Pop Rock Nation

Author: Paul Lorentz

Commercial-isms: Swedish House Mafia vs. Absolut Vodka “Greyhound”

Run, Swedish House Mafia, Run!

After the apocalypse the only things remaining were the desert, some wealthy (and competitive!) Euro-disco freak-a-zoids, and a grapefruit. Oh, and also a sliver of post-nuclear genetic material, which would later be identified and decoded by the machines as the rapidly mutating, radioactive stem cells of that instrumental break from Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” – y’know the one, that part where the zombies do the zombie dance. The scientists, because they had nothing better to do, took the ribonucleic remains of that long-extinct groove, and reconstructed it, magnifiying it, amplifying it, creating the Third Millennium sonic beast they called “Greyhound”. This, much to the amusement of the freak-a-zoids.

Is this a music video for the latest single from Swedish House Mafia? Or is it the latest ad from Absolut Vodka, introducing their new Greyhound brand? Unlike the latest video stunt by , “Greyhound” succeeds wildly as both. There’s an edited version of this that’s starting to show up on the TV, but you can see the whole wonderful George Lucas fever-dream of it below. Then you can (and should) go download the full seven-minute single, put it on your iPod, and go running (with the dogs, tonight). Enjoy this responsibly.

March 26, 2012
New Single! Eric Church “Springsteen”

Chief Meets Boss
A couple weeks ago, Bruce Springsteen released Wrecking Ball, his (by my count) 17th studio album in a 40 year recording career. It’s a record that sounds a lot more like the Springsteen I grew up with than any of his other recent albums: anthemic and big and totally ‘merican (that’s a capital ‘postrophe there). It occurs to me that Born in the U.S.A. is now older than all those songs I saw on those “Freedom Rock” TV commercials were back when the “Freedom Rock” TV commercials were on TV.

So it’s sort of fitting and serendipitous that the same week Wrecking Ball showed up in stores also marked the crossover Hot 100 debut of country singer-songwriter Eric Church‘s latest single “Springsteen”, a song about how it feels to be a middle-aged schlub and to listen back to those old Springsteen records, with lyrics sprinkled all over with references to those (gulp) golden oldies (you know, like “Glory Days”).

“Spingsteen” is the third single from Church’s third album, the extraordinarily well-received Chief, which debuted at the top of the album charts last year. And despite the fact (or because of it) that the song, Church’s twangy delivery notwithstanding, is about as country as Matchbox Twenty, it looks on pace to become the singer’s biggest hit so far.

There’s certainly a lot to love about it, like how the lyrics, about a certain girl, a certain Jeep, and a long-ago Saturday night (now that’s country), occasionally give way to a sing-along “whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh”. Or just the song’s mellow, reflective vibe: its extended intro and outro, its piano key moonbeams, which sound more like something off a 10-year-old Josh Rouse CD than a 30-year-old Springsteen 45. And then, right at the fadeout, there a woman’s voice faintly, wordlessly echoing the chorus, as if to prove Church’s line about how a melody sounds like a memory.

March 26, 2012
Eurovision 2012 Update: The United Kingdom!

Holy Humperdinck! It was announced today that the United Kingdom will be represented in this year’s Eurovision song contest by none other than the man, the legend, the walking double-entendre Engelbert Humperdinck! It has not been announced yet just what song the 75-year-old pop singer will actually sing in the competition. Unlike many of the other participating countries, the U.K.’s entrant is not selected by a preliminary contest – composer, producer, and performer are all recruited by the BBC. The song will be written and produced by Martin Terefe (who’s worked with KT Tunstall and a-ha) with co-writer Sacha Skarbek (who co-wrote James Blunt’s 2005 hit “You’re Beautiful”).

I just hope it’s as friggin’ awesome as this:

“After the Lovin’” (1976)

March 1, 2012