Lauryn Hill: Popping Up Everywhere

Lauryn Hill has been all about the surprise appearances recently. There was her show at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz a month or so ago where she apparently performed her stuff in a totally revised Afro-jazz-meets-rap style. And now reports come in describing her appearance at Rock the Bells this weekend, where she came on right before the rabidly adored Wu-Tang Clan. Hill played classics like "Doo Wop (That Thing)," "Lost Ones" and the Fugees' "How Many Mics" but the reception she received was lukewarm at best. We personally would like her to ditch the duds, for a start. We get that she's anti-industry but there's never a good reason to combine sweatpants and sandals.

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Song Stories

“(We're Not) The Jet Set”

George Jones and Tammy Wynette | 1973

George Jones and Tammy Wynette were still married when they recorded the tongue-in-cheek "(We're Not) The Jet Set." The lyrics, written by Nashville songwriter Bobby Braddock, who also penned Wynette's "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" and Jones' "He Stopped Loving Her Today," make fun of the good life by declaring, "We're not the Jet Set/We're the old Chevrolet set." Braddock recalled that while writing the song, he needed the name of a city that evened out the rhyme he had with "Riviera" and "Missourah." “I got out a Rand McNally atlas," he said. "In the first part are the maps. The last part is an alphabetical listing of cities. I wanted a rustic, small-time sound. I went to the listing for Missouri. And I found 'Festus.' I loved the sound of it."

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