“That is, for me, just not a Carly Rae Jepsen track.”
Tom: She played London this weekend; a lot of folks I know went and I couldn’t make it. I’m not sure why I mentioned that, other than to vaguely vent.
Tim: Well, let’s hope you don’t stay too negative then.
Tom: Huh.
Tim: Ah.
Tom: I… I don’t like it. Am I just being really cynical? Because, you know, it’s Carly Rae Jepsen.
Tim: No, you’re not – that is, for me, just not a Carly Rae Jepsen track. There’s nowhere near the energy I associate with her, it’s almost dull.
Tom: The chorus has the cadence of a playground rhyme, and I just don’t think it’s very good. Plus, there’s the breathy “cool” and vocal samples in the chorus, and the talky middle-eight: if this was an unknown artist I’d suggest it almost fits under the damnable banner of “novelty song”.
Tim: Ooh, no, wouldn’t go that far. Certainly very, very disappointing, though.
Tom: Full marks to the animator on that music video, though, it’s lovely.
“So much fun that it’s hard to keep your arms on.”
Tim: Bit of a backstory: this was going to be on the E•MO•TION: Side B album, but then got used in a film instead, but didn’t get released on its soundtrack album. The other day, the film got released on DVD, the song got ripped and put online, not entirely remotely legitimately. Because of this, (a) there are a few sound effects and a couple of lines of dialogue on top of it, and (b) I know posting this is ethically dubious at best, but BLOODY HELL.
UPDATE on May 25th: it’s finally been released! Here’s the proper audio:
Tim: I love Jeppo…
Tom: Is… is that a thing? I feel like that shouldn’t be a thing.
Tim: Don’t fight it, Tom, don’t fight it. I love her because she knows exactly who she is, and what music she wants to make. It’s joyous, playful unashamed pop music, not bothered with wanky concepts of credibility, but instead just all about so much fun that it’s hard to keep your arms on.
Tom: Yes! Now, I do reckon this starts to outstay its welcome a little. A drop down for the middle eight, or some of the other inventive stuff on the main album (I’m looking specifically at Let’s Get Lost there), would sort that nicely. But it’s still far ahead of most other pop acts — and let’s not forget, this was destined for the B-sides album. This’d be a single for most pop singers.
Tim: Right, because the song reinforces all this feeling so very, very much. Yes, there’s emotion in there (hell, it’s right in the lyrics), but mostly it’s just about fun. Lots and lots of massive fun. And I love that so much.
Tom: That’s a terrible nickname, she’s not a Marx brother.
Tim: Duly noted — and it’s the third of the excellent and undervalued E•MO•TION album, and it’s a wonderfully melancholic banger.
Tom: I used to know a girl like… never mind.
Tim: Ain’t it brilliant?
Tom: It is! You know that sound that all the 1980s-retro one-man production teams are going for? This is how you pull it off when you have a massive budget and many, many crew.
Tim: We’ve got the eternally reliable pairing of Carl Falk and Rami Yacoub for the writing and production, and it really, really shows. I’m not sure what’s going on with the video – the narrator would appear to be on glue, because I’ve not a clue how this could remotely relate to Cinderella – but it’s got enough neon lighting in it that I can entirely live with it.
In any case, when the song’s this good it doesn’t matter what’s going on in the video, because I love it.
The sublime blend of melancholy in the lyrics but the upbeat tones of the song works so well, so it’s perfect for every mood, and basically I’ve played it five times on loop now, and it’s just coming to an end, and yet I’m about to push play all over again.
Tom: It’s an unrequited love song: there’s plenty of them around, but they’re rarely pulled off this well.
Tim: I first heard this yesterday morning, when I woke up and thought “ooh, I never got round to listening to that new Carly Rae Jepsen track yesterday, let’s give it a go.” What an excellent decision that was.
Tom: I heard someone describe Carly Rae Jepsen as “the Meghan Trainor of two years ago”. Harsh, but not entirely unfair. Let’s see if she can break that.
Tim: Starts off nice and calmly, with a few seconds of gentle build and no indication of what’s to come, by which I mean that wonderful wonderful chorus, which for the first couple of times I heard it made me think there were too many ‘really’s in there, but of course there aren’t.
Tom: You cut off my first complaint there. There are several ‘really’s too many.
Tim: Nope, there are an excellent number, driving home the theme of being in an early relationship with a massive amount of feels and all the desperation that entails.
Tom: Oh good grief, you actually just used the phrase “massive amount of feels”. Tim. You are not 15. And I think that might sum up the difference between our reactions to the song: you see it as desperately emotional, I see it as desperately clingy.
Tim: I might not be 15, but I do know exactly how to push your buttons. Also, the people this song is targeted at, and will ideally be bought by, actually do have a massive amount of feels, and so can identify entirely with Carly when she sings that. You may hate the phrase, but I’m afraid it’s entirely suited for the task.
The lengthy ‘yeah’s at the end also pack it in, in case we haven’t yet got the message (which we totally have) or we still want to hear more (which we totally do). Quick obligatory mention of the verses (standard) and production (great), but really really it’s all about that chorus, because what a chorus line that is.
Tom: Brace yourself, Tim; some truly appalling lyrics are coming.
Tim: Woohoo!
Tim: Why would you plan to wake up at twilight? That’s just silly – you’d miss the whole day, and you’d have trouble getting to sleep when you actually go to bed. What a nonsense.
Tom: Our resident Radio Insider sent me this, and straight away I was skeptical. Two irritating-but-catchy artists team up: and by their powers combined, they’re… they’re even more irritating-but-catchy.
Tim: Catchy, definitely. Irritating, slightly, but the fact that the catchy bit is “it’s always a good time” almost forces you not to be too irritated by it.
Tom: I want an instrumental of this: that chorus sounds absolutely amazing, apart from the lyrics. That verse sounds great, apart from the lyrics. The middle eight is… well, even that’s pretty good, apart from the lyrics. I caught myself tapping my foot on the first listen through.
Tim: With you, mostly, but I’d happily keep the lyrics from the chorus – woah-oh-oh-oh onwards – because it’s a happy thought and does prevent the irritation from spreading.
Tom: It’s no Call Me Maybe, but… well, if it isn’t a summer hit, at least in the US, I’ll be very surprised.
Tim: This is pretty much played non-stop in the Radio 1 offices, apparently, to the joy of some and the annoyance of many. The video, meanwhile, features her being unbelievably shallow and desperate. Fancy a listen?
Tom: Shallow and desperate. There’s a number of jokes I could make there, but I’ll pass.
Tim: The music here is good – very good, in fact, as far as pop music goes, so we needn’t really discuss that, unless you disagree?
Tom: I will say this: I can see why it might be annoying. I can about handle it, but cheery, cheesy, repetitive choruses like that could well start to grate. If I was in a bad mood right now, I’d want this turned the hell off right now. Fortunately, I’m in a good mood, so I like it.
Tim: Excellent. The video it is, then.
The lyrics of the song – I just met you, this is crazy, here’s my number, call me maybe – sort of imply that she feels a hidden connection or something. The video, on the other hand, makes it abundantly clear that she’s thinking “sod any hidden connection rubbish, I want to feel what’s in his pants”.
And you know what I think (apart from what you’re about to say)?
Tom: That’s generally your approach to pulling someone, too?
Tim: Like I said, apart from that. I think, who cares? Because let’s be honest, we don’t get many songs these days that are just “You’re fit, let’s do it” – it’s all about meeting people properly, and getting to know them, and being romantic and all that rubbish. This is much more direct. I like it.
Tom: I’m going to take this opportunity to link to the wonderful “Shut Up And Sleep With Me“, which takes that to pretty much its logical conclusion.
Tim: Another thing I like: the video’s funny. Maybe it’s partly because that with her looks and what’s going on this could easily be a New Girl storyline, but the ending’s good, her increasingly desperate attempts to grab his attention made me smile, and her falling off the car is just fantastic. That’s not normal in a music video, but it should be. Maybe.
Finally, though, I’m disappointed they just had a keyboard for the strings, rather than actual violinists in that garage. That is my only complaint about this song.
Tom: That’s all you want these days, Tim. Sex and violins.
