OneRepublic – Kids (Alex Ross Remix)

“Speed it up by 20%, stick some piano dance beats underneath.”

Tim: The original of this is pretty good, as you’d expect, but is basically just standard OneRepublic fare. This, though, shows what can happen if you speed it up by 20% and stick some piano dance beats underneath. In short: BANGER.

Tom: I do like it when a song’s been sped up just enough that it’s almost impossible that it could actually be sung that clearly by a human. That’s not a complaint, I just like the effect.

Tim: Is it ‘better’ than the original? Not objectively, no, but then it’s not worse either – it’s different, for a different setting. You’ve already got the original for your standard listening, doing whatever you do while that’s going on; you’ll now have this for jumping around and waving your hands in the air.

Tom: And I really did want to do that. I mean, I didn’t, it’s 10pm as I write this and I’m really jetlagged, but on a different night, yep, I’d be doing that.

Tim: On the other hand, I heard the original on the radio in the background and thought “oh, it’s alright” but then I heard this remix and thought “YES PLEASE”, so maybe it is better. For me, at least.

Tom: And for me.

Katéa – California Baby

“There’s the old mantra of ‘don’t bore us, get to the chorus’…”

Tim: There’s the old mantra of “don’t bore us, get to the chorus”, which is all well and good – no-one likes to be kept waiting for a song to get going, as we found out yesterday. On the other hand, sometimes it gets taken to an extreme, and then you feel a tad let down afterwards. For example.

Tom: Oh, that starts well!

Tim: Indeed – a massive start, indicating the song will also be huge throughout. Except, no, suddenly it’s as though the song starts as Wile E. Coyote running at top speed just as he passes the cliff edge, and then screeches to a halt and thinks “hang on, I can’t keep this up” and drops miles and miles and miles until it can drop no further.

Tom: That’s true, but I reckon it works: and it sounds a bit like OneRepublic. This is really, really good. I actually enjoyed that first verse.

Tim: Oh, it’s certainly not unenjoyable – it starts up again soon enough, that backing under the first verse is perfectly decent, and when the chorus comes back it’s just as good as it was the first time. To be honest, this would be a perfectly good enough song if it didn’t have that first chorus, and in my mind better as it wouldn’t suffer from the missed expectation. So start it 19 seconds in, I’ve no problems at all. Easy.

Tom: I’ll be starting it at the beginning, repeatedly. This is one of my favourite songs of the last few weeks, Tim — it’s good.

Saturday Flashback: Haley Reinhart – Free

“What a chorus.”

Tom: You’ll have heard everything in this song before, Tim, in a hundred other songs that sound like it. But what a chorus.

Tim: That is a chorus. And yes, that’s is all familiar.

Tom: You’ve even seen the diner in the video before, because pretty much everyone who needs a generic diner set in the Los Angeles area goes there.

And yes, this is from 2012; it sounds like a mash up of every other female-led Christina Perri-alike with a good voice that came along that year. Although there do appear to be Christmas bells in the final chorus, which is an interesting choice.

Tim: Well, only three months to go. That reminds me, must start hunting around for some Christmas flashbacks – suggestions always welcome (though I’ve already got a stormer lined up for Christmas Eve).

Tom: Already? Blimey. Anyway: like I said, what a chorus.

Perttu feat. Alexandra – Waves

“Just something nice to have on in the background to relax to.”

Tim: It’s Friday, Tom, so guess what?

Tom: Flares are back in fashion?

Tim: Erm, wasn’t where I was immediately going, though if you want we can do that. But mainly: LET’S GET TROPICAL!

Tim: Summer’s drawing to a close, and the dance tunes are on the way out; that is, thankfully, no reason for pineapple juice to disappear, always hanging around ready to be sprayed on to any pop song that wants it, such as this, from a pair of Finns.

Tom: Pineapple juice mist? That just sounds unpleasant and sticky. Which is also what I’m starting to think about a lot of these tropical-house tracks. Kygo has a lot to answer for.

Tim: Maybe, but I like this: nice vocal, with a pleasing gentle instrumental. The slight chanting vibe in the chorus, encouraging us to sway side to side in time with that up and down chorus line. Nothing too exciting, just something nice to have on in the background to relax to.

Tom: I guess I can deal with that. It’s not spectacular, but it’s not terrible either.

Tim: Other thing to like: the video, coming as it does with an almost certainly coincidental sunset vibe serving as a pleasing metaphor for the genre, for the time being at least. Like any setting sun, it’ll surely rise again; maybe in March, or maybe not for another few years when Kygo’s wallet runs dry. Or maybe even next Friday, I’ll keep you posted.

Madden – Alive

“I don’t really see what I’d put either side of this to fit in.”

Tim: Madden is Swedish, here’s his second single; starts out as a nice gentle ballad and then goes…elsewhere.

Tim: And although it sounds clear listening back a second time, despite that build I entirely failed to see that breakdown coming, and had a massive “whoa, what the HUH” moment.

Tom: I was more surprised by the very start of that build: just that simple synth surprised me. The breakdown was predictable, but not any worse for it.

Tim: Right – after a second or two, once I’d calmed down, I realised I really liked it. All of it, in fact, and yet in very different ways. I can’t help thinking this might slightly hurt the track – it wouldn’t fit well on a ballad playlist, and it wouldn’t fit particularly well on a dance music playlist.

Tom: Yep. This isn’t danceable, and it isn’t calming. BUT: you could say that about a lot of Aviici tracks.

Tim: Very true. I would, I suppose, play it if I wanted to hear this track in particular – and I can see that happening – but I don’t really see what I’d put either side of this to fit in. Still, who wants playlists? I’ve heard this five times while writing this, and I’m not really getting tired of it. PLAY IT AGAIN.

Ellie Goulding – Still Falling For You

“I’m glad I kept going, but still…”

Tim: After mentioning Ellie yesterday I realised I wasn’t sure what she was up to right now; turns out she’s done the song for the new Bridget Jones film. (Very mild spoilers in the video, so you might want to stick it in a background tab if you’re planning on seeing it.)

Tom: Ellie Goulding: Reliable Female-Targeted Movie Soundtrack Song Singer.

Tim: And boy, is this a slow, slow build.

Tom: And repetitive: all those “your heart got me” lines really took a while. I’m glad I kept going, but still…

Tim: First verse and part of the chorus, I would have switched off with most other artists; it’s certainly unusual that just fingers clicking every second or so in the second verse will keep me listening. Then that build up through the second chorus, yes, yes, it’s happening! Except then middle eight does that two-step breakdown, and this is the fourth time we’ve had that but I still find it no less disconcerting.

Tom: It sounded a little more natural to me, but still not really good: so either I’m getting used to it, or music producers are starting to work out how to make that more tolerable.

Tim: Finally, though, three quarters of the way through the song, we’ve at last reached the point where we should have been two minutes ago. And it’s totally worth it.

Tom: It is. But it should have started there.

Cappa – Next Ex

“A song actually charmed me! Something must be wrong.”

Tim: I love that we get reader suggestions, Tom, because they’re so much more likely to containing decent stuff than the PR emails we’re barraged with. Take this, that Luca sent in (along with a welcome back message for you, incidentally).

Tom: How nice!

Tom: Promising introduction, that.

Tim: Promising tune all round, really. He says he hopes we’ll “go easy on her whispering voice”, but to be honest there’s no reason for worry, because I love that voice. It’s reminiscent of such excellent talent as Ellie Goulding, who I’ve always liked, and in fact the instrumentation underneath isn’t a million miles away from what we might expect there in some of her milder tracks.

Tom: I wasn’t sure about that big silent bit into the first chorus — but then the line “you could be my next ex boyfriend” actually made me grin, and I wasn’t expecting that. A song actually charmed me! Something must be wrong, Tim, I must be out of practice. The rest of the song ain’t so memorable, but just managing to make me smile puts it above a lot. Better than a lot of Ellie Goulding tracks.

Tim: Hmm. You know, now that we’ve made that comparison I can’t really unhear it, but I don’t mind, because I really like this. Cheers Luca.

Fallulah – Strange World

“Let’s call it inspiration rather than ‘bandwagon we totally jumped on’.”

Tim: Here’s a synthy track for you, and, well, have you seen Stranger Things?

Tom: No: it’s not really my sort of show.

Tim: Fair enough. There is reasoning for my question, though – have a listen, then I’ll explain.

Tim: Thing is, I’ve a hunch that people’s feelings for this may somewhat mirror their attitudes to the TV show. “You like 80s stuff? Well then here’s the song for you!”

Tom: And if you think that the majority of songs from the 80s were a bit rubbish, same as the majority of songs from any decade, and that the only reason we look back at the 80s with such nostalgia is that all the terrible music has been forgotten in hindsight, and that all the retro 80s bars and radio stations play from essentially a list of a few hundred tracks at most…

Tim: Well, look at you cutting all the bullshit right down to size. I don’t know, I may be being too cynical here – God knows it wouldn’t be the first time – but given that this is a fair break from her previous tracks, I can’t shake the idea that someone thought “hey, 80s nostalgia really is massive right now, isn’t it? I’m having A LOT of that”.

Tom: Right. But 80s nostalgia has always been massive. We’ve had so many resurgences of it.

Tim: True. But specifically in this instance: there’s a line on her website, that says “Bonus points if you can tell me what inspired the song.” I’d say the answer is blindingly obvious, and perhaps someone else thought “hang on, we’re gonna get flak for this? Let’s call it inspiration rather than ‘bandwagon we totally jumped on’.”

It’s good, mind. Just very, very derivative.

Saturday Flashback: Sia – Fire Meet Gasoline

“Damn, that similarity is annoying.”

Tim: I heard this a few days ago and thought “oh, I’ve not heard this in ages, I love this song”. Except it was only released as a single in Germany, and was tucked way down at the bottom of the album, so I’ve probably never heard it before. I’ve heard a different song, though.

Tim: Because Tom, tell me there aren’t multiple occasions in that song where you want to sing along with “Everywhere I’m looking now”.

Tom: I was originally going to say “I think it did get some radio airplay over here”, but now I’m not entirely sure that I wasn’t just hearing Halo instead.

Tim: IT’S THE SAME SONG. Well, alright, it isn’t, it’s just a fairly similar lead into the chorus, and actually it’s a brilliant song showing Sia right at the very top of her game. But damn, that Halo similarity is annoying. And I just thought I’d point it out to see if I’m alone.

Tom: Don’t worry, you’re not.

Tim: Good good. Oh, and while we’re here, a hugely tenuously linked fact: Ryan Tedder, co-writer of Halo, has over 92,000 unread emails in his inbox, which to be honest would give me a nervous breakdown.

Tom: How on earth do you know that?

Tim: I’d rather not go into it here.

Mads Langer – Tunnel Vision

“This is pretty mediocre, isn’t it?”

Tim: At the end of July you gave Tropical Fridays a month; with one exception last week when a brilliant track took priority, I’m pleased to inform you we’re still going strong. This got brought out in March, but is now being given an extra push, just as the clubbing season draws to a close. Nope, me neither, but here it is.

Tom: They really need to put some capitals in his Vevo account name, because I keep reading it as “mad slanger”. Anyway. This is pretty mediocre, isn’t it?

Tim: Hmmm….well…kind of, yes, and so you may well be asking yourself “has Tim brought along this largely unremarkable track just because it has tropical undertones and he wants to drag Tropical Fridays out as long as possible just to prove Tom wrong?” Well, I won’t answer that question directly, but I will say that there’s a remix available by someone called Tortuga on most of your standard streaming services such as Apple Music and Spotify, but annoyingly nowhere that’s embeddable.

Tom: Doesn’t help your case now, though, does it?

Tim: No. No, it doesn’t really. Balls.

Tom: As ever, this is one of those generic tracks where the middle eight is the best part. Doesn’t speak well for the rest of the song.

Tim: Well, that remix is a bit more worth a listen than this original, mostly because it’s more summery and dancey and worthy of the tropical title. A bit messy in places, as it doesn’t really seem to know where it’s going, but have a listen if you can, why don’t you.