South vs. Queen Bitch

Song:  South
Album:  N.E.W.S
Year:  2003

AllMusic says it best:  "The listener, who will have to be a particularly rabid aficionado of all things Prince to be interested, must throw out all expectations and simply revel in the joy of hearing the musician and his cohorts experiment with relaxed musical textures for 56 minutes. Of course, no one else needs to bother."

I listened to this one on my drive home from work last night.  It's not horrible, it's just that there's nothing there to sink your teeth into.  It's a funk/jazz fusion instrumental which, if you lean in that direction, is probably not a very good representation of the genre.  I say probably because this is not my forte at all.  I've listened to some Weather Report and that seems to be the closest association I can make.  I'm not sure what occasion would warrant putting this on even as background music; every time I think of something (office, dinner party, indoor bocce tournament) I always think of something that would be better.  As AllMusic indicated, I was interested but now I'm done.  You probably don't need to bother.  Take a listen to the Isley Brothers funky mandate to Fight the Power instead.

Verdict:  1/5 stars

Would I sing it at karaoke?  Silly of you to ask!

Song:  Queen Bitch
Album:  Hunky Dory
Year:  1971

As I've indicated previously, Hunky Dory spent some time in heavy rotation on my turntable back in college.  I know this song quite well . . . to the point where I almost expect it to show up on greatest hits compilations.  I can't give a better explanation than the one I found on songmeanings so here it is (please note that this was written in 2008; some of our language has evolved since then):

A cruiser is British slang for a homosexual. To "pull" means you're meeting somebody to have sex with them. Sister Flo is a transvestite prostitute. Bowie's on the eleventh floor of his apartment building watching the cruiser try to pull Sister Flo. Sister Flo looks swishy in her frock coat and hat. Bowie's upset with what he sees, his weekend's at an all time low. Why didn't he say to Sister Flo "I could do better than that!" (be a better transvestite). This song was centered around transvestites and homosexuality, as most of his late 60's-early 70's stuff was, such as Rebel Rebel and Suffragette City. 

It's a snappy rocker whose meaning only presents itself with repeated listens.  What's not to like?

The first video above is a live recording featuring Lou Reed.  The second video is a fine cover by Lena Hall.

Verdict:  4/5 stars

Would I sing it at karaoke?  Yes.  And I bet one person in the bar would dig it while everyone else would say they've never heard it before.

Winner:  Queen Bitch.  (A song would have to be pretty sassy to beat something called Queen Bitch)

Running Score:  Bowie 6, Prince 3