Reading & Listening

Everybody has an opinion about Mariah Carey. I find folks go to extremes of either loving her or disliking her a whole lot. For the first few years of her career, I veered toward the dislike side of the spectrum. I was not a big fan of her ballads or her attempts at danceable pop.

Then, one night in August of 1998, I was trying to keep cool in my sweltering Harlem studio apartment by lying on the floor in front of a fan. I happened to be listening to the radio, New York's ubiquitous urban hit factory Hot 97, and heard the song that changed my opinion of Mariah forever: "Breakdown".

The song is an R&B/Hip-Hop crossover ballad about the heartache of post-breakup unrequited love, something almost all of us have experienced. Mariah's lyrics shimmer with sadness as she asks, "Do you cling to your pride, and sing "I will survive"? Do you lash out and say, "How dare you leave this way?" Do you hold on in vain as they just slip away?"

The song also features Bone Thugs-n-Harmony who harmonize throughout, "Break, breakdown. Steady breakin' me on down" and pose the profound question, "Whose shoulder can a thug go cry on?"

I remember heading down to the Virgin store in Times Square to purchase the cd single of the song, the first and only Mariah record I've ever purchased. Although it's been many moons since I first heard "Breakdown" I still find myself occasionally pulling the cd single off the shelf to give it a listen. Today was one of those days. You can hear it and see the video here. Even though her latest work has been admired, to me "Breakdown" is Mariah at her best.