Continuing the countdown to the release of my book, here’s the Moby chapter. I would love to hear your thoughts!!
In 1999, Moby released his ground-breaking album Play. The album turned electronic music on its side with its historically haunting audio sampling. For one brief moment, Moby’s sound was the only game in town. In the ’00s Moby might be best remembered for being the target of Eminem’s wrath at the 2002 MTV video awards. After Moby called Eminem a homophobe, racist and misogynist, Eminem’s ire had so much strength that it not only publicly embarrassed Moby, but it also derailed his musical popularity. Play made Moby one of the most respected songwriting innovators. Eminem’s angst made him last night’s leftovers.
After that, Moby’s career wasn’t the same. Even though 18 sonically picked up where Play had left off, it was criticized for being too safe. Moby had set his own bar too high. He pushed his sound on Hotel but it was dismissed for lacking focus. He tried to win back his original techno fans on Last Night, by combining early techno with a modern twist. No dice. On his 2009 release, Wait For Me, he put out his best-reviewed album of the decade. Many praised Moby’s return and welcomed his comeback. If it hadn’t been for Eminem, would they have realized that Moby had never left? From 18‘s darker vision of loneliness, to Hotel‘s personal honesty, to Last Night’s viral enthusiasm, while no one was paying attention, Moby continued to build a richly layered catalogue of music on par with his best efforts.
The 11 Best Moby Songs:
1. Sunday (The Day Before My Birthday) (18)
2. At Least We Tried (18)
3. Where You End (Hotel)
4. Shot In The Back of the Head (Wait For Me)
5. Raining Again (Hotel)
6. In This World (18)
7. Mistake (Wait For Me)
8. The Stars (Last Night)
9. In My Heart (18)
10. One of These Mornings (18)
11. Lift Me Up (Hotel)
Fun Fact: Recently, Moby co-owned a tea shop, called TeaNY, where he helped out serving customers.
Buy Moby’s new album, Innocents…now!!!