Summer of 2004 - Lola's Theme Revisited
So I am having a fairly dull day at work, account for this and balance that while listening to my trusty itunes player on shuffle. What should pop on there but Lola's Theme by The Shapeshifters (or Shape UK if you will) and I get transported back to the summer of 2004. My very own summer of love if you will, and this song was EVERYWHERE. You would hear it first at A:M on Friday night through XXL/Crash-Afterhours/Beyond/RVT and end the Sunday night on it at La3.
It was discussed at length, arguments would erupt over which was the better version, the full vocal or the original dub. Anyone who liked the full vocal was a pretender (even though I sort of did), someone who only got the song AFTER the video was released, not a true blue clubber.
I remember the weekend when Lola's Theme hit number one in the UK charts, we just finished a fairly regular sunday afternoon at the RVT when someone suggested driving up to LA3 to finish off the night. Everyone agreed it was a bad idea, but we all managed to end up there anyway. My friend Nick who championed the song from its early days was getting texts about it hitting number one. We played it in the car twice, and this after we heard it at least twice earlier that day. Then the dj played it at la3, at least twice also. Yet no one got sick of it yet. I am not sure I every really got sick of it.
My point, its amazing how one song, one note of a song even, can bring such memories flooding back. It took me back to what was arguably the best summer of my life, one that I will probably re-visit on here from time to time.
posted by Ramification @ 3:04 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
i think when you talk about one song (or even one note) bringing back of flood of memories, it really gets to the heart of what music does for us...
it creates ideas that say far more than we could ever describe and emotions are expressed and we super-impose our own emotions and experiences onto those songs and melodies.
It's beautifully strange.
--RC of strangeculture.blogspot.com
I had to review their new single for the street press I write for. I was no impressed:
"After ‘Lola’s Theme’ became a dance classic, you’d have been forgiven for thinking Shapeshifters were bound for greatness. Alas, they are not, and their new ‘Incredible’ single isn’t going to change that. It’s all more of the same really, but doesn’t even approach the heights of ‘Lola’s Theme’. Of the five remixes on here only the Denis the Menace Full Vocal Mix successfully transforms the song into a dance floor stormer. The rest simply extend the original into bloated bores."
Ouch, harsh review there Glenn :) It was always going to be a problem following up a massive single like that, Back to Basics which was the next release here was a valiant effort but it failed in so many ways (even though the Beginerz remix of that is fantastic). I like Sensitivity with Chic, thats a fantastic track on the album.
Post a Comment
<< Home