Ooooooohhh... On the TLC tip

February 14, 2017 7:09 AM

The Quietus revisits TLC's debut album for its 25th anniversary.
posted by threetwentytwo (4 comments total)

The Quietus has finally done something I really didn't expect.
posted by brokeaspoke at 7:27 AM on February 14, 2017

The video for "Baby-Baby-Baby" is just a damn delight, as a loving depiction of black womens' friendship and as a really sweet celebration of life at a historically black college. The band and their female friends wear the sweatsuits and comfy athletic wear that are still common among female students. The boys that make the cliche attempt to sneak into the womens' dorm pass a sign that proclaims 'Protection is the Priority!' Their pajamas about as divorced from the male gaze as pop culture depictions of young women in pajamas get.

The lyrics are overtly sexual, and also romantic, playful, confident: I require plenty conversation with my sex; Cause if you gonna get me off/You got to love me deep; Well you wanna be loved, huh, hey that's okay/Cause it falls in line right with my sexuality; etc.

In hindsight, it was good fortune that this album was so popular among my middle school cohort.
posted by palindromic at 10:56 AM on February 14, 2017 [2 favorites]

First album I bought with my own money!

Understatement: listening to "ain't too proud to beg" in the car w/ mom on the way home from school is pretty awkward.
posted by ajryan at 12:06 PM on February 14, 2017 [1 favorite]

Nope, not gonna do it. Not going to link that previous post again no matter how gloriously funny it was. Deleted once learned twice.
posted by unliteral at 4:08 AM on February 15, 2017