Hot List Hits and Misses: Little Steven and 7Aurelius

The Hot List has been a Rolling Stone tradition since 1986. All this week, Rock Daily takes a look back at the people and trends that stayed smoking and the ones that cooled off. Today, we visit 2002.

Hot Hit: "Little Steven's Underground Garage." In 2002, the E Street guitarist's show was on terrestrial radio and only spread to a handful of markets. When satellite radio rolled in, Van Zandt's show and network became a cornerstone of early Sirius programming and is still one of the most popular stations on satellite. Also, the show continues to rule, playing forgotten gems and new way-off-the-radar bands hand-picked by Silvio Dante himself.

Hot Miss: 7 Aurelius. Now known as Channel 7, Aurelius gained notoriety through his association with Ja Rule (remember that guy?). The producer provided beats for Rule and labelmate Ashanti, blowing up hits like "Always On Time." But while Aurelius' beats were groovy and sexy, his sound quickly fell out of favor. 2002 was a good year for him, but by the time 2003 rolled around, Aurelius was ice cold.

Related Stories:
• The 2008 Rolling Stone Hot List
• Q&A: Steve Van Zandt
• Little Steven Welcomes The Strokes Into the Garage

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Song Stories

“Too Close”

Next | 1998

Next was formed in Minneapolis when the uncle of Terry "T-Low" and Raphael "Tweety" Brown, who was a gospel choir director, introduced the brothers to Robert Lavelle "R.L." Huggar. Sounds of Blackness singer Ann Nesby groomed the R&B group before handing them over to Naughty by Nature's KayGee, who wrote and produced "Too Close." The idea for the song was sparked "from a conversation we had with several girls at a nightclub," explained T-Low. "It's talking about the club scene, with guys getting out of hand and the female telling him to back up, asking, 'What are you doing?'" 

More Song Stories entries »

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