by Zhaun Ortega
As I always say, keeping on top of party music is always a good idea for partyphiles. It simply helps to know what music is “in” for today’s partyphile so you know what you are dancing to in clubs; or you know what to play during house parties. In this article, I am grabbing the top five tracks from Billboard.com’s Dance and Club charts, and telling you what I think about the current chart-toppers. Here they are:
1.) Collide by Leona Lewis and Avicii: There are songs that only require you one listen to know that it is definitely on its way to the top of the charts—a song with a catchy beat that pushes you to move—a song that has catchy lyrics, an infectious beat, and a certain unique sound to it—a song that is unfortunately not this one. Collide is based on the original Avicii track Fade Into Darkness—a ready club hit with all the right elements: simple vocals, a simple harmony, and a banging beat. However, this second version of the club favorite by Leona Lewis simply just does not work. First of all, it makes the instrumental harmony sound like cheap background music for some old school video game. Second, the song manages to make Lenoa undersing, and worse, they run her gorgeously silky vocals through an autotune machine (as if she needs it). Finally, the melody of the vocals is not really catchy, nor is it pleasant. It does not go with the beat, and the heavily layered vocals seem too overwhelming for the light, staccato beat. It is currently at the top of the dance charts and it boggles my mind. I simply do not understand how two great artists produced such crap.
2.) Little Bad Girl by David Guetta, Taio Cruz, and Ludacris: The top 2 track on the Dance/Club Charts is from the powerhouse party-music-making-machine: David Guetta. As you would expect rom a Guetta-produced track, the beat is repetitive, infectious, and quite familiar. It’s the type of song you’d remember hearing somewhere but would not remember the lyrics to. All in all, the track is good for parties, but I do not expect this to become the star of the dance floor or a staple in DJs’ playlists for years to come. It just has a very “now” feel and would probably die down right after it hits a couple million sales. What I find lacking from this track is a very distinctive identity. Party tracks that have a strong identity, distinct sound, and feel take you back to a particular event or string of parties whenever you hear it; unfortunately this song does not achieve that. Does it make it a mediocre track? Maybe. But it still inspires one to dance.
3.) I’m Still Hot by Luciana: Aside from the fact that this newbie divette sounds like a copy of Ke$ha (and Fergie at times), and she looks like a retired female wrestler with huge arms and a protruding nose, this track is really banging. The beats are heavy; probably heavier than any of Ke$ha’s outings… in fact I just might go as far as to say that this track is heavier (in terms of beats) than most of the tracks on radio today. It kind of sounds like it was made in the vein of Ida Corr’s Let Me Think About It, but with a more annoying vocalist. The funny thing is, her voice actually works with the song and the song really inspires one to move, get wild, and get drunk. In fact, it is my favorite among the top five.
4.) Wepa by Gloria Estefan: Alright, so you do not exactly think of Gloria Estefan and hard partying together; but there was actually a time when “party music” meant a different thing, and Gloria ruled supreme. Now, it seems like she wants to get back to her dance diva roots and give the younger generation a taste of her music. Unfortunately, her gorgeously honey-dipped voice is not highlighted in the song (thanks to the very very fast harmony) but her vocals do lend a certain sense of warmth to the song. Does it sound uniquely Gloria? Maybe. It kind of sounds like the newer J.Lo songs, but with an actual live band instead of fake digital instruments. Also, the track actually features horns, bongos, claps, and a lot of unique Latin instruments. It is the perfect track for a laid back beach party. The tracks follows a totally different party DNA and is best plaid back to back with J.Lo’s Papi, Sakira’s Loca, and Alexandra Stan’s Mr. Saxobeat.
5.) Champagne Showers by LMFAO and Natalia Kills: First of all, Natalia Kills sounds like an autotuned chipmunk and her voice isn’t really given any ustice in the track. Second, this tracks follows the vein of Party Rock Anthem. It is very much alike, which is perfect for partyphiles who actually liked the song (Party Rock Anthem) before it got overexposed and overplayed by DJs and Radio Stations. Like their previous outing, it features a fast beat that goes even faster as it reaches the climax of the song where Natalia finally lets it all out (vocally), unfortunately, it is still run through an autotune machine and doesn’t really highlight her voice. Is that a bad thing? For Natalia it is, but for the song, it really works well. The song is ultimately about living it up and doing crazy (party-related) things and this song sounds like the perfect soundtrack for you to do just that.
Catch Confessions of a Partyphile’s (The Radio Show) this Wednesday (August 31, 2011) from 6 to 9 PM on 105.9 Mix FM or www.mixfm1059.com. For comments, suggestions, and more confessions, log on to http://party.i.ph or follow the columnist on twitter.com/zhaun
