There are people alive in the world today who think something exists called 'real' music. You know the sort. They say things like "Simon Cowell and all that X-Factor rubbish is killing real music". They list their favourite bands as The Beatles, Radiohead and one other generic 'flavour of the month' band. They pretend they've never sung along to Agadoo. They think a whole branch of music can be written off under the umbrella of 'pop'. These people exist for a reason. That reason being that an awful lot of bad pop music is produced, and it makes it very easy to forget that when pop is done well it is equal to, if not better than, any other genre going. And so (long windedly) on to Alesha Dixon's 'Drummer Boy'. Brace yourself for an example of everything that pop music should be...
There are so many reasons to like this it's hard to know where to start. So let's start at the very beginning (feel free to insert a Sound Of Music quote here if you really feel you need to. Just remember what happened to JLS when they dicked around with that shit, ok?):
1. For the first few seconds of this song you think "what the HELL is going on here?". That is what scientists call the 'what the hell' factor. What it means in terms of music is that someone has come up with an idea that grabs your attention and displays signs of originality.
2. The second thing you notice is that it doesn't give way to convention and let you off the hook. It's difficult the whole way through.
3. And yet, in spite of being difficult, there are a tonne of elements you can relate easily too. Most notably the "eey-ay-eeh-oh-oh-ohh-oh-oh", which we predict will do things of "Um-brella-ella-ella" proportions on the dancefloor.
4. We think she says 'shit', but it's cleverly hidden by a horn blast. Swearing is both big and clever, and bleeping it with a horn is always funny.
5. It is drum led. It has horns. And there is definitely a triangle in there.
6. If done properly, this is going to translate fantastically to a live performance. *Marching bands across the land patiently await a phone call*
7. If someone like Gaga put this out the entire world would collectively orgasm, but it's a risky release for an artist who, let's be fair, hasn't had the most blemish free solo career. If it's a flop Alesha will have to go away and record another ballad that can be used over some montages of starving African children. If it's a hit, and this is the up side of taking a risk, it will be a MASSIVE hit and Alesha will no longer need to hold up a gold paddle with a number on it to indicate her appraisal of a dance by a blonde girl from Hollyoaks.
8. Some people are going to HATE this. And that excites us. When people passionately hate something it validates that, for those who like it, it is something special and worth having an opinion on.
This excites us. This is what pop music is exists for. This is what this blog exists for. In short, two thumbs up from us.
***End of over the top enthusing***
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