Fronted by none other than Karen Orzolek who is better known by her stage name Karen O, the band I am reviewing this evening is none other than the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, who I may or may not have mentioned before in other reviews, most notably in the Since U Been Gone review. I should say that it has made the rounds again on the internet with remixed version by an American artist named JVH-C and has been featured in memes with dancing dogs in. I’m here to talk about the original version and it is one of the best things that I have discovered this week.
The song has a rather new wave arrangement to it with a few dashes of alternative rock influences in there too, and you may be wondering what makes it new wave… and it’s the synthesisers, it just oozes eighties and they almost have a very ominous sound to them… but I hear you asking about what parts of it are rock, the guitars and bass creep in near the chorus; the guitars in the pre-chorus are very reminiscent of the theme song of the Twilight Zone with the creepy feeling and that is very fitting with the lyrics of the song.
The lyrics of the song, with a chorus like “dance till you’re dead” has a sort of macabre tone to it. The narrator of the story talks about someone who has had a life full of hedonism, partying and narcotics… so they are literally dancing until they are dead when they are at the parties and doing illegal substances such as Ecstacy perhaps. Also, “off with your head” means that the person is so intoxicated that they are in a stupor almost.
I should mention Karen’s vocals… I love how distinct her voice is, I love the difference in dynamics of the vocals from loud in the chorus and the verses, then quiet in the bridge where it’s almost whispered. Her vocals pack one hell of a punch that you automatically think “wow, where’d that come from,” and it is something absolutely amazing. That’s part of what makes the Yeah Yeah Yeahs such an interesting band to listen to by itself, just the uniqueness of Karen’s vocals.
I’ll send you a link to the song/music video, the music video was directed by none other than British comedian Richard Ayoade.
I know that the video is mildly disturbing with a semi-decapitated Karen O singing, and all the blood seemingly turning into confetti. I have to pinch myself when I say that the same Richard Ayoade, the dude from The I.T. Crowd directed this very video.
-Sophie
Plunk! 