Tom: It sounds like… well, it sounds like a lot of other tracks. And there’s a reason for that: the YouTube account that uploaded this video is “SteveAATW”: All Around The World records, known in the UK for Cascada, Scooter, and the Clubland series.
Tim: Yep – actually the YouTube account I often go to if I ever fancy listening to fairly generic and occasionally good dance music.
Tom: There’s nothing actually wrong with this track: the vocals are great, the production is top-notch, and other than the somewhat odd “come and play in my jungle” line, this sits inoffensively in the background. It’s a middle-of-the-road, middle-of-the-Clubland-compilation track.
Tim: I don’t know – I’m not so keen, and would place it considerably down the lower end of the scale. The problem for me is that there’s no real melody to get involved with – it’s just her vocals over an uninspiring beat rather that anything memorable. Although you are right about the jungle line.
Tom: How do I know that it’s middle-of-the-road? Well, apparently Jenn D performed at the Popjustice party last Christmas. You know, the one we went to. And I don’t remember her at all.
Tim: You know what? Me neither. Although, that reminds me…
Tim: This has been out a while, but it’s just been re-released, for unimportant reasons, and it’s got a video. And, boy, do I love this video (though you can skip to 44 seconds).
Tom: I’ve always wondered why you’d have a chicken character selling fried chicken. “Here, come and eat me!”
Tim: Here is what I love most about the video: there’s the occasional shot in there that shows that whoever’s in the chicken suit is a fairly talented dancer, particularly in the chicken/dog dance-off (THERE’S A CHICKEN/DOG DANCE-OFF), and yet this particular performer has chosen to sod doing any serious stuff, that he might get some sort of credit for, and has instead decided to jump around like a total bellend making people happy. Giving lap-dances, stealing a longboard, having a dance-off. As you do.
Tom: As, indeed, you do. Quite literally, if I remember.
Tim: Pretty much, yes. Never stole a longboard, mind, but I did go some way towards slightly vandalising Vancouver Airport. It’s brilliant. So well done to him, and well done to whoever came up with the idea. I LOVE IT.
Tom: We’re actually here to talk about the music, of course.
Tim: We are, and that’s quite good as well.
Tom: It really is: a properly heavy pop-dance track that’s make me head straight for the floor if I was in a club. There isn’t much more to add to that, other than: more like this, please, both music and video.
Tim: We mentioned last week the prevalence of dance music in this year’s Melodifestivalen and how tracks had to be very good to succeed; this is one that succeeded, or at least got through to the final via Andra Chansen.
Tim: This track is, arguably, just as standard as all the others. It’s a good tune, sure, but there’s nothing really special about the track that elevates it musically above the rest, although the genre-shifted breakdown’s provides a bit of relief.
Tom: The synths in that chorus seem to be rather close to Taio Cruz’ “Dynamite“, too – although from a vote-winning perspective, that could be seen as a good thing.
Tim: What’s less of a good thing, votes-wise, is the somewhat shoddy vocal performance, and the backing that wouldn’t be there to help him in May.
Tom: Yep, the note as he came out of the middle eight was… well, let’s charitably say that it wasn’t really up to the Eurovision final’s exacting standards.
Tim: It does have two big things for it, though: a singer that a lot of girls and no small amount of guys would love to take home with them, and (most importantly) some proper atmosphere. There are big lights, and there is a lot of smoke, so anybody watching can immediately translate that to a heaving, sweaty nightclub full of smoke and lights and picture themselves dancing to it whilst drunk off their tits. Eddie Razaz, discussed last week, didn’t really have that same quality to it – it was a dance track being performed on stage, but only that – and I’m guessing that’s why this one got as far as it did.
“I’m not sure what it was that made me really like it”
Tim: This is from Germany, and it was one of my favourite tracks of the night. Quick warning: it’s straight-up drum’n’bass, so I wasn’t initially going to post it, but since you brought us Hadouken! yesterday, I figured why not.
Tom: Hey, there’s plenty of good drum and bass out there. There’s plenty of crap drum and bass, too. Which one’s this?
Tom: Okay, I hate to be the genre-pedant, but I’m not sure this is drum and bass. Let’s stick with ‘electronica’, or just ‘pop’. This ain’t got a patch on Pendulum.
Tim: Fair enough. That’s the actual video for the song, there; the Unser Song Für Malmö performance left a bit to be desired, as the vocal wasn’t quite as intense as it should have been, although it was proper lasers o’clock in the arena.
Tom: I want a laser-based alarm clock now. 8am, time to wake up, BEDROOM RAVE.
Tim: I’m not sure what it was that made me really like it – partly it was the lasers, and partly it was the Revenge of the Nerds vibe to the lyrics. Mostly, though, I think it was just that I was in the get-up-and-jump-around mood for drum’n’bass – I’d been slightly over-excited since I realised the ridiculousness of starting my Valentine’s Day evening watching the German business news (and since you ask, Nestlé stocks were on the way up, and there was something about Heinz as well).
Tom: Interesting. Can’t say I’m feeling it myself – is it the same for you now you’re not “in the moment”, so to speak?
Tim: Actually, yes – watching it back three weeks later I can’t get quite as excited about it, but I still think it’s a good track, and I’d actually have quite liked to see it in Malmö – it’d certainly have been more interesting than Cascada.
“It’s not ‘feat.’, it’s ‘vs’. Because that makes it EDGY.”
Tom: Yep, it’s not “feat.”, it’s “vs”. Because that makes it EDGY. Now, before I listen to this, I’m going to make a prediction. This is genuinely written before I’ve listened to the track, incidentally.
Tim: Okay, let’s hear it.
Tom: Here goes: Avicii’s piano-pop hasn’t changed, Nicky Romero provides some meaningless vocals over the top, and it makes a pleasing piano-dance album track that’s starting to seem a bit stale. The video is some kind of road-trip type thing that vaguely reaffirms the value of life.
Tim: None of that sounds too unlikely; let’s see.
Tom: Not much more to say, really.
Tim: No – you pretty much covered all the bases. Though I would add: what sort of person puts a used condom on the table? And also, that ending actually made me laugh out loud. I’m not sure wat sort of a person that makes me.
Tom: This takes a long time to build, but it’s worth every second.
Tim: A long to to build fully, sure, but it’s not as though there’s quiet stuff to start with – there’s enough to qualify as a Competent Track right from the outset.
Tom: I reckon that the first three minutes of this might be the first Big Proper Dance Track of the year. It ticks all the right boxes: long euphoric build, amazingly danceable, decent hook. It’s not going to be belted out by everyone, but it’ll keep the dancefloor moving.
Tim: There, you could well be alright. A slight shame about the last ninety seconds, though.
Tom: Yep. Suddenly it goes all drum and bass, then you’ve got a long repeating outro in a different style. I have no idea where that comes from, and I don’t reckon it works.
Tim: I don’t know, it’s not too bad. Sure, it sort of comes from nowhere in a slightly disjointed way, but it’s slightly perfectly danceable.
Tom: And as for that video: I think it manages to make pretty much everyone look bad. Unnecessary lingerie and cleavage: check. Poisoning someone’s drink: check. Some kind of bizarre plot thread that doesn’t quite make sense: check. Almost makes me wish for a cheap “footage of them performing” video, really.
Tim: Since when did you complain about unnecessary cleavage? Though yes, you’re spot on with the rest.
Tom: You’ll remember the Vengaboys’ suitably ridiculous Kiss, of course.
Tim: I do, yes. It’s about a minute longer than it needs to be, but it’s a good track.
Tom: It’s a good, cheesy pop track in itself. But I offer this remix for two reasons: first, to show just how much a track can be changed and still count as a remix; and second, because it’s some of the best euphoric trance I’ve ever heard.
Tim: That’s a remix? Really?
Tom: Now bear in mind it’s a seven-minute track meant to go inside a DJ set – I don’t want you shouting “it should be three minutes long” at me.
Tim: Absolutely not – I’m more than happy for dance tracks to be lengthy, especially if they’re as good as this.
Tom: The funny thing is, I’m normally quite good at tracking songs that sound like each other – and while, yes, you can fit the chorus of “Kiss” over the top of the main melody here, most of this seems to be original material.
Tim: Well, to be honest I’m not sure I can hear any of it in there. You’re right, you can put the chorus on top, but I’d imagine that sounding more like a mash up than anything else.
Tom: Not that I’m complaining: it’s really good original material.
Tom: A friend of mine introduced me to VNV Nation the other day, and I have no idea how I missed them before. I have a new favourite album. The genre is vaguely defined as “future-pop”, and all I can say is “more, please”.
Tim: Six minutes? SIX MINUTES?
Tom: I know, I know. “It’s a six minute track, that’s too long”. It’s not too long. Let it run.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jqVo88Gv_M
Tim: Yeah, actually, you have a point there. I retract my incredulous yelling.
Tom: I listened to the whole ‘Automatic’ album in one go the other night, and ended up spending most of it alternating between working really hard, dancing in my chair, and just punching the air. Some other reviewers have claimed it’s “more of the same” and their earlier albums were better: well, as someone who’s coming in cold on the latest album, I can only suggest that “more of the same” is exactly what was needed.
Tim: Though I was a bit surprised when the intro kept going and going and going, it was worth it when it all happened. And I really did like that sudden synth that came in when it all seemed to be getting a tiny bit tired. It’s good.
Tom: I don’t even really want to review this, I just want to point you at the album and say LISTEN. LISTEN TO IT.
Tim: Alright, alright, gimme a while and I’ll get back to you.
Tim: It’s the middle of December – what better time is there to release a CLUB BANGER?
Tom: I think “any other time of the year”, but if they’re brave enough: let’s see what they’ve got.
Tom: Right, it’s an artsy video then. It’s got credits.
Tim: Not only that, but it’s “based on a true story…”, although what that story might be is anyone’s guess, as there really doesn’t appear to be much of a narrative here.
Anyway, I say CLUB BANGER, and it sort of is – there’s a hell of a bass line there, which is all you really need. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot else.
Tom: You’re right: I had to listen to this three times, because I tuned out about half way through and got distracted by something else.
Tim: During the first vocal-less bit, I rather appreciated the tune there was – even if the bass was a bit uninspiring and the vocal section were a bit dull, at least it had a vaguely decent bit. Then the second time came around, and it…well, it wasn’t boring, but it only really got interesting towards the very end, when we got her singing and the big dance underneath.
Tom: Still, I recognise a few of the locations in the video, so there’s that. I guess.
Tim: Yes, yes there is that, and that’ll make up for it when I’m listening some time, and thinking “This tune’s a bit dull, isn’t it? Ooh, but it does have some recognisable shots in the video, though.”
So, rating for this month’s token club track: 5/10, could do better.
You’re probably thinking, “Hang on, I’ve heard this a lot.”
Tim: Their newest one, Army of Hardcore, is a bit crap, so we won’t talk about it. This previous one’s still only two months old, though, so let’s have a listen. (Couple of gratuitous F-words up ahead, if you care.)
Tim: Let’s get the small things out of the way. First: his yelling. Heard it all before, standard fare, but to be honest it’s a bit distracting.
Tom: The yelling is part and parcel of Scooter – you couldn’t have them without HP Baxxter BRINGING THE NOISE.
Tim: Second: female vocalist. Not sure we’ve had one before (at least not on a single release), but I like it – works well.
Tom: Not without it being extensively reprocessed, certainly. But then, Scooter went jumpstyle for a while, and they seem to change direction every now and then: having actual vocals is fine by me.
Tim: Now let’s talk about the big thing. The massive thing. Which that you’re probably thinking, “Hang on, I’ve heard this a lot. How is a new Scooter track so big in 2012?” Well, sorry to disappoint you, but it isn’t. The lovely Million Voices by Otto Knows, though, is. Was. Whatever. The point is, theft.
Tom: Well, let’s not be so hasty. Scooter has always sampled or re-made tracks: I’m Raving was Walking in Memphis, Rebel Yell was Rebel Yell, and Ramp! was The Logical Song.
Tim: Sort of, but those were all direct covers (although I’m Raving has a slightly convoluted legal history – they covered “Raving I’m Raving” by Shut Up And Dance, although not before that track had been banned and proceeds been directed to charity following intervention by Marc Cohn’s people).
Here, though, it’s different – they’ve just tweaked it enough not to get sued, and now I’ve got a dilemma. We’ve established before that I’m happy to take the ‘probably a coincidence’ view, but this is such a blatant rip-off that anyone with an ounce of moral conviction can’t help but feel a little queasy.
Tom: I’d find it difficult to believe that there hasn’t been some kind of agreement about sampling or remixing here.
Tim: Well, this tweet from Otto Knows would suggest otherwise.
Tom: Ouch. It’s up to the lawyers, then.
Tim: But yet. BUT YET. Much as I love it, I always felt that Million Voices could do with a bit more – three minutes of “ey ey ey ey ey, ah ah ah ah ah” is fine, but after a few plays it gets a bit, well, samey, and I’ve occasionally wondered what an added vocal layer would sound like. And dammit, it turns out it sounds great. So, I shouldn’t like this because it’s evil stealing and all that, but I do like it because it sounds really good. Oh, God.
Tom: It’s an improvement. That’s not even an ironic statement, which is saying something for Scooter. But you’re right: it’s a ripoff.
