Sonic Youth

Goo
Geffen, 1990

Just as LL Cool J was starting to remake himself in the eyes of his estranged black male fans, who had given him a right kicking after the sappy crossover hit 'I Need Love', he got a kicking from the white kids as well. Sonic Youth's 'Kool Thing', the lead single from their major label debut Goo released a few months before Cool J's comeback record Mama Said Knock You Out, was a not-so-subtle dig at the rap star's masculinity that became the New York art rock band's most recognised tune. Singer Kim Gordon, who used to name the rapper as one of her favourites alongside Run DMC and Schoolly D, became disenchanted after interviewing Cool J for Spin to discover that the tough guy act he maintained in his songs didn't come off when he left the stage.

With lyrics derived from the titles of Cool J's records and a spoken word diatribe smacked in the middle, 'Kool Thing' was like a rusty little needle aimed at the balloon of the rapper's sex symbol status. Gordon took the signature line from his most recent single, "I don't think so...", and slipped it between mock sexual invitations. The film clip showed her dolled up in various combinations of go-go boots, silver hot pants, leopard print tights and a feather boa, striking poses from Cool J's album covers. On his third record, the rapper appeared squatting in an alleyway with a black panther, a symbol of black militancy. In the clip, Gordon reclined on a couch petting a young black housecat as she mouthed the line: "Kool thing, sittin' with a kitty..."

However there is another film clip, of sorts, for 'Kool Thing' that is even more memorable. A few years after it was released, the song was used in the film Simple Men by director Hal Hartley. As in most of Hartley's films, the characters are odd and uptight, and express little or no emotion. The whole thing has a air of deliberate stiffness to it. But about half way through, for no discernable reason, one of the minor characters hurtles down a dirt road in a truck, skids to a halt and throws himself out of the cabin. "I can't stand the quiet!" he screams, and the camera cuts to a single three minute shot of everyone performing a choreographed dance to 'Kool Thing'. Absurd but brilliant.