Steal My Sunshine

Infobox Single
Name = Steal My Sunshine


Artist = Len
Album = You Can't Stop the Bum Rush
Released = November 9, 1999
Format = CD, cassette, 12-inch
Recorded = Four Ways Studio B
Genre = Pop rap
Length = 4:25
Label = Work
Writer = Marc Costanzo, Gregg Diamond
Producer = Mumble C
Last single = "Trillion Daze"
(1997)
This single = "Steal My Sunshine"
(1999)
Next single = "Feeling Alright"
(2000)

"Steal My Sunshine" is a song written by Marc Costanzo for Len's third album "You Can't Stop the Bum Rush". It features a sample of Andrea True Connection's 1976 disco single "More, More, More". Inspired by The Human League's "Don't You Want Me", the song's vocals alternate between Marc and Sharon Costanzo.

The song became a sleeper hit when radio stations began playing it in March 1999, three months before Len planned to release its album. "Steal My Sunshine" had a commercial single release in November 1999 (see 1999 in music). It received positive reviews from music critics, and its chart success has made Len a one-hit wonder. The song earned a nomination for "Best Single" at the Juno Awards of 2000.

Background

Marc Costanzo went to a rave during a time when he and his sister Sharon had gone several months without speaking. [http://www.mtv.com/bands/archive/l/lenfeature99.jhtml "Let the Sunshine In"] . MTV News. July 1, 1999. Retrieved October 2, 2008.] While out, he was listening to old disco music with friends and heard Andrea True Connection's "More, More, More".Brunner, Rob. [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,270509,00.html "'Steal' this hook"] . "Entertainment Weekly", issue 501, page 69. September 3, 1999. Retrieved October 2, 2008.] Marc decided to loop part of the song's bridge and wrote "Steal My Sunshine". When he returned home, he presented the song to Sharon. The two recorded it on an 8-track cartridge, and she threw the cartridge in a closet. Marc stated that "Steal My Sunshine" did not make much of an impression on him, so Len did not originally plan to include it on "You Can't Stop the Bum Rush". The master recording was under his bed, so the group was almost unable to find the song.

When producing "Steal My Sunshine", Marc Costanzo wanted to make a song similar to The Human League's 1981 synthpop single "Don't You Want Me". As a result, the song's structure is characterized by alternating between male and female vocals from Marc and Sharon.Hay, Carla. "Work's Len 'Bum Rushes' charts". "Billboard", volume 111, issue 31, page 9. July 31, 1999.] It describes a romantic relationship between teenagers, whose feelings vacillate between extremes. [Scherman, Tony. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A02E7DD1F31F93BA3575BC0A96F958260 "Recordings; High-Quality Bubble Gum"] . "New York Times". August 8, 1999. Retrieved October 2, 2008.]

Release and reception

"Steal My Sunshine" was included on the soundtrack to "Go", released on March 30, 1999 by Sony Music Entertainment. It received heavy airplay as a result, causing Sony's subsidiary Work Records to push the album's release date from mid-June to May 25, 1999. [Bell, Carrie. "LEN blends '80s hip-hop, sex-kitten vocals and sarcastic pop". "Billboard", volume 111, issue 26, page W14. June 26, 1999.] The song became Len's most successful, reaching number nine on the U.S. "Billboard" Hot 100 in November 1999. [Pietroluongo, Silvio. "Hot 100 spotlight". "Billboard", volume 111, issue 51, page 101. December 18, 1999.] It reached the top ten on the Adult Top 40, Modern Rock Tracks, Top 40 Mainstream, and Top 40 Tracks charts. [http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:hjfpxqy5ldde~T51 "LEN > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles"] . Allmusic. Retrieved October 2, 2008.] At the 2000 Juno Awards, "Steal My Sunshine" was nominated for "Best Single" but lost to The Tragically Hip's "Bobcaygeon". [

• Nazareth, Errol. [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1431506/20000203/story.jhtml "McLachlan, Morissette, More Up For Junos"] . MTV News. February 3, 2000. Retrieved October 2, 2008.
• Tillson, Tamsen. [http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117779354.html "Morissette, Twain tops at Juno Awards"] . "Variety". March 13, 2000. Retrieved October 2, 2008.

]

"Steal My Sunshine" received positive reviews from music critics. Rob Brunner of "Entertainment Weekly" rated it a B+, describing it as a 1990s "Don't You Want Me" with a "smiley groove and alternating male/ female vocals". [Brunner, Rob. "Len: 'Steal My Sunshine'". "Entertainment Weekly", issue 490, page 78. June 18, 1999.] For "The Village Voice", Richard Riegel described the song's beat as "McCoy Tyner playing the Kraftwerk songbook, outlined in aural neon". [Riegel, Richard. "Pretty fly as you feel". "The Village Voice", volume 44, issue 31. August 10, 1999.] In her review for "Rolling Stone", Karen Schoemer compared Sharon Costanzo's vocals to Josie and the Pussycats. [Schoemer, Karen. "Len". "Rolling Stone", issue 820, page 110. September 2, 1999.] The publication listed "Steal My Sunshine" tenth on its list of the best singles of 1999. [Sheffield, Rob. "The year in singles". "Rolling Stone", issue 828/829, page 223. December 16–23, 1999.] The song was listed third on the 1999 Pazz and Jop list, a survey of several hundred music critics conducted by Robert Christgau. [ [http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/pnj/pjres99.php "Pazz & Jop 1999"] . "The Village Voice". Retrieved October 2, 2008.] In 2007, "Stylus Magazine" ranked the song thirteenth on its list of the top fifty one-hit wonders, stating that it "perfectly captured that warm, lazy feeling you get when late summer still seems like it could last forever." [Bradley, Jonathan. [http://web.archive.org/web/20080124143541/http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/weekly_article/stylus-magazines-top-50-one-hit-wonders.htm "Top 50 One Hit Wonders"] . "Stylus Magazine". March 26, 2007. Retrieved from the Internet Archive October 2, 2008.]

Music video

The song's music video was directed by Marc Costanzo and Bradley Walsh, under the stage names The Burger Pimp and B-Rad. ["MTV's buzzworthy". "Adweek", volume 40, issue 25. June 21, 1999.] When Len had signed to Work Records, one of its demands was to be able to direct its own videos. The group used a $100,000 budget to make the video. It flew to Daytona Beach, Florida with two dozen friends while the area was crowded with people on their spring vacations. They spent much of the budget on alcohol, buying enough that they broke their hotel's elevator trying to lift it. They shot the video in an afternoon so that they could recover from hangovers in the morning and drink in the evening. The scenes were shot without a script or storyboard. In the video, Len and its friends are shown relaxing together and riding on skis, scooters, and dune buggies. [Mason, Neil. "Canada Fly". "Melody Maker", volume 76, issue 47, page 26. December 8, 1999.]

Motorrad, whose scooters were included in the music video, later held a promotion giving away scooters of the same model. [Hay, Carla. "Work's Len 'Bum Rushes' charts". "Billboard", volume 111, issue 31, page 9. July 31, 1999.] At the 1999 MuchMusic Video Awards, "Steal My Sunshine" won awards for "Best Video", "Best Pop Video", and "". [Hay, Carla. "Canuck MuchMusic Video Awards honor hip-hoppers Len, Infinite". "Billboard", volume 111, issue 41, page 94. October 9, 1999.]

Track listings

;12" vinyl single
# "Steal My Sunshine" (Steal My Club mix)
# "Steal My Sunshine" (Skyjump club edit)
# "Steal My Sunshine" (Steal My Club mix instrumental)
# "Steal My Sunshine" (More and More instrumental)

;Cassette single
# "Steal My Sunshine" (album edit)
# "Steal My Sunshine" (Neon Phusion remix);CD maxi single
# "Steal My Sunshine" (album edit)
# "Steal My Sunshine" (Skyjump club edit)
# "Steal My Sunshine" (Version Idjut)
# "Steal My Sunshine" (Bougie Soliterre remix)

;CD single
# "Steal My Sunshine"
# "Steal My Sunshine" (Skyjump club edit)
# "Steal My Sunshine" (Version Idjut)

Chart positions

References

External links

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