Show Don't Tell

In preparation for tonight's screening of Shut Up and Play the Hits, I found myself thinking about "Daft Punk is Playing at My House" and the simplicity of its overwhelming appeal. "Daft Punk is Playing at My House" (my house) is arguably the party anthem of the aughts; "One More Time" by Daft Punk themselves is a strong contender, but this raises a question: how is a song about another band as popular as that band's own music? They're both horses, but completely different colors.

"One More Time" is a party hit because it's euphoric and because it's about celebrating: "we're gonna celebrate, alright, don't stop the dancing!" They're just feeling celebration, you know? We can escape into those golden horn lines for five minutes, before it's too late, and never stop. There's a promise of infinite fun. "Daft Punk..." talks about what's happening around the celebration: fifteen cases of beer, furniture in the garage, and everybody's PA is at my house (my house). It creates a frame out of standard tropes so we can fill in the obvious, implicit blank: we're having a party.

And we're not just having any party. Daft Punk is playing at our house (our house), in real life; THE ROBOTS DESCEND FROM THE BUS. What could be better than that?! And you should note that James Murphy never actually says anything about having fun or celebrating in the lyrics. He's talking about all the shit we have to go through just to even have a party, this impossible Daft Punk house show. But the fun's still there, embedded in the bigger picture of all those real-world things that could otherwise be a total drag. It's a validation and a reminder of why we have fifteen cases of beer and the jocks can't get in the door: because we want to get together and dance (to Daft Punk).

Guts: Azealia Banks' "Neptune" / Ikonika

("Guts" will be a series where I talk about what lies below the surface; things you might not know about a track but that are worth knowing.) Harlem rapper/singer/mermaid Azealia Banks is on my radar for a few reasons; besides being hilariously lewd and awesomely talented, she works with UK dance producers, and awesome ones at that. A few months ago she released "NEEDSUMLUV", a song she did over Machinedrum's track "SXLND", and "Neptune" continues the streak, with the instrumental coming from Ikonika.

Those not familiar with Ikonika should take a moment to educate and appreciate. Born Sara Abdel-Hamid, she's one of the few women out there running with the big boys of bass and dance music. She's been released on Warp and Hyperdub, neither of which labels is a small feat. If you listen to "Please" (below) you can hear that "Neptune" is definitely an Ikonika track, the dead giveaways being the simple square-wave synths and dark-empty-room feel. She's said in a Guardian interview that she "would like to make really good pop music"; maybe's she's on her way?