3 Songs In The Charts That Have Already Gotten Old

Some songs don’t last too long in our memories. It’s a natural process and no one is quite sure what aspects of a song make it popular or not. Sometimes, it is all about timing: Avicci combining House with country, before everyone else started throwing their versions of it out week after week. Sometimes, it is just something new, like Bastille or Imagine Dragons bringing out almost perfect albums. Or maybe it is a comeback from an artist we have missed, like Daft Punk or Take That. However, I personally think trying to categorise what lifts a song to cult status cheapens the talents of those particular singers. If there was a formula for the perfect song, everyone would be doing that and then that, whatever ‘that’ is would get old. Then music would die and we would all be watching the ‘Cat Picture’ charts instead. Maybe. I’m not really into my dystopian futures.

However, I have noticed that some songs in the charts this week have gotten stale before they’d even begun. I began listening to these songs and even bought one of them, but while they began sounding quite cool and fresh, I soon tired of them far sooner than I ever expected to. Today, I shall list them and try and pinpoint why exactly they missed the mark.

3 – ROUTE 94 FT JESS GLYNNE – MY LOVE

At first, it sounded so good. In fact, out of this list, I rank this one the highest, as it still features some moderate thrills. It has a solid club beat and some great vocals from Jess Glynne, who was the same artist who smashed it with my personal favourite song at the moment, Clean Bandit’s Rather Be. When I first heard it, I was swept away by the simple charm in it. You listen to it and before you know it, your head is bobbing up and down, lost in the beat. Listening to it now, I cannot really find too much to fault with it.

Yet, I am already bored of it. Why? Maybe, I should go back to my first compliment. It has a solid club beat. Yes, solid is good, but these days we need more than just solid. It is an exciting time for club music and I cannot shake the feeling that Route 94 are merely filling the space in between the wait for bigger artists. We have massive contenders DJ Fresh, Avicci and Calvin Harris bringing out terrific club mix after terrific club mix, unbelievably topping themselves almost every time. We also have these new, exciting music producers stepping up to the game like Zedd and Martin Garrix. And then we have Eric Prydz making a return any day now. With such giants in the genre, Route 94 is shoved to one side and forgotten about. However, maybe that isn’t too fair, because as my next two entries prove, the giants of the industry are also beginning to make mistakes…

2 – DAVID GUETTA FT. SKYLAR GREY – SHOT ME DOWN

Two years ago, David Guetta was the best DJ around. No one else could come close to knocking him off his perch. He brought out song after song, bringing some exciting talent to perform with him on his tracks, from Ne-Yo and Nicki Minaj, to emerging talents like Sia. On top of that, he also brings out compilations with his wife every now and again, bringing attention to exciting new talent. He is helping the genre, lifting it higher than it had been in a long time. However, his latest group of songs haven’t impressed me too much.

Maybe, it is just the new sound he has discovered. When the drop kicks in, it seems unnatural. I am sure it has its fans and I am sure if it dropped in a club I was dancing in, I would hardly reject it and leave the dance floor. Yet, when you just listen to it, it feels clumsy and jerky. It doesn’t help that he samples Nancy Sinatra’s ‘Shot me Down’, something the Audio Bullies did so much better a few years ago. It could grow on me, I shall admit, but when rumours break out claiming that Guetta now mixes his music, while riding on the train to his next gig, it suggests that he is getting far too lazy with his career. I am sure that story is exaggerated, but when the end result of his mixes go along the lines of this, then I begin to look towards Avicci for my club fix. Surely, he can do no wrong…

1 – AVICCI – ADDICTED TO YOU

GOD DAMN IT!

I jest, of course. I won’t go too harsh on Avicci here, because he has been phenomenal this year. In fairness, this is just the runt of the litter when it comes to his album. It is rare than a fairly new artist can have a smash hit, like ‘Wake Me Up’ or ‘You Make Me’, for every song on his album. In fact, Avicci has done more than enough. He has earned a break. It’s just that, in the quest for anything Avicci, we have turned to this song, Addicted To You, and, sadly, it is nowhere in the same league.

It starts so well. It has those old-timey vocals from Audra Mae that works so well with his other music. It seems like it is building up to that drop that we all know and love. But when the beat kicks in… it is a little tame, to say the least. It does the job, I suppose, but everyone was expecting more. It seems a little thrown together and, to me, it feels like the very essence of an album-filler. However, Avicci, realising he is much better than that, went back and re-did the song, giving it a proper drop and livening it up a bit, turning it into the Avicci we all respect so much right now. He doesn’t change it too much, merely corrects it. It is still the same song, with the good vocals from Mae kicking proceedings off, but then it just dives into a proper club beat that will guarantee a packed dance floor. Amazing work, once again, Avicci!