Best pop...Daft Punk sets off chain reaction

Let's start with Daft Punk as pop.  Really?  Well yeah.  The first thing I think of when I think pop is the dance music. The next thing is a whole lot of strong hooks.  Daft Punk draws from the very heart and roots of disco.  In the 70's Donna Summer, George McCrae, The Village People, and Gloria Gaynor were blaring out of our car radios all the time.  4-on-the-floor was the beat of the day.  Daft Punk builds on those models then replaces old Moogs with all manner of current electronic manipulation.

It was no stretch for the French duo to call on geniuses Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers to work with them on "Get Lucky", the first single from the new album "Random Access Memories" which drops next week.  Now this is a track that will see radio play because Pharell is one of corporate radio's latest sweethearts.  But will it get more people listening to Daft Punk?  Will future tracks from the record see any attention?  That remains to be seen.  One thing I will project is that the album does make the Billboard Top5 in its first week due to the size of Daft Punk's fanbase.

But back to "Get Lucky".  On the surface I kind of wanted to hate it because it is just more of the same thing that is currently on terrestrial radio.  The lyrics have no meat or potatoes, just a lot of sexual fluff.  But then I realized when I'm dancing in a club I don't want some deep human condition message coming through the speakers.  I want to dance and "Get Lucky" will get people doing just that.  My other disappointment is Pharell's vocals.  Very thin.  I love all the signature DP elements and Nile's guitar line shines through bringing funk with a real pedigree.  But again, the vocal just gets lost.

Then..........

Other artists started covering the song before it even hit the terrestrial airwaves.  Heck, it's an easy enough track to play with.  Thankfully it wasn't long before one of my favorite artists who already has Nile Rodgers collab cred grabbed this song by the hair at the back of its neck and dragged it kicking and screaming into his studio, beat the shit out of it and came out with THIS:




YES!! Sam Sparro needs to do a lot more of this.

So this week's recommendations for "best pop not on the radio"?  The entire Daft Punk catalog and Sam Sparro once again (and always).

Also watch Nile's episode of the "Random Access Memories" Collaborators Series here:
http://www.randomaccessmemories.com/

He states exactly what I started this post with "They went back to go forward". Nile is also working with La Roux on her new record. I adore this man.

Don't forget to order Daft Punk's new album next week or buy a digital download.  The robots will not disappoint.

www.daftpunk.com
www.samsparro.com
www.nilerodgers.com