The Top 35 Or So Songs of the 80’s
Honorable Mention: Malcolm McLaren & The Ebonettes - Double Dutch
Duck Rock is a whirlwind globetrotting, genre-hopscotching tour through hip-hop, African, Caribbean and world music with Malcolm McLaren serving as our improbable tour guide. I have never been able to separate McLaren The Manager and McLaren The Artist, so part of me always suspects opportunism: Who’s not getting credit on this recording? McLaren can make for an odd reporter—“they might fall but the girls from New York City don’t” he limply narrates—but “Ebonettes” aside, “Double Dutch” is a rush of unadulterated joy and the sampled jump-rope twirls are a brilliant touch. Plus, the music video multiplies the song’s greatness by a factor of three. Um ba ba, um ba ba.
R.I.P.
