¿Y la bailar, y la cantar?

[mippy.livejournal.com]

Found this while trying to find out whether vegetable oil is indeed a primary ingredient in Sunny Delight (don't ask...):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_hit#1990s

"Summer hits are quite cheerful and upbeat and their main success is due to the catchy rhyme and not the lyrics, which are sometimes repetitive, playful and generally hollow. The music is often criticised for being "forced" on the audience while lacking actual artistic value, talent or deeper meaning."

O RLY? The article, such as it is, refers to 'one-hit wonders' but a lot of these 'artists', well, aren't.

"A track can also be a summer hit solely in one country. In Ireland, the summer of 2000 had the track "Maniac 2000" by Mark McCabe played almost constantly. This led to the track being requested in clubs in Spain by Irish tourists. This might have started the cycle by which it would become a hit across all of Europe, but licensing problems meant that the song was only available commercially in Ireland, and hence the returning clubbers could not purchase it or get it played on the radio."

That'll be why I was the only one in my class to be aware of The Fuckle Song, then.

Comments

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

'This article or section deals primarily with the United Kingdom and does not represent a worldwide view of the subject.'

Gotta love wikipedia :) But hmmm yes. The lambada craze was the first time I was aware of the holiday hit phenomenon but I'm sure it's been going since the Crusades (just had a vision of Monty Python & Holy Grail chaps making an awful 'this music's very Moorish' joke noez) or whenever.

Best one on the list is still the Macarena. I could write buckets of prose about that song. AND WILL.

Further research

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Man I had no idea Macarena was at number one in the US for FOURTEEN WEEKS!!! You dudes must have really liked it. I still have my copy on cassingle.

Re: Further research

[justfanoe.livejournal.com]

It was also one of the few songs to have stayed on the US charts for 60 or more weeks. It's 2nd for most weeks at number one and something like 2nd or 3rd for most weeks on chart total. You could make an argument that it is the most popular song in US history. It's ridiculous.

Re: Further research

[whalefish.livejournal.com]

I think I have that tape somewhere too. Wasn't the b-side a near identical extended version or something? I remember insisting on having that tape played constantly on a long car journey. It could be said that it was a step up from making them listen to Oasis.

[damnspynovels.livejournal.com]

Not sure that Genesis is really covered by this concept...

And they missed that How Bizarre song.

[anatol-merklich.livejournal.com]

Summer hits are quite cheerful and upbeat and their main success is due to the catchy rhyme and not the lyrics, which are sometimes repetitive, playful and generally hollow. The music is often criticised for being "forced" on the audience while lacking actual artistic value, talent or deeper meaning.

This paragraph actually violates specific Wikipedia guidelines: The first sentence does not quote any sources that summer hits are as described, and thus must originate in the writer's original research (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:No_original_research), which should not occur. The second sentence uses weasel words (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Avoid_weasel_words) in making claims about what "some people say" without reference.

Just in passing...

[mcarratala.livejournal.com]

I think it's "Y la baila, y la canta", though I'm prepared to be proved wrong...

Re: Just in passing...

[mippy.livejournal.com]

If it translates as 'And to sing and to dance' then my heading is correct - but to be honest I've never paid that much attention :)

for no decent reason at all...

[mcarratala.livejournal.com]

“Y el dj que lo conoce
toca el himno de las doce
para Diego la cancion mas deseada
Y la baila, y la goza y la canta...”

Very roughly:
“And the DJ who knows him
Plays the midnight hymn
Which for Diego is the most desired song
And he dances to it, and he enjoys it and he sings it…”

I'm a very sad man.

Re: for no decent reason at all...

[mippy.livejournal.com]

God, this is why I got a D at A-level.