoll," showcase the softer side of lead singer Morgan Lander's voice while still maintaining the band's heavy sound, but most songs, including the title track (RealAudio excerpt), threaten to shred her vocal cords by the time she's old enough to buy beer. The climactic riffage in the bludgeoning "Raven" (RealAudio excerpt) sounds exactly like Rocket From the Crypt's "On a Rope," but this is where the similarities end. The songs are by and large loud, bombastic and one-note, with too few jumping out as distinctive or memorable. But it might be interesting to see where Kittie are in a few years, once their chops improve and their teen angst evolves into good old-fashioned cynicism.

Though Spit is far from sugarcoated or commercial, there is a vague underlying sense of gimmickry to the whole endeavor. The sheer familiarity of many of the songs begs the question: If this band was comprised of four teen-age boys, would there be anything here of note at all? Of course, it may be that sort of narrow-minded statement from square, curmudgeonly critics that contributes to Kittie's sense of defensiveness, not to mention all that anger.