Tuesday, October 18, 2005

California Nightmare

"Hey-ho-ho-hey-hey-ho-ho-hey-hey"

No. That is not Santa pretending to be retarded. It is in fact the refrain in one of Runki's favorite songs : California Dreaming by Benny Benassi. And unfortunately it is the remix of one of my faves: a song of the same name performed originally by The Mamas and the Papas.

I had never really held the song in particularly high regard; always felt it was average. But last nite we were discussing music and she tells me how much she liked it and how it can get her to dance everytime. So this morning I wake up thinking, gah I must've made a mistake. The song might be genuinely good afterall. So after I return from morning class i decide to listen to it on a loop.

It started off well. The initial beats, I must admit, got my neck rocking. Ofcourse even the backstreet boys could get my neck rocking a few years back. But then I decided to be positive.
It didn't take long for the to notice that the sampling in the opening minute had been used before by him in atleast 3 different songs. Oh cmon Rohit, be positive! And then came the refrain from hell. Hey-ho-ho-hey-hey-ho-.. oh shutup.

Slow roasting is considered to be among the most painful forms of torture. You hang the guilty over a low flame and rotate him over and over again, effectively cooking him alive in the process. The pain is considered unbearable. And its a feeling very very few people have ever lived to tell. Now, I feel like one of those chosen few, the refrain being my fire. Not since the time I remember my first flight, as a four-year old, have my aural nerves been through such excruciating pain. Its a very psychological kind of pain. Slow and consuming. I felt like I was beginning to lose it.

But then there was light at end of the Tunnel! But the light was a Train.

The divine words "All the Leaves are Brown, and the Sky is Grey..." had come to save me. Thankfully, it was unaltered from the original. But that pretty much underlined how unorignal the remix is.

But then the sample from the original had come as relief when I most needed it and I took it with both hands. Little did I know that I was just in the eye of the storm.

Just as the first paragraph ended.." on such a winter's day", my mind automatically played the next line:

"Stepped into a church, that I passed along the way"

But OMG. It was back again. The Refrain From Fucking Hell. I was sure I was gonna lose it. But I held on.

I know I have definitely heard much worse songs but what is it that made this song so painful for me to listen to? Maybe I have a few explanations :

  1. When you listen to Benassi, you expect quality. Not irritating refrains. He has raised his own bar so high, it just gets harder to take crap.
  2. You expect originality. Not old samples. A remix is when you mix two songs together. Not play them alternatingly.
  3. California Dreaming is among the greatest songs ever written, performed and heard. You don't touch it unless you are God Yourself. Period.
  4. Alrite, you think you are God and you touch it. Alteast play the entire song.
  5. The song was promoted as House number. But the beats can't get anything below your head moving.
  6. The song lacks flow. It has a forced feel about it. The "original" part and the vocals just dont blend together. They just were not meant to be.
  7. The bass on it is jarring to the ear and can put Sepultura to shame.
  8. Lastly and most importantly : She likes it so much :(

I never really hated this song. I still don't think I do. But I don't think I will be able to listen to this song again without getting a fit.

But I still wasn't completely convinced that it was as bad as I thought it was. Maybe I was being biased. Maybe it is not his worst song afterall. So I decided consult wiki for a list of his more respectable songs. Wiki says :

  • Satisfaction (as Benny Benassi presents The Biz)
  • Able To Love (as Benny Benassi presents The Biz)
  • No Matter What You Do (as Benny Benassi presents The Biz)
  • Love Is Gonna Save Us (as Benny Benassi presents The Biz)
  • I Feel So Fine (as KMC featuring Dhany)
  • Get Better (as KMC feat. Sandy)
  • I Love My Sex (as Benassi Bros featuring Violeta)
  • Don't Touch Too Much (as Benassi Bros featuring Paul French)
  • Illusion (as Benassi Bros feat. Sandy)
  • Rumenian (as Benassi Bros feat. Violeta)
  • Hit My Heart (as Benassi Bros feat. Dhany)
  • Memory Of Love (as Benassi Bros feat. Paul French)
  • Make Me Feel (as Benassi Bros feat. Dhany)
  • Every Single Day (as Benassi Bros feat. Dhany)
OMG. It is True.

posted by PSyNyD @ 2:37 AM

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